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iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition
from the do-not-panic-button dept.
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.
Might be worth it... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Might be worth it... (Score:2, Informative)
If you want to know more about your iPod, hop on over to ipodlounge.com, or one of the dozens of other in-depth ipod fan sites out there dedicated to hacking this clever little device.
Re:Might be worth it... (Score:5, Informative)
The book has a section on MusicMatch because the book is comprehensive in its covering of
That's not to say ipodlounge.com and the other in-depth ipod fan sites aren't useful resources. But this book is at least those sites' peer in terms of useful information.
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If you have any trouble with your iPod (Score:5, Funny)
Re:If you have any trouble with your iPod (Score:5, Informative)
(This actually isn't a joke. My iPod doesn't lock up since 2.1, but before that, pressing Menu-Play for six seconds to reboot after a lockup was a common occurance. Oh, and pressing and holding left and right bypasses the iPod software and goes straight to Firewire mode...useful for when your software config shits the bed and you want to get your MP3s off of it before restoring the software)
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My opinioin (Score:5, Insightful)
Pretty much sums it up for me....
Re:My opinioin (Score:5, Funny)
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I'm too lazy to read it... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I'm too lazy to read it... (Score:5, Informative)
As you can read in the forum, text-2-speech (ebooks, notes, etc.) as well as a usability for blind people (menus as speech, etc.) are the main motivations (and that it's a cool hack, of course).
Unsure whether anyone's got it working adequately yet. Check with the devs/users in the iPodLinux forums.
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Worth it? (Score:4, Interesting)
I've heard of two design flaws now -- both of which they seem less than inclined to fix beyond a short period of ownership -- and have noticed that PDAs in a similar price range can do MP3, video, and even word processing. If it was reliable I'd buy one tomorrow, but are they yet?
Re:Worth it? (Score:5, Funny)
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.
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Re:Worth it? (Score:4, Insightful)
As for the rest....
I pull the CF/SD card out and stick it into a USB2/IDE/SCSI flash reader. How is that a "drastically slower sync interface"?
I would put the sturdiness of many PDAs on par with the iPod. Sory to tell ya, but plastic and alunimun are prety much the same regardless of the logo.
I have a touch screen on my PDA, 100% customizable interface with no hardware buttons. Works great one handed, while in my pocket etc...
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Re:Worth it? (Score:3, Informative)
Time to copy 100 megs of MP3s to my 24x CF card over a firewire multireader: 4:32.
Time to copy those same 100 megs to the iPod: 48s.
Yes, but how long does it take... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Worth it? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Worth it? (Score:4, Informative)
I believe they had some problems with the 1G iPods, and as everyone knows, with the iPod minis - but the consensus seems to be that if you're concerned about reliability, buy a 3G.
From the accounts I've heard, they've been very good about fixing the defects lately - they usually ask to keep it overnight for testing, then either repair or replace it. There's a ton of repair stories on ipodlounge.com [ipodlounge.com]. In any case, I'd say go for it, especially if you just want the regular iPod. Now that I have one, I'm not sure if I could live without it.
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Re:Worth it? (Score:3, Funny)
Just another sign of Western Decadence: people will die if you take away their iPods.
Re:Worth it? (Score:3, Funny)
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.
Missing from the book: Decrypting your Tunes (Score:5, Informative)
hymn [hymn-project.org]
Hymn fixes iTunes 4.6 support (Score:3, Informative)
Does the manual include... (Score:2)
Retreiving MP3 files off the iPod (Score:5, Informative)
The only downside is that the files are stored with cryptic names in directories with meaningless names. But if your files have correct ID3 tagging, the organization of the files won't matter much.
Re:Retreiving MP3 files off the iPod (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Retreiving MP3 files off the iPod (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Retreiving MP3 files off the iPod (Score:2, Interesting)
Any tips?
Re:Retreiving MP3 files off the iPod (Score:5, Informative)
It seems to be some kind of a binary version of the xml file that is the iTunes database on your PC or Mac.
If you're really interested, this guy has tried to document the format [ntlworld.com] of the file. For me the play count and ratings are not as essential to preserve as the music files themselves.
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Next time... (Score:5, Funny)
So how do you copy to disk? (Score:2)
Re:So how do you copy to disk? (Score:2)
Some of the replies to that comment mentions EphPod as an excellent tool for copying songs off the iPod.
Geeking... (Score:4, Interesting)
-m
Re:Geeking... (Score:2)
It's just a computer, right? (Score:3, Funny)
More Knowledge = More Fun (Score:4, Insightful)
I am thinking about buying an iPod. (Score:2, Interesting)
Can't resist punning.... (Score:5, Funny)
CD-sized booklet? (Score:5, Informative)
This booklet is the size of CD? What? Are they being deliberately ironic, or something?
