iPods 101: HOW TO GET THE MOST FROM YOUR iPOD
TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………. 4 CHAPTER 1: GETTING STARTED …………………………. 6 Windows PC ……………………………………………… 6 Macintosh ………………………………………………….7 Preparing Your iPod ……………………………………8 Playing Music ……………………………………………..9 CHAPTER 2: IPOD CONTROLS …………………………… 10 Wheel Functions ………………………………………. 11 CHAPTER 3: MAKING THE MOST OF ITUNES ……….. 13 CHAPTER 4: ORGANIZING AND TRANSFERRING MUSIC ……………………………………………………………. 14 Transfer Music Automatically ……………………...
CHAPTER 7: IPOD FOR MAP DIRECTIONS …………… 26 CHAPTER 8: IMPORT AUDIO BOOKS ……………………28 Optimize Your Import Settings …………………….29 Importing …………………………………………………30 CHAPTER 9: VOICE RECORDING WITH IPOD ……….34 Audio Hardware ………………………………………..35 Start Recording …………………………………………37 CHAPTER 10: LASER BEAM AND FLASHLIGHT ……..40 CHAPTER 11: REMOTE CONTROL ……………………….41 Recording The Signal ………………………………..43 Adding The Signal To Your iPod ………………….45 CHAPTER 12: THE BOOM BOX …………………………...
iPod Preferences ……………………………………….58 CONCLUSION …………………………………………………..59 INTRODUCTION Since the iPod was first introduce over fours ago is has proven to be a versatile little tool. Even though the architecture is tightly closed, hackers have managed to find their way in so that they can make modifications. Software developers and creators of content have made it possible for you to use the iPod to keep all kinds of information at your finger tips.
Store up to thousands of songs from your private music collection so that you can listen to them wherever you want to take them. Store up to thousands of digital photos. This is ideal for viewing whenever you want as well as for backing up your digital photos until you can transfer them to your computer. Import photos from your digital camera by using the iPod Camera Connector. This is ideal for when you are traveling and your digital camera care is full. Look at your photos through a slideshow.
You can record your own voice memos. This is done by purchasing an optional microphone. You can play games. The following pages outline some of the creative things that you can do with your iPod. CHAPTER 1: GETTING STARTED One you purchase your iPod, getting started is easy! Apple has made it easy since the instructions included with your iPod are accurate and concise. Depending on what computer operating system you have, the instructions will vary slightly.
iTunes. Make sure that you are running the latest version, 4.7 or higher. You should find iTunes on the CD that is included with your iPod purchase. Software for your iPod. You should find the software on the CD that is included with your iPod purchase. Note that your iPod can be used to import photo collections directly from Adobe Photoshop Album. Keep in mind that this is optional software. You can also import your digital photos directly from your computer or directly from your digital camera.
checking out the iTunes website at www.apple.com/itunes. Software for your iPod. You should find the software on the CD that is included with your iPod purchase. Preparing your iPod Before you start using your iPod you will need to prepare it for use. You will need to charge the battery, install the software, and take the time to import songs from your CD collection or from music folders on your computer. Don’t forget that you can also purchase songs from the iTunes Music Store.
have two options when it comes to obtaining music for your iPod: (1) importing to your computer from a CD, or (2) buying music online at iTunes. To import music from a CD use the following steps: 1. Choose a CD and put it into your CD drive. Once iTunes has been installed it will open automatically and the CD that you have inserted will appear in the iTunes Source list. 2. Check off any songs that you don’t want to transfer. Click on import. 3.
disconnect. Disconnecting is easy by squeezing both sides of the dock connector before you remove it from your iPod. Use the wheel on your iPod to choose a song to play. CHAPTER 2: MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR IPOD CONTROLS Press any button your iPod to activate it so that the main menu displays. You will quickly learn to use the click wheel in combination with the select button to move through the menus on the screen.
Wheel Functions Following are some basic wheel functions that you will want to get the hang of using: Tuning the iPod: Press any button. Turning off the iPod: Press the play/pause button and hold down. Selecting an item on the menu: Use the wheel to scroll to the menu item. Press and hold the select button.
