The book is published by Pogue Press, and edited by David Pogue, a writer of some fame in the Macintosh community. It is written by J. D. Biersdorfer, a columnist on technical issues for the New York Times, and other noted publications. It is the 2nd edition, published in February 2004, and updated to include recent (but not absolutely the latest) iPods (one came out in the last few days of June). It covers iPoddery from the original (5 Gig) iPod in 2001, iPod mini (and a brief discussion of the Hewlett Packard product (mentioned as an H Pod), to a 10 (later 15), a 20 and a 40 Gig iPod, by January 2004

In July 2004, Apple improved the iPod by incorporating into it some of the best of the mini iPod features such as combining all the keys on the scroll wheel, improving the battery life, and, amazingly, dropping the price. Now, there are 20 and 40 Gig iPods with free laser engraving on the case if you order on Apple's website. Like most things Macintosh, the functionality is developmental, and the book reflects that.

The book does not come with a CD, but gives you a website (www.missingmanuals.com) for many iPodian shareware downloads. There are many other websites, including ipodlounge.com (thanks to Randy Phillips for this suggestion). Missing Manuals is a needed concept, founded on the idea that some of us will read a manual, but the product manual may not be complete or thorough. The iPod manual is as spare as can be, a minimalist counterpoint to the beautiful origami packaging of the iPod.

The book is 350 pages long, packed with useful information, well organized and displayed (though a few illustrations are missing). There are 16 chapters with an introduction, and two appendices (being a physician, I removed them promptly) covering the hardware (and history of iPod), software (Mac and PC), iTunes, and uses of the iPod beyond music. These include use as an external hard drive, alarm clock, which you can set to wake you at a predetermined time (battery intensive), to a song or album of your choice, as eBook repository, calendar, appointment reminder, etc. There is one chapter on troubleshooting. Some of the great tips, aside from the alarm clock, appointment and calendar functions, include how to record back from the iPod to the computer.

I read the section on recording (my initial goal) and found good recommendations for accessory microphones (information also gleaned from Helga Gunther), and techniques to answer my questions about using the device to record.

In the first part of the review, I did not really know anything about the iPod but found the book to be very helpful in orienting me towards what the iPod was and what it could do. In the 2nd part of the review, I discuss my impressions of the book after using my iPod, and give the reader a better picture of the utility of the book. I did not buy or look at other manuals for using the iPod besides Apple�s manual included in the package and on the CD. On my first pass, I would recommend this book, like others in the editorial family, as a great buy for users of the iPod (or other products in the missing manuals series). review.

iPod, do U? Part 2 of My iPod Review
I received my iPod and opened it, admiring the origami-like appearance of its box. There were several separate packages, the iPod and dock, plus two cables, FireWire and USB; the carrying case; and the remote and a second set of earbuds. The in-ear phones, available for $39.95, did not come with it, despite my expectations of such. RadioShack has inexpensive stereo earphones from $7 and up.