No, it is not because there is a design flaw but rather the design intention to ward off attempts of piracy, ie indiscriminate duplication of music files to be sold or shared. It may sound harsh to say that even sharing song files with friends could be illegal, but it is true that you may be in danger of infringing into copyright laws. The copyright laws are put in place to govern and protect the intellectual properties of their creators, the musicians, etc so that it remains profitable for them to run their music business. Without that, the music industry slowly wanes and dies a natural death. As a consumer, or music lover, you obviously won’t want that to happen right?

However, not being able to download iPod songs from iPod to computer meant that we cannot do a backup of our song collection. This can be a nasty experience if our computer crashes or when our iPods are faulty. There is a need for easy transfer of song files between the iPod device and any computer such that retrieval would not be so painful. The “piracy-proof” functionality of the iPod device to prevent transfers of songs to a computer ended up becoming a handicap for owners who genuinely just want to do proper backups.

Software developers saw this shortfall coming and have already designed some applications to work around this problem. iPod users can now conveniently carry out transfers from their iPods to their computers with ease, without fear of formatting problems. Here’s a list of iPod-compatible software applications supported by Mac/Windows Operating System that are available for downloading. Free trials are available for testing.

1. iPod Music Liberator

2. iPodRip

3. PodUtil

4. iPod Access

With the above software, you can rest at ease, knowing that your private iPod downloads of song and music collection is safe even when your iPod or computer is down. I am sure you have heard of horrific stories where folks who have painstakingly built up a huge iPod music collection only to see them wiped out with a technical glitch. It’s not a matter of effort only but the amount of money that has been invested into the iPod downloads.

Fortunately, there is now a better way to download iPod songs, music and music videos. In the past year, other than iTunes, many new players have entered into the market changing the business model of paid iPod downloads. Instead of charging per iPod download of song or music video, these membership sites are offering life-time membership for pennies. Considering the vast library of millions of iPod downloads they offer which range from the latest music to movies and TV shows, it is proving to be a more worthwhile investment for iPod users. Learn more about how you can access to unlimited iPod downloads of music and other media files at my iPod blog.

The content of this article is provided for the purpose of education and illustration only and is in no way associated with Apple, iTune, or any company or subsidiary of Apple. This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

I’ve got 3 now, one just for movies, and another for music and one for data and I’m negotiating with a contact in China for 5 more.

iPod is the brain child of Steven Jobs, Apple guru and all around genius. More than 22 million ipods have been sold to US adults, which amounts to approximately 11% of the population (according to the non-profit Pew Internet & American Life Project). I became a fan and user and my addiction continues to grow stronger.

Now I spend my days learning about new applications and my nights surfing for clearance sales, closeouts, underground sources for discounts on accessories. For example, last week I found a site that sells what they call an iPod Converter.

This unit allows for unlimited downloads of movies and music and games and software and provides a lifetime membership in their download club. As a full blown movie nut this little handful of technology is gobbling up my free time by the hour.

Talk about addiction, I was rummaging through some magazines in the basement of the library at midnight (don’t ask) and found this underground techie magazine. There was a story about an MP3 converter that took me a few minutes to realize was the iPod converter I heard about last week.

The techie manual indicated this is better than Blockbuster and NetFlicks all rolled into one very user friendly palm-sized unit. I’ll share the link here anyone who is interested can read all about it.

As I continue to learn about all-things-iPod I’ve just discovered about iPod hacks. This reference startled me at first as it is not in my nature to destroy other’s enjoyment in any manner, especially when it comes to something like PCs and iPods.

What I learned is the term hacks when it refers to iPod is another way of saying accessories, except that the modification most likely will void your iPod’s warrantee. In any case the lists I found were nothing less than fascinating.

For instance, according to howstuffworks.com, the range of accessories includes downloadable iPod games and programs that convert DVDs to iPod-friendly video files. There are also programs that convert PDA files your PowerPoint presentations into files that work with your iPod-compatible.

The howstuffworks website also provided a reference to a list of some current applications: “iPod hackers are publishing all sorts of programs that alter the way an iPod works -- some of the software is free, and some of it is for purchase. Some currently available hacks let you:

• Make an iPod work with Linux machines and run Linux applications

• Remove volume caps (iPods sold in Europe cap the volume at 100 decibels; uncapped iPods can reach more than 115 decibels.)

