Help

What Is Podcasting?

Audio downloading (also known as MP3 downloading or subscribing to a podcast) enables you to download the latest version of a selected radio program or segment to your own computer. This high quality audio can then be played directly from that computer at your leisure, or downloaded again to a portable player such as (but not only) an iPod

If you choose to subscribe to the Done By Law podcast, you can also automatically receive your audio via special free software.

How To Subscribe to Our Podcast

iPodder (an Open Source cross platform podcast receiver), Apple’s iTunes 4.9 for Mac and Windows and similar podcasting software allow you to schedule regular updates to your selected downloads with an iPod or other MP3 player. The range includes programs which allow you to listen to podcasts on mobile phones and Pocket PCs, as well as computers running Mac or Linux OS.

iTunes Note: iTunes software is marketed by Apple as the preferred music player for users using the iPod music player. It enables people to play and organize downloaded mp3 files and has gained a reputation of ease of use and good organization. Apple has recently added support for listening to podcasts in its latest version of iTunes: (iTunes4.9). Australians can’t presently buy music files from the iTunes Music Store, but they can use iTunes to subscribe to podcasts and browse the Music Store for free podcast listings.

Setting Up

  • Download podcasting software. Most of the software operates on Mac, PC or Linux. All of it is free:
  • Once you’ve downloaded the software, you need to install it. Some browsers will straight away automatically run and install the downloaded software. If your browser doesn’t do that, look for the icon belonging to the downloaded podcast software, and double click on it to install.
  • Once you’ve installed the podcasting software, check the Preferences. The main things to check are that you’ve nominated a folder on your computer where the podcast software will store the MP3 files. The address should look something like C:\My Documents\podcasts. It’s also important to check whether you’ve told the podcast software what MP3 player you want to use when playing the podcast. Nominating a player is often done in Preferences, often under a heading called Player.
  • Once you have set up and acquainted yourself with the podcasting software, copy and paste your selected subscription URLs, listed on the main podcasting page into your podcasting software. This will add the selected programs to your podcasting subscriptions.
  • If you’re using iPodder, launch iPodder, click the Subscriptions menu, then click the green and white plus icon (’Add a new feed’) and paste in the feed url.
  • If you’re using iTunes, launch iTunes, click on the “Advanced” menu and select “Subscribe to Podcast”. Paste the feed in the blank window (right click in the blank window and select paste). iTunes will automatically download the latest feed. To access an existing podcast in iTunes 4.9 click on “Podcasts” in the Store navigation panel. By default it should download the latest podcast, unless specified differently in preferences.
  • If you want to receive these programs regularly, make sure the scheduling function on your podcasting software is set to search for new podcasts automatically. Please note, scheduling is a wonderfully convenient way to timeshift your listening. However, if you’re new to podcasting, there can be pitfalls. Read the tips below.