Return to the previous menu: Press and hold the menu button. Searching for a song: Choose the music option which is found on the main menu. Playing a song: Make sure the song that you want to play is highlighted. Press the play/pause button or select. Remember that your iPod must be disconnected from your computer before you can play any songs. Playing an entire album: Make sure that the album, or playlist, that you want to play is highlighted. Press the play/pause button.
An orange bar will appear if you have done this correctly. Scrolling through your photos: Go to the photo viewing screen. Use the wheel to move back and forth through your digital photos. Using the photo slideshow: Choose an album or a single photo. Press the play button. CHAPTER 3: MAKING THE MOST OF ITUNES iTunes is a unique software application that Apple uses exclusively for the iPod.
Create your own music CDs. You will need to have a CD burner in your computer to do this. Create your own playlists of songs that you want to listen to in one session. You can then publish your playlist, which is called an “iMix”, to the iTunes Music Store for others to see and use as inspiration. Create your own “Party Shuffle” playlists. This option allows you to make a playlist that is then put on shuffle so that songs are played in random order. Listen to songs on the Internet.
Organizing and transferring music from your computer to your iPod is what makes the iPod such a unique MP3 player. Music transfer is fast and easy. When you connect your iPod to your computer it will connect automatically by default. Transfer Music Automatically You can set your iPod so that music is transferred automatically. The following steps will guide you to transfer your tunes: In the iTunes Source List select the iPod button. Click on the options button.
listen to so that as your musical tastes change, so does your iPod music and artist selection. You also have the ability to manually transfer songs to your iPod. This gives you the capability of transferring individual songs as well as playlists. This feature is ideal if you are going to be using your iPod with more than one computer. Think of the unlimited possibilities. You can use your iPod between your home computer and your computer at work with blinking an eye.
computer without worry of losing important data. You can then transfer these photos to your iPod for viewing. Another great function of the iPod Photo is that you can connect your iPod to your television so that you can view them with family and friends. Pictures can be viewed as a slide show complete with background music.
You have the ability to import other types of digital images into iPhoto. This includes any images that you have downloaded from the Internet. If you don’t have the iPhoto program you can still import digital photos to your computer using “Image Capture”. Start by connecting your camera, or the digital camera card, to the computer. Next, open up the “Image Capture” program. You can download all of the available digital photos or you can choose specific images to transfer.
Open up the iTunes program and choose the iPod icon in the iTunes Source List. Choose the options button. Click on photos and then choose the synchronize photos from option. When the pop up menu appears, choose the iPhoto option. You can now choose to copy all of your digital photos to your iPod. Or you can choose to copy only certain photos from your iPhoto albums. Keep in mind that every time you connect your iPod to your computer, the photos will be automatically transferred.
You have the option of importing all of your photos to your iPod or you can choose to import only certain photos from your photo albums. This option requires that you choose the copy selected albums only selection. Remember that when you connect your iPod to your computer that all of your photos, unless otherwise indicated, will be automatically transferred to your iPod. Another way that you can transfer digital photos to your iPod is to transfer them from a folder on your hard drive.
Click on the photos option and then choose the synchronize photos from option. Choose the photoshop album or photoshop elements option from the menu. You have the option of importing all of your photos to your iPod or you can choose to import only certain photos from your photo albums. This option requires that you choose the copy selected albums only selection. You can transfer full resolution image files to your iPod.
Click on the photos option and then choose the include full resolution photos option. At this time iTunes will copy your full resolution photo copies to the “photos folder” that is on your iPod. Transfer Photo from Camera to iPod You can use the iPod Camera Connector, or an iPod compatible photo card reader, to transfer photos from your digital camera to your iPod. You can quickly view your digital photos that are on your camera before storing them safely on your iPod.
Canon Nikon Olympus Sanyo Sony Epson Casio Minolta See individual camera listings to find out which specific cameras are compatible. You’ll find a complete list of these cameras at www.apple.com/support/ipod/photos. CHAPTER 6: USE YOUR IPOD AS A STORAGE DRIVE You can use your iPod as storage drive. Depending on the type of iPod that you have, it can be used as a flash drive or as a hard drive. This means that you have the ability to store and transfer files and data.
using an Explorer window you’ll find that you won’t be able to play them on your iPod. The following steps will show you how to use your iPod as a storage drive: Connect your iPod to the computer. If iTunes doesn’t open automatically, open it manually by clicking on it. Set your iTunes preferences. Find the edit menu on the Windows toolbar. Choose preferences. If you are using a Mac you can go directly to the iTunes menu to choose preferences. For both a PC and Mac, click on the iPod button.
