Not my practice blog, by Scott Knaster

Hacking iPod + iTunes

My new book, Hacking iPod + iTunes, is now available! There are a few iPod books out there, but I wanted to write one that's different. I'm interested in the odd edges and obscure features of the iPod and iTunes, so I wrote about that and didn't spend any time on the basics, which are well-covered in the other books. It was great fun to write, and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I have a thorough section on how to see and move the songs on your iPod using only the Finder, no Terminal and no third-party software, which as far as I know nobody has described before. I also have a long list of sources for legitimate free music; descriptions of some of the wackier software, accessories, and cases you can get for your iPod; and an extensive section on Note Reader features, including a full description of museum mode, which lets you replace your iPod's main menu (that's how I did my Super iPod hack at ADHOC last month).

There are some reviews already at Amazon, two good ones and one bad. I'm grateful for the good reviews, but disappointed about the bad one because it seems like the reviewer saw the title, expected a more deeply technical book, didn't get one, and so trashed the book for not meeting expectations rather than reviewing it for what it is, or simply returning it. I wish I could respond, or even contact the guy, but I don't see that Amazon's review system has a way for me to do that, other than writing my own shill review. Of course, people seem to be buying the book anyway, and I've gotten a bunch of positive e-mail about it, so it looks like it's working out OK.

If you read the book (thank you!), please leave a comment to let me know what you think, and I encourage you to post a review on Amazon. And please let me know of any nifty iPod or iTunes news or other stuff -- I'm posting those at the book's site.

iPod soap

(I got the link from Boing Boing)

Sony's "iPod killer"

Sony is about to introduce a hard drive-based music player with a color screen that also shows photos. It only plays music in Sony's proprietary ATRAC 3 format. Thanks, but no thanks. I guess these guys never heard of Betamax.

iPod and Iraqui torture

This is just weird: a German newspaper apparently combines an Iraqui torture photo with the iPod ad theme. (From Boing Boing.)

Hacking iPod and iTunes

My new book Hacking iPod and iTunes, due out next month, now has a proposed cover, pictured here: check it out! It needs some tweaking, but this is the basic design. I think it's pretty cool.

iTunes 4.5 is out

iTunes 4.5 for Macintosh and Windows is out right now, with new features. Did somebody jump the gun by posting it before Steve Jobs's talk with analysts this morning? (I hope it wasn't anybody I know and like [CVR, this means you ;-) ]).

New features include: importing unprotected WMAs, lossless encoding, CD insert printing, wish lists, radio charts, publish your own playlists, links to videos and movie trailers, and more.

Music store construction kit

It was only about 8 months ago that the idea of a way to buy songs online was radical. Apple's invention of the iTunes Music Store made it real. Soon, imitators created other music stores with similar features, such as free preview clips, the ability to buy songs for about a buck without membership fees, and relatively liberal usage rights. Now, apparently, anybody can build an online music store by using a new service from Microsoft and Loudeye. Nothing changes: Apple innovates, and then others commodotize. To stay successful, Apple has to keep running as fast as it can to invent new stuff.

iTunes funnies in Foxtrot

iPod Radio

Broadcom has introduced a chip that contains a full 802.11b transceiver in a tiny, low-power package. It would be cool if Apple figured out how to build an iPod with one of these inside. A WiFi-capable iPod would be like a 21st-century radio. You could play music from any WiFi-capable computer in range running iTunes -- great for dorms and offices. Throw in an FM tuner, and you've got a real iPod Radio. Maybe the iPod could even share an available Internet connection. Many commercial radio stations publish their "current song" on their web sites. If you're listening to FM, the iPod Radio could grab that info, talk to the iTunes Music Store, and let you click a "Buy" button for instant gratification. The next time you dock the iPod, you buy the song. Oh, and can it please sync my contacts and calendar too? And make my coffee in the morning?