iPod 101 Tutorial Suggestions (?):

I'd like to see a guide on the pros and cons of USB2 vs. Firewire. I have just a USB port, which I reckon should suffice once I get my pod, but I hear a lot of good stories on firewire.. but that'd mean I have to dish out even more money.

BTW I found the battery thread extremely helpful!

i'd love to see a tutorial on "Using the 'other' iPod features -- Contacts, Calendar, etc."

I currently only use the notes feature as i dont know how to use the other features with a pc.. Thanks!

azdude_15GB,
first off thanks for doing a great service to the ipod community by creating the tutorial. I do have some suggestions on how things can be a bit improved.

First off I find the site is a bit slow so perhaps rather then having the tips load on their own pages; perhaps do anchor tags on the page. Because ideally as a user you might just read the whole faq. So it should be easy to see the tips all on one page.

About the existing ipod content
I think you have some tips for older generation models mixed in with current generation models. Some of the tips are exactly relevant for 3rd gen ipods. It might be good to go through and add notes to the existing tips to clarify which pertains to which generation ipod.

As far as new content- I would love to see some tutorials on how to manage itunes on multiple computers. I have a ipod and I use it at work and home. Every time I goto work or home it tells me that itunes is not the default location for my ipod- and if I'd like to make it my default location and gut my ipod. Also how about some advanced ipod file transfering etc.

Keep up the good work!

Michael

I found the tutorial on 'smart playlists' really usefull as I had no idea what I was doing.
Cheers

Originally posted by Mephistopheles
One thing I'm interested in is an in depth explanation of all the menu options in iTunes. That's something I haven't been able to find documentation on at all, after intesive searching. I remember trying to figure it out myself and selecting "Convert Id3 tags" and then selecting some values blindly, only to find out that I cleared all of my mp3's of Id3 tags :/ .

Also, a good explanation of how iTunes stores and arranges files.

I know those aren't very important to new users, but they are things I haven't been able to find anywhere else.

Although I am quite impressed the info provided by azdude, I would still recommend purchasing the Book, "Secrets of the iPod". On-line help is nice, but in my experience, nothing beats a book with you to help you out. This book also covers pretty much every question I have had about the iPod or the iTunes interface.

And azdude, GREAT job....

I know this isn't exactly 101, but maybe in some later more advanced tutorials, we could have an in depth explanation of the iPod's diagnostic mode and what each of the strangely named features do

I'm a new iPod user (just picked up an iPod Photo 40Gb about two weeks ago), and despite being a technologically savvy user, it did take some time and searching to figure out exactly what the "Sound Check" option on the iPod was supposed to do, as it's not clearly documented anywhere.

Perhaps an article on this and how it works between iTunes and the iPod. I've got it figured out now myself but searching around, but the first thing I looked for was an iPod 101 article... :)

Originally posted by Reubania

1. Importing MP3 into iTunes

As I work in the music industry, I have a folder/drive dedicated to mp3 of my work and review purposes. This is over 20GB. Can I import this entired folder into iTunes without crashing it?

I've read that folders over 10GB will crash iTunes or cause it to "hang". Is there a way to import my drive/folder without causing the system to crash? Will "drag & drop" work?

Also by importing this folder, iTunes won't make another copy of my files, doubling up on HDD space?

Some of this might be under the "importing from CD article" not sure. Yes you can. I would do it in bunches, though, instead of in one swoop. You can either drag files to the library or can use file-->Add to library, you can add folders or single files.

iTunes will make copies of the files if "Copy files to iTunes folder when adding to library" is selected under the advanced preferences in iTunes. You can either deselect this if it is selected or just delete the originals after importing.

2. Ripping CDs

1. I have plenty of CDs to rip. Question is, what is the suggested format to rip my CDs that retain the quality (high bitrate) but best compression? Once ripped directly in iTunes, it is stored (takes up HDD space).

2. However, as I have limited space and a huge CD collection, can I rip them, list them in my library, synch it to my iPod and then delete them from the library without deleting them on my iPod when I synch another time (is this where manually synching is employed?)

3. Also - is it better (effective) to rip CDs using iTunes, or another program? A friend told me that iTunes take far longer to rip CDs than importing mp3s.

1. Format is dependent on what sounds best to you. Try multiple bitrates in both MP3 and AAC. In some cases people will say you can get a similar sounding file in 128 AAC that is 160 MP3. The 128 AAC will be smaller and sound similar. If you are going to rip at higher AAC compared to the same bitrate MP3 you aren't getting much difference and the same file size. Once ripped the files DO get saved on the hard drive. They have to be for iTunes to access them.

2. Check out iPod 201 article on synchronizing the iPod. Search about Manual Sync and Automatic sync. You can do what you suggest, but it takes extra work to manage an iPod on manual and deleting files from the hard drive. You also take the chance of losing music if you only keep it on the iPod, what happens if the iPod hard drive goes, you lost it, or it breaks. You have to spend a lot of time getting your music back from those CDs.

3. Personal preference. iTunes does a good job for average users. A lot of people like lame and alt presets, etc. which takes third party software or others to achieve.

3. Updating iTunes

Once I've established that my iTunes is working (from the installation CD). WHEN shall I update iTunes? Should I update iTunes after organising my library and synching it to my iPod? Or shall I update it after just organising my library, before connecting my iPod first?

Skip the old versions. Go to apple.com and download the most latest version of iTunes from the begining, 4.7

Good luck,
Stuart

Maybe we could have a tutorial (a 101 or 201) on tagging. IE: What are the best prog's, simplest ways, filenames, super-tagging.

How to use two or more iPods on one computer. Running through the following

1. Two user accounts and combinationsn of sharing music folder, separate music folders, etc.
2. One user account and using partial sync to transfer specific playlists tailored to each iPod.

This question has been around with increased frequency.

Cheers,
Stu

Alot of useful information on this site, but my problem may need tutoral minus 101.
I load the CD`s and the artist`s name doesn`t always come up and the song title never comes up so that all I currently have (only a total of 4 CD`s till I get it right) are
track 1/track 2/ track 3.......and so on.
Aren`t song titles suppose to show up? These are not burned CD`s.

Hi, I cannot access the Tutorial links in the first post of this thread. I get an error:

"The information is set incorrectly in the following file: "pm_inc.php"
Please open "pm_inc.php" with a text editor and correct the path.
You'll find instructions located inside that file"

Could someone else check to see if they get the error too. If so could moderators PLS check it out and fix it.
Thn

Thanks for the prompt fix and THANKS FOR THE GREAT SITE. It is a fantastic resource for iPod newbies like me. :)

Yes, it would work fine.

I'm trying to find documentation on how to use two iPods on 1 computer. It seems to be a common question without anyone answering.