What is a Podcast?

Podcasts are really nothing more than the normal digital audio (mp3) or video (mov, mp4) files you have been downloading off the internet for years. The difference lies in how you are able to access these recordings.

Before podcasting, you had to keep going back to the website to see if any new material had been added, and if so, download it for yourself. With podcasting, you need only visit the website once and "subscribe" to automatically receive new podcasts as they become available (much like subscribing to a magazine and having new issues delivered to your postal address). Podcasting applications such as iTunes handle all the checking and the downloading for you - you don't have to think about it.

The Swinburne Podcast Showcase offers both options: you can keep coming back to the website to check out the latest podcasts and download those you want, or you can subscribe to the podcast areas you are interested in to automatically receive new podcasts as they become available.

And no - you don't need an iPod. Podcasts will work with any portable music/video player, or you can just use your computer. Note: you may need to install the freely available recommended software.