iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual, Fourth Edition [Paperback]

J D Biersdorfer J.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 2006

When Apple introduced the iPod in 2001, CEO Steve Jobs declared, "listening to music will never be the same again." He was right on the money. The iPod grabbed attention right away, and by the end of 2005, more than 41 million of them had sold. iPod is the dominant digital music player on the market, and for the first time, Apple gets to feel like Microsoft.

iPod steadily evolved through five generations since then, and today the dynasty ranges from a screenless 512-megabyte version that can hold plenty of songs for your gym routine to a 60-gigabyte multimedia jukebox that can spin out an entire season of "Desperate Housewives", along with thousands of color photos and all that colorful music.

An iPod is many things to many people, but it can be much more than most people realize. That's where iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual comes in. Like the device itself, this book is a long-running bestseller, now in its fourth edition. What makes it so popular is the wealth of useful information it brings to anyone who breaks open iPod's distinctive packaging-especially since Apple doesn't supply a manual of its own.

Once again, we've updated this guide to fully explain the ins and outs of iPod, including the nano, the shuffle, and all the latest features and uses, such as:

• The 5th generation Video iPod, which can hold 15,000 songs, 25,000 photos, and 150 hours of video
• iTunes 6, where you can buy tunes, subscribe to Podcasts, tune into internet radio, download videos, build playlists, and more
• Going beyond the music to use iPod as an external drive, an eBook, a personal organizer, a GameBoy, and a slide projector
• Extreme iPodding with shareware and AppleScripts, using an iPod with external speakers (including the car stereo), accessories, and troubleshooting

It's been five years since iPod hit the scene, but, clearly, the evolution has only just begun. iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual gives you everything you need to evolve with it.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jude Biersdorfer has been writing the weekly Q&A column for the Circuits section of The New York Times since 1998, and she occasionally writes feature stories and how-to articles for the same section. She has written for Rolling Stone, The New York Times Book Review and the AIGA Journal of Graphic Design, among other publications, and has contributed essays on the collision of pop culture and technology for the books The Education of the E-Designer (2001) and Sex Appeal (2000), both published by Allworth Press. She is the author of iPod Shuffle Fan Book and iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual, 3rd edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; Fourth Edition edition (March 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059652675X
• ISBN-13: 978-0596526757
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #294,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Computers & Technology > Digital Music > MP3
  • #37 in Books > Computers & Technology > Digital Music > iPods

More About the Author

After studying drama by day and working for the campus newspaper by night when I was at Indiana University, I moved to to New York on the Greyhound bus when I was 22, figuring I'd crash the theater and get a job right off as a prop tart making stuff for Broadway musicals. That didn't exactly work out, but I took a sideways bounce into the world of publishing. I've worked around the city at several magazines and now I write the weekly computer Q&A column for The New York Times.

I did make it to Broadway, though -- just hailed a cab there last night.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Updated essential information for any iPod/iTunes user, March 22, 2006

By 

calvinnme - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual, Fourth Edition (Paperback)

I was very impressed by this book and its attention to detail. Like all others in O'Reilly's "missing manual" series that I have read, it leaves no stone unturned. The book's website at O'Reilly and Associates even has a "Missing CD" section that contains updates and lists chapter-by-chapter shareware and freeware programs mentioned in the book. The author provides thorough coverage of topics for Mac-only users but also includes detailed guidance for both Windows and Mac users. The book can be described as having everything you wanted to know about the iPod, its software, and its accessories, at the current date, Spring 2006. This is not a supplemental manual, it is a stand-alone reference. At just under 350 pages, who knew so much could be written about a machine that is now smaller than a deck of cards? Wherever the book talks about installing hardware or software or connecting to a computer there are detailed instructions complete with figures of what the connectors should look like, screen shots, and even some possible error messages you might see if you are doing something wrong with instructions on how to back out of your erroneous situation. The book pays tribute to veteran users by including an "Extreme iPodding" section consisting of 3 chapters after the detailed instructions for basic tasks that comprise the first 10 chapters of the book.
This book also does an excellent job of showcasing iTunes, which has now become a central point for downloading and enjoying all types of multimedia content, and is basically Apple's ambassador to the non-Mac world. Chapter 7 of the book showcases iTunes as a store. Since for many people, the iTunes Music Store is the first feature that they want to try out when using iTunes for the first time, this book does the important job of making that task easy.
In summary I highly recommend this book to all people interested in the iPod and iTunes. Amazon does not show the table of contents, so I do that here for the purpose of completeness:
PART 1: IPOD: THE HARDWARE
Chapter 1. Meet the iPod
Parts of the Pod
Charging the Battery
Earphones-Apple's or Otherwise
The iPod Menus
Chapter 2. The iPod Sync Connection
The iPod Software CD
Using USB 2.0
Connecting Your iPod by FireWire
Your Very First Sync
Varying the Auto-Transfer Theme
iPod-to-Computer Copying
Chapter 3. The iPod Shuffle
Meet the iPod Shuffle
Using the iPod Shuffle
Using the Shuffle as a USB flash drive
PART 2: IPOD: THE SOFTWARE
Chapter 4. Digital Audio Formats
Introduction to Digital Audio
Compressed Audio Formats
Other Podworthy File Formats
Bit Rates
Chapter 5. iTunes for Macintosh and Windows
Introduction to iTunes
A Quick Tour
Ripping CDs into iTunes
Getting Other Files into iTunes
Deleting Songs and Videos
Playing Music
Playing Videos
iTunes Administration
Internet Radio
Playlists
Burning a CD or DVD
Printing Playlists and CD Covers
Playing Songs Across a Network
Chapter 6. iPod Multimedia
Watching Video
Displaying Photos
Listening to Audio Books
Podcasting
Chapter 7. The iTunes Music Store
Welcome to the Music Store
A Store Tour
Searching and Shopping
What to Do with Purchased Content
Music Store Billing
PART 3: BEYOND THE MUSIC
Chapter 8: iPod Games and Other Extras
Games
Clock
Stopwatch
Screen Lock
Notes
Chapter 9: The iPod as External Drive
The iPod's Hard Disk Format
The iPod as External Hard Drive
Storing Data Files on the iPod
Deleting Data Files
Unmounting the iPod Drive
Chapter 10. Connecting the iPod
Connecting the iPod to a Stereo System
Using iTunes with AirPort Express
Connecting iPod to a Car Stereo
PART 4: EXTREME IPODDING
Chapter 11. Hot Hacks and Cool Tools
The AppleScripted iPod
More Mac Shareware
Software for Mac and Windows
More Windows Shareware
Recording Your Own Podcasts
Chapter 12. Troubleshooting
Apple's Alphabet: The 5 R's of iPod Repair
The iPod's Self-Help Modes
iPod Hardware Problems
Troubleshooting the iPod Shuffle
Headphone and Remote Problems
Problems with Song Quality
iTunes Blues
Problems with the iTunes Music Store
Software Updates for iTunes
iPod Software Updates
Where to Get Help Online
Chapter 13. iPod on the Web
Points of Interest at Apple.com
Software Updates for iTunes
Fun and Informative iPod Web Sites
APPENDIXES
Appendix A: iTunes, Menu by Menu
Appendix B: iPod as Organizer
Appendix C: iStuff- Gadgets for Your iPod
Appendix D: iPod as ebook Reader and Newsstand

