Datasheet

FIGURE 1.1
The tools of the podcaster’s trade
The basics you need to do a podcast: A microphone and recording device, which could be an old
tape player, a solid-state recorder, or your personal computer, editing software, and a place to host
the resulting program. This sounds like a lot of pieces, but compared to the complexity of produc-
ing and distributing a radio or television program a decade ago, podcasting is self-produced media
realized. In a nutshell, a podcast is, according to Wikipedia, a “direct download...file, but the sub-
scription feed of automatically delivered new content is what distinguishes a podcast from a simple
download or real-time streaming.” This is a description of many different services that pre-date the
introduction of podcasting; a more accurate definition, in our opinion, is this:
“A podcast is a series of audio (or video) programs delivered through a static URL containing an
RSS feed that automatically updates a list of programs on the listener’s computer so that people
may download new programs using a desktop application. Programs can be delivered to the lis-
tener automatically or when they choose to download them.”
Already there are variations on this definition, because podcasts can be delivered directly to hand-
held devices without the intervention of a desktop computer or software. Likewise, podcasts have
changed radically as video has been added to the mix. Originally, podcasts were simply MP3 files,
a widely used audio format. Today, podcasts include MP4 and other video file formats, as well as
other audio formats such as Windows Media, Ogg Vorbis, and Audible that support subscription-
based and advertising-based podcast business models.
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Podcasting: Where It Came From and Where It’s Going
Part I
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