A podcast is like a radio programme which is automatically downloaded from the internet to your computer. Once downloaded, it allows you to listen whenever you like, and you can even transfer it to a portable audio player, such as an iPod, to listen on the move.

A podcast is really an audio subscription service, usually free, and usually using the mp3 format.

There are thousands of podcasts available via the internet, on subjects as varied as knitting, music and politics, and every length from a few minutes to over an hour.

Websites that offer podcasts often use an orange button like these:

No! But you do need a good internet connection as podcasts are downloaded from the internet. Dial-up connections are not ideal as it can take many hours to download a large audio file.

You also need to download some podcast software to run on your computer. There are a number of types, most of them free and simple to install. For example: iTunes, or RSSRadio.

For a full list visit the software section at www.podcastingnews.com.

The only other piece of information you need is the web address of the feed provided by your podcast supplier (like the CBA!). This web address is a short line of code like a URL. You normally copy and paste it into your podcast software. The software then keeps an watch on the podcast for you and downloads any new content.

And that's it.

Just copy and paste the following code into your podcast software:

A podcast is a type of download, as the file is downloaded from the internet to your computer. The great advantage with a podcast is that your computer will automatically download your programme when a new edition is available. You don't have to keep on going back to a website to check whether a new edition is available.

Audio files can be very large. The mp3 format is a way of compressing the file so that it can be downloaded via the internet or stored without taking up too much space.

mp3 is a 'lossy' format, which means some audio information is removed to make the file smaller. However the loss of quality is usually small enough to make no difference to the human ear.

Yes. If you don't want to use the podcast service you can save each audio file individually to a specific folder on your PC or computer network. Choosing a specific folder on your computer will enable you to find your downloaded files easily.

To save the audio file using a PC running Windows, simply right-click over the link, and select 'Save target as...'. In the dialog box find the folder where you want to save the audio, and click 'Save'.

If you're using an Apple Mac, you CTRL-click over the link then select 'Download linked file'.

Although they are compressed, the audio files are still quite large. This is a rough guide to download times. Please note that times can vary widely as they are affected by things like the quality and speed of your connection, or the amount of traffic on the internet.

File size: 1,000KB (1MB)
Slow dial-up: 5 minutes
Cable: 10 - 30 seconds

File size: 12,000KB (12MB)
Slow dial-up: 1 hour
Cable: 2 - 6 minutes