Feb 4 2003
Secrets Of the iPod Second Edition
This book is pretty similar to a book I reviewed a little while ago, The
Little iTunes Book [review]
in form. They are both from Peachpit Press, have the same look and feel and
are about audio. The difference obviously is this book is just on everyone’s
favorite MP3 player, the iPod. This book is for Mac and Windows (the iPod does
come for Windows you know) users that own an iPod. For your windows friend,
this book might sway them to the good side, but it does include some screen
shots in Windows XP that they’ll be familiar with.
Like most newer Second Edition books, this book has been updated recently
for new developments. In this case it’s the new 10 and 20 gig players and Windows
compatibility. The other book was just for Mac people with the 5 gig, but most
of the content still applies.
You may think the iPod is a fairly easy device to master, and that a book
is not necessary. Well, if you were savvy enough to come up with that, you’re
probably right. This book is swung towards the newbies and people who must
have directions and or everything told to them. Technology Explorers will
probably be disappointed with the book, but there are a good amount of people
who will enjoy it. Especially those who are new to MP3 in general. If you really
want to help out a friend, bundle the The
Little iTunes Book in a “newbie gift bundle”.
Obviously there is only so much to say about the iPod’s simple interface,
so a good part of the book is the OS side of things. For instance there are
detailed instructions on how to sync with OS 9, OS X and Windows. There’s also
directions on how to sync dates and addresses. Using the iPod as a FireWire
drive is another chapter… On OS X it’s pretty much plug and chug, but Chris
talks about installing OS’s onto
the drive to take up space (in the book, not on the drive but I guess it does
both).
It’s got a chapter on accessories… You know those fancy
cases and clips that come out of the woodwork? It’s got a bunch of them.
It’s a pretty decent chapter, but you can do a quick Google search and get
the
same info.
The best chapter is the trouble shooting one. The iPod has some breakdowns
every once in a while (at least mine does) and this helps out. Too bad a light
version isn’t available with only the troubleshooting chapter…
This wasn’t the greatest book I’ve seen. If you’re a geek save some bucks.
If you want to get something for your father in-law who just got an iMac and
an iPod go ahead and get him this book. It’s $15.39 on Amazon.com