• Turn your iPod into a universal remote • Attach an external hard drive to your iPod to increase the storage capacity

• Change your iPod's font and graphics • Watch movies on your iPod in full-screen mode • Plug your iPod into any computer (even without iTunes) and listen to music from the hard drive

• Transfer photos to iPod without using iTunes

• Replace iTunes all together as the iPod's main jukebox • Use an iPod with a Windows 98 machine “

While I am fascinated with the expansion this provides I am too cautious and protective of Buck to try anything other than factory sealed products from Apple. I can be patient until they ramp up to the accessory list I peeked at in an underground publication.

The upcoming Apple list is robust and will blow away the hacker’s meager offerings. Meanwhile, I’ll stick to my movie and music downloading which keeps me rather busy and satisfied.

However if you hear any buzz about an auto-pilot for long cross-country drives that’s compatible with a 2006 STS, please pass it on. I might just let Buck give it a try.

About The Author

Alex Rich is a hypnotherapist and personal coach. His clients call on him for both personal and business advice. Doc has a growing collection of iPods and accessories.

1. YASA AVI to iPod Converter

A professional and easy-to-use AVI to iPod Converter to convert AVI to iPod, can convert AVI to iPod video and convert video to iPod format and tell you how to watch movie on your iPod.

2. Mooma Video to iPod Converter

It can convert almost all of the popular video files to ipod video and ipod movie such as avi to ipod (mp4), mpeg to ipod (mp4).Mooma video to ipod converter is a professional video to iPod converter software.

3. Plato Video To iPod Converter

Simply Convert any video into your iPod,it can convert almost all kinds of video files such as rm, divx, xvid, avi, wmv, asf, mpg, mpeg, vob, mov, qt, vcd, svcd to Apple iPod video (mp4) format.

4. Aplus Video To iPod Converter

It automatically converts almost all formats of video files that are already on your computer such as DivX , XviD , AVI ,RM, WMV , MPG, MPEG , ASF , MOV , ASX , SVCD , VCD stream formats into iPod mp4 format.

5. YASA DVD to iPod Converter

Convert DVD to iPod PSP MP4 MPEG-4 MPEG AVI DivX WMV ASF 3GP H263 MOV 3GPP 3GPP2 RM VCD SVCD; Convert DVD to MP3 MP2 M4A WAV AAC OGG RA; Supports clipping of dvd video. All codec are built-in. PSP Video Transfer has been included.

6. YASA VOB to iPod Converter

It supports converting among MPG, WMV, MP4, 3GP, MOV, RM, PSP Video, iPod Video and so many portable media player (MP4 player) such as Acrchos Archos AV500, Archos AV700, Archos Gmini402, iriver PMP-100, Creative Zen Vision and extracting audio from video file and converting to MP3, WAV, AC3, WMA, M4A, OGG, AAC etc

7. iPod Converter - DVD to iPod, DVD to MP4

Convert video format( avi, mpg, mov, rm ) to iPod video formats, MPEG4, MOV, H.264..Support video size, framerate, bitrate.Support audio channels, bitrate, samplerate.

8. ImTOO DVD to iPod Converter

The best DVD to iPod transferring software/DVD to iPod converting software to put DVD to iPod movie helps download movie DVD to iPod and rip DVD to iPod video.

9. Amadis DVD to iPod Converter

With integrated advanced MPEG4 encoder, it is faster than other DVD iPod Converter software, and just a few clicks is enough. Amadis DVD to iPod Converter supports batch file processing. You can check the chapters or videos you want to convert and convert them one by one, alse can select any audio track and subtitle as you want.

10. Cucusoft DVD to iPod Converter

An excellent DVD to iPod conversion tool for ripping DVD to iPod helps easily rip DVD to iPod video, convert DVD format to iPod and transfer DVD to iPod video.

Source: http://www.pdaconverter.net/article/Today-s-Greatest-Video-to-iPod-Converter.html

But the problem is longstanding, ever since the old cassette tape players were used to record music, straight from the radio.

