I do not want a iPod, is there anything else I can buy that I can download and listen to podcasts on OFF my computer? Like out walking etc. I thought a MP4 does this but the eBay seller I asked said "no" MP3 or 4 don't?

I subscribe and listen to podcasts all the time.

You need 2 things:

• A portable MP3 player
• A podcast manager program

For the MP3 player, you can pretty much get these anywhere. I'd stick with a name brand such as Sansa, Creative, Samsung. One thing that is important to me (since I listen to long podcasts) is that the player will remember where I am in a podcast (or song, or whatever) when I turn it off. It is a pain to be in the middle of a 2-hour podcast and have to turn your player off because it's time for dinner or whatnot, and then have it start at the beginning when you get back to it. This feature is called bookmarking or something similar.

I use Media Monkey to manage my podcasts. It allows you to subscribe (retrieving new podcasts automatically) and synchronize with your mp3 player. It may be a little daunting to initially set up, but once it is, it is quite easy to use.

There are both free and paid versions of Media Monkey, but I just use the free one. It does all I want and more.

Best of luck,
WallyH

Wally, So if I have any MP3 player and the podcast program such as you recommended I can listen to podcasts on it? What about a MP4 player? I am thinking of buying this one at eBay New 2.8 2GB Touch Screen MP4 MP3 Player Camera Radio US - eBay (item 250643236234 end time Jun-04-10 07:39:10 PDT)

You should be able to listen to an audio podcast on any MP3 or MP4 player. Just be aware that some players will handle the longer format podcasts better than other (see my bookmark comment earlier). It's hard to tell in advance whether a particular player will do well, so what I've done in the past is Google the specific brand and model number and see if anyone who bought it before comments on this subject. Actually, it is wise to do this anyway--to see if what you are considering satisfies most buyers.

I looked at the eBay player you indicated, and it appears to be an iPod Touch knock-off. Not being a name-brand puts me off a little bit, but that does not mean it wouldn't be a good player. However, it is difficult to look up other people's experience if you don't have a model number. On the other hand, the seller is offering a 7-day money-back guarantee, so you should be able to play with it for enough time to see if it will work for you.

Just a little technical background that might be useful. MP3 is audio-only, MP4 can be audio and video.

I'm not sure if you were interested in video podcasts, and I have no experience with them, so I can't give you any advice here.

Hope this helps,
WallyH

Any mp3 player will do. Sansa makes good inexpensive players, here's one on Amazon: Amazon.com: SanDisk Sansa e250 2 GB MP3 Player with microSD Expansion Slot (Black): Electronics

Once you've downloaded the podcast you simply plug in the mp3 player to your computer and copy the podcast to the appropriate directory on the player.

The MP3 encoded podcast can be played on a PC or put in the stream if you run a home media server I do this a lot when I ma working at home