Another cool thing you can do with iTunes and iPod is called "podcasting." PodCasting (invented by former MTV VJ Adam Curry) is the latest way to download free and timely content from hundreds of websites. Podcasts are TV or radio programs and amateur recordings you listen to on the iPod. There are thousands of both professional and amateur podcasts ready to download.
Whether you use a PC or Mac new podcasts can be delivered right to your computer via RSS. Check out the thousands of podcasts at on the Apple Podcast web page.
myPodder gives Mac and Windows users the ability to find, manage and share audio and video podcasts.
If you're a Mac user Podcast Maker makes managing content easier, you can also find tips at Take Control of Podcasting on the Mac and Podcasting Hacks.
With the right equipment and a little time you can easily make your own podcast so others can enjoy your knowledge, humor, craziness, adventures or whatever!
iPod Video Podcasting
All you need to get started making your own video podcasts is a digital video camera or a digital still camera that has video as most do. My Canon
digital camera with a 512Mb SD card will take a 5-10 minute video depending on the image size I want.
Visit Apple's website for Creating Video Podcasts on Windows. and Creating Video Podcasts on Mac OS X . Also on Macworld for Mac users.
Podcast Search
There are a couple of Search products for podcasts that lets you search the spoken word for audio and video that interests you. Podscope
HearHere
AOL Podcast Search
Podcasts
Check out some of these audio and video podcasts - there are millions of podcasts available online for a huge list go to the iTunes Store (start iTunes), PodcastAlley or PodcastingNnews:
Example Audio Podcasts:
NASA - Science @ NASA Feature Stories Podcasts
Dublin Ireland - podcast audio guides to Dublin
Other: Firesign Theater, Beatfreax.
Example Video Podcasts:
Rocketboom - is a three minute daily videoblog based in New York City.
PhotoshopOnline - video podcasts of Photoshop tips & tricks.
Moving from iPod to PC or to Mac
I have both a PC and a Mac and one day I wanted to move songs from the iPod. Since Apple didn't offer a way to do this I looked around and found easy to use programs. For Windows there is iPodAccess and my favorite being Xport. For the Mac I found Senuti, iPodRip and Xport. Another utility for Mac is iPodDisk that mounts your iPod as if a server.
Sync Multiple Users or Multiple Computers
For multiple iTunes playlists I use Libra for PC & Mac (also iTunes Library Manager-Mac).
SyncOtunes allows you to sync iTunes on two computers. Also SuperSync can act as your music collection’s central hub, retrieving, organizing, and syncing up all of the different files across your machines for one consistent, complete library.
I format my iPods FAT32 to work on both PC & Mac. XPlay allows me to sync between PC and Mac (and much more).
iPod As Portable Hard Drive
I have frequently used my iPod as a portable hard drive moving files between computers. The iPod keeps your data files seperate from your music files. If you are going to be transferring files between Mac and PC then your iPod should be formatted FAT32.
Once formatted then connect to iTunes. In Preferences select iPod and check "Enable disk use" - you can decide how much disk space is reserved for songs and data. iPodDisk will mount the iPod on Mac. The iPod will show as a drive on Windows.
iPod Transports Your PC
MojoPac is a Windows product so you can use your iPod as a portable hard drive and more! With MojoPac, you can go to any Windows XP computer in the world, plug in your MojoPac device, and bring up your MojoPac PC. The experience is exactly as if you are logging into your Personal Computer, complete with your desktop, shortcuts, applications and preferences. I've not tested this but it looks interesting.
iPod As A Gift
Don't forget the most fun you can have with an iPod is to give one as a gift. They make great gifts that won't break your bank.
You can get iPods engraved when you order, but make sure they have an example of the quality. I ordered from PCMall/MacMall an engraved Nano and they didn't do a very good job. If you want something fancy check out ETCHamac. I had them etch the Led Zepplin blimp on a Nano for my brothers birthday gift, my second choice was an etch of Pamela Anderson ; )
You can also make your own iPod tattoo. You'll need a pack of HP printable tattoos, artwork, and a printer! HP has some artwork you can download here and will even make the right sized image (pdf) to put on your printable tattoo, you just upload the image and save the result here. HP's instructions are here (pdf), other instructions for making iPod tattoos are here.
Other MP3 Players
I recently tried out a Creative Labs Zen mp3 player and was quite pleased with the unit. I don't think it compares functionally to an iPod but it is an alternative to iPod. It doesn't work with iTunes (no music videos, movies or TV shows).
The newest kid on the block is by Microsoft. The Zune is yet another "iPod Killer" with the difference of having the backing of a giant software company.
At this time the Zune software doesn't do podcasts (or zunecasts), no movies or TV shows, no smart playlists, and users complain about problems installing.
I doubt Zune will kill iPod but if history repeats then Microsoft will try to take some of Apple's market by undercutting the price, and like the Xbox, getting your money later rather than sooner (gamespot).
The biggest issue with me and technology is security. I don't leave my house or car unlocked so why would I leave my personal/financial info open to tech-thiefs, I won't.
Updates
I will update this page as I have more experience with the iPod, iTunes, podcasting, and whatever else the iPod of the future will do!
Until then, Happy Trails
