Non iTunes options:

While iTunes and the up-and-coming iTunesU are very convenient aggregators/repositories, I am concerned about the proprietary nature of iTunes. While anyone can listen to a podcast at the computer using the free iTunes interface (yay!), those who wish to take advantage of the "portability" aspect of podcasts are somewhat constrained by iTunes defaulting to i-devices. Downloading to other types of mp3-player is non-intuitive at best.

At the institutional level, I am promoting the use of iTunes as a supplemental distribution mechanism to a University-based distribution/aggregation system; but as we send our LIS students out in to the job-world (to organizations/clientele of varying finanicial means), I would like to facilitate their being able to institute podcast programs that have the widest impact.

Does anyone have suggestions regarding aggregators and/or podcatchers for those librarians who want to make podcasts portable for clients who have other types of MP3 players?

A non-iTunes way of aggregating and downloading content to any MP3 device is to use a different piece of software like iPodder. (One has to have software to make the transfer from computer to device.) While it's possible with a little work to do it with WMA it looks like Microsoft actually took away the easier way to do it with the latest version of the software.

So, if one doesn't want to install iTunes they could install iPodder from http://www.ipodder.org/.

I think the stumbling block for people is that they need to realize that a software intermediary is required. Hope this makes sense.

Linda Braun, Metro.org

I recommend Juice. http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/

Our friends group purchased the branded ($100) version for us, so our users can download it and its pre-loaded with our podcast feeds.

http://www.lansing.lib.il.us/podcast_subscribe.htm#juice (screen shots at that link)

Not only does it make subscribing convenient, if they later unsubscribe to our feeds, it remains branded with our logo.

Users who are tied to their iTunes can import items from Juice automatically by adjusting some settings in iTunes.

(add folder to library--> Juice downloads everything to "my received

podcasts") and it auto-updates iTunes when Juice downloads new episodes.

Kelli Staley, Lansing Public Library---