So, what should you do if your computer with all your iTunes goes on the bum, or even worse, just breaks. You're stuck, without any way to transfer your tunes to your new computer.

Until now!

As technology goes, there are always folks who will find a way to beat the system, and this article will outline 25 options for transferring your tunes from your beloved iPod to your computer. Some are either freeware or shareware and the others of course, come with a nominal price tag.

A couple of the links are actually for transferring photos from your iPod to your computer so I included the link below as an extra. It allows you to transfer tunes and videos between iPods. Lots of folks have more than one iPod and would like to simply copy thier favorites from one iPod to the other or thier friend's iPod.

iPod 2 iPod

http://www.topshareware.com/iPod-2-iPod-download-39933.htm

Many people own more than one iPod. iPod 2 iPod is an application that allows you to transfer your music and video between them.

Macintosh Operating System

iLinkPod

http://www.ilinkpod.com/

iLinkPod is first of all a unique tool that creates a permanent and direct access from your Desktop (and your iPod or wherever you want) to the hidden folders in which iPod stores your audio files. So you don't need iLinkPod or any other utility to access your hidden audio files on the iPod, you'll have access to them through a common folder on your Desktop (and iPod too).

iPod Viewer 3.0.1

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/15864
Transfer songs to and from your iPod.

Expod0.3

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/30994
With Expod you can copy any or all of your songs (or videos) off your iPod, using whatever file naming convention you like.

PodView 1.5

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/29287
Play music, movies, photos at full screen and import content from your iPod.

iPodDisk

http://ipoddisk.ourbiti.com/index.php/download/
iPodDisk is a tool designed to make it easy and intuitive to copy music from your iPod. You copy music off your iPod in the Finder, like a regular disk drive.

Senuti

http://www.fadingred.org/senuti/
Get music off of your iPod onto any computer.

PodUp 1.0.0

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/31475
PodUp is an application which copies all your music files from your iPod to a folder of your choosing, without having anything to do with iTunes.

Mac and Windows Operating System

iPodRip

http://www.thelittleappfactory.com/application.php?app=iPodRip
iPodRip supports recovering your songs and playlists, playback of audio files and much more. iPodRip is compatible with Mac OS X 10.2 and later, and Windows XP and 2000. Trial version available.

Music Rescue (Upgrade to the previously called PodUtil)

http://www.kennettnet.co.uk/software/podutil.php
Music Rescue is a shareware utility for copying songs from your iPod to your computer. PodUtil is compatible with Mac OS X and 9.x, and Windows XP and 2000.

iPod Music Liberator

http://www.zeleksoftware.com/products.htm
The iPod Music Liberator allows you to copy music, playlists, and ratings from your iPod to any computer, filling in a missing feature of iTunes. It supports Mac OS X and Windows XP, 2000, NT and 98.

TuneRanger 0.9.5 Build 270

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/32865
TuneRanger connects iTunes-running computers over a network, allowing music, video, and playlists to be merged from one iTunes library to another seamlessly.

iPod Access Photo 1.2

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/32383
iPod Access Photo allows you to select individual photos and albums to be moved back onto your Mac computer or an external hard drive.

iPod Access

http://www.ipodaccess.com/ipodaccess/upgradeofferWin.html
The premier application for copying music, videos and playlists from your iPod back to your Windows PC.
Microsoft Windows PC

Microsoft Windows PC

iPodCopy

http://www.topshareware.com/iPodCopy-download-42821.htm

Buying an iPod or iPhone, however, can be a strain on the pocket, especially if you are a student without a part time job. Finding the iPod you can afford does not have to be like climbing Mount Everest. You can find an original cheap iPod easily, if you persevere and do the proper research.

Before you start going around begging for money to buy your iPod, you should first check out the different kinds of iPods available in the market. Then, once you have made your choice of model, you can go out and find that cheap iPod for sale , with our help, of course.

There are 4 kinds of iPod to choose from: the iPod Nano, iPod shuffle, mega iPod, and the iPod touch. Each model has corresponding memory capacity which dictates its price. The cheapest iPod for sale is the iPod shuffle. It is a tiny device that has 1 GB and weighs only 15 grams. You can bring it along with you easily by clipping it on to your bag or outfit.

