Acknowledgments

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Chapter 1. Start Here

After many years of languishing in relative obscurity, Apple Computer Inc. today finds itself in an enviable position in the technology industry: It's in nearly uncontested command of a product segment that's hip, extremely popular, and growing by leaps and bounds. This product is digital music , a field that blends the most cutting-edge aspects of personal computing, portable handheld devices, and the entertainment industry. With two key productsthe media-organizing "jukebox" software iTunes and the ubiquitous iPod portable music and video playerApple has a commanding lead in this lucrative industry and shows no signs of slowing down.

Whether you're a long-time Mac user, a newcomer to the Apple fold, or a Windows user who might never have dreamed of using a product from Apple, the iTunes and iPod combination of products provides a complete solution for your music collecting and listening needs. iTunes runs as seamlessly on Windows PCs as it does on Macintosh computers, and the iPod is just as capable on one platform as it is on the other. The process of getting music on the iPod is even completely legal, thanks to the industry-leading iTunes Music Store , which sells not just digital songs and albums but music videos , digital booklets, short films , and TV shows for you to enjoy in iTunes and on the iPod.

iTunes and the iPod are designed with the utmost ease of use and convenience in mind. However, no matter what your computing background is, the world of digital music can be a confusing place, full of esoteric acronyms and convoluted technical tasks . Even for a seasoned computer user, the little details necessary for making the fullest use of your digital music collection can be elusive .

Note

Throughout this book, screenshots from both the Windows and Mac versions of iTunes will be used interchangeably. Because iTunes works almost identically on both platforms, a figure or procedure showing one version of iTunes applies the same way to the other version.

That's what this book is for. It's no lie on Apple's part that iTunes and the iPod are essentially pretty easy to figure out; however, it's the little tricks, the side tasks, and the streamlining procedures that really make the system sing that aren't immediately obvious. This book describes those tasks in a fully illustrated , step-by-step manner so that you can be as familiar with your iPod's esoteric functions as you are with its ubiquitous, white-and-stainless- steel case and the white ear-buds you see dangling from so many pairs of ears on the street today.