Category: podcasting

Downloading Podcast News

With the rise of podcasting, many individuals and
organizations are finding that podcasting is a great way
to distribute information, from music and comedy
shows to talk shows, even podcast news. CNET is one
of the groups that is distributing a news podcast. CNET,
being an online technology site, naturally found a niche
distributing a tech news related podcast. CNET’s recent
podcasts covered such topics as viruses that attack cell
phones, problems with Google’s software, China’s web
restrictions and the “Great Firewall of China”, and the
FTC’s attack on spyware. These news items were
distributed in a sound file called an mp3 file that is
downloadable to a listener’s computer for listening
whenever they wish. While these files were available
straight from CNET’s site, the majority of them are
shared through the use of an RSS file. An RSS file is a
small piece of XML coding that is downloadable by
programs designed to read it. These programs are called
podcast clients, and the user can input the address of the
RSS files that hold the information on the feed. The
feed will contain links to the media files of the podcast,
and will download the new updates automatically.

More sites than CNET are finding that podcast news is
an expoitable technology. The British Broadcasting
Corporation podcasts some of it’s programs, as well as
the US radio network NPR. The NPR, because its work
is created by a variety of different groups, treats
podcasts differently from show to show. The NPR show
“This American Life” distributes a podcast of the show
through a site called audible.com, which allows feed
listeners to subscribe to the feed for a small fee and
download the show . The NPR Hourly News show, on
the other hand, shares a short 5 minute broadcast that
summarizes the news for free. Since the NPR is taking a
radio show and converting it into a file that is
downloadable by the user, little is lost in the translation.
The sound is designed to convey the entire story, and so
podcast subscribers are able to treate the podcast as
nothing more than TIVO for the radio. ABC’s podcast
of the news show Nightline, on the other hand, is
simply the sound track from the television show. This
has been one of the criticisms of the Nightline podcast,
because by merely stripping the sound from what is
designed as a television show, much information is not
given to the users. Listeners have problems telling who
is who because they miss the visual cues that were
supposed to be there, and there is no truly easy way to
convert the shows. For this reason, some news shows
have been moving from audio podcasts to video ones.
They can take the video information directly from the
show that is broadcast, lower the visual resolution to
shrink the file, and distribute it online as a podcast.

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Podcast Downloads

Podcast downloads are a wonderful new online way to
share files. A podcast is a way to send files from a
distributor’s online site directly to the subscribers
computer, where they can view them whenever they
wish. A podcast works by having a small file called an
RSS file placed somewhere on the podcaster’s web
page. This RSS file is updated regularily, usually
automatically with text and links to new media files
available for downloading. The RSS file is then
accessed by the podcast client of the subscriber’s
computer. A podcast client is a small program that goes
online to look for the RSS files that the feed subscribers
wish to view. There are many podcast clients available
for every conceivable need, and most are free to
download and use.

The podcast download will be done when the podcast
client downloads and views the file from the feed’s
website. After finding the links to the media files
embedded in the RSS file, it will download those files
and store them on the computer, allowing the user to
view them whenever and as many times as they wish.
The podcast files may be of many things. There are
comedy shows done by people who enjoy creating and
writing a regular show, but aren’t able to do it as a
business. Some podcasts are music mixes, an mp3 file
that subscribers can play. Even some radio shows are
getting into podcasting, allowing subscribers to
download portions of their shows from the internet in
podcast form and play them on their home computer.

Podcast downloads could conceiveably be applied to
any type of file. The RSS files that allow the mainly
audio and video files now used in podcasting to be
downloaded can be customized to enclose almost any
type of file. This has led some analysts to believe that
podcasting could eventually be used to distribute
software updates, demonstration programs, and many
other types of files, moving beyond the simple use of
podcasting to share media files. All that would be
neccessary would be for the users to subscribe to the
feed with their podcast client. They could then stay
regularily updated for nearly anything.

