There's something that's just wrong—so very, very wrong—about having the web on a cell phone. I must admit to having used it (albeit for emergencies only). Anything involving large amounts of data on a special, collector's edition, postage stamp-sized screen just doesn't float my boat.

Increasingly, acquiring information—either that you need or enjoy—is a matter of time and convenience. Sometimes, you can't or just don't want to sit at your computer. Sometimes, you can't or just don't want to watch television. Sometimes, you just need or want to be doing something else. Maybe something productive. Maybe driving. Maybe mowing your lawn. Maybe just sitting back in your favorite, old comfy chair and relaxing. Not being a monotasker, mowing the lawn or sitting back in the comfy chair makes me nervous. Hard though I sometimes work, I always feel as though I should be doing more. Relaxing makes me twitch. So, out comes the iPod. (No, this isn't another blog article on the wonders of the iPod. Read on.)

Well, horribly insatiable information junkies that most of us have become, there's a way to keep up on the latest news—and other personalized information that just you (and maybe a few others) like—while you're doing any of those things, including relaxing: the Podcast.

I've looked into Podcasts on several occasions. Audio files, RSS feeds, server uploads and downloads, yada-yada-yada. Too much effort—until late last week, when Apple released iTunes Version 4.9—with built-in Podcasting.

So, what's a Podcast? Not broadcasting, it's narrowcasting: specific audio-based information or entertainment made available on a regular basis and targeted to the needs of a narrow audience. Let's say you're a flaming, bleeding-heart liberal who believes in The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. Podcasts exist just for you. If you're a liberal-hating Christian Conservative, there's something for you. What if you're a Formula 1 racing fan? 'Casts exist for you, too.

You don't need an iPod to listen to Podcasts; you can simply find a 'cast that you like and listen to it with your computer. But, that puts you in front of the screen, again, eliminating the comfy chair possibilities. So, it's best to have an iPod.

For a few days, the new iTunes Music Store prominently displayed 'Podcasts are here' a the top of the main page. That's been moved down a few levels, and there's also a 'Podcasts' selection under the Choose Store option. (They should have kept it at the top level for awhile.) From there, you'll see such selections as Top Podcasts, as well as a list of categories:

Arts & Entertainment
Audio Blogs
Business
Comedy
Education
Family
Food
Health
International
Movies & Television
Music
News
Politics
Public Radio
Religion & Spirituality
Science
Sports
Talk Radio
Technology
Transportation
Travel

Some selections take you to a list of available Podcasts in that particular category. For example, Science leads you to a selection of 30 'casts from, for example, Science @ NASA, This Week in Science, and SETI. The Technology category brings a list of subcategories which include such areas as Developers, Information Technology, and Operating Systems.

One of the great things about the iPod is not the iPod itself. Rather, it's the entire hardware and software package—with synch dock and iTunes—that makes large quantities of music that You want easy to buy, easy to acquire, easy to organize, and easy to synch with your player. While digital music has been around since 1,200-baud modems, it didn't become mainstream until Apple stepped in. 'Easy' is the key.

Well, Apple's done it again with built-in Podcasting. Find a 'cast that you like, click on it (it's free), pop your 'Pod in the dock and, voila—instant, portable audio program on Your terms. If you like that program, click on the related button to subscribe. Easy. It's also easy to unsubscribe, or setup what auto-saves, so you can head off the possibility of using mini-hard disk drive space to store old stuff.

I enjoy the Al Franken radio show, but it was only available on their terms, as is any other commentary, talk, radio, or tv show (unless you have a TiVo). Now, I can subscribe to that feed via iTunes, and listen to it on my terms, whether driving, mowing the lawn, or sitting back in that comfy chair.

While I haven't found available iTunes Podcasts on, for example, industry, engineering, or manufacturing, we're only several days into this. It surely appears as though it'll happen.

Maybe, sometime, you'll want to listen to engineering-related articles or commentary, for example—on your terms—without the computer screen.

Just as the web has made 'journalists' and 'publishers' out of all of us, and MP3 players taught us entirely new ways to access and enjoy music, so will Podcasting create a new generation in which everyone is a commentator—some credible, some not. So paraphrasing Shakespeare, remember that discretion is the better part of valor.

(In related news, Apple is readying itself for its 500 millionth song download. He or she who rolls the dice and wins on this one will be awarded 10 iPods and 10,000 songs. Besides putting them on eBay, I have no idea what someone would do with 10 iPods. Oh, yeah. Giving them away to family and friends would be nice, but I'll keep the 10,000 songs, greedy SOB that I am. Also, a consumer research firm called The Diffusion Group predicts that Podcasts and other forms of time-shifted media will grow from 15 to 75 percent of the digital media player market within the next five years—representing 60 million users and an annual growth rate of over 100 percent.)