“iPod & iTunes for Dummies” Mini BookBytes

iPod & iTunes for Dummies
by Tony Bove and Cheryl Rhodes
Wiley/Dummies Press
ISBN 0-7645-4449-7, 219 pages
$16.99 US, $24.99 CN, £11.99 UK

You’re going to have to take my word on this one, friends, because I thought (as you do) that it’s unnecessary to spend even such a low price for this “dumb” book covering software that’s both free and simple to use. Was I wrong!

Every page helps readers understand the how and why for both of Apple’s miraculous music software and hardware products. Millions of iTunes users and iPod owners know how to do only a fraction of what’s possible with their dandy new equipment and dedicated applications. This may mean you.

Do you know how to customize and change iTunes’ encoder settings? How about cross-fading? Exporting liner notes? Connecting to a home stereo? You should. The authors provide comparable info, with generous suggestions and hints, for arcane and straightforward procedures, with ample screen shots.

If you use iTunes frequently, including Apple’s Music Store, your $$$ spent on iPod & iTunes for Dummies may be saved with the large and small efficiencies you encounter within its pages. But don’t buy this book on my recommendation unless you want your iPodding to be first rate, because the iPod parts in the text are the strongest.

During the time I spent reading this little yellow gem I became at least twice as knowledgeable. If you’re already a super-geek, buy iPod & iTunes for Dummies for your mere-mortal friends/co-workers/family, to save you plenty of those dreaded “Gotta minute?” phone calls.

Easy to rate, for all beginners and many intermediates, at a MyMac.com rating of four.