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by Laura Schrier
iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual
By J.D. Biersdorfer
2nd Edition February 2004
ISBN: 0-596-00658-6
350 pages, $24.95
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/ipodtmm2/
When I began reading this book, I was using an older 10G iPod, and most of my time was spent lamenting the fact that my older model wouldn’t do most of the cool stuff I was learning about. About 100 pages in, my iPod had problems with the channels cutting in and out, so I ‘borrowed’ the new 15G model I had purchased for my spouse several months earlier (it was still in the box, unused!). I immediately began to re-read the first part of the book, with more attention being paid to the actual operation, as it was different. This time, it was more fun.
 I found the first part of the book to be easy to follow and filled with diagrams and links, tips and detailed information. Unfortunately, it was also filled with off-base attempts at humor. I ended up with 2 pages of notes regarding just the sophomoric, inaccurate rants, covering everything from snakes and Labrador Retrievers to marathon runners, all of which I happen to be personally familiar with.
That aside, the information contained therein was detailed and in most cases, interesting. For every chapter on using the iPod with a Mac, there followed one concerning the same process using Windows (much more complicated, to be sure).
Lots of totally useless information, too: did you know that the first CD format’s big seller was “Brothers In Arms” by Dire Straits in 1985? Or, that there are about 18,000 spoken recordings on MP3 available, with about 5,000 titles for sale on iTunes. That last fact is contained in the 2nd section of the book, covering everything from the origins of MP3’s to converting files so they can be played in the proper format.
Lots of things were new to me, such as: you can download iTunes to an unlimited number of iPods, but only to 3 authorized computers. It explains how to move music from iPod to iPod directly. The next section covers games, extras such as using the iPod as an external HD, or using it to boot the computer if you have a problem. There’s a section at the back of the book concerning troubleshooting problems, for iTunes and the iPod. Did we really need a visual of a bunny eating an earphone cord? There’s a neat section on keyboard shortcuts. All in all, if you can zip past the really bad jokes and homilies, it’s a wealth of information, some of it useful.
June 2004
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