Rating: 
Summary: Great update!
Review: "iPod & iTunes, 2nd Ed.: The Missing Manual" is an update to the 2003 book, "iPod, The Missing Manual". I described the earlier book in a prior review as "having everything you wanted to know" about the iPod, its software, and its accessories. It was everything a manual should be and more.Since then, the iPod has changed - it's now bigger and more capable, has newer and better software, and has been joined by the iPod mini. This new edition of "iPod and iTunes" is bigger, updated, and improved as well. It still is everything a manual should be and more. It has everything you could possibly want to know about the iPod universe, circa May 2004. For example, Apple bundles a set of earphones with the iPod which are described as noticeably better than most. The book reveals that the Apple speakers use neodymium transducer magnets, described by Apple as five times as powerful as conventional aluminum or cobalt used in cheaper units. That material is a rare earth metal, atomic #60. Not every resource would have that depth of description or explanation! In its sixteen chapters and 349 pages (including index), the book updates the original by describing the latest iPod hardware and available accessories. It details the features of the latest iPod, iTunes, and iSync software, both Mac and Windows versions. Regarding nearly all its topics, the book makes every attempt to cover both the Mac and PC variants, including the PC-specific Music Match Jukebox software included as an alternative to the PC version of iTunes. Even if you don't have an iPod yet, you still will have a great manual for the iTunes software which has more features than previously and includes the iTunes Store features. From learning how to maximize and/or benefit from the iPod and iTunes software, to knowing all the available accessories for the iPods, this book is as thorough and useful as you can get.
Rating:
Summary: Great update!
Review: "iPod & iTunes, 2nd Ed.: The Missing Manual" is an update to the 2003 book, "iPod, The Missing Manual". I described the earlier book in a prior review as "having everything you wanted to know" about the iPod, its software, and its accessories. It was everything a manual should be and more. Since then, the iPod has changed - it's now bigger and more capable, has newer and better software, and has been joined by the iPod mini. This new edition of "iPod and iTunes" is bigger, updated, and improved as well. It still is everything a manual should be and more. It has everything you could possibly want to know about the iPod universe, circa May 2004. For example, Apple bundles a set of earphones with the iPod which are described as noticeably better than most. The book reveals that the Apple speakers use neodymium transducer magnets, described by Apple as five times as powerful as conventional aluminum or cobalt used in cheaper units. That material is a rare earth metal, atomic #60. Not every resource would have that depth of description or explanation! In its sixteen chapters and 349 pages (including index), the book updates the original by describing the latest iPod hardware and available accessories. It details the features of the latest iPod, iTunes, and iSync software, both Mac and Windows versions. Regarding nearly all its topics, the book makes every attempt to cover both the Mac and PC variants, including the PC-specific Music Match Jukebox software included as an alternative to the PC version of iTunes. Even if you don't have an iPod yet, you still will have a great manual for the iTunes software which has more features than previously and includes the iTunes Store features. From learning how to maximize and/or benefit from the iPod and iTunes software, to knowing all the available accessories for the iPods, this book is as thorough and useful as you can get.
Rating:
Summary: Buy this...
Review: ...if you have an iPod, or are planning to buy one... this book is about everything you need to set up your own music collection using iTunes 4 (Mac) or MusicMatch Jukebox (Windows), and enjoy it anywhere using your iPod. It is divided into various parts: Introduction (What is an iPod?), The Hardware (Meet the iPod, The iPod Sync Connection), The Software (Digital Audio Formats, iTunes for the Macintosh, Musicmatch Jukebox for Windows, The iTunes Music Store), Beyond the Music (iPod as Address Book, Calendar and Hard Drive, iPod Games and eBooks, iSync) and Extreme iPodding (Connecting to other audio systems, Hot Hacks, Cool Tools, Troubleshooting and more), followed by the appendixes which clearly describe the use of iTunes and MusicMatch. This is just THE book on the iPod and related matters. Furthermore, the language used is pleasant and it can make you smile at times. The paper is of good quality and feels good to the fingers. Make your iPod time a pleasant time with this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Fooled again...
Review: Because we bought an iPod mini recently, I thought it would be smart to get some insider's information how to make use of all its features. So I first checked some magazines, but they were kind of expensive. For just a little more, I might as well buy a complete book, I reasoned. But then I checked some often mentioned ipod related web sites. I already found some interesting information there, but I still found them not as complete as I had expected. So I checked Amazon to see if there were some good books. After reading reviews of different books, I had the impression that "iPod & iTunes: Missing Manual" was not just a good and complete book about the iPod. It was probably also the best around.
