While doing Thing 19, I actually completed Thing 20. I used all three search tools suggested and found that I liked iTunes to search and manage podcasts the best.
When I first looked at EPN, I thought it looked like an outdated website. I explored some of the features and I liked the background information it provided. I also liked that it had middle and secondary school and student podcasts available. I did not find the site very user-friendly, however.
Podcast alley was a bit more user friendly for me, and there was a wide variety of podcast from which to choose. Using the genre menu was helpful, but I still found it somewhat difficult tonavigate.
iTunes was the easiest to navigate and manage for me. I like the visual aspect of the website, the podcast quick links menu, and the choice of audio or visual podcast types. Another feature I found helpful were the user reviews that accompany each podcast. The reviews were easy to find and helped eliminate a few of the podcasts that looked good, but were weak on content or boring. Having podcasts easily displayed in my podcast library is also a plus for me.
From iTunes, I did subscribe to the three I mentioned in Thing 19: Science Friday vodcast, Science Times, and How Stuff Works: Stuff to Blow Your Mind. I still need more time to sort through all of them!
I have to admit that Podcasts are something that I have looked at and subscribed to but my interest has waned a bit.
ReplyDeleteThe main reason is that I have a very short commute, so no time to listen there, and virtually no interest and or time after work. Most of my time is spent on RSS feeds.
I do still subscribe to;
http://triennial.cooperhewitt.org/podcast.rss
http://www.dwell.com/daily/podcasts/rss/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TEDTalks_audio
Which I still listen to and do enjoy.
I agree with your comments about itunes vs. other podcasting services. Apple has a corner on the Mp3 world and the podcasting world at the moment for good and for bad. I do not see this changing soon, so if you have an iPad, iPod Touch, or iPod, you might as well embrace it for all it is worth. The nice part is that ther is so much great content available for free.
ReplyDeleteiTunes works well with my 1st generation Microsoft Zune as well as all the iproducts. There is plenty of room for music and podcasts. Obviously, I do not need the latest and greatest gadgets- no smart phone for me either. I do like the free podcasts from iTunes. Too bad the music wasn't free!
ReplyDeleteSkip - I will check out the ones you mentioned. The 3-5 minute Science Friday are probably more
realistic for me .