.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT SHOOTOUT
.TITLE Battle of the iPod books
.AUTHOR David Gewirtz
.SUMMARY Laaaaaadies and gentlemen! Today we bring you one of the biggest, no-holds-barred battles of all time! Going at it with all they’ve got are seven of the all-time meanest, toughest, most informative iPod books you’ll ever encounter. Which book will win? Which book will prove itself worthy of your hard-earned dollars and attention? Which book will score the knockout punch? It’s a player book playbook and you’re invited for a ring-side seat.
.OTHER
Laaaaaadies and gentlemen! Today we bring you one of the biggest, no-holds-barred battles of all time! Going at it with all they’ve got are seven of the all-time meanest, toughest, most informative iPod books you’ll ever encounter. Which book will win? Which book will prove itself worthy of your hard-earned dollars and attention? Which book will score the knockout punch?
As you can see in Figure A, they’re all lined up, ready to do battle.
.FIGPAIR A We pit seven iPod books against each other.
It’s a player book playbook and you’re invited for a ring-side seat.
.TEASER Tap here to get a ring-side seat to this battle of the iPod books.
.H1 iPod Fan Book
Entering into the ring clad in nothing but a light green sleeve is the 96-page lightweight, the iPod Fan Book, by Yasukuni Notomi and published, surprisingly, by O’Reilly. As you can see in Figure B, this is a tiny book.
.FIGPAIR B It’s cute and pretty, but it’s not what you’d expect from O’Reilly.
This is a pretty, little book with nice four-color pictures. Although it doesn’t provide you with much more than basic usage information, it would be a nice companion to your first iPod. We found a few interesting tips, including how to rip DVD audio to your iPod and how to encode your audio using different encoders than come with iTunes.
At $14.95, you’re not really going to learn much you don’t know. If you’re a total iPod newbie or don’t like to read much, this book’s for you. Otherwise, you’re probably going to be disappointed.
.RATING 3
.H1 iPod & iTunes Hacks
This is a true story. A few months ago, I plugged my cranky 4th Generation iPod into its cradle. The usual "Do not disconnect" message came up on the iPod, and it stayed that way for quite a while. Eventually, the message went away, and everything seemed just fine.
But then, I launched iTunes. I got a huge shock when I found out that all my files were gone. iTunes had, without any reason, deleted all of my music, audio books, and podcasts from my PC’s hard drive. They were, quite simply, gone.
In a bit of a panic, I then fired up my iPod. To my relief, everything was on the iPod. Fortunately, my music collection fit on the iPod’s drive and it was all there. Yes, I rigorously backup our network, but I hadn’t considered my music important enough to merit a current backup (a mistake, admittedly).
The challenge was, how was I going to get the music that was on the iPod back into iTunes? I called Apple support. After all, I’d paid for AppleCare on both my iPod and on my wife’s. I figured, with the extra insurance from AppleCare, surely Apple would tell me how to recover my files.
I should have known better. After all, this was Apple.
The Apple support dweeb told me, quite firmly, that Apple was not going to help me recover my files. Yes, they’d seen this problem before, but because the iPod isn’t supposed to transfer music back to the computer, they were not going to help. Period.
Have I mentioned yet that I’m not a big fan of the iPod and even less of Apple?
Meanwhile, of course, I’ve got this stack of iPod books that have come in for review. Perhaps, I thought, one of them might have the solution. I knew there were some software programs that would move the music off the iPod, but I wasn’t sure what they were, or where to find them.
The most obvious candidate for this sort of information was Hadley Stern’s iPod & iTunes Hacks, shown in Figure C.
.FIGPAIR C Can this book save my music collection?
A quick read of the table of contents led me to Hack #41, "Access hidden files on your iPod". And there it was, on page 159, the exact procedure for recovering my music. No extra software was needed and it was amazingly easy to do.
