Jenn, Go here... http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/audio/soundstudio.html and download sound studio, then make sure you set up the input output options under the audio menu. if you select software play through and you are not wearing headphones, you will get feedback. once you've recorded and saved your file as an aiff just drag it into itunes and select it, then from the "advanced" menu select "convert selection to mp3". If you are only doing spoken word a low encoding rate should be fine 64 kbps (done in itunes preferences). peace, Kevin