In my life I have bought and listened to vinyl records, 8-track cassettes for my Triumph Herald (Tubular Bells was my favourite), cassette tapes for my Walkman and CDs for my Discman. Now there’s the iPod for my MP3s.

The way we listen to music and where we listen to it has changed quite dramatically over the last 30 years. It wasn’t until recently that I began to realise the advantage of this new iPod technology and it all started with understanding the term, MP3.

What does MP3 mean?
MPEG stands for the Moving Picture Experts Group. It is a standardised protocol for digital compression. In other words, it takes a large (uncompressed) computer file, and makes it substantially smaller while maintaining as much quality as possible.

MPEG compression is for audio, video or both. VCDs (Video CDs) and MP3s both use the Mpeg-1 compression. DVDs use the better Mpeg-2 format. The most recent version is Mpeg-4, which is how camcorders can now store so much footage without having a tape.

There are many other compression formats such as AAC (which is a subset of Mpeg-4). This compression is better quality than MP3, is smaller, and can be copy protected. Many popular downloads use this format, and it is no problem for the iPod. WMA is Windows own format; it will not play on the iPod (or the Mac). There are many more (such as FLAC), but I won’t bore you with them.

So how do you get these MP3s?
There are three easy ways - all with different prices:
1. Many people who already have lots of CD’s can use their computer to convert their CD’s to MP3s. It takes about 7 minutes to convert a whole disc to your computer and, of course, once you’ve done it there’s no need to ever do it again. The most common software for this is Apple’s iTunes. I recommend that you use this because it’s the same program you will use to transfer all of your MP3’s to your iPod. iTunes will also look up the name of the CD, the artist, all of the song names and even the CD cover-art.

2. You can download MP3s from the Internet. Some sites offer them for free, others you need to pay. Apple will sell you songs for 99 cents each; you can get the whole album or just a few tracks.

3. You can swap your MP3s with your friends. This is, of course, illegal but it happens all the time. This is currently possible with all of the CD’s that you have “ripped” to MP3, but most of the songs purchased on-line will be copyprotected.

What is an iPod?
iPod is Apple Computer’s portable MP3 player. It is small, has a long battery life, and holds more songs than most of its competitors. The newest one is 60GB, which means it can store approximately 12,000 songs. One of the best things about it is how simple it is to use. There are only five buttons.

There are now dozens of competing products, however the iPod has sold over 40 million units and is by far the most popular. New models include photos and video, soon they should have a larger screen.

A few tips & tricks:
1. Buy an iPod. And don’t forget to register it on-line, this will make your warranty valid.

2. Download the latest iTunes software from www.apple.com/itunes

3. When you first connect your iPod with your computer (or someone else’s), uncheck the box “automatically update my iPod”. You do not want your iPod to automatically sync with the computer, you risk losing music. Always make sure that you “Manually manage songs and Playlists”.

4. Set iTunes to record your CD’s to MP3 at a better quality than the default. This is easy, and makes the sound quality much better. On a PC, go to the “Edit” menu and select “Preferences”. Click on the “Advanced” tab, and then the “Import” tab. You will see “Setting:” with a pull-down menu. Select “Higher Quality (192kps)”. This is better than average quality and will sound good even through your HiFi. On a Mac, this same setting is reached through “Preferences” from the “iTunes” menu.

5. Make “Playlists” in iTunes. A playlist is a group of your favourite songs. In the “File” menu, select “New Playlist”. Now all you have to do is drag all of your favourite songs or albums into the new playlist. You can then copy this straight onto the iPod.

6. “Playlist on the Go” is a great feature of the iPod. It allows you to create a playlist without using a computer, and it’s simple. If you go to the Playlist menu, you will see “On-The-Go”. Click on it and there will be basic instructions. What they say is that you can go to your music library by artist, album or genre. When you see an album or a song that you like, hold down the centre button for three seconds until the cursor flashes. That song or album (or artist or genre) is now added to the playlist. Repeat this as many times as you wish. You now have a playlist made without needing a computer. I use this in my car all the time. It is also easy to clear or save your new playlist and start a new one.

7. “Shuffle” is in the iPod main menu settings. It will allow you to shuffle songs or albums so you don’t hear the same music in the same order twice. Great for a long playlist, not so good for classical music (you need the tracks to be in order 1-2-3…).

8. “Repeat” is also in the main menu settings. You can repeat one, or all. “One” will just play a song over and over again. “All” will repeat the current album or playlist. The benefit of selecting Repeat All is the music won’t stop once it’s played the last track.

9. Buy the software “iPod Access” from my buddy Drew. This is the only way of getting music Off of an IPod back to your computer. Handy for backing up your files (or stealing music). www.ipodaccess.com

Some Cool Accessories:
Apple Remote & Docking station. Plug the base into your stereo and enjoy music at home. www.apple.com

iPort made by Sonance is built into your living room wall and functions the same as the base station. Makes for a nice permanent installation (and when friends come over you can just put their iPod in the iPort). www.iportmusic.com

iTrip plugs into the top of the iPod and gives it an FM radio frequency. You can now listen to the iPod in your car without any wires. www.griffintechnology.com

SoundDock is a great sounding speaker system for the iPod. Just place the iPod into the dock and you have a sound system good for any small room. www.bose.com

If you want to go out and buy one today - don’t delay. Phuket Alpha in Central Shopping Mall is a genuine Mac dealer. They have stock and speak English.

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