Leasey 10: A New Way to Access Podcasts.

By far one of the most used features within Leasey is to download and manage podcasts. Until version 10, Leasey has made use of an external source to process the podcast feed and present the information within the JAWS Results Viewer.

This method of access was very unsatisfactory for many reasons. A small number of podcasts could not be accessed. It was only possible to see the most recent episodes in the feed. You could not check for updates, and more.

It was time to build Leasey’s own podcast application. We all hope you enjoy using the new interface which offers many benefits. Our beta testers are really liking this one!

Before you read a full description, let’s address the issue of moving by podcast chapter markers because it is bound to arise.

At the time of writing, it has not been possible to implement a reliable method of moving by chapter marks. Hours of research has gone into understanding this single issue. There is no universal standard for applying chapter marks.
In development we do have a very good method of implementing such navigation. However, in our extensive research, we found only one podcast producer providing chapter marks in an exceptionally clean, consistent, uncluttered structured manner. For this reason, chapter markers are very much in mind but other methods of navigation have needed to be employed for now.
Nevertheless, enjoy reading about the LeaseyCast app!

LeaseyCast.

LeaseyCast is available from LeaseySearch under the name “Podcast Search”. It is so named in this menu so as to provide first letter navigation. However, you can always reach it quickly by pressing the Leasey Key then Shift+P.

Pressing Enter on this screen gives you a number of choices.

• 1. Search for Podcast by Name or Category. Pressing Enter here will prompt you to enter the name of a specific podcast if you know it, or a key word. It is the Apple iTunes podcast directory Leasey uses in order to retrieve search results, so you have an exceptionally wide choice.
• 2. Add Podcast Feed to LeaseyCast Manually. If you know the URL of the podcast feed, this option allows you to add it here. Simply type or paste it into the edit field and press Enter. Leasey will then validate the feed to ensure it contains legitimate podcast content, and if so, will obtain the official name for it and add it to your Favourites list.
• 3. Check for Podcast Updates. This allows you to check for any updates to existing podcasts you have previously visited.
• 4. Podcast Download Manager. This allows you to download any episodes of podcasts which are part of your Favourites list.
• 5. Add Leasey Suggested Podcasts. If you have not added any podcast feeds when you launch the LeaseyCast utility, some suggested podcasts are given in this list. However, if you have already added some podcasts you like to listen to, it is still possible to add our suggested feeds by pressing Enter on this item.
• List of Podcasts Added to Favourites. Below these items you will see any podcast titles you have added. Press Enter on any one of them in order to retrieve the episodes.

You will have noticed that the first five options are all preceeded with a number. This means you can use first letter navigation to bypass all of those options to reach your favourite feeds quickly.

Podcast Search Results.

If you have searched the iTunes directory for a podcast name or category, a list of results is returned. This is in the form of a list box, with each item containing the name of the podcast. Simply locate the item you want and press Enter.

The JAWS Results Viewer screen will appear containing information concerning the podcast feed you have selected. You should remember that this page is only giving you sample details of episodes. If you wish to obtain older episodes, or to play them, you should add the podcast to your LeaseyCast Favourites list. The items on the page include:

• Description of the podcast, such as: Timeless wisdom from Focus on the Family that will challenge and encourage you in your marriage.
• Copy Podcast Feed to Clipboard link. Does exactly what it says, in the event that you wish to paste it into a text edit area, perhaps prior to using it for an external device.
• Add to the Old Reader. If you have an account with the Old Reader RSS service, this will add the feed to your account. Please refer to the section of this documentation relating to the use of the Old Reder.
• Add this Podcast to the LeaseyCast List link. Adds to your LeaseyCast Favourites for later retrieval.
• Episodes with a Heading Indicator. The most recent episodes are then retrieved, each one commences with a new Heading for easy navigation by pressing the letter “H” to move between them. The heading contains the title of the episode. Below the heading is a description of the episode.

Deleting a Podcast From Your List of Favourites.

