Teach me about IPOD
 

I'm looking at buying an ipod for a friend for christmas, but she is very "un-tech", and I can't find much information on how the ipod works on the Apple site, so i came here, the repository of all knowledge and wisdom in the universe. How does the IPOD hold up for you? What is iTunes? What about the mp3's I have now? Can I put them on the IPOD? Can I rip music off my cd's and put it on the IPOD?

I was briefly considering typing out a how-to...but then I figured there must be something better online. How about this? There's video. (Which are actually from the Apple site.)

iPod Tutorial
(Go straight to the Apple videos here: http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/tutorials/)

You can also watch the iTunes tutorial videos here on Apple.com: http://www.apple.com/itunes/tutorials/

If there are any questions beyond these sites, let me know.

I think it's better to start like this than from scratch.

that's great, thanks.

AFAIK with iTunes you are not able to just move music around freely unless there has been some updates to it, I believe the music can only be moved from your PC to the iPod you cannot move it off the iPod onto the PC.

Also invest in a third party application for your PC and use that to move the music around such as Anapod's Explorer it works great, also if you have any MP3's currently those shouldn't be a problem, but anything you purchase from the iTunes store is DRM'd to hell and back.

yeah I find that no moving files from the ipod to the PC thing annoying. Anyone know a way around it?

Also, if you move your files within the PC, itunes can no longer find them and you have to redirect it to the new location. Boring!

This is covered in another thread, but:

Mac: Senuti (Freeware)

PC: Lenogo "Lenogo iPod to PC Transfer" (Commercial)

There are manual ways of doing it using the file system and other programs. I've done it with Winamp before, but it was a pain in the ass. Senuti (yes, that's "iTunes" backwards) is simple and effective but is only available on Mac.

I haven't tried the Lenogo product.

thats only if you do automatic syncing, which I still havent figured out why anyone in their right mind would do. I do it manually as I use it on 3 different pc's and dont need the hassles automatic causes

Short, simple answers...

Q: How does the iPod hold up for you? A: Very well, thank you. It's a fairly rugged and pretty reliable device, and its battery lasts a relatively long time between charges.

Q: What is iTunes? A: iTunes is Apple's software for managing your music/podcast/video library on your computer, and for transferring files from your computer to your iPod, and for ripping music from CD's. (For ripping, you can choose to use the mp3 format or Apple's AAC format, with either format at a bit rate of your choice.) IMHO, Windows version of iTunes is a bloated mess, but is still quite functional and fairly user-friendly.

Q: What about the mp3's I have now? A: Not a problem. They can easily be imported into your iTunes library, and transferred to and played on your iPod. The only major audio format you cannot play on your iPod is Microsoft's WMA. (BTW: Microsoft's Zune portable audio/video players cannot play Apple's AAC audio format.)

Q: Can I rip music off my CD's and put it on my iPod? A: Most assuredly, you can.

And here's my answer to a question you did not ask...

Q: What is the iTunes store, and should I use it to purchase digital music? A: The iTunes store is Apple's on-line store for browsing and buying digital audio/video. Access to the iTunes store is built into the iTunes music/podcast/video management software. And, IMHO, no, you should not use the iTunes store, especially not for purchasing digital music, because 1.) most of the music purchased there is digitally protected, which can be a hastle to deal with, and 2.) most of the music there is encoded with the relatively low-quality bit rate of 128, and 3.) you can probably find the digital music of your choice at a cheaper price, yet still legally, elsewhere on the Internet.

I use a freeware program called Floola; I believe I got the link off of TFP in the first place. It doesn't have many bells and whistles, but it does allow you to move songs from the iPod to the PC. It also allows you to use multiple computers to upload songs on to the iPod. I have stopped using iTunes for the most part.

As to the OP: I love my iPod. I think even my mom could figure out how to use it, and she's HOPELESS with technology. I'll have her try it out when I see her in a couple weeks. It's very intuitive in its design and function.

This is great to read, thanks for all your input :thumbsup:

Do any of those programs work with the 2g touch? I'm hoping for a jailbreak in the next few months, but I'd like something now