You will now find the iPod icon on your desktop as well as in my computer in Windows. All you need to do is double click on the icon and drag your files from or to the iPod window to copy them over. Remember to eject your iPod before you disconnect it from the computer. Copy Songs from your iPod to your Computer It’s easy to copy songs from your iPod to your computer.
copy these song file from your iPod back to your computer so that you can reload your library of songs. The only thing that you can do is encode the music files from your collection of CDs one more time and then sync this new library to your iPod. If you have bought music from the iTunes Music Store and forgot to back them up there is no way for them to be downloaded again.
MP3 player. But just what is iPod-iWay? This service will give you step by step directions when you are driving so that you know exactly where you are going and how to get there. All you have to do is export the results that you get for online driving directions as provided by Yahoo Maps. These directions are then imported into your iPod Photo. This is a great way for you to save the driving directions that you need in your iPod without having to buy any other software.
CHAPTER 8: IMPORT AUDIO CD AUDIO BOOKS TO ITUNES Many people think that the iPod is only for music. If you do, you are missing out on a big feature since the iPod is ideal for listening to audio books. The iPod can provide you with a great audio book experience. However, if you listen to a lot of audio books it can get expensive downloading them from the iTunes Music Store. This is the time for you to find a source of free audio books.
Optimize your Import Settings The first thing that you need to do is make sure that your import settings are at their optimum best for the spoken word and audio books. The following steps will ensure that your import settings are the best that they can be: Open up iTunes and click on the preferences dialog. Click on the advanced icon. Then click on the importing tab. Choose the on CD insert to show songs.
Uncheck play songs while you are importing the audio book. You’ll also want to uncheck the use error correction when reading audio CDs option. Both of these options will slow down the import process so you’ll want to have them both unchecked to speed things up. Click okay. Once you have optimized your import settings on your iPod you will find that importing audio book CDs is that much easier. This will certainly encourage you to use your iPod for than just music.
you have to do as well as ensures that the track information is much more usable on your iPod. Put the audio book CD into your CD drive. Wait a minute or two for the tracks to show up in iTunes. Keep in mind that you might have to dismiss one or more dialogs which will prompt you to agree to some sort of automatic action. The only thing that you want to do is display the tracks on the CD whether or not the automatic lookup of those track names was a success or not. Choose all of the CD tracks.
Click on okay. The above information about the audio book will be submitted. At this time you will be prompted to choose the select CD category because the database that is online uses a different category for audio books. Select the books & spoken option and click okay again. A dialog box will appear telling you everything so far is done. Click okay. Once the submission process has been completed all of the CD tracks will have the right information connected and attached to them.
number to the song. Keep in mind that a short format is better than a long one, particularly if you have an iPod mini which has a narrow screen. You might want to consider using the format “xx/yy”. “xx” is the disc number and “yy” is the number of discs in total. Make sure that you add a zero (0) to the number of the disc if the total number of discs will be totalling more than one digit (for example you will reach disc “10”).
A note here on accountability of legal issues. If you have checked audio books out of the library, you have the fair right to listen to them on your iPod. However, once you have listened to the audio book you should delete it from your iTunes library. CHAPTER 9: VOICE RECORDING WITH YOUR IPOD The iPod is often coveted for its amount of disc space, its long battery life, and the seamless way that it integrates with your computer.
