Portable MP3 players are very popular, and this has led to a lot of new ways to use this new technology. Podcasts are the most popular new app that has come out recently.
Podcasts are a way to send out MP3 files automatically through RSS or XML. With podcasts, a user downloads and instals software to automatically get their favourite podcasts from the website of the podcast. Apple iTunes is an example of software that you can use to get podcasts on your computer. The files you download are in MP3 format, so you can listen to them on your computer or, better yet, on a portable MP3 player that you can take with you wherever you go.
Podcasts are like radio shows, except for one big thing. Podcasts can be made and shared by anyone. This makes it a real effort to help the people. Podcasters can rant about their favourite political issue, talk about their CD collections, talk about plot twists in their favourite comic books, or even teach other people how to make podcasts. The only thing that limits what can be talked about on podcasts is your imagination.
There are already podcasts that have a lot of listeners, just like there are popular TV shows and radio shows. Here are a few popular podcasts you should check out:
The Onion News Radio This podcast plays short news clips from The Onion's 24 hour radio news network every day. For those who haven't heard of The Onion yet, it's an online "news network" that takes the latest news and political issues and makes fun of them.
Front Page of the New York Times This is a daily summary of the most important news stories from the morning of each weekday.
X-Daily Play's Videogame Podcast This is another podcast that comes out every day and gives gamers the latest gaming news, tips, tricks, and sneak peeks of upcoming games.
Places to meditate This podcast is for people who are stressed out and want to get their busy lives under control. Meditations that you do every day can help you relax.
This Week's Technology Leo Laporte and other well-known tech experts talk about the latest tech trends on this podcast, which has won several awards.
This podcast comes out every Friday and talks about the latest news and trends in science, technology, health, and the environment.
Ebert & Roeper Ebert and Roeper, two well-known movie critics, review and talk about the latest movies playing in Hollywood.
Indiefeed: Alternative/Modern Rock This is a great way to get great songs from the alternative/modern rock genre. Every day, the podcast plays one song and talks about the artist and where the album can be bought. The way people get music is changing because of this podcast.
The podcast The Catalyst This is a group that wants to teach the next generation about the church and culture and raise them to be leaders.
Penn Jillette Fans can hear parts of the popular and edgy magician's popular satellite radio show.
Rick Steves takes you on trips. This is a weekly hour-long conversation with experts and callers about travel, culture, people, and the kinds of stories you can only hear when you travel.