The next cheapest iPod for sale is the iPod Nano. You can get one with either 4GB or 8GB. This means you can carry over 1000 tunes in your Nano unlike the shuffle which has a memory capacity for 250 songs only.

The iPod classic is Apple’s audio device that has a tremendous memory capacity of 80 to 160 GB. You can upload not only music, but also videos and pictures. This is the ultimate toy on the go.

Finally, the iPod touch. It’s almost like the iPhone without the phone. With this model, you get a bigger screen, greater memory, and Wi-fi.

Knowing the model you want will help you get your iPod or iPhone faster. There are many ways to get a cheap iPod or iPhone . For one, you could take your chances and join a contest that gives out the Apple products, except the chances are slim that you will win an iPhone or iPod.

Have you ever considered an auction? There are reliable sources on the internet that offer cheap iPods for sale , and cheap iPhone for sale as well. By bidding on the Apple product you want, you can get your cheap iPhone at a price you can afford. In most cases, you just have to make sure that the auction website you transact with is trustworthy and reliable. Make sure you choose a site that has credibility and good reviews.

Finding a cheap iPod and a cheap iPhone will mean buying one that has been slightly used or refurbished. This is why you need to check who you are dealing with. Remember that c heap iPods and cheap iPhones for sale do not mean they are inferior products or are fake. Not at all. If you go to a reputable auction site that sells cheap iPods , it will only mean that the iPod or iPhone has been used by its owner, and for some reason, needs or wants to sell it.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with getting your iPod or iPhone the cheap way. It would only mean you have good business sense, you are practical, and resourceful. Now, those are great traits to have, so use them to get your cheap iPod and iPhone at a sale price that will be well worth the effort.

When people think of iPod music downloads, the first place they would think of is iTunes. If you do a quick review, you would discover that they have a wide selection of over 3.5 million songs, movies and over 200 TV shows, over 20,000 audio books, games etc. Prices range from $0.99 for a music track, and movies retail at $9.99 per movie, while TV show sells at $1.99 per episode. Frankly, that’s quite a large database of iPod media files and there are old fans who stick with it since that’s probably the very first site that they knew and got their first iPod music downloads.

However, there are others who feel that it is ridiculously expensive if they want to beef up a private stash of music and songs with tons of iPod music downloads. Naturally, they would switch to downloading iPod music at free download sites like Kazaa or Limewire. Why should anyone bother to download iPod music that comes with a price tag each time you do so? People quickly figured this out and as a result, huge demand for free iPod music downloads ensued. More download sites using the same concept as Kazaa pop up.

But there are some problems with downloading iPod music at sites like Kazaa. These download sites would expose your computer system to malware such as viruses, adware and spyware. In exchange for downloading iPod music for free, you are obliged to view those pop-up advertisements, or commercial ads. Needless to say, this would badly affect your PC’s performance such as speed and memory and its functionality. Imagine the kind of trouble you would be in should your PC crash on you and wipe out all your important files and documents. The reformatting, reinstallation and so on so forth is something most people would love to avoid.

Business owners saw the loopholes and pitfalls in these free iPod music downloads sites. In meeting the ever-increasing demand for cheap music downloads for iPod, new membership sites that offer lifetime access to millions of iPod music files, music videos, and other media files like business audio books, TV shows and movies came into the music scene. Instead of a pay-per-download fee structure, they go for a one-time fee based concept. Various download sites charge a different fee but it is generally in the low range of $40. The music community, especially iPod users has welcomed such a refreshing change. Music enthusiasts can now access to as many iPod music downloads as they wish, without expensive charges under an environment safe from malware attacks.

Read my blog to find out how it is possible to access to millions of iPod music downloads and get the latest tips and reviews of top iPod music sites.

