I have a couple questions about the iPod. My friend told me that using USB is a lot slower than FireWire. If it is.. then is it unbearably slow?

Also, I have Windows 98, and the mac website says it requires at least Windows 2000. I'm assuming this is because of the software, but I have a hard time believing that having Windows 98 will make that much of a difference. So.. will it?

Lastly, right now I have a PC, but I will be getting a mac sometime in the near future. Is it easy to just go from using an iPod with a PC to using it with a Mac? In other words, what, if any changes, are required?

Thank you much.

The ipods use USB2 which is comparable to Firewire.  In order to make use of this speed, you must have a USB2 port on your computer.  I'm guessing that with Win98 you may have the older, slower USB1.

The only way to get music onto an ipod is through iTunes - which can only work on newer operating systems.  iTunes acts as an interface to transfer files and to create playlists for the ipod.  You might be able to connect an ipod to a Win98 machine to act as an external hard drive but you will not be able to load playable music on the ipod since iTunes will not be generating a playlist.  You could load all the MP3s that you want through Windows Explorer but without iTunes playlist generation, the ipod LCD display will show no songs are available for play.

Apple does not officially support using an ipod on both Mac and Windows platforms - - but that does not mean it cannot be done.  I formatted my ipod mini on Windows and I can use it on both my Mac and Windows PC.

- - picklefish - -
Why is everyone in this forum responding to me as picklefish?

How do i take music from my ipod and put it onto another computer?

You are not supposed to be able to pull music from the iPod.  This is part of the iPod's digital rights management.

However, with that said, even if you are not supposed to be able to, I'm sure versiontracker.com might give you some ideas.

- - picklefish - -
Why is everyone in this forum responding to me as picklefish?

is there any Way that anyone knows about how to program the Ipod. I am getting one in the near furure ( christmas ) and i want to write a program that will run on it to view pictures ( no it is not an iPod Photo ). if there is anyway to do this please let me know thanks

kd7yen
Zak Fargo, MCP A+

Here are a few leads...

http://www.ipodhacks.com/

http://ipodlinux.sourceforge.net/

- - picklefish - -
Why is everyone in this forum responding to me as picklefish?

Jim,

You've supplied some excellent answers and hoping you could help me.  You stated that you use your iPod on both PCs and Macs but had initialized the iPod on an apple with Windows and therefore you can use it on both computers.

I have a Powerbook with no Windows.  And recently many of my friends bought iPods who use PCs.  I was hoping to connect my iPod to their computers to take their songs.  Do you think this will be possible?  If I try and I'm not successful, could it do any damage?

Thanks!

See http://www.ephpod.com/download.shtml for a way to use a Mac-formatted iPod on Windows.

The only possible damage you can do is to mess up the contents and/or reformat your iPod.  Since you should have your original music stored on your computer's hard drive, you can always restore.

What you are trying to do is what Apple has engineered so that you cannot do (easily).  The idea of the iPod is to allow you to put music on to the iPod, not to take it off and share with friends.  

See versiontracker.com for options to accomplish what you seek to do.

- - picklefish - -
Why is everyone in this forum responding to me as picklefish?

I just moved to London from NY recently and Customs my PC-formatted Ipod and Laptop. Luckily, I had my music library saved on my Mac. Insurance replaced my Laptop and Ipod so now I want to transfer my library on my Mac-formatted Ipod to my new PC Laptop and be able to use the Ipod interchangeably on both. A tall order, but I gather there are some real experts on this thread.

I’ve looked at XPlay and also EphPod which handle the MAC/PC compatibility. Will IPod Access or others work with either of these programs to accomplish my goal? If not, do you have any additional suggestions? Thanks greatly.

gabe

hey okay so i juss joined this thing i have no idea what i have to do...but i have a huge ipod issue...
um i have a mini ipod and recently my itunes screwed up alot so i restarted the whole program...so i plug in my ipod and choose to keep my exsisting files so i was wondering how can i update other songs without deleting all the ones i already have since the library is empty...thanks bye

um, in English?

What library is empty?  The one on your hard drive or your iPod?

- - picklefish - -
Why is everyone in this forum responding to me as picklefish?

USB 2 is the preferred spped for the IPod but I installed it on a CX PC using USB 1.1, it just threw a message saying that I was using a slower speed than the IPod was capable of taking.

As fo the Windows issue, I can't really see an issue with that except for the fact you may have problems with the 98 usb driver so it might take a bit of 'jiggery-pokery' here and there.

In reply to:

zyphon08 (Programmer) 23 Mar 04 10:54
Also, I have Windows 98, and the mac website says it requires at least Windows 2000. I'm assuming this is because of the software, but I have a hard time believing that having Windows 98 will make that much of a difference. So.. will it?

http://www.yamipod.com/main/modules/home/
YamiPod works with Win98SE/ME/2k/XP/2003/MacOSX (link above)
It replaces iTunes as far as getting your music on/off and will also play your music.
It is also portable. Meaning you can put the program on your iPod and run it from there on any computer and it doesn't write anything to that computer's hard drive.

Scott

This is an old thread but YamiPod can help alot of the problems you are having.

XGecko3 I would use yamipod on a friend's mac to get my music off the ipod then sync the ipod with my pc and put all the music on it again. The id3 tags should keep it all organized.

Scott

im having problems puting videos on my ipod, the ipod suports mp4, and i convert my videos not with QUICKTIME 7PRO but with IM TOO MPEG ENCODER, when i convert files some wount even go into the itunes library, some will but wount go into the ipod, and others go on both!!!
any one has any clue in whats going on?
and yes u can pull out songs from ur ipod, juss put them in the ipod as a file, dont sync it with itunes.
thanx!

I am getting an iPod in the future and i was wondering if i could use my downloading service for music that i have (Bearshare) instead of iTunes because i dont have to pay for the music. Does anyone know?  Thanks if you reply.

Ummm... "bearshare" is a program, not a download service. Similarly, iTunes is an application, not a download service.

You can get music from "bearshare" and use iTunes to copy it to your ipod.

I'm getting an ipod for christmas and most of my music is upstairs on my very old computer. It won't download itunes for some reason. Can I use any other programs to put music onto my ipod?

Jil234,

I haven't tried it in a while, but if your computer can recognize USB memory sticks (i.e., those little "thumb drives") then it should treat your iPod like another memory stick.

That was all I needed for my iPod shuffle. For a "real" iPod you probably need to get iTunes so that you can download special playlists and so on.