Customer Reviews

Little iTunes Book, The (3rd Edition) (Little Book Series)

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Here is the dream documentation which seldom accompanies the software packages found on the market today. The software which is the subject of this volume is called iTunes, a free download from Apple.com. The inclusion of CD-RW drives on the latest models offered by Apple mandates that this book be written. Bob LeVitus is more than up to the task.

For those seeking help in the jungle of modern Mac computer technology, here's your chance. I was able to answer questions which have puzzled me for months regarding the manipulation of mp3, AIFF, WAV and CA-DA song files while using my Mac computer. Preparing CDs which I can use in my home entertainment center and my car makes for greater listening pleasure every day.

A touch of humor adds to the readability of this little 168 page gem. I feel certain that all serious Macophiles will want this book in their library, both for reference & for a good read.

Excellent book! It took me out of an iTunes "fog" where I was never quite sure what I was doing into the "expert" realm where I am effectively functioning with a very large library of music. I can make playlists, rip songs, burn CDs, you name it! Thanks to Bob LeVitus for a great book! (Sorry, Apple, but your online help just didn't do it for me.)

With a program as automatic and intuitive as "iTunes" it's all too easy to provide gratuitous information at the expense of the genuinely useful. Far too often in this book I sense that the author's instructions to the user about "how" to do things are counterproductive to what the program practically forces you to do all by itself. Rather I would have preferred more explanation of "what" the program does. For example, music files used by iTunes appear in 3 places--the iTunes folder, the iTunes library, the user's playlist. But it still isn't clear to me what the exact distinction is among them. Also, since the program permits multiple compression settings as well as no compression, can a user decompress and recompress without affecting audio quality of a given file? And the author, like many Mac users, touts "Toast" but without clearly explaining the advantages of a relatively expensive software program that essentially duplicates iTunes. Then there are questions about whether to burn with virtual memory on or off, along with questions about how many files a hard drive can support before performance is affected, that are neglected or only partially addressed.

The author makes a few good points--for example, most web sites promising MP-3 downloads simply aren't worth the bother--but not enough to justify the cost of the book, especially now that both iTunes version one and Napster are history.

Although this book is accurate only to version 1.x, it's still a great read. It's got some good web links, MP3 player recommendations, but most of all, it lists most functions and tells you what they're about.

Add to that a great dose of Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus humour, and you get an irresistable read.

Don't just judge this book by size. Every page on this book contains valuable information and good summarisations.

Reviewed by: Curt Blanchard, Tucson Macintosh Users Group

I'm a manual kind of guy, by this I mean I actually read `em. Hardware and software manufacturers are not making manuals the way they once did. When you pay big bucks for something, you expect carefully researched and clearly written instructions and frequently these days, you don't get either. One of my hottest pet peeves is paying for nicely boxed software and getting only a CD with an onscreen manual. I paid more than a grand for my Mac and it came with a skimpy 48 page set-up guide. I had to pay another $30.00 for "The Missing Manual" (by Pogue Press/O'Reilly, a truly excellent resource, by-the-way) to get what I should have gotten in the first place.

Having grumped about all this, it's hard to fault Apple for not supplying an iTunes manual when they provide the application for free! iTunes is a fabulous, feature-rich application that I use every single day, but not all of its features are immediately obvious or apparent.

So, in comes Bob LeVitus to fill the voids. His "Little iTunes Book" is a goldmine of informational nuggets that will enhance your user experience and listening enjoyment. I've always liked LeVitus' writing, it's light-hearted but concise and to the point. The book is only a couple hundred pages and it's not something you sit down and read cover to cover. It's a reference book divided into logical topics - Burning CDs, Managing Playlists, Internet Radio, iPods, the Music Store and much more.

My only quibble is the author's assertion that downloading shared music from the internet without paying for it "may or may not be legal" and he devotes pages to the use of peer-to-peer networks. To my way of thinking, it is illegal without question. To be fair, he does agree that it is unfair to the artists. Apple got it right with the Music Store - download to your heart's content for 99 cents per song or $9.99 for most CDs - legally.

The Little iTunes Book is a highly recommended reference book full of good information and subtle tips. I'd judge it to be aimed at the Beginner through Intermediate level. The section on Visual Effects alone is worth the price.