Podcast downloads offer many different possibilities for
distribution of files across the internet. Because it is a
different mode of using the internet, allowing the data
to come to the user rather than the user having to visit
each site they enjoy, podcasting has the possibility of
changing the way the internet works. Content can be
given directly to the individual, easily and ever more
quickly as broadband use spreads. This means that what
the internet is will change drastically. The web changes
from something connected to in order to be used to
something that is integrated and connected with our
personal life.

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The History of the iPod Podcast

What is now called a podcast traces its orgins to the
first ipod podcasts, the creation of distributed mp3 files
that could be downloaded and played on Apple’s music
player, the iPod. When the iPod came out, and users
discovered what a wonderful thing it was for holding
music, some people had the idea of loading things that
weren’t necessarily songs. Some of the people that got
their hands on the iPod took the route of reverse
engineering the iPod and loading on different firmware,
or operating system, but others had the idea of sharing
small sound files that could be played on the iPod. The
technology for distributing the files already existed,
with RSS feeds. RSS feeds were a means of generating
machine readable files that could share information
between a server and a user. Many blogs already used
them to keep readers up to date with the latest posts, but
some hopeful podcasters had the idea of enclosing links
to sound files within the RSS feed and downloading the
file to the computer.

With the change in RSS feeds, ipod podcast took off,
and podcasting became a popular way to share files.
Users saw podcasting as a way to become radio hosts,
or dj’s, and a variety of podcasts began popping up.
Software was written to automatically check the RSS
feeds, extract the links to the podcast episodes, and
download the files. These programs became known as
podcast clients.

By this time, podcasting had moved beyond the ipod,
and they were not simply making an ipod podcast
anymore. Some people had figured out how to use even
the PlayStation Portable gaming console as a podcast
player. It was more difficult that downloading podcasts
to the ipod, since the PSP used a different format for it’s
files, but PSP podcasts began popping up. In addition,
podcasting made inroads to the wider audience of
people without iPods, who simply saw podcasting as an
extremely convenient way to receive news, music, and
entertainment over the internet.

Today, while the iPod podcast type still exists, fewer
people subscribe to podcasts as a way of gaining
portable media files they can listen to anywhere.
Although that is still an attractive part of podcasting, it
seems to be eclipsed by the ease with which podcasting
has become a content delivery system. Now, podcasting
has become tied up with the rising number of audio and
video blogs, where blogging is done not by post, but
through media files uploaded to the blog. These blogs,
and podcasting in general, take advantage of the
shrinking cost of broadband internet connections, and
the rising number of people with high speed access to
offer a picture of the internet rich with multimedia files.

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Music Podcast RSS Feeds

There are many online music podcast rss feeds to
choose from online. For many of the feed producers, a
podcast feed is a way to distribute non mainstream
music that otherwise would not be able to reach an
audience. These musicians are able to build a following
and share their work from outside of a music culture
that tends to keep out more niche groups. Because the
music industry is oriented towards mass distribution
and marketing, musicians and groups that aren’t
believed to command such widespread fandom are kept
out of the market.

Distributing some of their music by podcast rss feeds,
however, lets them grow a small fanbase and attract
listeners who enjoy their work. These musicians may
support themselves by also selling portions of their
work, or may decide to provide all of their work for
free, as some do.

These musicians may, after growing a fanbase who
enjoys their music podcast rss feed, parlay that
popularity into music contracts within the industry. By
proving that they can support a passionate audience
even with their own meager efforts, a company can
sometimes be convinced of the music’s viability on a
larger stage. By proving that the musicians can support
a dedicated audience and can keep producing quality
work, the group or individual has a better chance of
successfully getting a contract while maintaining their
independent style.

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Finding Free Podcast Videos

Anyone can easily find free podcast videos online.
There are numerous podcast directories online that can
help you find feeds to subscribe to, or you may find a
feed thats available from a site you enjoy. After looking
through the directories and finding a feed you want to
download, subscribe to it using one of the many free
podcast clients available. The podcast client will
automaticall download a small file called an RSS file,
which stands for Really Simple Syndication. The RSS
file tells your podcast client when there is a new file, in
this case a video, to download. Depending on your
client, the program will notify you or maybe even
download it automatically. Once the file is on your
computer, you’ll be free to listen to it any time it is
convenient.

