Absolute Beginner's Guide to iPod and iTunes, 3rd Edition

Since the inception of iTunes, the iPod (the best-selling portable digital music player), and iTunes Music Store (Time magazine's Invention of the Year for 2003), Apple has taken the world of digital music by storm. The Absolute Beginner's Guide to iPod and iTunes, Third Edition, provides all the information that music and media fans need to get the most out of these amazing digital devices and tools. From the basics of listening to audio CDs to advanced customization of music on an iPod, this book equips even those who have never explored digital audio to master their digital music by using these awesome tools. The book covers both Windows and Macintosh platforms to reach the broadest possible audience. The book is organized into two major parts, with each focusing on an element of the iPod, and iTunes and finally a third part focusing on the iTunes Music Store. Along the way, it explains how all of these tools work together and shows readers how to get the most from them. It progresses from very basic topics in a logical manner to lead even absolute beginners on the path to musical mastery.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

1 Touring the iPod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2 Getting Started with an iPod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

3 Controlling an iPod or iPod nano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

4 Listening to Music on an iPod or iPod nano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

5 Listening to Music on an iPod shuffle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

6 Building an iPod’s Music Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

7 Using an iPod to Listen to and Watch Podcasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

8 Using an iPod to Listen to Audiobooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

9 Using an iPod to Store and View Photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

10 Using an iPod to Watch Videos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

11 Taking the iPod Further . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

12 Configuring an iPod to Suit Your Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

13 Maintaining an iPod and Solving Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

14 Touring iTunes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

15 Getting Started with iTunes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

16 Listening to Audio CDs and Internet Audio with iTunes . . . . . . . . . . 231

17 Building, Browsing, Searching, and Playing Your iTunes

Music Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

18 Labeling, Categorizing, and Configuring Your Music . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

19 Creating, Configuring, and Using Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

20 Subscribing to and Listening to Podcasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

21 Working with iTunes Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

22 Burning Your Own CDs or DVDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

23 Sharing iTunes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377

24 Maintaining iTunes and Solving Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395

25 Touring the iTunes Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411

26 Configuring iTunes for the iTunes Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419

27 Shopping in the iTunes Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435

28 Working with Purchased Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

29 Solving iTunes Store Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

Brad Miser has written more than 25 books about computers and related technology,

with his favorite topics being anything that starts with a lowercase i, such as the

iPod and iTunes. In addition to Absolute Beginner’s Guide to iPod and iTunes, Third

Edition, Brad has written Mac User’s Guide to Living Wirelessly; Pimping Your Mac Mini;

Special Edition Using Mac OS X, Tiger; Special Edition Using Mac OS X, v10.3 Panther;

Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Homeschooling; Mac OS X and iLife: Using iTunes, iPhoto,

iMovie, and iDVD; iDVD 3 Fast & Easy; Special Edition Using Mac OS X v10.2; and Using

Mac OS 8.5. He has also been an author, a development editor, or a technical editor

on more than 50 other titles. He has written numerous articles in MacAddict magazine

and has been a featured speaker on various topics at Macworld Expo, at user

group meetings, and in other venues.

Brad is a solutions consultant, meaning that he helps customers understand how to

benefit from the software that the company he works for produces. Previously, he was

the director of product and customer services for a software development company

and the manager of education and support services for a different software company.

He was also the lead proposal specialist for an aircraft engine manufacturer, a

development editor for a computer book publisher, and a civilian aviation test

officer/engineer for the U.S. Army. Brad holds a Bachelor of Science degree in

mechanical engineering from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis

Obispo and has received advanced education in maintainability engineering,

business, and other topics.

In addition to his passion for technology, Brad likes to ride his motorcycle whenever

and wherever possible. A native of California, Brad now lives in Brownsburg, Indiana, with his wife, Amy;

their three daughters, Jill, Emily, and Grace; and a rabbit named Bun-Bun.

Brad would love to hear about your experiences with this book (the good, the bad,

and the ugly). Please visit his website at web.mac.com/bradmacosx/ to send an email

to him.