Audio Hardware You will need to have a 3rd generation iPod for recording voice and other sounds. A 3rd generation iPod will have the dock connector on the bottom. You have three choices when it comes to “input”: Belkin Voice Recorder: The Belkin voice recorder is quite compact when it isn’t attached to your iPod. This is means that you can pack it up and take it along with you without having to find extra room.
permanently attached to your iPod. For more information about the Griffin iTalk visit their website. http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/ Universal Microphone Adapter: The Universal Microphone Adapter is also made by Belkin and is a great choice if you are looking for an external microphone for your iPod. The Adapter plugs into the top of your iPod but rather than having a built in speaker and microphone it as input and output jacks that are separate and give you three-position settings.
have recorded. If you are already familiar with digital media you most likely have QuickTime. If you, this is the right time to obtain the free version or upgrade to the full version. http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/win.html. Start Recording As soon as you plug a recording device into your iPod it will be recognized as “audio input” and will come up with the recording menu. Choose the record option. Your iPod will keep track of the length of time for each recording session.
simple and easy to use. When you want to access your recording sessions you don’t even need to have the microphone attached to your iPod. All you need to do is navigate to the extras menu and choose voice memos. Transferring your recording sessions to your computer is just as easy as recording. Connect your iPod to your computer. If you have the settings set to manually update you will be notified that there is a new voice memo on your iPod and do you want to add this memo to your iTunes library.
When you choose the manual mode you will automatically be activating the enable disk use. This will put an iPod icon on your desktop. This icon will give you access to your iPod just the same as you would get with any FireWire hard drive. Click on the iPod icon and search for the recordings folder. You will find your audio sessions in this folder. The file names will be easy to recognize as “20060719 12345a.wav”. You might want to create a folder in your music directory that is called “iPod recordings”.
you. Consider leaving iTunes completely out of the picture and organizing all of your audio files in a music directory specific for your .wav files. This can save you a lot of time when it comes to editing your audio files. CHAPTER 10: LASER BEAM AND FLASHLIGHT You probably already take your iPod with you wherever you go. This means that you always have it on hand when you want to listen to your music or record a voice memo.
mean that your iPod has one more bit of functionality that makes it a great investment. The Griffin iBeam has been designed for the following iPods: the iPod mini the iPod Photo 4th generation iPod that has a click wheel 3rd generation iPod that has buttons and a touch wheel CHAPTER 11: REMOTE CONTROL You can turn your iPod into a universal remote control which you can then use to control all of the electronic equipment in your home or any other device that uses a remote control.
never have to have all those multiple remote controls lying around your home. You will need the following items to convert your iPod to a remote control: any model of iPod a PC or a Macintosh that is complete with sound recording software any model of pocket PC (aim for one from 2002 to 2003) Griffin’s Total Remote software and Griffin’s IR device (sold together) The most important from the above list is the Griffin sound to IR converter.
Install the Total Remote software to the pocket PC. Follow the directions and begin entering all of the remotes that you want to use on your iPod to the software. The next few directions focus on turning your television on and off. On the pocket PC, once the software has been installed, choose start – programs – total remote. Next choose edit – start one shot sampling. Choose the correct power button which is shown on the interface.
with this. You can buy a 3.5 stereo audio cable anywhere where electronics are sold. On your PC use a program for sound editing that edits sounds as well as removes channels. One such program is SoundForge: http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/products/soundforgefa mily.asp. No matter what recording application you use, make sure that you set the recording format to: 44Hz, 16 bit Stereo. PCM. You are going to be saving the sound signal as a .wav file. Choose the record option in the sound recording application.
bit stereo, PCM .wav file. For example, you can call it channel.wav. Adding the Signal to your iPod Connect your iPod to the cradle. When iTunes open create a new playlist and call it something like television. Then you can add the .wav file to the playlist. The file is transferred to your iPod and you are ready to test your new remote control! Take your iPod out of the cradle and put the Total Remote IR device into the headphone jack on the top of your iPod.
Preserve all of your old tapes and LPs. Grab hold of Internet streams such as podcasts to listen to whenever and wherever you want. Create playlists that are absolutely perfect. Create audio files from the text of ebooks, news feeds, and web pages. Send these audio files to iTunes for transfer to your iPod.
The Boom Box™ will also allow you to change any web page, email, or other written document into an audio file for listening rather than reading. This will allow you to listen to your favorite blogs, email from family and friends, or web content from your iPod. This handy function is perfect for those people who are too busy to sit and read or for those who have difficulty reading online. Another great function of the Boom Box™ is the ability to create great playlists.
