Why Subscribe?

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Many likely are asking this exact question .. we have some answers.

What is the main benefit of subscribing?
Depending on on your method of subscribing and through what software you subscribe, generally the benifit to subscribing is that you are automically notified that a new edition is available. If you subscribe with iTunes, any new editions will be automatically downloaded to your computer. Once downloaded, you can play it at your convienience or upload it to an iPod or other MP3 player.
Does it cost anything to subscribe? Is there a subscription fee?
No. The Highcalling Podcast is free to listen to, free to download and free to subscrbe to.
Do I need an iPod to listen to the Podcast?
No. Even the the term podcast originated and was assocated with the iPod, an iPod is not required to listen.
What is required in order listen to the Podcast?
Any internet connected computer that can play MP3 files (virtually all computers) can listen to the podcast and these files can be upload to any MP3 Player using the software that came with that MP3 Player. They can also be "burned" to a CD and played on any CD or DVD player that support MP3 playback.
What does it mean to subscribe?
The term comes from the idea of subscribing to a magazine .. once you subscribe, the magazine just shows up in your mail box. Some magazine subscription you need to pay for .. some magazines are a free subscription. The Highcalling Podcast is a free subscription that works in a similar way. Once you subscribe to the the Highcalling Podcast through software like iTunes, the very latest edition of the podcast will automatically be downloaded by your computer for you and any previous editions can also be downloaded. Note that your computer via iTunes requests the new editions once you subscribe.
If I subscribe, do you receive my email address or any of my personal information or information about my computer?
No. When you subscrie to the Highcalling Podcast (and this should be true for any other podcast as well), you do not send your email or any other personal information and we do not request your email address or any other personal infomation or any information about your computer. The subscription is simply telling your computer to check for new editions of our podcast and download when there is a new one.
Once I subscribe, how do I listen to the podcast?
Once you've subscribed to the Highcalling Podcast via iTunes (as that is what I recommend and am familiar with), it will download the latest edition of the Podcast. In iTunes, click on "Podcasts" word under "Library" in the upper left corner of iTunes. That will show you a window showing the Highcalling Podcast (plus any other podcasts you may have subscribed to). There will be an arrow to the left of the Highcalling Podcast .. click the arow and it will show all the editions. If the words are in black, they have been downloaded .. if they are in grey they, they have not been downloaded yet .. hit the "Get" button to it's left to download. Double click on any words in play to play the podcast.
iTunes is made by Apple .. does it work on Windows?
Yes. iTunes is available for both Windows and Macintosh. iTunes is the same software that comes with and works with Apple's iPod. As far as I'm concerned, it is the best and most flexible music / podcast management software.
Once I subscribe, is it permanent? Can I unsubscribe?
Yes. You can unsubscribe at any time. Subscription means that your computer pulls the podcast editions from our computers, not that our computers push it to yours. Therefore you and your computer are incontrol of subscribing or unsubscribing. Click on the Highcalling Podcast (just to the right of the arrow) and then select the "Unsubscribe" button at the bottom of the iTunes window. Note the "Options" button to the right to check how often it checks for new editions.
Can I delete any downloaded editions of the Podcasts?
Yes. You can click on any of the podcast editions in iTunes and hit your delete key to delelte them. iTunes will ask them if you would like to remove them from your hard drive and at that point, seletct "yes".
Will the Podcast work over Dial-Up Internet?
Yes. Even though a high speed connection is recommend, you can download the Podcast over dial-up .. it will just take longer. We recommend that all users use iTunes to listen to the Podcast, but this is even more the case for dial-up users. iTunes will download the podcast in the background while you do other things so that once it is downloaded, it will be ready to play without any download delays. The average Podcast is about 12 min. long and 8 MB large .. over a 56 Kb dial-up modem (the standard), that will take about 30 min. to download.
Is the Podcast audio or video?
At this point, our podcast is just audio. We do have plans to do video in the future, but when we do, we will continue to offer an audio-long version.
I don't want to subscribe yet, but I would like to listen to the sessions on-line .. can I do that?
Yes. Click here to be take to the page that describes that.
I know all about podcasts .. what is the feed to subscribe directly?
http://feeds.feedburner.com/HighcallingBlog
If I have missed a question that you have, please contact us .. we'd like to help remove any reasons why you would not or can't subscribe to the podcast.