Catching the Podcasting Buzz

On Tuesday, Apple released iTunes 4.9 with a host of new features. Now, given that iTunes is only available for Windows and Mac, what does this have to do with LWN? Plenty... here's why. One of the strongest new features of iTunes 4.9 is its native support for podcasting. While you have always been able to use a "podcatcher" to download podcasts (and you can continue to do so), having the support natively within iTunes only makes it that much easier and will have the effect of exposing iTunes' millions of users to the new world of podcasting. (Note: You do not have to have an iPod to listen to podcasts. Your regular PC - or any MP3 player - will work perfectly fine.)

Therein lies the opportunity for those of us in the Linux / open source space to actively promote our software, products, tools and services to a whole new audience. There are definitely already a number of Linux-related podcasts out there, notably:

• The Linux Link Tech Show
• LUGRadio
• The Linux Box
• LQ Radio
• Linux Log
• Perlcast

and several others available through directories such as iPodder.org and sites such as Techpodcasts.com. However, the space is definitely available for more entries.

What do you need to get started? As outlined in this NewsForge article, not much. The process of creating a podcast on Linux, or any operating system, is extremely simple:

1. Record an audio file and convert it to MP3.
2. Upload the file to a website.
3. Add the file to a RSS 2.0 feed that supports "enclosures".

Congratulations... you are now a podcaster! Now, the reality is that there is a bit more than that. You need to have content that will attract people - and you have to be committed to doing it on a regular basis. But beyond that, that is really all you need. As you may already know, podcasts vary widely from ad-hoc recordings that people record into their MP3 player while they are walking their dog or driving all the way up to professionally recorded and produced broadcast-quality shows.

Getting Help

Now, if you would like a further introduction or want to start off taking a podcast to the next level in production quality, Wiley Press has just published Podcasting: The Do-It-Yourself Guide written by Todd Cochrane at Geek News Central. The book covers the territory you would expect, starting with the basics of how to listen to podcasts, getting started with creating a podcast, doing the recording and post-production and finally publishing your podcast for others to share. He wraps up with a bit on the business side of podcasts that may be of value to those looking to get very serious about it.

The best part of the book, to me, were the chapters the author spent on the actual hardware involved with creating a podcast. Sure, you can just use a basic microphone and the sound card inside of your system - and many podcasts are done that way today - but many techies starting will immediately want to look at how to improve their sound quality. Unless you have a background in audio engineering, the next step isn't terribly clear. The author helps greatly here explaining in easy terms (and keeping the reality of budgets in mind) the different kind of microphones, mixers and other tools you might want to use. These chapters, followed by a visit to the site and forums at podcastrigs.com were of tremendous value to me in looking at what equipment I might want to use.

Another excellent part was a later section on the recording process and post-production where the author walked you through how to use Audacity. He had some very helpful advice around recording but what was more useful to me was helping explain how to use some of Audacity's many effects to improve the sound quality of the recording. (Audacity could use an entire book itself!)

Note that the author candidly admits that he is no Linux guru and does focus the book on Windows and Macintosh systems, both of which he had easy access to. However, to his credit he does make the effort to identify Linux versions of various types of software and spends a great amount of time on Audacity, which is available for Windows, Mac and Linux/UNIX.

All in all, an excellent book for someone interested in getting started. There were a couple of areas where I personally would have liked more information, but overall it was a great investment and one I would highly recommend.

For readers looking for more in-depth technical information, I would suggest heading over to O'Reilly to check out Digital Audio Essentials by Bruce and Marty Fries. Now, the major irony is that this book came out in April 2005 but does not cover podcasting at all! Given O'Reilly's typically longer time frames for production (and the fact that podcasting only really emerged in late 2004) this is perhaps understandable, but it is a disappointing omission.

With that caveat, though, the book is definitely one to consider adding to your bookshelf if you are considering getting into podcasting. Like the Cochrane book, it spends some time at the beginning covering hardware and such issues as interfacing your computer with your home stereo system. The real strength of this book to me, though, were the middle chapters that went into technical detail on digital audio issues in general and then specifically into various digital audio formats. For someone entering that world, it is a great guide to the jungle of audio acronyms.

As with the other book, the authors do get into the basics of recording and producing digital audio files. They also spend some time talking about how to convert older media, including records, over into digital media. Post-production gets detailed coverage here, although not quite in the tutorial fashion of the Cochrane book. The book wraps up with a discussion around burning CDs and DVDs, an interesting section on setting up an Internet radio station and finally a section on legal and copyright issues. Like the other book, this one is Windows and Mac-centric with a few pointers to cross-platform programs, although not as many as the other book.

Again, outside of the complete omission of podcasting, Digital Audio Essentials is an excellent text to help someone get started. Partner it with the Podcasting Do-It-Yourself Guide and you have a powerful combo to help launch someone into the world of podcasting.

Now let's see what podcasts readers can come up with in the realm of Linux and open source! (Leave links in the comments to any shows you particularly enjoy and we'll look at reviewing them in future issues.)

Final note: If you are interested in more info about actually using an Apple iPod with Linux, check out the July 2005 Linux Journal article, "Using an iPod in Linux".

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