iTunes Tutorial
iTunes Tutorial
- What is iTunes and where do I get it for free?
- What is an iPod?
- What is a podcast or podcasting?
- Do I need an iPod in order to listen to podcasts?
- How do I listen to my podcasts off iTunes?
- How do I subscribe to a podcast?
- Why am I getting the conference calls recordings delivered via a podcast?
- How do I find the latest updates of the podcast I subscribe to?
- How do I listen to past episodes?
- I have a question that isn't answered here. I'd like to know how to...
What is iTunes and where do I get it for free?
ITunes is the most widely used media player on the market and made by Apple. It sits on your computer and organizes all your music and subscriptions to audio and/or video. iTunes can be downloaded here for free: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
What is an iPod?
An iPod is a portable media player. That means that you can take your audio on the road and listen to it anywhere. The iPod video model also let’s you view videos on the road. The iPod works with iTunes and essentially synchronizes and updates whatever you have on your iTunes onto your iPod. The benefit of having an iPod is that you now get to review audio such as conference calls at your convenience.
What is a podcast or podcasting?
As briefly mentioned in "What is an iPod?" you can actually subscribe to audio and video, much like you would with a free magazine subscription: You subscribe once and every time there’s a new edition you get a copy sent to you. Podcasting is very much the same idea. You subscribe only once to an audio program and the audio will come to you; you do not have to go get the audio. This happens automatically with no work on your part every time there is a new audio edition. A series is basically the name of the overall podcast and describes what you can expect in the upcoming episodes. An episode is every audio edition that gets published in that series. A Feed is what you received via an email or something you might find on a website and it basically instructs iTunes to stay alert for new audio and fetches any new editions. See "How do I subscribe to a podcast?" for details on how that works. Here’s an example of what a podcast may look like:
Do I need an iPod in order to listen to podcasts?
You do not. The only reason you’d get an iPod is so you can take your audio and/or video content with you on the go. You can play the audio directly off iTunes.
How do I listen to my podcasts off iTunes?
Open iTunes and look towards the left upper side. Select the section that says “Podcasts” and you will see your podcasts listed on the right side. Click on the little drop down triangle to the left of the title to view the episodes for the particular series you want to listen in on. It will look something like this:
After you clicked on the drop down triangle, you simply click on the episode you want to listen to and you’re all set. Click on the 
button of episodes you want to grab. It will look something like this:
How do I subscribe to a podcast?
Since you are on this page you probably received an email from someone announcing that they are now podcasting their conference calls. In that email you also received something called a “feed”. A feed is basically a link that tells your browser to open up iTunes and instructs iTunes to go check for new episodes every so often. If there are new updates, iTunes will grab those episodes and download directly to your own iTunes. Here’s how you subscribe:
- Copy the feed that you received in the email or that was on a website.
- You can either:
a. Paste the feed into your browsers address bar and hit enter as such:
b. Paste feed directly into iTunes by clicking on “Advanced” in the top left menu bar and then selecting “Subscribe to Podcast”. Paste the feed into the box that opens and then hit the OK button.
Why am I getting the conference calls recordings delivered via a podcast?
There are several benefits to receiving audio through a podcast:
- You get the audio delivered to you within the hour of a live call.
- You can listen to the call, even if you miss the live call.
- If you have an iPod you can take the content with you and listen to it anytime anywhere.
- If you don’t have an iPod you can listen on your computer and/or burn a cd using iTunes.
- No more dialing in on a replay phone line where the audio is only available for a limited time.
- Since the audio has been downloaded to your computer it is available to you as often and as long as you wish.
- All episodes are neatly organized in a logical, easy to navigate manner.
- Bottom-line: It’s your content to be consumed at your convenience. Wherever, however, whenever.
How do I find the latest updates of the podcast I subscribe to?
There are a couple of ways:
- Set your iTunes to automatically check for updates every day and whenever you open iTunes: Click on “edit” in the top left corner menu. Select "preferences" and then click on the podcast tab to adjust your settings:
- You can manually update by right-clicking on the podcast title and then select "update podcast"
- You can update all your podcasts at once by clicking on the "refresh" button located in the bottom right hand corner of iTunes.
NOTE: if you have an older version of iTunes, you will click on an "Update" in the top right hand corner. See "What is iTunes and where do I get it for free?" to find out how you can get the latest version.
How do I listen to past episodes?
Please read through "How do I listen to my podcasts off iTunes?"