iPod buying advice

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cwoody222

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I'm thinking about buying an iPod and I want to first know if I will be able to do with it all I want to. And what accessories I might need to buy. Here's my setup:

I have approx 700 songs in MP3 format on my iMac at home. So, I think the 20gb model would be just fine. I'd like to be able to take songs from my iMac, put them on my iPod and then listen to them in my car.

I've seen products that will broadcast thru an FM frequency or just using the cassette player. Either would work fine.

Then I'd like to take the iPod to my work - which is a WinXP PC. Would I be able to transfer the music to the PC or would I have to leave the iPod there to listen to songs? Will I need to purchase any software (MusicMatch)? I'm assuming when iTunes comes out for Windows that will work with the iPod.

Would I be able to connect to the Mac AND the PC? I'm thinking maybe of getting the iPod dock for the Mac at home (and connecting via Firewire I assume) and then using the USB connector for the PC. (my PC does not have Firewire, the USB is 2.0 I believe).

Will all this work?
 
A 20 gig model will hold close to 4,000 songs, so yes, it should have plenty of room for your 700. Check other threads or visit ipodlounge.com for more good advice on iPods and if you'll want to convert your mp3s to aac format.
There's been plenty of threads also on FM transmitters and casssette adaptors. And don't forget to check out the ones on saving hard-drive space by having to manually update your iPod so you needn't have all of your songs on your hard drive, though 700 ain't bad.
I don't have the new iPod (Gen 3) but those are compatible with Macs and Windows, though I don't know if you can alternate.
No USB connections, just FireWire.
Though unless you have a souped-up sound system on your pc at work, you might want to consider external speakers such as the Creative TravelSound (which has great sound for such a small profile) and play it off your iPod. Or using a radio, play your tunes from the iPod using one of the FM transmitters (iTrip is good though the Gen3 versions are being delayed).
Finally, if you don't need to connect to your PC after all and you don't see yourself heading into the thousands of songs, you might want to save a few bucks and get a 10-gig model or even a Gen2 model which are still great devices.

http://www.americas.creative.com/products/product.asp?product=493

http://www.ipodlounge.com/
 
20GB seems like overkill for your 700 songs, I'd recommend getting a 3rd generation iPod (new from Apple) at 10 or 15 GB. 15GB model comes with free dock and remote, so it will be a good deal.

These will also be compatible with Windows, and when you purchase from AppleStore they give you a list of accessories. One of these is a wire that lets you connect the iPod to a Windows PC using USB 2.0

Griffin ( www.griffintechnology.com ) has a product called iTrip which I hear should be good for FM transfering.
The Dr. Bott casette adapter, I have personal experience with, and the quality sucks.

iPod is made not to copy songs back to a PC or Mac, but 3rd party programs are out for Mac to bypass this, I expect for PC too. If not, it's a matter of time.
You can also copy the music over to the HD-field for the iPod, so your PC can read them. Only problem is that you can't play the music while going to work that day.
 
Originally posted by voice-
The Dr. Bott casette adapter, I have personal experience with, and the quality sucks.
Click to expand...

The quality of tape reading, in general, sucks. Anytime the tape head starts reading, you get that damn hiss... and then if you mute it with dolby, then you're getting rid of some of the top end of the music and distorting it... and there's STILL a little hiss anyway.

Car stereos just need front inputs.
 
The 15BG model with the free dock seems like a good one for me.

Question, though. Even with the Firewire/USB adapter that I could buy, I've read on other forums today that once I start using the iPod with either a Mac or a PC that's it...I can't swap back and forth, it's only one or the other?

Is that true?

I'm not too worried about not copying songs to the PC, I guess playing them from the iPod is just fine. But I definately need it to work with both a PC and the Mac easily.
 
good news.

all the things you want to do with an ipod works well! you'll need one of the newest ipods, though, to connect to you pc using usb 2.0. the 15 GB version will work fine for your 700 songs. to get the pc to connect to a mac formatted ipod, check out the application "macopener" ( http://www.dataviz.com/products/macopener/index.html ).

there are a rangs of products made to fit the needs of an ipod owner. check out griffin technologies (http://www.griffintechnology.com ) itrip for instance. if you need any more information an ipod, ipodrelated products, faqs and more, i suggest that you check out these two fine websites for ipods only. http://www.ipodlounge.com and http://ipoding.com/ .

happy ipoding!
 
AFAIK, Apple made the iPod so it can only sync with one computer to avoid allowing people to share songs.
 
Why would it need to connect to your pc at work as well as your Mac at home?
As I said in the first post, the iTrip is a good FM transmitter, but the version for the latest model of iPods is being delayed.
And as you can see all the others agreeing with me on the iTrip and ipodlounge for extra info (though I'm unsure why someone would post the same link as it appeared a few posts earlier).
 
I thought it would need to connect to my PC at work in order to play songs. But I've since learned I can just hook it up directly to the speakers.

Although the ability to transfer songs to that PC (so I don't need the iPod to listen - and leave it in the car) would be nice...I can live without it.

I have an Apple store about 20 minutes away, I'm going to go there and see what they tell me.

I'm now leaning towards the 15gb G3 version with free case and dock.
 
Originally posted by arden
AFAIK, Apple made the iPod so it can only sync with one computer to avoid allowing people to share songs.
Click to expand...
We're only talking about syncing, right? I can still connect it to 2 computers, right?
I did that with my old iPod. I filled it with music at home and played it through my iMac at school...don't tell me they removed this option...
If so, do they expect that people have only one computer? I'm concidering a Mac laptop in late September, and I'd REALLY like to be able to also connect the iPod to my other computers...
 
Yeah. Auto-sync only works with one computer. But you can still manually manage it with two Macs, I believe
 
BUT if you format the ipod to mac file system, you won't be able to read it on a windoze pc - and vice versa. So you have to make a call between one or the other. Trust me, I am in teh same position - winpc at work, mac at home, and a 30gb ipod that won't talk to both unless I wipe it first. But the battery is 8hrs, and the sound quality is just fine - so save your hard disk space and just use the ipod.

It's a beaut by the way!
 
if you want to use the ipod on a windows pc, it needs to be in windows format.

If you want to use the ipod on a mac, it needs to be in mac format.

Simple enough. The windows drivers for the ipod will not read/sync a mac format ipod, and vice versa.
 
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