Not all sound files come directly from the compact discs in your personal collection. As long as a file is in a format that iTunes can comprehend (MP3, AAC, AIFF, WAV, WMA, Apple Lossless, or Audible on the music side; and MP4, MOV, or M4V for iPod-friendly video), you can add it to the iTunes music library by any of several methods.
You can find podcasts all over the Internet, and the iTunes Music Store has at least 20,000 of the most popular ones within easy reach of your mouse. You can find the Music Store's podcasts in a couple of ways: Either click the Podcasts icon in the iTunes Source list and then click the link for the Podcast Directory at the bottom of the window, or just zip into the Music Store from the Source list and click the Podcasts link on the main page. Either way, you're plopped right into the middle of iTunes Podcast Central.
Some Web sites have links to podcasts posted right on the page. These links, often noted with an orange tag labeled with "Pod," "RSS," or "XML" are links to that podcast's feed. Like news feeds that use RSS (Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary, depending on which nerd you ask) to update your Web browser with the absolute latest headlines, blog entries, or other news, podcast feeds deliver the latest episode of your favorite audio or video shows right to your desktop.
To get one of these podcast feeds piping into iTunes, click the orange icon on the page. You may get a screen full of text, but the URL in the browser's address bar is the important thing here. Copy that address, then go to Advanced Subscribe to Podcast in iTunes and paste the URL into the box. Click OK and then relax as iTunes takes care of the rest.
