How To: Build A Podcast PC And Studio

System builders, listen up: Podcasting isn't just for the kids anymore. Everyone from small businesses to corporate giants like GM is now offering podcasts directly from their Web sites. For system builders, podcasting is a great way to communicate with associates, partners, and on-the-go customers. Building podcasting systems for customers is also a great way for system builders to expand their product and services offerings.

Several benefits are available from podcasting. Companies can use podcasts to speak directly to clients, effectively extending the reach of the system builder's Web site. Because clients must register to receive podcasts, they are more likely to take the time to listen to them. While busy clients may not visit your Web site daily, listening to a podcast is easy and convenient. Today, quality audio podcasts are easy to produce and great advertising. And best of all, podcasting is free.

System builders can create their own podcasting setups, too. It's a great way to send clients the latest PC-technology updates. Tell them about upgrades to new technologies. Provide special offers, rebates and recalls. And send out security alerts.

In short, podcasting can offer a unique and powerful form of information delivery and advertising for you and your clients.

In this recipe, I will explore what podcasts are, how they work, and how to make them available from a Web site. I will also show how to build an efficient, affordable PC that can be used to produce high-quality audio content for podcasts. I will also recommend hardware and software that can improve podcast quality, and I'll let share my favorite podcasting tips and tricks.

So What is a Podcast, Anyway?

A podcast is a media file that is distributed by subscription, whether paid or unpaid, over the Internet using a method called syndication feeds for playback on mobile devices and personal computers. The word "podcast" can refer to either the content or the method of syndication. What separates a podcast from other digital-audio formats is its ability to be downloaded automatically.

Despite the name, you don't need an Apple iPod to receive a podcast. In fact, any network-attachable device with the right software will do. This means that your message can reach customers an partners on all sorts of mobile devices, as well as desktop PCs and notebooks.

The two most common formats for syndication—that is, for distributing your podcast—are RSS (short for Really Simple Syndication) and Atom. Actually, they are two flavors of what is more or less the same thing: a "feed" or wrapper for pieces of regularly and sequentially-updated content, be they news articles, blog posts, photographs, or podcasts. Unless you're building a browser or newsreader from scratch, you won't need to know about the differences between Atom and RSS. But you will need an RSS-compatible browser or "feed reader" to start receiving podcasts on your PC.

There are many RSS/Atom-capable browsers available, including IE 7, now available as a release candidate for Windows XP users and Windows Vista beta testers. If you'd prefer to use a standalone RSS feed reader/aggregator, here are three, with links, that Microsoft has successfully tested with Windows XP:

• RSSReader
• SharpReader
• NewsGator

Also, the latest versions of the alternative browsers—including Opera and Firefox—have built-in RSS readers. These let you register for a podcast just as easily and quickly as you would set a bookmark. So getting podcasts on a PC is now easier than ever.

How RSS/Atom Syndication Works

Here's an example of how syndication using RSS/Atom is used to automatically gather information. You no doubt have a list of Web sites you browse daily for updates, whether they're stored in your bookmarks or your head. If you find yourself loading 20 or 30 sites a day, as many of us do, you've probably noticed a few that don't update as frequently. Eventually, you're likely to stop checking them or just forget about them—not good.

But what if there were a way to have your bookmarks notify you when a site has been updated? That way, you wouldn't waste time checking sites that hadn't been updated.

Syndication provides the tools to do this. A feed reader, or aggregator (as they're also known to Web professionals), is a program that automatically checks your list of bookmarks and lets you know what's new on each site.

The feed reader goes beyond simple updates, though. It works by pulling in the feeds of your various bookmarks using the magic of RSS/Atom. As noted earlier, a feed is a wrapper for content items. So, in addition to notification, a feed can also deliver content that has been updated. This could be news flash from the home office in a text file or some media material, like an audio or video podcast.

Beyond using syndication to save time at your desk, a particularly nice feature is that you're able to take your news with you on the go. This is where the term "pod" comes in. Both Apple's iPod and MP3 devices work with their compatible software to upload content for people on-the-move. With RSS/Atom syndication on a portable device, you can have your feed reader grab the latest feeds before you rush to the airport. Then you can read or listen to the latest news of your choosing if the in-flight movie gets dull. In this way, RSS/Atom allow Web sites to "syndicate" their content, turning a PC, iPod or other Web-compatible device into a customizable multimedia news service.

Signing Up for an RSS Feed

Once you have a feed reader that you're comfortable with, it's easy to use RSS to sign-up for syndicated podcasts.

On Web pages, Web feeds handled by RSS and Atom are typically linked with the word Subscribe, an orange square, or a rectangle with the letters RSS or XML. Many news aggregators, such as My Yahoo, publish subscription buttons for use on Web pages to simplify the process of adding news feeds. You'll need a similar image on your Web site to let clients know you have podcast of your own waiting for them. While the exact steps will depend on your particular feed reader, below are some generic steps to show you how to sign-up for a feed.

Here are the three steps for signing up for an RSS feed:

1. Copy the URL for the RSS feed you want to your clipboard.
2. Paste it into the "Add Feed" or "New Feed" dialog of the RSS feed reader of your choice.
3. Optionally, choose to refresh or continue/discontinue subscribing to the feed.

Once you've signed up, you'll likely see a list of "unread" podcasts waiting for you. Just as you do with e-mail, you can mark them as "read" or catch up on previous communications. From here on, you'll only see new podcasts as they're posted, but you won't have to visit the site. Instead, RSS will do that for you.