In fairness to Stern, I’m not going to tell you the secret. Go buy the book. This book is a clear winner. At 432 pages and with one hundred hacks, this book has a lot of useful information you might not otherwise find. In addition to recovering your music, it shows how to turn the iPod into a universal remote control (silly, but cool), a voice recorder, how to run Linux on your iPod, how to use your iPod as an emergency boot disk, how to read RSS feeds, and even how to script iTunes.
The book has a lot of Mac-specific tips, but there’s enough in the book to satisfy Windows users as well. The only reason this book doesn’t get five stars is that it doesn’t talk about video or podcasts, but it’s definitely a must-get book if you’re into your iPod.
.RATING 4
.H1 The iTunes for Windows Book
Yep, iTunes runs on Windows. It’s a huge market for Apple and, while there are always some annoyances, it’s a pretty reasonable solution. However, the documentation for Windows users (well, for all users) is somewhat lacking. Into that void comes The iTunes for Windows Book, shown in Figure D, by Scott Kelby and Kleber Stephenson, published by Peachpit Press.
.FIGPAIR D If you use Windows, should you buy this book?
At 140 pages, The iTunes for Windows Book seems weirdly similar to the iPod Fan Book discussed earlier in this article. The iTunes for Windows Book is a more book-sized 6×9 inches, where the iPod Fan Book is just about the size of a CD jewel case.
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Both books illustrate their tips in color. Both books have very short descriptions for each tip. Both books are very basic. They do differ somewhat in style. The iPod Fan Book provides longer chapters and discusses a given topic in some minor depth.
The iTunes for Windows Book is much more of a problem solver. Want to browse by genre? Turn to page 52, look at the color screenshot, and read the single paragraph. Want to deauthorize your computer? Turn to page 68, look at the color screenshot, and read the single paragraph. You get the idea.
At $19.95, if you’ve got an iPod and Windows and you want some simple answers, this is your book.
.RATING 3
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.H1 The Little iTunes Book, Third Edition
The Little iTunes Book, Third Edition is by the wildly prolific Bob LeVitus. Bob goes way, way back in the Macintosh world and is one of our favorite authors and Macintosh personalities.
Curiously, at 226 pages, The Little iTunes Book, Third Edition, shown in Figure E, and published by Peachpit Press, is larger than both iPod Fan Book and The iTunes for Windows Book.
.FIGPAIR E The Little iTunes Book, Third Edition isn’t so little.
Bob’s book is plain ol’ black and white, as compared to the color pages within some of the other books. As you might expect from Dr. Mac, the book’s quite well-written and quite Mac-centric. It’s got some good usage information, but nothing wildly new. It’s good for the beginning user as well as those who want to put a little more power into their tunes.
At $19.99, if you’re a Mac user and want a good read, this is your book.
.RATING 3
.H1 Secrets of the iPod
Wow, this book tears at the heartstrings. Secrets of the iPod, shown in Figure F, has the old TechTV logo on it. Like many of our audience, I miss TechTV and I’m deeply saddened by the husk that remains in the poorly operated G4 television network.
.FIGPAIR F I miss TechTV.
TechTV’s been gone for a while now, so how come we’ve got a TechTV-branded book about the iPod in this product shootout? Well, to be fair, this book’s been sitting on our review shelf for a while and, originally, I wasn’t going to include it in this product shootout. But with so many older iPods for sale on eBay, a good "jack of all trades" book seemed needed for the budget reader.
Although listing for $19.99, you can get Secrets of the iPod for as low as $5 on the Amazon used-book marketplace. Secrets of the iPod is a great book for those with older iPods. It’s got descriptions of some of the older software you might find, as well as tips for making those older-generation iPods sing and dance.
Be careful, though, if you’re going to try to buy iPods on eBay. eBay iPods are ideal opportunities for scammers to take your money. In one five-minute search, we found a number of suspect offers. One offer, from the UK, showed a picture of an iPod Nano, listed the entry as a 40GB iPod, and had a buy-it-now price of $100. There’s a hundred bucks you’ll never see again!
In any case, buy Secrets of the iPod if you’re looking for older secrets of the older iPods.