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific for beginners and intermediate users, May 18, 2006

By 

James Holmes "Co-Author 'Windows Developer Po... (South Central Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual, Fourth Edition (Paperback)

This is a great companion for my iPod, even though a fair chunk of the book is geared to folks with the newer gadgets. There is a good overview section on the different hardware models (the Shuffle gets its own chapter) to get you familiar with the players themselves, plus there's a great discussion of the different audio formats. I found that particularly useful since I wasn't clear on impacts of moving away from iTunes' native AAC format.

The chapter on iTunes is pretty extensive and covers all the functionality from importing CDs to working wth playlists and the Music Store. There's a nice chapter on using the iPod as an external drive, a nice trick if you're looking for an extra place to back up that presentation you're travelling somewhere distant to make. I also liked the chapter on Hacks and Cool Tools with its good list of extra software you can find to help you do things like better manage your library and iPod or create your own podcasts.

It would have been nice if the author covered the JHymn package which lets you back up your purchased music, but I can understand the hesitancy due to legality questions -- but it's my music that I bought and paid for, darnit!

The author might also have given a quick nod to covering running presentations from your iPod, but that's a serious edge case so the utility of it in this book might have been marginal.

This really is a nice book if you're at all interested in doing more with your iPod.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Is a MUST, May 19, 2006

By 

Warren Kelly (Southern Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual, Fourth Edition (Paperback)

So you've got your shiny new iPod, and want to know what exactly you can do with it. Good luck with the "manual" that comes with it - you'll learn how to charge your iPod, how to install the software for it, and precious little else.

That's why you need iPod and iTunes: The Missing Manual. You get the basics (learning the controls), you learn the software (including setting up an iTunes account), and you learn what the thing does other than play music. Did you know, for example, that with a few tweaks your iPod can act as a digital address book and appointment calendar? It's true, as long as you've got Outlook 2003 on your PC, you can take your calendar anywhere you go. Too many pictures for your wallet? No problem: dump 'em onto your iPod and go. Wish you had a pin drive? Use that extra iPod space to store the files you need. This book shows you how.

There's a valuable discussion of the various digital audio formats that you'll encounter, along with an explanation of why your new iPod can't play some of them. There's a guided tour of iTunes as well, though I'd have liked to have seen a bit more detail about making custom playlists and things like that.

I found that I knew most of what was included in the first three sections of the book. Of course, I've been fiddling with my Nano since Christmas, so I've learned a lot just by trying things out on my own. The really valuable part of iPod and iTunes: The Missing Manual for me was the fourth section - Extreme iPodding. Much of it, unfortunately, relies on you owning a Mac and being able to program in AppleScript, but there are some great shareware titles that are available for Windows systems out there, and this section tells you where to look.

The troubleshooting section is also a great resource. Everything from resetting your iPod to replacing the battery (NOT something Apple wants you to do, by the way) is covered - including software updates for both iTunes and the iPod. This section all by itself is something that every iPod owner should be thankful for - and it's really something that Apple should have included with the iPod.

iPod and iTunes: The Missing Manual is pretty basic in a lot of areas. Experienced iPodders should be taking a look at iPod and iTunes Hacks, also from O'Reilly. But if you are just starting out with your first iPod, this really is the book that should have come in the box, and you need to read it.