Podcasters have been looking forward to the release of iTunes 4.9 for several weeks now since it was announced that the new version would support podcasting. I just downloaded it and, as expected, there is now a “Podcasts” entry in the left-side menu along with the “Music Store” and your other playlists. There’s also quick access to a podcast directory which looks just like the iTunes Music Store. You subscribe to a podcast just like you buy a song. It sort of boggles the mind to see this when podcasting came onto the scene in any measurable way only last fall. It also says something for Apple that they recognized the opportunity and incorporated the technology so quickly.

I’ll give it a try and see if iTunes works any better than NetNewsWire which, up until now, I haven’t really had any complaints about at all. My biggest question is whether or not the new iTunes will support downloads of non-audio files. I still haven’t given up on having teachers send documents and other classroom materials to students via RSS enclosures. We’ll see.