How to listen to our Tech Chat podcast

Since we started the Tech Chat podcast I’ve received questions about how to listen to it and how to subscribe to it so I wanted to try to straighten out a few question marks if I may.

What is a podcast?

Although podcasts can be video or audio ours is only audio, at least for now. Think about it sort of like a radio show that is on once a week. Instead of tuning in to the radio at a particular day and time, whenever there is a new show you can get it automatically downloaded to your computer or other device so you can listen to it. That mechanism by which you automatically get new shows downloaded to you is what makes it a podcast. To put it in another way, basically a podcast is video or audio that is automatically downloaded by subscribers

Does it work only with iPod or iTunes?

This is a common misconception about podcasts probably because of the name. The answer is no, you don’t have to have an iPod, iTunes or iPhone. Anything that can play MP3 files will do very nicely, which includes pretty much any computer as well as mobile device today.

See also the “Do I pick the MP3 or AAC version?” question below.

How do I listen to the podcast?

Two options:

1) Download individual file: for each show we put notes online, which include names of guests, links to web pages, etc. At the end of each show’s notes we put direct links to the audio file. You can download that file and listen to it.

2) Subscribe: if you subscribe to the show you won’t have to go look for it every week, instead it’s automatically downloaded for you and as soon as it’s downloaded it’s ready for you to listen to.

Do I pick the MP3 or AAC version?

That depends.

If you have an iPod, iPhone or if you use iTunes then the choice is clear: pick the AAC version. With the AAC version you get some options you don’t with the MP3 one. You get a table of contents of each show so with a simple click or tap you can jump straight to any segment without having to listen through all that comes before it. You also get to see pictures of what we talk abut on the show. These pictures show up in iTunes or on the display of your iPod or iPhone.

The MP3 version is there for compatibility. If you want a file that plays almost everywhere, get this version. You miss some of the functionality of the AAC version but the audio quality should be almost exactly the same.

How do I subscribe to the podcast?

Note that the following screen shots show the Mac OS X version of iTunes but the instructions apply to the Windows version as well.

If you have a US iTunes account, just search for “shufflegazine” in the iTunes store or use this link. You’ll find two options, click on the “Tech Chat” one (in the picture it’s the one on the left).

Once on the screen below, just click the “Subscribe” button.

Even if you don’t have US iTunes account you can subscribe of course. The easiest way to subscribe to the podcast is by using iTunes. If you don’t have iTunes it’s a free download from itunes.com. Once iTunes is installed, go to the “Advanced” menu and click on “Subscribe to podcast”. Type in the URL (http://shufflegazine.libsyn.com/rss/aac or copy and paste it) and click “OK”.

An icon should appear, double click that icon to get in to the list of shows for the podcast.

After double clicking the icon you should see above you’ll see a list of shows available. iTunes should start downloading the most recent show but you can click the “Get” button for any show you want to download or even “Get all” to download all available shows.

An alternative to iTunes, which is available for Windows, Mac and Linux is Juice. It’s also a free download and with it you can subscribe to the podcast and automatically receive new shows.

That’s about all there is to know about listening to and subscribing to our Tech Chat podcast. If you have any questions, post them in comments below or use our Contact page.

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