What You Need to iPod

The iPod is designed to communicate with a Mac or a PC, which serves as the loading dock for tunes. Fortunately, it doesn’t have especially demanding system requirements. Here’s what your computer needs to use a video-enabled iPod or iPod Nano with iTunes 6:

  • A decent amount of horsepower. For the Macintosh, Apple recommends 256 MB of RAM and at least a 500-megahertz G3 processor as a minimum, but if you want to use the video iPod and iTunes, you’ll need a 500-megahertz G4 processor and a video card with at least 16 MB of memory on it.

    For the PC, you need at least a 500-megahertz Pentium-level processor and at least 256 MB of RAM. If you plan to watch and use video with your iPod and iTunes, you’ll need a 1.5-gigahertz Pentium-level processor or faster and a video card with 32 MB or more of memory. (Just about everything in life is better with more memory.)

  • A recent operating system. For the Mac, you need at least Mac OS X 10.2.8, but if you want to use any of the video features, you need to make sure your version of Mac OS X is at least 10.3.9. You’ll also need Apple’s QuickTime 7.0.3 multimedia software or later installed.

    On a Windows machine, you need Windows 2000 or XP to use Apple’s iTunes software for Windows. Like the Macsters, Windows people also need at least QuickTime 7.0.3. for video fun.

  • A USB 2.0 connection. Older iPods that predate the 2005 arrival of the video-playing Pod and the Nano can still use a FireWire connection for transferring songs and data, but all the new models are USB 2.0-only. USB 2.0 uses the same plug as the older, slower USB 1.1 connections, so in theory, you can move your music and movies over the slower USB pathway. In reality, you might go nuts with the long wait and overwhelming anticipation of moving 40 gigabytes of data over to your new iPod with USB 1.1.

  • A broadband connection. Fast Internet access isn’t mandatory for using the iPod, but it sure comes in handy when buying and downloading files (especially videos) from the iTunes store.

Note

These are the requirements your computer must meet to use the iPod with iTunes. If you have an older Mac or PC and the yearning to buy an iPod, you still might be able to use it by getting a third-party music-management program that’s less fussy about operating systems than iTunes.

What You Need to iPod Shuffle

Apple’s mighty mite has a few special requirements of its own, including the need for iTunes 4.7.1 or later (earlier versions of iTunes, even iTunes 4.7, won’t work with the Shuffle), so make sure you install the version that came on the iPod Shuffle CD, which should be close to the current version of the program. The Shuffle CD also includes the necessary QuickTime components needed for a happy iTunes experience.

To do the Shuffle, you also need:

  • A very recent operating system. Apple’s requirements page lists Mac OS X 10.2.8 (the highest you can go in the Jaguar world) or Mac OS X 10.3.4 or later as the minimum Mac OS you can use. Windows owners need Windows 2000 (with Service Pack 4 installed) or Windows XP (with Service Pack 2 installed).

  • A USB port. The iPod Shuffle plugs right into the computer’s USB port, and you can use either a zippy USB 2.0 connection or even one of the older (but slower) USB 1.1 ports that have been common on computers since the late 1990s.

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