Kudos to the missing manual line... (Score:3, Interesting)
Other things you can do with iTunes (Score:5, Interesting)
If you have iTunes check out Musicmobs [musicmobs.com]. You can upload your XML file or sync your iTunes stats via an open source Cocoa application called Mobster [sourceforge.net].
It will give you a profile of what you listen to, suggest new music, show you people that have similar tastes as you, and show you related artists for all of your bands.
It's growing fast so get in now to get a low userid
Slashdotters reading... (Score:4, Funny)
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.
iPodLounge (Score:5, Informative)
For example, their compendium of software [ipodlounge.com] includes:
A workaround for EU volume limitation [ringom.no]
Ripping [exactaudiocopy.de], encoding [mp3dev.org] and tagging [softpointer.com] recommendations.
A utility to mass export Outlook contacts [stoer.de]
News [mesmerized.org] and Weather [staylazy.net] syndication downloaders.
By far the best way to retrieve your MP3s [brinkster.com] (a utility that sits on your iPod itself and is executable over a network!)
The fantastic iPod Agent, which creates beautiful XML music lists as well as performing loads of useful functions [ipodsoft.com]
Every other area of the lounge is equally as exhaustive - from iTunes configuration (you can do amazing things with smart playlists!) to headphones and case reviews. Visit the site instead of buying a book.
(Oh, and I'm in no way involved with the Lounge other than being a fan.)
iPod Programming? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:iPod Programming? (Score:4, Informative)
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Zero-need. (Score:3, Insightful)
If all of that confuses you, you probably should stick to a discman, sans MP3 support.
I have problems justifying books anymore when a search online yields information faster and usually more accurate than a book ever could. So if some kind of information dark age ever did come about, and there was no Internet, I ask that someone put me out of my misery...
The book also covers iTunes (Score:3, Informative)
The book also covers iTunes. This simple fact seems to have eluded 99% of Slashdoughters. The title begins with "iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual"
Has the glitter of hardware so completely overwhelmed us that the software and the shopping concept is lost in the dust? The cute iPod is only the tangible aspect of a concept that is revolutionizing the entertainment industry. A small aspect at that.
The software and the link to the store are important to be sure, but I'd like to mention a small insidious part of the iTunes grab for world domination.
In its friendly way, iTunes offers to organize your music for you. It places the music on your disk or iPod and provides you convenient access to it. You can rearrange your playlist in many useful ways.
But suppose that some day in the future you decide that you like another music player better. Suppose you decide to move your gigabytes of music to the new player and leave iTunes behind.
You are in for a sad surprise. Your files are nested into subfolders so deep that it may take months to bring them out into daylight where you and other software can see them. Those MP3s or AACs or whatever are buried where only iTunes can find them. The convenient indexing features are dependent upon data stored in files that other software doesn't understand- don't expect your new software to be able to use them.
Apple will encourage you to use iPhoto and other programs which use proprietary file systems to order their files too. The name of the game is control. You want convenience, you give up control, you become dependent and the manufacturer has you right where they want you.
Many manufacturers offer proprietary methods of managing your documents which seem very convenient until you consider a move away from their product. Try moving your financial data from one mfgr's product to a competitor's product as an example.
There is a pressing need for new methods of organizing data on media, but reliance upon these proprietary systems is probably not in your best interest.
flamebait, with a kernel of truth. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:flamebait, with a kernel of truth. (Score:4, Interesting)
The Apple manual is indeed pathetic.
But if you have to read a book to figure out a system or device that is supposedly the easiest to figure out... then you aren't the steriotypical slashdot reader.
I guess I'm not the stereotypical Slashdot reader, but I thought the iPod was extremely difficult to figure out. For instance, it may have seemed obvious to Apple how to use the circular menu selection gizmo, but it wasn't obvious to me, and the documentation didn't explain it. I spent a lot of time trying to get the menu selection to move up and down by pressing the top and bottom of the gizmo, which didn't work. It may sound silly, but I don't see why they expect users to intuit an entirely new metaphor that they've never seen before. Since when is it obvious that a line on the screen maps to a circle on the touchpad? But that was just one of many hassles I had my first afternoon with the iPod. Personally, I think emacs was a lot easier to learn than the iPod's user interface.
If you read Apple's forums, you'll also find that there have been a lot of hardware problems, as well as lot of nasty problems caused by buggy software updates.
My wife loves the thing, but I guess I failed to bond with it. I've also gotten spoiled by open source -- it feels really yukky to go back to using a completely proprietary system.
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Re:But will it tell me how to get Linux on there? (Score:4, Informative)
This is how you get linux on there... [sourceforge.net]
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Re:But will it tell me how to get Linux on there? (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:ipod oblivious (Score:3, Funny)
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).
Re:Reset iPod (Score:4, Informative)
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