To delete a podcast, simply focus on it from within the list of podcasts and, in the usual manner in which Leasey items are removed, press the Leasey Key followed by Delete. This equally applies if our list of suggested podcast titles is displayed. You do not need to keep all of these in your list of favourites.

Accessing Podcast Episodes From Favourites.

Hopefully by this point you will have added some podcasts to your Favourites list. You will know if you have done so because you will see the podcast names in the list underneath the items described above.

From the LeaseyCast list, press Enter on one of the podcast names. A web page is opened in your browser. It contains the following items:

• The title of the page is Podcast Viewer.
• A Heading indicating the title of the podcast.
• Search Field for entering a key word or phrase. If you type a search term into this field and press Enter, you will see only episodes containing the key words. For example, if you wanted to browse the feed of an access technology podcast, typing the word Braille into the search edit field would return only episodes where either the title or description contained that word.
• Set Playback Speed. This allows you to set the playback speed of the audio you will play from the web site. Note that the playback speed affects all podcasts played using the special audio player. The speed is controlled by a completely accessible Combo Box. The range is 0.5X, the slowest, through to 3X, the fastest. Values are in increments of 0.1X. Normal speed is 1X.
• Episode heading indicator. The episodes are arranged with the most recent first. The heading details the title of the episode and is at level 2.
• Show Notes. Below the title you will find the Show Notes if available.
• Audio Controls. This is a level 3 heading. This means that if you wish to bypass the Show Notes, just press number 3, just above the letter keys.
• Play/Pause Button. Plays or pauses the audio.
• Time Slider. Allows you to move through the audio timeline. Note that Forms Mode should be active for you to manipulate the time slider.
• Volume Slider. Allows you to adjust the volume . Note that Forms Mode should be active for you to manipulate the volume slider.
• Mute Button. Allows you to mute the audio. Press the Space Bar on the button or the keyboard shortcut Control+M.
• Show More Media Controls button. This allows you to adjust speed of audio playback, but we already have a more accessible method described above.
• Playback Movement Buttons. Because some people may find it difficult to work with the time slider, a series of buttons is available to move through the audio in various increments. These are: Move back five seconds, Move forward five seconds, Move back thirty seconds, Move forward thirty seconds, Move back one minute, Move forward one minute.
• Download or Stream Episode. This will open up the podcast episode page directly into your web browser. Due to the range of features available within Leasey to play or download episodes, this link is not generally used. As to whether the episode is downloaded to your computer or streamed will depend upon your browser’s settings.

At the very bottom of the page, navigational links may appear. If the feed contains more than 10 episodes, you will see links for Previous Page and Next Page.
For example, pressing Enter on the Previous Page link will allow you to see earlier episodes in the feed.

Checking For Podcast Updates.

Almost certainly you will wish to check whether there are new episodes for your favourite podcasts.
Please follow these steps in order to do so:

1. First of all, visit one of your podcast Favourites in the way described above.
2. It is at this point that Leasey records the most recent episode date. This will be required for the next step.
3. At some point in the future, move into the LeaseyCast list and select Check For Podcast Updates. Press Enter on this item.
4. Leasey will then check to see if any podcast updates are available. If there are new updates to any of your podcasts, a list of podcast feeds is displayed. Press Enter on any of the items shown and you are taken to the page for the podcast, whereupon you can play the episode as directed above.
5. Please note that when you press Enter on a feed, it is then removed from the updates list until such time as a new episode of the podcast is produced.

Podcast Download Manager.

As the name suggests, the Podcast Download Manager allows you to download any podcast episodes to your computer. When you initiate a download, you will find the file in your default Downloads folder; the same folder where any other file you download from the internet would be placed. Because many podcast file names do not reflect the titles of the episodes, Leasey renames the file to reflect the episode title.

1. When you press Enter on the option for the Podcast Download Manager, a list of all the feeds in your Favourites list is displayed. Press Enter on one of the podcast titles.
2. A web page is displayed in your browser containing links to all the episodes in the feed. Press Enter on any episode title to download the file to your computer.