iPod and iTunes Starter Kit (2nd Edition) - Softcover

Miser, Brad; Robertson, Tim

9780789734631: iPod and iTunes Starter Kit (2nd Edition)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 078973463X ISBN 13: 9780789734631

Publisher: Que, 2005

The iPod and iTunes are the hottest technologies in the world of digital music today. Whether you're a Mac or Windows user, the iPod and iTunes Starter Kit, Second Edition provides all the information that you need to get the most out these amazing digital music tools, including the Apple iTunes Music Store. Updated to include information on the iPod Photo and the iPod Shuffle, you will master everything from the basics of listening to audio CDs to purchasing music through the iTunes Music Store to customizing playlists on your iPod. Included in the kit is a CD with FREE music downloads at the iTunes Music Store and downloads of various software products for your iPod and your iTunes such as Lyripod 1.0, GNUpod, Music Publisher, RadioLover 1.2, RockStar 1.0 and much more. Maximize your digital music experience with the iPod and iTunes Starter Kit, Second Edition.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

Brad Miser has written extensively about computers and other technology. Brad has written many books including Absolute Beginner's Guide to iPod and iTunes, 1st Edition; Special Edition Using Mac OS X, v10.4 Tiger; Special Edition Using Mac OS X, v10.3 Tiger Panther; Mac OS X and iLife: Using iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD; iDVD 3 Fast and Easy; Special Edition Using Mac OS X v10.2; Mac OS X and the Digital Lifestyle; Special Edition Using Mac OS X; The iMac Way; The Complete Idiot's Guide to iMovie 2; and Using Mac OS 8.5. He has been a featured at Macworld Expo and his work has appeared in other publications including MacAddict magazine.

Introduction

Introduction

If you have been toying with the idea of getting into digital music.... If you have an iPod and aren't sure what to do with it.... If you wish you had a good way to stop messing around with a bunch of CDs when you want to listen to music.... If you've heard great things about iPods, have seen the commercials for the iTunes Music Store, and want to know what all the fuss is about, then welcome to the iPod + iTunes Starter Kit!

Meet the Digital Music Triumvirate

In this book, you'll learn about three of the most amazing things to happen to music and digital photos since the first time someone decided that banging a stick on a rock had an appealing sound. These are the iPod, iTunes, and the iTunes Music Store.

The iPod Rocks

Apple's iPod has taken the portable digital device market by storm—and for good reason. Because three of the iPods include a hard drive with up to 60GB of space, it is possible for you to take your music collection wherever you go. The iPod's tools enable you to organize, customize, and listen to your music in many ways while you are on the move—in your car, at home, or working at your computer. With its tight integration with iTunes and the iTunes Music Store, managing your music is both fun and easy. Your trusty iPod can also be used as a portable drive (for example, you can use it to carry files from your home to your office), to capture sound, and to store pictures; there are numerous peripheral devices that expand its amazing capabilities even further. And, iPods are just plain cool (see Figure I.1).

If you have never used an iPod before, this book is perfect for you and will help you learn everything you need to know. If you have some experience with an iPod, this book will still help you take your iPod skills to the next level.

iTunes Jams

With iTunes, you can create, organize, and listen to your entire music library from your computer (see Figure I.2). iTunes enables you to build as large a Library as you have space on your computer's hard drive to store it. Then, you can customize music playback through playlists and smart playlists as well as create custom audio CDs in a variety of formats. It also provides other useful features, such as custom labeling and information tools, the ability to share your music on a local network, an Equalizer, and more. Because Apple's iTunes Music Store is integrated into iTunes, you can easily purchase and add music to your Library from within the application. Moreover, iTunes is the best software tool available to manage music on your iPod.

Figure I.1
Whatever iPod model you choose will rock your world.

Figure I.2
iTunes will change the way you listen to music.

Just as with the iPod, if you have never used iTunes before, this book is perfect for you and will help you learn everything you need to know. If you have some experience, my hope is that you will learn how to get even more out of this outstanding program. Even if you have used iTunes quite a bit, you might manage to find some tidbits that will help your iTunes expertise grow.

iTunes Music Store

Using the iTunes Music Store, you can find, preview, and purchase music from a collection of hundreds of thousands of songs and download that music into your iTunes Music Library. Songs can be purchased individually or in albums, for $.99 per song (less when purchasing an entire album). Music you buy can be listened to, placed on a CD, and moved onto your iPod. Since its inception, the iTunes Music Store has rapidly become the most popular source of legal digital music on the Internet. After you have used it a time or two, you'll understand why.

Quick Guide to iPod + iTunes Starter Kit

iPod + iTunes Starter Kit provides all the information you need to get the most out of these amazing digital music tools. From the basics of listening to audio CDs with iTunes to the advanced customizing of music on an iPod and purchasing music online, this book equips you with the information you need.

This book contains many step-by-step instructions—I hope your motto will be "learn by doing." You should be able to learn how to do a task fairly quickly and relatively painlessly by following the steps using your own music and your own tools. Although my writing is so utterly fascinating that you will likely want to read this book like a good novel, try to resist that urge because you will probably get better results if you actually work with the tools while you read this book.

Going Both Ways

Because the iPod, iTunes, and the iTunes Music Store all work equally well on both Windows and Macintosh computers, this book covers these topics from both perspectives. So, you'll notice that some of the figures are screenshots taken on a Windows computer whereas others are taken on a Macintosh. Although the screens on these two computers look slightly different, they work very similarly, so seeing a screen on the Mac shouldn't cause a problem for you if you use a Windows computer, and vice versa. When there are significant differences between the two platforms, I explain them in the text.

Special Elements

As you read, you will see three special elements: Notes, Tips, and, only rarely, Cautions. Also, each chapter ends with a section titled "The Absolute Minimum." Explanations of each of these are provided for you here.

Note - Notes look like this. They are designed to provide you with information that is related to the topic at hand but not absolutely essential to it. I hope you will find the Notes interesting, even if you don't find them immediately useful.

Tip - Tips help you get something done more quickly and easily, or they tell you how to do a task that is related to what's being described at the moment. You might also find an explanation of an alternate way to get something done.

Caution - If something you can do (and probably shouldn't) might end in a bad result, I warn you in a Caution. Fortunately, you won't find many of these throughout the book, but when you do see one, you might want to take a close look at it.

The Absolute Minimum

Finally, each chapter ends with "The Absolute Minimum" section. The contents of this section vary a bit from chapter to chapter. Examples of this content include the following: