To download Audacity,
visit the following page and click on the
appropriate link (Windows or Mac):
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/
Follow
the onscreen instructions to install the software on your hard drive.
When the installation is complete, Audacity may launch
automatically, displaying a window similar to the one below. If it
does, go ahead and
close the program (there's one more quick thing to do to get Audacity ready
for recording).
Before you start recording,
you first need to download what is called the LAME mp3 encoder. This is necessary to
enable Audacity to export files in mp3 format, the most common type of file
for podcasts. To download the encoder, go
to http://lame.buanzo.com.ar/.
The above link will take you to the LAME download
page where you will see a table with several download links.
Depending on whether you're using a PC or a Mac, right-click (Windows) or
Control-click (Mac) on the appropriate link as shown below.
Double-click the file you saved to your computer and
follow the onscreen instructions to extract the LAME MP3 encoder. The
file you're looking for is called lame_enc.dll on a Windows machine
and libmp3lame.dylib on a Mac.
Highlight and copy the LAME file (Windows example shown
below).
You now need to paste this file in a safe place.
It doesn't matter which folder you choose -- just make sure it's a location
that won't get deleted at a later time (the Desktop is probably not a good
location). I recommend copying the file
into the "Audacity" folder which can be found inside the "Program
Files" folder (Windows) or "Applications" folder (Mac).
Once you've selected the location, paste the file into the folder by
pressing the "Ctrl" and "V" keys simultaneously (Windows) or
"Command" and "V" keys simultaneously (Mac).
That's it! You're now ready to record with
Audacity! It is important that you remember where you copied LAME file, because the first time you record some audio and go to export it as an
mp3 file, you will be asked in which folder the LAME file
is located. Once you tell Audacity where it's located, the software
will remember and you won't be asked again.