.RATING 3
.H1 iPod & iTunes (The Missing Manual)
From David Pogue’s Missing Manual series comes iPod & iTunes by J.D. Biersdorfer, shown in Figure G.
.FIGPAIR G The manual’s no longer missing.
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We like the Missing Manual series. They’re usually quite clear and comprehensive. At 402 pages, iPod & iTunes is no different. This book is ideal if you’re getting started with your iPod and really want to know how to use it well. This book includes (unlike the others we’ve reviewed) information on how to install FireWire and USB 2.0 upgrade cards in your PC, a solid troubleshooting chapter, and some useful tips for getting the most out of the iTunes Music Store.
Overall, this is the best general interest book of the bunch. At $24.95, it’s the book to buy.
.RATING 4
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.H1 Podcasting: The Do-It-Yourself Guide
With Podcasting: The Do-It-Yourself Guide by Todd Cochran, we diverge slightly from the prosaic world of iPods and iTunes and into the incredibly exciting world of podcasting.
Sadly, we haven’t covered podcasting extensively here in Computing Unplugged. It’s one of the most exciting trends to hit mobile computing since, well, mobile computing. Essentially, podcasting is the world of user-contributed audio broadcasts you can download to your mobile audio player. These broadcasts are wonderful. Some of them are just radio station broadcasts, repurposed for podcasting. But the best of the podcasts are honest, irreverent, open-ended discussions on wide-ranging topics, by experts and ordinary people alike.
Podcasting: The Do-It-Yourself Guide, shown in Figure H, opens up the world of podcasting to everyone.
.FIGPAIR H If you want to learn about podcasting, this is your book.
Cochran starts with the history of podcasting, what it is, how to find podcasts, how to "catch" podcasts for your MP3 reader, and how to use podcast readers. He then goes on to how to produce your own podcasts and even how to set up your own podcasting studio.
Because podcasting arrived on the scene and took over the world by storm in the space of only about twelve months, much of what’s in Cochran’s book is likely to be dated in a relatively short time. That’s not his fault. It’s just moving that fast.
On the other hand, if you do want to get a good view of what podcasting is and what it may mean for you, this is the book.
.RATING 5
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.H1 What should you buy?
So, we’ve now looked at seven books and we have three strong winners. All are reasonable books, but three stand out as best buys. If you want a general, overall view of how to use your iPod and iTunes, iPod & iTunes (The Missing Manual) is the right choice. If you want to go into your iPod and tinker under the hood, go ahead and get iPod & iTunes Hacks. And, if you want to get started in the wonderful world of podcasting, you’ll be quite happy with Podcasting: The Do-It-Yourself Guide.
None of these books cover the iPod nano, the video iPod, or, with the exception of Podcasting: The Do-It-Yourself Guide, podcasting. As a result, most didn’t reach our coveted five-plug rating. That said, the books described above are good buys and we recommend them strongly.
Finally, we’re trying something new in this article. Amazon has long been after us to use our Amazon Associates ID with our book reviews. Amazon offers a program called Amazon Associates where, when you send them a visitor from a link, and that visit turns into a purchase, the sending "associate" gets a small cut of the sale. In theory, if you click on any of the links below and buy one of the books, we’ll get a teeny little payment back from Amazon. It’s sure not going to make us rich, but perhaps it’ll pay for a portion of our downloading addiction on the iTunes Music Store.
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.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on iPod Fan Book, visit http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/0596007760/zatzcom.
For more information on iPod & iTunes Hacks, visit http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/0596007787/zatzcom.
For more information on The iTunes for Windows Book, visit http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/0321267443/zatzcom.
For more information on The Little iTunes Book, Third Edition, visit http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/0321223756/zatzcom.
For more information on Secrets of the iPod, visit http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/0321223713/zatzcom.
For more information on iPod & iTunes (The Missing Manual), visit http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/0596008775/zatzcom.
For more information on Podcasting: The Do-It-Yourself Guide, visit http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/0764597787/zatzcom.
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.BIO
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