CHAPTER 13: MAKING SMART PLAYLISTS You have the option of making mediocre playlists for your iPod that simply “do the job”. Or you can master the art of creating Smart Playlists that wow everyone including yourself. Smart Playlists are one feature of iTunes that is very underused. A Smart Playlist is automatically updated depending on what kind of criteria you set for them. iTunes lets you create playlists by combining your music tracks from a variety of albums, artists, and genres.
the wheel will push the wheel into “rating mode”. Once you are in the rating mode you will see that there are stars on the screen. You can then turn the wheel to increase or decrease the number of stars that you are giving a particular song. Make sure that iTunes is set to either one of the two automatic transfer modes when you are in the iPod options screen. If you are not in one of these modes you won’t be able to transfer the play counts, play dates, or ratings in an easy manner to your iTunes library.
Create your List Begin by making certain selections from the pop up menu in the area called criteria line. Select your songs based on certain attributes, operators, and values. The criteria line will usually only display one line. If you want to display more lines press the “+” button. The match lines option is what will determine how each of the criteria is evaluated. Smart Playlists really start to show how smart they are when you combine certain rules.
from. No matter where you get your music from, such as the iTunes Music Store or copied from your own CDs, attributes will always be looked at in the same way. There is, however, one attribute that will group CDs track together and that is the album name attribute. You can group your songs together in a variety of ways including year, genre, artist, and play count.
Grouping: This attribute is used when you want to group more than one movement in a single classical piece. Kind: The kind attribute is an audio file format. Some of the current audio files that are supported include AAC, AIFF, Apple Lossless, MPEG, and WAV. Last Played: Every time that you play a track, iTunes will recored the time and date when it was played. This way you can find out which songs you play more than any others and add them to your Smart Playlist.
Track Number: Every track on an album will be assigned a certain track number. For example “6 of 10”. Year: The year attribute lists the year the track was first released. Making Smart Playlists is a one way that you can get the most out of your iPod. You will be able to listen to exactly the lists of songs that interest you the most. This is a great way that you can create a specific playlist for the gym or for you walk.
The Shuffle Buttons There aren't many buttons to push on the shuffle, and that's a good thing because it makes it hard for you to push the wrong one. Most people can figure out how to press the big button to start and stop the music, and perform other basic functions using the four other buttons to control volume and navigation. There are a few interesting features hiding behind those buttons. Unlike other iPods, the shuffle has no hold switch to prevent tragic button-push accidents.
When you pause the shuffle, the green light blinks at you. If you leave the shuffle paused, the light stops blinking after a minute, and it's easy to forget that it's still on. The shuffle has clever hardware and software that greatly conserves power if the iPod has been paused for more than a minute or so, but when you are not using your shuffle you should use the good old-fashioned off switch to be sure it isn't using its battery when you don't want it to.
playlist, the iPod shuffle always starts over, for the sake of simplicity, which makes this tip work. (It also works on other iPods if you turn on repeat all in the settings. But other iPods have screens, which makes them somewhat easier to navigate). The Lights on your Shuffle The iPod shuffle has two subcutaneous LEDs on the front to help you figure out what it's doing in the absence of a display.
If you press a button and see both the green and amber lights blinking, one after another, that usually means there are no songs on the iPod, or some other error has occurred. Try resetting it by turning it off for 5 seconds, then back on. If you still get the psychedelic lights, you'll need to connect to a computer and load some music. When your iPod shuffle is connected to a computer, you'll see the amber light. A blinking amber light means, "I'm busy. Please don't disconnect me.
iPod Preferences When you connect your shuffle you will get access to a few iPod settings in iTunes preferences. Keep this iPod in the source list, also known as shadow mode, is a cool feature that lets you modify the shuffle playlist even when the shuffle isn't connected. You can add, delete, Autofill, and top off to your heart's content, just as if the iPod were there. When you connect it, your spiffy playlist is copied over to the iPod.
CONCLUSION The iPod is one of the most diverse music players to hit the market. Each day, more and more people are finding that their iPod is one thing that they don’t want to live without. Apple has gone in an entirely new direction when it comes to the music play…and the gamble paid off for them. This book outlines many of the unique and diverse things that you can do with your iPod, not matter which model you have purchased.