The content of this article is provided for the purpose of education and illustration only and is in no way associated with Apple, iTune, or any company or subsidiary of Apple. This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

By using iPod video converter tool you can convert the other file format to iPod supporting file format. iPod is already restricted to copy music file from iPod to PC, now it is very simple to copy music iPod to PC by using iPod file converter. iPod file converter software is very effective and user friendly interface which provides you opportunity to perform all functions easily. iPod file converter is attracting iPod users. You can store all video and audios file format which are not supported by iPod. Another benefit of iPod file converter is playing flash. Buy online iPod file converter to make your life simple with iPod.

iPod Video Converter is one of the best software which convert MP4 file to iPod device. It is attracting those users who want to enjoy movies on iPod. It is now very effective to convert your favorite movies into your iPod means digital life is in your pocket. The process of installation is very easy; you can complete video conversion in just a single click. Convert Video to iPhone supports almost all types of video file like DivX, XviD, MOV, rm, rmvb, MPG, MPEG, VOB, VCD, DVD, SVCD, AVI to iPod MP4 files.

No, these aren’t the type of socks that you can wear, but they are instead socks for your iPod to go into. They come in different colors and are normally available in packs of six socks or so. They are cute and they can be useful, but they are no way a good substitute for iPod cases.

Whereas the iPod socks will protect your iPod to some extent (it protects the screen and can keep your iPod from getting dirty), they do not give the same protection to your iPod that iPod cases do. However, not all iPod cases are the same, so if you’re thinking of getting a case to protect your iPod, you might first want to check whether it does the job it’s supposed to.

If you are interested then, you will find that there are many different types of cases available to buy, and they come in the same different sizes that the iPods come in as well. This is because one shoe, or in this case, iPod cases, won’t fit them all. Since the iPod also comes in a number of different sizes, the iPod cases are also manufactured to come in those specific sizes.

So you can’t get a case for an iPod shuffle and expect it to fit your iPod mini or even your iPod nano. One size most definitely does not fit all. If you wanted to though, you could invest in a case which was slightly larger than your iPod size, and this way when you throw in your old iPod for a newer generation iPod, you can be certain that of all the iPod cases that you have, this one will fit your new one as well!

iPod cases can also come in a variety of different materials, ranging from leather iPod cases to hard cover iPod cases to silicone type iPod cases. New iPod armbands also have a casing to place your iPod in, instead of a clip to clip it on. The best use for these types of iPod cases however, is for people who are constantly on the go and who love to use their iPod to workout with.

Devices in the iPod range are primarily digital music players, designed around a central click wheel although the iPod shuffle has buttons only.

The full-sized model stores media on an internal hard drive, while the smaller iPod nano and iPod shuffle use flash memory. Like many digital audio players, iPods can also serve as external data storage devices.

In addition to playing music, iPods with display screens can display calendars, contact information, and text files, and play a limited range of video games. Models introduced in 2004 include the ability to display photos and the fifth-generation iPod, introduced in 2005, can additionally play video files. In January 2007, Apple announced the iPhone, combining the features of a video-capable iPod with integrated mobile phone and mobile internet capabilities.

Apples iTunes software is used for transferring music (as well as photos, videos, games, contacts and calendars, for models that support those features). As a free jukebox application, iTunes stores a comprehensive library of music on the users computer and can play, burn, and rip music from a CD. It can also sync photos and videos.

History and Design:

The iPod came from Apple digital hub strategy, as the company began creating software for the growing market of digital devices being purchased by consumers. While digital cameras, camcorders and organizers had well-established mainstream markets, the company found digital music players lacking in user interface design and decided to develop its own.

The name was proposed by Vinnie Chieco, a freelance copywriter, who (with others) was called by Apple to figure out how to introduce the new player to the public. As soon as Chieco saw a prototype for the player he thought of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey and the phrase: "Open the pod bay door, Hal!", which refers to the white EVA Pods of the Discovery One spaceship. At that time "iPod" was a name that Apple registered for Internet kiosks, but never put to use.

Apple hardware engineering chief Jon Rubinstein assembled a team of engineers to design it, including Tony Fadell, Stan Ng and Jonathan Ive. Additionally, Sparkfactor Design has designed some of the iPod hardware from 2002-2004. They developed the product in less than a year and it was unveiled on October 23, 2001. CEO Steve Jobs announced it as a Mac-compatible product with a 5 GB hard drive that put "1000 songs in your pocket."