But when the book was delivered and I started reading it, I immediately noticed that I had stepped into that trap again: there are no good manuals for frequently updated hardware and software...
I should have sticked with trying things out by myself, perhaps checking some of the web sites once in a while.
Having read the book, I should say it's outdated (why bother about the old MusicMatch software for Windows?) and very superficial. I would have expected many more smart tricks (like how to create smart playlists). Overall, I think at most 10% of the book has some value. But to call this book a manual or reference is way too much honor for it.
I almost did not find any really surprising insights in this book. If you're not too stupid to be able to try out the iTunes software for yourself (going through all its (sub)menus once to see what it does), you don't need this book at all.
Anyway, this book proved to me (once again) that one should never buy books like these, unless it's your hobby to support their authors/publishers.
Rating: 
Summary: I won't throw it away, but ...
Review: I bought this book at the same time that I bought my iPod. I was taken in by the "Missing Manual" part, hoping that the book would give some basic information on how to use the iPod and the related software. It does no such thing.
To illustrate my frustration with this book, let me relate a couple of exeriences.
The iPod idea is not really meant for classical music, since classical music pieces are not organized around "songs." I happen to be interested in classical music, and, with time, I have been able to work around the iPod's limitations and make it serviceable for Beethoven, Bach, and the rest. But this book was of NO help in this. Instead, it tells the reader that if he is a classical music buff, he will just have to suffer for his art.
Keeping in mind my first lessons in computing, back in the 1980's, I know that the three basic laws of all computing are backup, backup, and backup. When you work with an iPod, backup is even more important than for ordinary computing. This book is of very little help with that. Again, I had to learn by myself, without much help from this book.
On the other hand, there are things in this book that are interesting. The way to use this book is not as a source of answers to questions you have (that would really be a manual), but as a source of ideas and facts that you never knew were there. So I won't throw it out in disgust; I'll read in it from time to time. I have gained some insights from it and will no doubt do so in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Great One Stop Resource, BUT...
Review: If you have never touched an iPod or used iTunes and MusicMatch Junkebox and will be learning from scratch, then this is a wonderful book. If you learn by messing around and by trying things, then you do not need this book. Most of the info in this book can be found online as well. If you are willing to do some searching then you do not need this book. If you want a one stop resource, then it is a great book.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: It's amazing how much information is in this book. Continues the great tradition of other Pogue Press books' Missing Manual series. Lots of great tips and tricks for users of all levels, but especially good for people who've just received a new ipod and are wondering what the heck to do with it.
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy an iPod without this book!
Review: J.D. Biersdorfer has a unique way of explaining how the iPod and iTunes work. Reading this book makes setting up an iPod a piece of cake. J.D.'s writing style is clear, concise with a little humor thrown in. The subtitle of the book is "The book that should have been in the box". No truer words were written. If you buy an iPod without this book you are missing the boat and many of the features of iPod. Buy this book now!
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy an iPod without this book!
Review: J.D. Biersdorfer has a unique way of explaining how the iPod and iTunes work. Reading this book makes setting up an iPod a piece of cake. J.D.'s writing style is clear, concise with a little humor thrown in. The subtitle of the book is "The book that should have been in the box". No truer words were written. If you buy an iPod without this book you are missing the boat and many of the features of iPod. Buy this book now!
Rating: 
Summary: Lives Up to Its Name
Review: Lucky enough to get a 20 Gigabyte 4G iPod, I wanted to know how to do everything on it as quickly as possible. While I had used iTunes before getting this iPod, I found this book useful and very readable to discover how to use my iPod for more than playing tunes. I appreciate all the shareware and freeware mentioned in the book is on the book publisher's website. Most are fairly small downloads that won't take too long even on a dial-up connection.
Yes, the information is dated as this book gets to be a year old now, but still it is a useful reference book and hopefully a newer edition will be out later this year. I found many websites to supplement I do admit I just borrowed this book from the library, so my expectations are lower than someone who forked out money to get it. I picked up Guy Hart-Davis's "How to Do Everything With Your iPod & Ipod mini second edition" and while it does cover some things the missing manual doesn't, it is less readable and even more out of date, not to mention a condescending lecture on stealing music. So look through this book and consider waiting for a new edition and/or try out some online resources.
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