The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group iPod & iTunes - for the bookshelf Major Keary |
It is interesting how Mac technology has crossed over to Windows: Apple's iPod has become more versatile as well as being Windows-enabled; iTunes software has been ported to Windows; and the Mac iTunes Music Store is accessible from Windows. However, access to the Music Store requires iTunes 4, which requires WinXP or Win2000 and 256 Mb of memory.
The people who conceived the iPod seem not to have foreseen its potential as PalmPilot, hard drive, e-book reader, and games player. To catch up with the new developments Pogue Press has released a second edition of iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual. The book addresses the use of iPod under both Mac and Windows, and describes the new mini iPod. Good use is made of illustrations to enhance the text; these are not confined to screen shots, but also include helpful photographs of hardware and details of cable connections.
The introduction presents the reader with a succinct account of what the iPod is, what one can do with it, the various models (going back to the original, released in 2001), system requirements, Windows issues, and software version differences. The book is parts: hardware (including the 'sync connection); software (iTunes for Mac and Windows, MusicMatch Jukebox for Windows; and iTunes Music Store); non-music applications (address book, calendar, games, e-book reader, and hard drive); and advanced topics (connecting to other audio systems, hacks and tools, iSync, web resources, and troubleshooting). Apropos troubleshooting, the iPod has its own impressive set of diagnostic tools, which are discussed. Appendices contain useful information in tabulated form.
The Missing Manual series is well conceived and this title in particular is an essential resource for anyone who uses, or wants to know about, the iPod and iTunes.
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J. Biersdorfer: iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual 2/e ISBN 0-596-00658-6 Published by Pogue Press/O'Reilly, 349 pp., RRP $49.95 incl. GST |
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Reprinted from the June 2004 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
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