Soon you’ll be on your way to downloading some of the
free podcast videos available online. Feeds are available
that publish on almost every topic, from independent
news shows to experimental videos, to scientific
information. Some colleges and universities even
podcast their most popular lectures so that students will
have a chance to watch and review from the comfort of
their computer chair.

The best part is that these free podcast videos, are of
course, free. All of these feeds are easy to find, and the
publishers, for the most part, do it simply because they
enjoy it, and are glad to give it away.

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Podcast RSS Feeds

A Podcast RSS feed is what allows the entire system to
function. To begin at the beginning, a podcast is a
regular distribution of audio or visual files, called
episodes, to a users podcast client. The people who use
a podcast are called subscribers, and the podcast client
is what allows them to subscribe to a feed. The podcast
client is a program that connects to the internet, looking
for a specific file the user has subscribed to, or told it to
look for. That file is an RSS feed, a machine readable
piece of coding that sends information back to the
podcast client. RSS feeds can be used to distribute
many kinds of information, and were originally used for
blogging and distributing blog posts to subscribers. As
time went on, however, a few people had the idea of
enclosing information about media files within the RSS
feed so that software could be written to find that
information and download the files described.

The Podcast RSS feeds became a hit, and podcast
clients were quickly written to allow people to use the
new encoding. Podcasting became a means of quickly
and cheaply sharing episodes with subscribers. Rather
than requiring subscribers to visit the site that hosted
the files everytime they wanted to know if a new
episode was released, users could rely on the podcast
client to do the work for them, keeping track of
numerous podcast rss feeds that interested them and
downloading the files to be viewed when they wished.

Podcast RSS feeds are now used to distribute a number
of different types of podcasts. Some producers use it as
way to share a comedy or news program that they
produce, others podcast in order to share music files
they create, and some podcast to share video files they
have created and to showcase their work. Podcasting
allows the producers to become radio or television stars
without the large investment in time and money that
wuld be required to do that. Because podcasting has
such a low entry cost, requiring little more than a server
and a domain to host the site and a way to record the
media, thousands of people who otherwise would not
have a chance to work in a media environment have a
chance to do so through their podcast rss feeds.

In this way, podcast RSS feeds allow media publishing
over the internet at a fraction of the cost of other forms
of media distribution, permitting people with much
smaller budgets to compete in some way. However,
podcast rss feeds are also attracting more established
companies and groups as well, bringing people from
NPR radio stations and news organizations like CNN
who use podcasting as yet another means to distribute
their product to end users.

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Podcast Yahoo, a Podcast Directory

Podcast Yahoo, is an example of a very full featured
podcast directory. Yahoo’s beta offering presents
podcasts from many professional organizations
including NPR, Slate Magazine, and others. They also
organize their listing by categories, offer a list of the
most popular series and episodes currently available,
and let users search through the entire database.
Yahoo’s site is professionally done, and likely has
people permanently assigned to work on it, and so it
differs from many of the other podcasting directories
available. Many directories are little more than listings
of amateur podcasters, but Yahoo’s site brings out a
number of feeds done by mainstream organization,
raising the level of quality available.

For anyone who wants to find a podcast, Yahoo is
certainly a good choice. They have a slick, well done
site that is easy to use. Yahoo even includes software at
the site so that podcasts can be listened to from within
the web browser. After logging in, Yahoo allows users
to subscribe to feeds they enjoy, letting them be notified
when new episodes are available. Yahoo even has a
detailed walkthrough to help visitors create and begin
publishing their own podcast.

Podcast Yahoo clearly demonstrates the ability of a
corporate group to create a well made site. While it’s
very unlikely that Yahoo or a company like it would
have been able to come up with podcasting, once they
know what to do, they can do it well.

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What is a Podcast Feed?

A podcast feed is a way of sharing files over the
internet. It involves the use of a small, machine
readable file that is regularily updated to reflect changes
in the files available for downloading. The internet
addresses of these files are embedded into the feed file
and can be automatically downloaded when wished. At
this time, podcasting tends to refer to the use of feeds to
share only media files. Podcasting originally occured as
a way to share audio mp3 files, and has only recently
begun incorporating video into podcasts. However, the
technology that allows the files to be shared is not
limited to such media files and there is not reason that
other files may be shared via podcast in the future.

