9.3.1 eBooks for Macintosh

9.3 iPod as eBook: The Shareware Way

Even if your iPod model didn't come with the handy Notes feature, you can still read text files. Shareware programs can help you transfer your text files to the iPod, where they show up as entries in the Contacts menu, of all places. That's not quite as seamless as having the built-in Notes function, but it works.

Many text-reading shareware programs can also scavenge the Web for reading material, like news headlines, weather forecasts, and movie listings.

NOTE

As with any piece of software, check the information page with each program to make sure your computer system and iPod versions will work with the program.

Since the iPod came out first for Macintosh, most of the goodies in this category are Macintosh-only. (You can find links to all of the following on the "Missing CD" page at http://www.missingmanuals.com.) For example:

• PodWriter . PodWriter (for Mac OS X) lets you compose notes and import short bits of text that you can save, open , and read on the iPod.

  NOTE

  You can use the Mac OS X spell checker program to hunt down typos before you transfer the note to the iPod by choosing PodWriter Edit Spelling Spelling.

  Once you've composed and titled your PodWriter note (Figure 9-5), save the file and drag it to the iPod's Contacts folder.

  Figure 9-5. PodWriter lets you type or paste text into a form. Once you save the file, you can drag it over to the iPod's Contacts folder for reading on the road.

  
  

• Text2iPod X . Early iPod text programs often had limitations on the size of the files they could handle. But size doesn't matter to Text2iPod X. This free Mac OS X program automatically detects a connected iPod. When you drag and drop a text file of any size onto the Text2iPod X icon, the program converts it and prompts you for a place to save it. Once you save it into the iPod's Contacts folder, the text file shows up as a single entry in the list under the Contacts menu.

• Musicians iPod Tools . This program helps professional musicians store set lists, song titles, equipment inventory, and other lists. The tool kit includes two programs ”ContactsTool and MP3Tool ”that, together, let you store your lists all over the iPod (not just in the Contacts folder). The software works for Mac OS 9 and X and requires iTunes and AppleScript on the Mac side.

• PodText . Although it can only handle text files in chunks of 2,000 characters or less, this nicely designed piece of freeware keeps track of how much you've got so far and transfers it to the iPod's Contacts folder with the click of a button, as shown in Figure 9-6. It comes in versions for both Mac OS 9 and X.

  Figure 9-6. The Podtext counter in the lower-right corner shows you how far you have to go to hit the size limit of the files it can handle. The "Send to iPod" button completes your text transfer.

  
  

• NewsMac . Serious newshounds might like NewsMac just for its clean desktop interface and ability to keep tabs on many popular computer and world news Web sites. The fact that the program, shown in Figure 9-7, can also sync up your favorite news channels to you iPod with one click makes it even better. NewsMac works on Mac OS X, and its creators would appreciate a PayPal donation if you like the software.

  Figure 9-7. NewsMac provides an efficient way to surf your favorite Web sites and take them with you on an iPod. The Sync iPod icon doesn't appear at first, but a quick trip into the program's settings brings it front and center.

  
  

• Pod2Go . Pod2Go (for Mac OS X) is great for news addicts who want to keep up with the latest headlines from news outlets like the BBC, CBS, Wired News, and the major iPod news sites. The program can download stock quotes, weather forecasts, and even a daily reading from the Tao Te Ching. The software can also copy over text files to the iPod (as individual entries in the Contacts menu). Pod2Go becomes addictive after only a few syncs, and best of all, it's free (Figure 9-8).

  Figure 9-8. Pod2Go gives news addicts a steady supply of fresh headlines from around the world and can also transfer weather forecasts, movie listings, horoscopes, driving directions, and text files of your choice to the iPod's Contacts folder during a syncing session.

  
  

• iSpeak It . Talk about weird and wonderful: This program is designed to turn any text, HTML, Microsoft Word, or AppleWorks file into a spoken-word soundtrack, using the Mac's synthesized voices. The beauty of this idea is that you can now listen to your favorite Web sites, magazine articles, email messages, and other written material as you drive, jog, or work out at the gym.

  With the click of a toolbar button, iSpeak It converts the document to an audio file (Figure 9-9) and automatically sends it into iTunes, ready for transfer to the iPod. The program can also convert downloaded news headlines and weather forecasts to audio files for the iPod. (You may want to tinker with the Mac's built-in voices in the Speech area of System Preferences until you find a voice that doesn't remind you of the Swedish Chef on The Muppet Show .) The shareware by Michael Zapp, who is also the author of iPod Launcher and iPod-It, costs $9.

  Figure 9-9. With iSpeak It, just import or paste in some text, and the program converts it to an audio track and sends it to iTunes ”where it syncs up with your iPod.

  
  

  NOTE

  Got lots of time and not much money? Hit up the Project Gutenberg Web site (http://www.gutenberg.net) and download great works of literature in convenient electronic form, ready for iPod reading. Project Gutenberg has thousands of free, 100 percent legal eBooks in the public domain ”things like the works of Shakespeare and the original Tarzan novels from the 1920s ”in plain text format. You can even download some titles as MP3 audiobooks.

• Book2Pod . Unless you're a big fan of haiku or extremely short stories, the 4 KB limit of the iPod's Notes program may put a damper on your eBook reading. As its name implies, the Book2Pod freeware program lets you pack a proper novel onto your iPod by automatically linking those little 4 KB files together into one almost seamless scroll. The program works with Mac OS X 10.2 and later and iPod software 2.0 and later.

9.3.2 eBooks for Windows

Although Mac fans have a few more programs to choose from, Windows shareware for the iPod is beginning to pop up around the Web.

• EphPod . The now-familiar wonderware for Windows does more than copy songs and Outlook contacts to the iPod (Section 7.3.1.1); it can also fetch news and weather updates. If you have a Windows-formatted iPod, EphPod is free. If you're using a Mac-formatted iPod with your PC, you'll also need a copy of MacOpener by DataViz, which runs about $40.

• iPodLibrary . Serious eBook readers who juggle multiple formats (like .lit, .pdf, .html, and .txt) to get their daily literary fix, might want to take a look at iPodLibrary (Figure 9-10). This free program can import your existing eBook files, dice them up into Notes-approved 4 KB bites, and link them together for you automatically.

  Figure 9-10. iPodLibrary can convert electronic books in several formats into the iPod's Notes format quickly and easily. Just locate your desired eBook on your hard drive, give it a name so you can find it in your iPod's Notes folder, and click Import.