Uncharacteristically, Apple did not develop the iPods software entirely in-house. Instead, Apple began with PortalPlayer reference platform which was based on 2 ARM cores. The platform used rudimentary software running on a commercial microkernel embedded operating system. PortalPlayer had previously been working on an IBM-branded MP3 player with Bluetooth headphones. Apple contracted another company, Pixo, to help design and implement the user interface, under the direct supervision of Steve Jobs.

Once established, Apple continued to refine the software look and feel. Starting with the iPod mini, the Chicago font (once used on early Macintosh computers) was replaced with Espy Sans, which was originally used in eWorld and Copland. Later iPods switched fonts again to Podium Sans, a font similar to Apple corporate font Myriad. The iPods with color displays then adopted some Mac OS X themes like Aqua progress bars, as well as brushed metal in the lock interface.

User interface:

Apple focused its development on the iPod's unique user interface and its ease of use, rather than on technical capability. The iPod is currently the world's best-selling range of digital audio players and its worldwide mainstream adoption makes it one of the most popular consumer brands. Some of Apple's design choices and proprietary actions have, however, led to criticism and legal battles.

The iPods with color displays use high quality anti-aliased graphics and text, with sliding animations. These iPods have five buttons and the newer generations have the buttons integrated into the click wheel an innovation which gives an uncluttered, minimalistic interface.

The buttons are:

Menu to traverse backwards through the menus, and toggle the backlight on older iPods when held
Center to select a menu item
Play / Pause which doubles as an off switch when held
Fast Forward (When held)/ Skip Forward
Fast Reverse (When held)/ Skip Backwards

The operations such as scrolling through menu items and controlling the volume are performed by using the

• iPod is able to deliver extremely rich quality of digital music.

• It comes in attractive small sizes and thus tends to be very handy and compact.

• They come with in-built media library software, called as the iTunes media library software. This feature enables the user to manage the music files efficiently.

• The most attractive feature which made iPod the best seller is the attribute which allows the device to be connected to the user's computer.

• Thus by enabling connection with the user's computer, the iPod prove to serve as efficient storage devices.

• iPods sport a display, which makes the gadget more user friendly.

• Improvised iPods also had PDA's( Personal Digital Assitants).

• Apple, the creators of iPod kept on improvising it, and thus many models of iPod have rocked the market.

The models of iPod categorized according to the chronological order.

First Generation iPods:

Initially the iPods were released with 5GB hard drive, but then later Apple increased their hard drive capacity to 10GB. These iPods have a scroll wheel with a select button in the middle. This device was a huge hit in the commercial market, but now they rarely exist due to the release of new models.

Second generation iPods:

These devices had a thicker body and they supported 20 GB hard drive. They were the first gadgets, which were compatible with the windows. They also sported cases and wired remotes.

Third generation iPods:

These iPods were thinner than the original versions, the 30 pin dock connector was introduced with this series. They also had touch sensitive buttons this attracted the masses to a great extent. And it did not have buttons surrounding the wheels and hanging parts.

Fourth generation iPods:

The only difference, the fourth generation iPods had over the others is the introduction of click wheels. They also sported the same monochrome screen. But it enabled the battery to be charged through the USB connection.

Color iPods:

As the name suggests these devices had a color screen and the ability to store and display JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, and PNG images. They supported 65,536 colors. They possessed the photo library and released accessories like iPod camera connector.

Fifth generation iPods:

They were developed to reduce minor audio effects so that the head phone does not deliver hard drive noise. They came in a wide variety of sizes, colors and hard drive capacities. They also supported features like the World Clock, Stopwatch, and Screen Lock applications. In addition, the earphones plug were smaller.

iPod mini:

The mini had a smaller structure and it resembled the earlier versions in its features,but it did not support third party accessories. They introduced micro-drive hard drive as the storage medium.The minis were futher improvised as the first generation and second generation devices. It had rich case colors and was a big hit in the market.

iPod shuffle:

Flash memory was introduced through these gadgets, but they did not have a screen so navigation of music files were a little difficult. But it has been reviewed as the best sounding audio device in comparison with the other models.

iPod nano:

iPod nano also had the flash memory but it came with a color display. It also included a number of features like world clock, stop watch and screen lock options.