After whetting your appetite for podcasts last week, an update is in order this week.

After last week's discussion here about podcasting, news and updates showed up in my e-mail like the pods in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Last week, I wrote, "the ARRL Audio News was not in the iTunes podcast directory." Shortly after immortalizing that statement on ARRLWeb, Apple added ARRL Audio News to its iTunes podcast directory.

By the way, This Week in Amateur Radio is also available there, as are the podcasts of South West Astronomy Observers Group (SWAOG). SWAOG is a group of amateur astronomers and Amateur Radio operators in the Chicago area who share their astronomical observations via ham radio. Having dabbled in amateur astronomy myself, I listened to the SWAOG podcast and learned a thing or two.

iPodder is open source podcast software available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS.

Speaking of listening to podcasts, Zack Schindler, N8FNR, asked me to emphasize that you do not need an iPod or any type of MP3 player to listen to podcasts. All you need is podcast software running on your computer. That software will allow you to get podcasts from the Internet and listen to them through your computer's sound system.

Speaking of podcast software, Jeff Lutz, KC8CWI, reminded me that there is other podcast software available besides the Windows and Mac OS versions of the free iTunes). Jeff likes using iPodder), which is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS and there are others like iPodderX) (for Mac OS), Doppler (for Windows), and Nimiq (also for Windows).

By the way, podcasting is a two-way street. Besides listening to podcasts, you can create your own podcasts, too, but that is the subject for a future installment of Surfin'.

Finally, if you are looking for an old installment of Surfin', check out the Surfin' index at StanzZapples.

Until next week, keep on surfin'.

Editor' note: Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, doesn't need no stinking iPod to listen to podcasts. He just talks to himself. To contact Stan, send e-mail to wa1lou@arrl.net.

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