Today, however, a podcast feed tends to refer to the use
of a feed to share media files. Most podcasts are done
with audio files, and the individual files that are created
and shared are called episodes. These audio files may
contain a variety of things; there are music, comedy,
news, technology, even podcasts about wine.
Podcasting, because of the low entry cost, especially for
audio podcasting allows nearly anyone who believes
they have something to say to broadcast it over the
internet. Even more established groups have found that
audio podcasting works well. Some radio stations
podcast portions of their content, sharing it over the
internet to allow listeners who missed a specific show
to catch up on it later. NPR now does this with its news
breaks, and the NPR show “This American Life” offers
a podcast of its shows to subscribers who pay a small
fee.

One of the newer innovations in podcast feeds is the
vlog, or videoblog. These blogs usually contain a feed
that distributes a video, rather than an audio file to feed
subscribers. Although that would not have been feasible
a few years ago, growing numbers of broadband
internet subscribers has meant that most users are able
to download large files, even video files, relatively
quickly. These video podcasts have been readily
accepted by mainstream news organizations. They have
found that podcasting portions of their content is a way
to share their tape and reach a wider audience. The BBC
currently does this with parts of its news content. Pieces
of the news show that is played over the airwaves is
taken and placed online, along with a link to the content
placed inside the RSS feed. Those who subscribe to the
BBC feed can download the news clip and watch in
from the comfort of their home computer.

In the future, podcast feeds may be used for a number of
purposes besides simply sharing media files. Some
analysts predict that the feed system could also be used
to share software updates, or any of a myriad of other
file types. For now, however, podcasting is dominated
by small audio and video files.

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A Podcast Client

A podcast client is the software used to access and
download podcasts. Podcast clients are also known as
media aggregators, programs designed to automatically
access an online file, or feed, and download the audio or
video file associated with it. Hundreds of these
programs exist, with names like IpodderX, Juice,
Nimiq, and PodSpider. These podcast clients are easy to
find, and because there are so many available for free, it
is easy to find one that suits an individuals needs and
style. These programs run on the users computer,
periodically downloading a small RSS file from sites
that it has been told to monitor. The file tells the
program about an audio or video file stored on the
server, and the podcast client then downloads that file
for the user to view or listen to.

The podcast client thus allows the user to view
information on a wide range of topics from their
computer, without even using a web browser. Just like
blogs let people find writers they enjoyed for any niche
topic they were interested in, podcasts let people do
them same for audio and video. Its as if a thousands of
radio and television channels were created to serve
every possible interest, and more were made every day.
Using the podcast client to access and download the
files makes it as easy to keep up with the sites one likes
as it is to publish the feed.

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Podcast Software

There are many podcast software programs available to
use. Many of them are even free. Because of the
decentralized, geek adopted nature of podcasting, a
wide variety of programs are available, from large
programs with a big footprint that do many different
jobs to tiny little software packages that do the bare
minimum. A package is available for podcast
subscribers of almost any type, and more are being
created everyday.

While some podcast software is designed for home user
computers, much of it is designed to be used online.
There are many packages created so that feed
subscribers can view the podcasts they enjoy from
within a web browser. These software packages contain
both the feed reader like the home user software does,
but usually also incorporate a way to view or listen to
the podcasts online from inside the browser. Much of
this software is used at the podcast directories that
maintain listings of podcast feeds.

Another type of online podcast software is the category
of feed creators. PHP scripting is usually used to create
the RSS file that tells the feed readers where to
download the podcasts from. The scripting can either
create a hard copy of the RSS file and write it to the
server disk when the feed is updated, or it can make it
virtually. When the RSS file is generated virtually, it
doesn’t actually exist on the host’s server. Instead, the
address of the PHP script is distributed as the address of
the feed. When the script is accessed, it generates the
file by looking at the recent posts at the site and sends
the results to the feed subscriber.

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