I warned him that there were issues connecting third party hardware (GPS, Phones etc), but he could see the benefits and felt able to cope with them.

Then:

• Q. “Will it work with my iPod?”
• A. “Yes, really well - I have mine working in Amarok - no problem at all.”
• Q. “Will I still be able to use iTunes?”
• A. “No, but there are some great music players on Linux.” (slight feeling of trepidation)
• Q. “Do they link up to the iTunes website?”
• A. “Eh, no” (I can see where this is going)
• Q. “Is there an alternative comparable download site?”
• A. “Yes I think Napster is similar” (hoping I wouldn’t be proved wrong)
• Q. “Presumably I can transfer all my iTunes purchased music over to Linux?”
• A. Silence (except for the thumping as my head hit my desk repeatedly)

Yours somewhat depressed.

So I went hunting for an alternative to Amarok that would handle Podcasts, only to discover that Amarok itself supports Podcasts. Basically all you need to do is under Playlists → Podcasts right-click and Add Podcast, but this link explains in more detail.

In every other respect Amarok was perfect, so I could not be more delighted. Well done Amarok!