Review: iPod - The Missing Manual 8th Edition
Iain Laskey says this is essential reading for new and seasoned iPod users alike
| Product | iPod - The Missing Manual |
|---|---|
| Company | O'Reilly |
| Web | www.missingmanuals.com |
| Price | £15.50 |
| We like | Thorough, readable, covers all machines |
| We don't like | Not much on third party options. |
| Rating | 9/10 |
| Requirements |
The iPod is a curious beast. At its basic level, it's a paragon of good design - a couple of minutes and you'll have worked out how the menus work, how to play tunes, how to shuffle them and so on. There are two problems though. Firstly, there's a lot of extra functionality hidden behind non obvious button combinations. Secondly, with the advent of the iPod Touch, they've also become hugely more complex devices with numerous features plus the ability to download apps to extend their capabilities.
iPod The Missing Manual - now in its 8th edition - aims to fill the information void with a slim volume (267 pages) packed with useful guidence and tips.
Despite catering for everything from the iPod Shuffle through to the Touch, the book manages to be well structured and starts with a chapter on getting music into your iPod. This unsurprisingly uses iTunes and includes an overview of the various ports and connectors across the iPod range.
The next few chapters cover the menus, finding songs, using the FM radio and so on before moving onto iTunes. As well as using it to fill your iPod, iTunes can also be used for listening to Internet radio, getting album cover art and even lyrics. Usefully, for those with multiple iPods, the book shows how to set them up with their own libraries. A whole chapter is devoted to playlists including the new Genius features. Finally, the iTunes coverage looks at the iTunes Store in detail.
A couple of chapters show how to handle photos and video files (assuming your iPod supports them) and even how to use the calender and address book properly.
The iPod Touch gets its own chapter describing how to browse the web wth safari, handle book marks and use features such as WiFi location tracking and RSS feeds.
The penultimate chapter covers such issues as connecting yout iPod to the HiFi, streaming audio, different speaker systems and more before things finish off with a chapter on troubleshooting including useful tips on extending battery life - very important because Apple don't make it easy changing them!
The book as a whole is an easy and enjoyable read. The illustrations are all in colour and the chapter and section heads pretty much act as an index (although there is also a thorough one of those too) so it's easy finding what you want to know.We liked the fact that it manages to cover all models without being confusing and also that it included difficult tricks such as using multiple computers to feed a single iPod and vice versa. The only real let down was that it pretty much tows the line in terms of doing things the Apple Way with precious little comment on third party software tools for working with iPods.
For the vast majority of people who just want to get the most out their iPod and iTunes, this is a thorough yet readable book that covers all the bases and should answer any questions you have. Recommended.
