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iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition
For example, if you ask someone (like an Apple store employee) how to get MP3s off of an iPod and onto a computer, they'll tell you that the transfer is only supposed to go the other way. The idea is that you're not supposed to be able to just collect the entire music libraries of anyone who happens to drop by your home with his or her iPod. Of course, it turns out that there are plenty of legitimate scenarios in which you might want to be able to get your own music off of your MP3 player. (I certainly intend to rescue my music from my iPod should the external drive that's currently holding my files ever give up the ghost.) The Missing Manual, on the other hand, devotes several pages to detailing the various ways you can go about accomplishing the unspeakable act of iPod-to-computer copying.
And additional content isn't the only thing you'll find in this book -- there's also a significant difference in the depth and helpfulness of the respective texts. I'll compare their coverage of a common question among new iPod owners: what's going on when the iPod screen always says "Do not disconnect"? Here's the answer as given by the iPod User Guide:
Important: If it is not safe to disconnect iPod, a message on the iPod screen says "Do not disconnect." Don't disconnect iPod if you see this message. You could damage files on iPod. If you see the "Do not disconnect" message, you must eject iPod (see page 22) before disconnecting it.
Apple's apparent fear of possessives and articles aside, this is pretty much as bare-bones as you can get. It tells you one thing you can do if you're seeing this message, but not why it's happening, or what to do if ejecting the iPod doesn't make it go away. Here's an answer to the same question in the Missing Manual:
If you've turned on the "Enable disk use" box in iTunes' iPod Preferences panel, the "Do Not Disconnect" message appears on the iPod at all times. You have to unmount the iPod from the computer manually to make it go away (see page 215).
Even if you haven't set up the iPod to work as a FireWire disk, its hard drive may not have spun down properly. If it's stuck in a loop, the "Do Not Disconnect" message may also appear. Try clicking the Eject iPod button in iTunes, or dragging the iPod icon on the desktop to the Mac's Trash, to see if you get the "OK to Disconnect" message. If that doesn't work, try resetting the iPod as described on page 46 and then try ejecting it.
Note: If you live in a cross-platform household and have both Macintosh- and Windows-flavor iPods lying around, make sure you're plugging the WinPod into the PC. Macs are generally friendly towards PC-formatted 'Pods, but not vice versa. Mixing them up can lead to several error messages, including the "Do Not Disconnect" message (even as the computer won't mount or recognize the iPod) and the "This iPod is linked to another Music Library" message.
(Note that I plucked that answer from the iTunes troubleshooting section - there's also a similar response in the MusicMatch section.) I don't know about you, but this strikes me as infinitely more useful and enlightening than the User Guide's response (no offense to Apple's technical writers intended). And of course there are questions answered in the book that aren't addressed at all in the User Guide, nor on Apple's site.
There are plenty of other things that you'll find in this book that you might not already know, and that you certainly won't find in the included booklet - like information about the iPod on Linux Project, or descriptions of a number of different shareware and freeware programs you can grab to enhance your iPod. You'll find tricks to extend your battery life, ways to make the 'Pod behave even more like a PDA than it does by default, and how to boot off of your iPod should the need arise. Of course, it's true that you can find a lot of this on the web by yourself without having to pay for a book, so part of your decision about buying it will depend on whether you care more about spending $24.95 or saving yourself some time.
If you're wondering whether it's worth buying if you don't use Mac OS or if you have an older iPod, rest assured - coverage of all the different iPods is included, and there's material on both versions of iTunes, as well as MusicMatch for Windows. There's not a whole lot about using an iPod with a *nix box, although the topic isn't completely ignored (as you might expect). There's enough about the iPod itself that Linux users wouldn't be making a mistake to pick it up. On the other hand, it's probably not worth buying if you don't have an iPod and are just curious about iTunes. But iTunes is covered in almost every general Mac book out there, so you're not totally out of luck if that's the case. For most iPod owners, though, this book is a great and inexpensive way to get the most out of your new best friend (as long as your new best friend happens to be an iPod).
You can purchase iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual, Second Edition from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews. To see your own review here, carefully read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
Just rebuild the desktop.
Maybe I can get it in audio-book format? Then I'll just load it up on my iPod...
There is no mod option "-1: Disagree" for a reason. "Overrated" is not an acceptable substitute. Post something instead.
Someone asks you how use an Apple product - just tell them to RTFMM!
I want to know how to run a gnutella server on my iPod.
Have you read my blog lately?
Is it just me, or did whoever formatted the article forget to close an iTag?
In a word: Yes.
The PDAs in the iPod's range have drastically lower disk space and drastically slower sync interfaces. They are not as sturdy as the iPod. Their interfaces are not usable with one hand and the buttons are more fragile.
Finally, as cool as it may sound to do word processing and watch video on a handheld, in practice you will never do these things. I sold my Toshiba palmtop for way less than it was worth to buy my 30 gig 3G iPod the day it came back. I have never regretted this decision in the least.
Hey freaks: now you're ju
no... i was just trying to be a jackass... ok... and insult you.
Casual Games/Downloads
Play songs == Browse and then push the 1 button when it's over the song/album/playlist you want
Adjust volume == spin the little wheel around clockwise or counterclockwise (I'll let you figure out which is which).
May no camel spit in your yogurt soup.
Slashdotters don't even RTFA. And you expect us to RTFB? Egads!
This is an odd position to be in. We all want the most out of our toys. Most of us generally play with our toys to figure them out. And we also search online or ask our geeky friends how we can get around this and that. Then again, a book that tells us all...hmmm...
Do we RTFB or not? Hm.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts...for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang
Just another sign of Western Decadence: people will die if you take away their iPods.
Slashdot: Failed Car Analogies. Amateur Lawyering. Anecdote Battles.
But does it support DRM?
Oh well, the dog had a good run.
Sure! Just use the chmod command and you can lock yourself out of your own files. DRM on Linux uses the honor system :)
...it's always in the last place you look!
CB
free ipod and free gmail!
... to move a 17 MB file from one folder to another?
Ephpod works fine under wine. Windows is not necessary.
Precisely what does she want the software to do? The device plays mp3s. The software transfers mp3s to the device and allows the creation of playlists.
It honestly isn't that complicated. If you find it difficult to use, you're doing something wrong.
Hint, it won't play video, open cans, drive your car, etc.