For Downloading and Listening to MP3 files on your computer you will need:
* Windows 2000 or XP, or Mac OS X v10.2.8 or later.
* A sound card and speakers for the computer (If your computer has speakers, it has a sound card.)
* An MP3 player (a software application you can download from the Web)
* A reliable Internet connection. Downloads are fastest if you have cable modem or DSL, but you also can download podcasts from a dial-up connection.
* You do NOT need an iPod. You can listen to podcasts on your computer, or burn them onto CDs and take them with you.

If you have recently purchased a new computer, chances are it already has software that can play MP3 files installed on its hard disk. The easiest way to find out if you already have an MP3 player installed is to download an MP3 file and try to double-click on it. If it plays, you are set. If not, you need to download a player, which is very easy to do.

There are literally thousands of sites on the Web where you can download MP3 files. (Click here to do a search for MP3 download sites.) Go to one of these sites, find a song and download it to your hard disk (most MP3 sites let you either listen to the song as a streaming file or download it -- you want to download). Most songs range between 2 and 4 MB, so it will take 10 to 15 minutes unless you have a high-speed Internet connection. Once the song has finished downloading, try to double-click on the file and see what happens. If your computer plays it, then you are set.