First time iPod owner q's

[sue71, esq]

I just got my first iPod (Amazing, no? Am I the last person on earth to get one? I won it at a conference. )... it's a Nano 4 gig and I have no clue how to use it.

Any suggestions/tips/tricks/hints?

Do I have to pay a buck a song on iTunes or are there free services out there? How time consuming is it to transfer songs from my cds to the iPod?

As you can see, I don't download music either (wow I'm SO 20th century... time is probably the main reason I never got into downloading in the first place).

Well, with my Dell desktop very near the end of its life (4.5 yrs old and oh the sounds it's currently making that it shouldn't) and my ever-nearing MacBook Pro purchase, am I (somewhat unwittingly) turning into an Apple groupie? Is this BillyBreen's fault?

Thanks for the help!
Sue

[billybreen]

I just got my first iPod (Amazing, no? Am I the last person on earth to get one? I won it at a conference. )... it's a Nano 4 gig and I have no clue how to use it.

Any suggestions/tips/tricks/hints?

Do I have to pay a buck a song on iTunes or are there free services out there? How time consuming is it to transfer songs from my cds to the iPod?

As you can see, I don't download music either (wow I'm SO 20th century... time is probably the main reason I never got into downloading in the first place).

Well, with my Dell desktop very near the end of its life (4.5 yrs old and oh the sounds it's currently making that it shouldn't) and my ever-nearing MacBook Pro purchase, am I (somewhat unwittingly) turning into an Apple groupie? Is this BillyBreen's fault?

Thanks for the help!
Sue

Inch by inch, DBR nation is falling further into my evil clutches.

Congrats on the win -- Nanos are nice. Ripping CDs may be slightly slow on your aging Dell, but you can give it a try in iTunes. On the MacBook Pro, it will be very speedy -- I would guess it takes about 5 or 6 minutes to rip a full CD. It's actually a fun process, and it's very easy.

[YmoBeThere]

I just got my first iPod (Amazing, no? Am I the last person on earth to get one? I won it at a conference. )... it's a Nano 4 gig and I have no clue how to use it.

Any suggestions/tips/tricks/hints?

Do I have to pay a buck a song on iTunes or are there free services out there? How time consuming is it to transfer songs from my cds to the iPod?

As you can see, I don't download music either (wow I'm SO 20th century... time is probably the main reason I never got into downloading in the first place).

Well, with my Dell desktop very near the end of its life (4.5 yrs old and oh the sounds it's currently making that it shouldn't) and my ever-nearing MacBook Pro purchase, am I (somewhat unwittingly) turning into an Apple groupie? Is this BillyBreen's fault?

Thanks for the help!
Sue

There are free songs available, but there is that whole intellectual property rights thing(okay I confess I have some of my own IP that I want protected, not of an entertainment variety). Ripping CDs is probably the best way to go...

I don't have any specific hints or tips, I use my iPod more for dealing with multiple podcasts than anything else. The only comment I have with those is make sure you sync after downloading, I always forget to go to the screen and do that. Hmmm, maybe there is another setting I am missing.

And yes, it is BBs fault.

[Matches]

I find itunes pretty easy to use. A buck a song really isn't much, and you can get most full CDs for about $9.99. Your nano will play videos, movies, trailers etc too.

It didn't take all that long to move my CDs over, and itunes can get the album artwork online.

Be careful if you have an aging computer to back up all your itunes files, though. If your computer crashes, getting everything back from your ipod to a new computer is an ordeal.

[dukegirlinsc]

i ruined an iPod by downloading music off of limewire.

stick to iTunes or ripping cd's at all costs.
and congrats, welcome to the mac world.

[colchar]

i ruined an iPod by downloading music off of limewire.

stick to iTunes or ripping cd's at all costs.
and congrats, welcome to the mac world.

I use Limewire regularly and haven't had any problems. I avoid iTunes at all costs as I hate the program and am not a big fan of Apple. Besides, since downloading is legal here, I refuse to pay to download music.

Here is a good alternative to iTunes:

http://www.ephpod.com/