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Firing up your iPod
iPods have changed forever the way that we now listen to music.
For example, the capacity for a single iPod to store thousands and thousands of songs means that you don’t ever have to listen to the same old songs over and over again, unless of course you choose to!
But you can do so much more musically with your iPod than just listen to songs. You can also use it to play other types of content too, for instance, audio books, podcasts and videos.
If you're contemplating buying an iPod, or you are already lucky enough to have one in your possession, I recommend that you get yourself a copy of the book 'iPod & iTunes For Dummies'.
This book can help you to make the most of your iPod.
The book's content has been conveniently divided up into six major parts.
Part 1 on the book is titled 'Setting Up and Acquiring Media Content'.
Advice is available here about finding the iPod model that best suits your musical needs, and most importantly, the other 'bits and pieces' that you'll also need but which don't come with the iPod.
The other major topic discussed in this part of the book is iTunes.
According to Tony Bove and Cheryl Rhodes, the two authors of 'iPod & iTunes For Dummies', an 'iPod without iTunes is like a CD player without CDs'!
Everything that you need to know about iTunes is covered in the book including setting up iTunes and your iPod; getting started with iTunes; shopping at the iTunes music store; bringing content into iTunes; and playing content in iTunes'.
In the second part of the book, the focus turns to managing your media content.
For example, one of the first things that you'll want to do is to create playlists.
Thanks to an iPod's versatility, you can set up all sorts of playlists. The possibilities include song playlists, album playlists and video playlists.
Part 3 of the book provides step by step instructions for using your iPod in other exciting ways.
For instance, you might decide to hook it up to your TV or stereo system for a bigger 'picture' or 'sound'.
And you might like to further fine tune your iPod's sound by experimenting with the iTunes equalizer.
It is stated in 'iPod & iTunes For Dummies' that the equalizer 'allows you to fine-tune the specific sound spectrum frequencies in a more precise way than with the typical bass and treble controls you find on home stereos and powered speakers'.
If you proudly think of yourself as a 'techno guru', then you'll enjoy reading part 4 of the 'iPod & iTunes For Dummies' book.
That's where the discussion becomes more advanced technically with topics like decoding audio encoding and changing encoders and encoder settings.
Today there's no doubt that we live in a highly mobile society.
So the fifth part of the book is dedicated to anyone 'on the move' who wants to maintain maximum listening pleasure out of their iPod.
For instance, this is where you'll find out how a 'wireless music adapter lets you play music from your iPod' through your car's FM radio and its speakers.
The sixth, and final part of 'iPod & iTunes For Dummies', consists of two chapters.
The titles of those chapters immediately tell you the sort of information that you can expect to glean from them.
Respectively they are 'Ten iPod problems and solutions' and 'Eleven tips for the equalizer'.
One last point.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a Windows fan or a Mac devotee because both platforms are covered fully in the 'iPod & iTunes For Dummies' book.
To find out more about 'iPod & iTunes For Dummies', or to purchase a copy of the book