Customer Reviews

Hacking iPod and iTunes (ExtremeTech)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Let me start off by telling readers that your definition of "hack" or "hacking" may vary. To some, hacking is a dark art of exploitation. To others it might be something that is actually called reverse engineering. In this book, a hack, or hacking refers to what "hacking" started out as - discovering a cool shortcut or workaround, an neat trick, a new use, or an undiscovered tool or accessory. As the author mentions in the Introduction, not all hacks have to be about technology, or even high-tech which I think threw off one of the reviewers of this book. Never hacked a TV antenna with aluminum foil for better reception, or fixed something with duct tape?

Having said that, there are some pretty great hacks in this book. For instance there is good coverage of battery replacement (save yourself that Apple service fee,)using iPod with Outlook (a bit tricky,) install Linux on the iPod (you cant get hackier than that,) move playlists around machines with XML, AppleScripting with iTunes, and others.

The book is not super hard core, but is accessible to everyone, which I think is the point. Those who are expecting detailed schematics, or instructions on disassembly (why would you do that?) will be disappointed. Honestly, there is not really all that much you can "hack" into an iPod - it's a pretty closed system. But, the author has done a great job of finding the edges, and the fringes of iPod hacking, and the book is a great resource for iPod users, getting everything into one place.

Hacking iPod + iTunes absolutely ranks up there with the other iPod books on the market, and covers things a lot of them don't - making it truly unique.

Recommended.

I may be the exception but I think there are lots of folks out there like me. We bought an iPod, loaded a bunch of music on it, spent a small fortune in the iTunes store, showed it off to our friends and that's about as far as we got. We've heard about the many capabilities of this cool gadget but never really got deeper into it. and I look cool. I've heard about how much my iPod can do but I never really explored its capabilities. "Hacking iPod + iTunes" is the book for every iPod owner. I first opened this book while I was having my car oil changed and 45 minutes later I had dog eared pages and tons of underlined tips. There was so much helpful information that I abandoned plans for doing errands so I could rush home to tinker with my iPod.

"Hacking iPod + iTunes" will literally get you under that svelte iPod skin and into the meat of that cool and expensive toy. Scott Knaster starts off explaining that "hacking" doesn't mean doing evil and exploitive things but rather it is about innovation, exploration, learning and fun. And hacking is not limited to just computers. The book is divided into two parts: Hacking iPod and Hacking iTunes. The chapters delve into every possible detail about iPod and iTunes that one could imagine. Some things are pretty far fetched such as using an iPod as an alarm clock to Battery Replacement Surgery (too scary for me). On the practical side, Knaster covers neat accessories and just about every possible use and tip to maximize your iPod's capabilities. The section on iTunes is equally detailed including explicit direction on creating scripts using AppleScript.

Written in a straightforward style, "Hacking iPod + iTunes" is encyclopedic in its breadth and scope. If you own an iPod, this is a must-have book. My one minor complaint about the book is that I found the cheap quality paper sometimes difficult to turn unless I wet a finger first. That aside, "Hacking iPod + iTunes" is worth every penny and it will take you and you iPod to new heights.

scott "special k" knaster is old skool apple, with no less than seven mac books you can buy on amazon right now (and another coming) ... he's so entrenched in the apple psyche and culture that he's almost certainly forgotten more about apple and the mac than any "normal" citizen has ever known ... in short, he's *exactly* who you want acting as your digital tour guide.

reading h.i.a.i. is like having your favorite brother sit down and show you everything your ipod can do. all the in's and out's of the super-cool digital music world are laid out in an easy to read, logical and fun fashion.

no matter how much you like your ipod, you'll like it better after spending a little time with special k.


and these other reviews? some of them just bust me up:

"you can find all this stuff online"
- uh, sure. you can find the whole frickin' world online. is all the stuff in the book online? i honestly don't know. do *i* want to go looking for it all? hell no. that's what a book is *for*. my time, and the permanence of having something on my self, is worth 20 bucks. a library must be a huge disappointment to that reviewer.

"he calls these 'hacks?'"
- it's the name of the series, dim bulb. when you write a book in a series, it gets that title. i wrote "winning at internet poker for dummies," but it doesn't mean you *have* to be a dummy to buy it. if you buy a book like h.i.a.i. and expect to get a "hack" along the lines of learning how launch nuclear missiles with your ipod, you're going to be let down by default.


thanks for reading.

It's my own fault, but I failed to notice that this book was published in 2004. I'm sure it was excellent then, but today, much of the info contained in the book is dated, many of the websites mentioned no longer exist, and the ipod technology of today (2007) has rendered much of the interesting stuff that can't be found elsewhere obsolete. If Mr. Knaster should release a second, more current edition, I'd buy it.

