Getting Started Listening to Podcasts

The Basics

First, though, I do need to address the question of what makes a podcast different from a regular audio file posted on a website. On a purely technical level, nothing is really different about the audio file. In fact, if you just want to listen to a podcast to see if it is something you would like to listen to on a regular basis, the best bet is often to go to the podcast website and simply download a recent episode and play it in your media player.

What is different is the way in which the audio file is normally retrieved. Rather than being something you click on, download, and play, you subscribe to the podcast RSS feed. This works by virtue of the fact that Dave Winer added an element called an Enclosure to RSS 2.0. Note that the enclosure element is actually not specific to audio: it can be used for pretty much any media element including video or images.

The beauty of this solution is that you simply need to subscribe to whichever podcasts interest you and then listen to them whenever new shows arrive - and whenever you feel like playing them. No need to check web sites for updates. No need to be online to listen to a streaming feed. Many people have referred to podcasting as "TiVo for audio" or "timeshifting radio" and indeed it very much works that way.

So in order to subscribe to podcasts, you need some software tool that can: a) handle RSS feeds; and b) interpret the RSS enclosure tag to download the media automatically for you. At a base level, that is pretty much all you need and the software that does this is often called either a "podcatcher" or "podcast aggregator". Of course, the programs out there don't simply do the base. They add the ability to easily manage your subscriptions, schedule the interval to check (ex. setup an appropriate cron job), manage the downloaded files, etc.

The Software

Linux users have the choice, of course, of podcatcher software in pretty much any language and with or without a GUI. A search on "podcast" at sites such as SourceForge or freshmeat will turn up a variety of choices in various states of development. Some of the prime contenders are:

iPodder - For someone just getting started who wants a GUI, my personal recommendation would be to start out with iPodder (also called the "iPodder Lemon" because of its logo). Being python-based, iPodder is cross-platform and is heavily-used within the Windows and Mac worlds. Linux users receive the benefit of all that usage/testing and have a robust program to use. Screenshots are available if you would like to see what it is all about.

BashPodder - For the text-inclined, BashPodder provides the functionality you need via a basic shell script. Simple, easy, and a breeze to extend. In fact, the site contains a wide range of user-contributed extensions and customizations. Additionally, for those who want the power of the shell but still with a GUI, there is BPConf that allows you to easily configure BashPodder.

jpodder - Another interesting choice is jpodder, a Java-based cross-platform podcatcher. Like iPodder, it is GUI-based and has a range of features.

Other choices - There are a range of other options (and readers are encouraged to leave their recommendations as comments), including:

• Podget: shell
• perlpodder: perl
• pypodder: python
• Armangil's podcatcher: ruby
• flashpodder: Flash
• gPodder: a GUI podcatcher in Java and GTK+ (GNOME)

A reader last week also commented that they were able to have Apple's iTunes program running on their Linux system using CrossOver Office. In any event, you need to have one of these programs installed to have the simplicity of subscribing to podcasts.

The Next Step

Once you have the software installed, you need to find podcasts to which you can subscribe. Some of the podcatchers, such as iPodder, include a built-in directory. Even with such a directory, though, you'll probably want to check out some of the directory sites. More keep appearing on a daily basis, but some of the major sites include:

• Podcast Alley
• ipodder.org
• podcast.net
• The Linux Link - Linux-related podcasts
• Techpodcasts.com - a wide range of technology-related podcasts

Typically all you need to do is find the URL for the show's RSS feed and then enter it into your podcatcher software. Some programs allow drag-and-drop... but in any event that's it... you are now subscribed and will start to receive new shows. (Some podcatcher software will download the most recent show and then all new shows - some software will download all shows available in the feed.)

Happy listening! And please do feel free to leave comments to this article about your favorite podcasts - or feedback about various podcatcher software.