I have a couple of iPod books (including the really good Missing Manual) but this one is my new favorite. It covers the iPod and iTunes by providing interesting little tips and tricks. The author (Knaster) has a writing style that is a pleasure to read and I have enjoyed his books for many years. Just when you think the book is getting a little abstract you will find truly useful little-known features and facts. The section on seeing music files on your iPod is the best I have seen. This book is NOT super technical, it is written for everyone.

This book has lots of iTunes tips I had not heard before. Author seems to have connections to people at Apple so he gets the good stuff. Good sections on how to change your iPod battery and how to find and copy specific songs on iPod. Tells how to download and read email and rss on ipod -- I didn't know you could do that. Nice, easy tone. Recommended.

To be fair, the intro for this book let's you know what a bunch of crap you're in for. The author starts by explaining what a hack is. "...creatively reshaping the world to make things better and more interesting. Hacking is about innovation, exploration, leanring, and fun." Ok, yes. I buy that. But then he starts shoveling. Guess what. According to this book, when the author's wife substitutes applesauce for oil to make pumkin bread more healthy, she is hacking. Holding a nail with a comb is another ingenious hack. These hacks are parallel with a good amount of the ipod "hacks". Here are a few of the gems you will be able to read more about in this lame excuse for a hacking book. Use your ipod as a light! I'm not kidding, it's in there. Put your ipod in a case! Are you freaking kidding me? And here is a one sentence summary of about a third of this book: there are third party add ons you can buy for the ipod. Oh yeah. Buying the iTrip for your ipod so you can listen to it over the radio? That's apparently a hack. So is buying a little speaker that plugs into the headphone jack, or buying a car kit to use your ipod in the car. I would be ashamed to have my name listed as the author of this book. To be fair though, I give this book 2 stars, because it's a nice consolidated hard copy of ipod websites you can find with a little searching on Google. There are a few tips and tricks that may be new to some users, but if you love your ipod, you've probably already done some searching and won't find more than one or two new bits of information. Other than that, the only real hack is this book. Oh wait, let me add one. Putting the word "hack" on the title of your lame book and suckering people out of their money. Don't confuse this book with an actual ipod, one rocks, one sucks. Oh cool! I just made my own hack! Using this waste of $20 book for a coaster!

As the reviewer below suggests, this isn't a book so much about how to find cool new features/things to do with your Ipod as it is an instruction manual similar to what should have been supplied with the device to begin with. Most of the info either is available online or somewhat obvious, given the intuitiveness/limitations of the Itunes software and the UI of the device itself.

As much as I was hoping otherwise, this book isn't worth the money. Not even particularly for anyone uncomfortable with technology.

...If you really want to improve how your Ipod operates, check out Anapod Explorer, and spend the money there that you would have spent on this.

I will agree with others that none of the contents of this book are very interesting. All of the information can be found by applying 1) Common sense, 2) reading the product instructions, 3) doing a bit of research on your own online.

Its also not about hacking. To the 'dim bulb' that suggests one is foolish for complaining about that mis-use of the term, just because this is a book in a series: sorry, but your wrong. The term 'hacking' has a specific meaning in technology circles. You don't get to redefine it at a whim or misuse it and expect folks to say, "ok, sure, fine". Hacking is about finding those functions, features, information on a system that are not available in plain sight or documented in the product manuals.

Using the given functionality of something to some interesting purposes is not a hack. Its a use, to be sure. A hack has to be something thats not intended to be known by the maker, or similar. Getting at a hidden service menu - that, is a hack.

Using aluminum foil on a TV antenna is NOT a hack- its a fix. You may be a hack for using it to fix the antenna, but thats another issue. Now if you can use aluminum foil to decypher your old analog HBO feed - that, would be a hack (an admittedly illegal variety of hack, but still a hack).

If the series of books is misusing the term 'hacking' then they are being repeatedly incorrect and misleading people. Calling this a book on hacking is wrong, and the fact that its a series will not make it right.

Save your money and follow your own curiosity over the internet.

If you find this sort of fluff really that usefull and believe this is justifiably using the term 'hacking', then be all means,spend the cash, but don't expect tech savy folks not to giggle and point at you when you proclaim you are using a hack from this book.

Have just gotten the book. Saved time and it helped restore my library. Has some cool items. In 30 minutes time have gotten a better understanding of my Ipod and Itunes. Looking forward to finishing the book to learn more. Thanks