OK, so you maybe you were a tad bit naughty this year and Santa didn’t bring you a new Mac or that iPhone you’ve had your eye on. But he did bring you a new iPod, so you must have done something right! And with a little help from the MacLife.com elves, we’ll get you up & running in no time.

5 Things To Do First With Your New Toy

1. Install iTunes

If you’re a first-time iPod owner, you might also be new to iTunes -- so that should be your first stop. Head over to www.apple.com/itunes to download it if you don’t have it already (it’s available for both Mac and Windows). Upon first launch, iTunes will ask if you want to import any existing music files it finds, which is a good idea at this early stage. You don’t have to even wait for your new iPod to land under the Christmas tree -- you can do this one right away! And if you’ve already got iTunes installed, it’s worth a visit to Software Update to make sure you have the latest version available. Now is also the best time to start a free account with the iTunes Store if you don’t already have one, which you’ll need to purchase more music and even movies & TV shows.

2. Say hello to your little friend

A new iPod by itself doesn’t do much -- it’s up to you to make it yours and fill it up with your content. So once you’re done swooning and fawning over your new pal, unwrap that dock cable, plug it into an available USB port on your computer and fire up iTunes. Plug in your iPod and iTunes will ask to register your new gift and you can even give it a distinctive name, too.

3. Update your firmware

Even if your iPod is of the shuffle, nano or classic variety rather than the iPod touch, it’s worth plugging in your new friend and firing up iTunes to make sure it’s empowered with the latest & greatest firmware from Apple (by pressing the “Update” button if you don’t get a message first). New firmware works to squash bugs and sometimes even adds great new features to your existing device, and everyone likes new features, right?

4. Organize your existing media

Hopefully you prepared for the arrival of your new friend in advance by downloading/installing iTunes and getting started on your music library by ripping your existing CDs or even buying some new music on the iTunes Store. If not, now is the time! Collect those piles of old CDs and start importing. If Santa was extra-kind and gave you an iTunes Gift Card with your iPod, head to the iTunes Store and log in (or create your new account) and then click “Redeem” under the “Quick Links” section on the right-hand side to turn that gift card into credits, ready to spend. While you’re at, start organizing your music library by creating some playlists for your favorite artists.

5. Load that sucker up!

Now that you’re all up to date and your media is ready to go, hit the “Sync” button with your iPod plugged into iTunes and start moving all of that media to your new iPod! Depending on which model and capacity you have -- not to mention the size of your media library -- you may have to cycle through the tabs above the image of your iPod first to select the media you want to transfer. Needless to say, videos will require the most space (assuming your model of iPod is capable of playing them), so you might want to uncheck that option from your first sync, for now.

So now you’re updated and ready to rock! If you have an iPod touch, you’ll now have a nearly unlimited choice of options thanks to the App Store, with over 100,000 applications available to choose from. We’ll make a few suggestions to get you started, including a few software ideas for your desktop computer to help with your new iPod, too.

10 Apps To Install First

1Password ($4.99 or $7.99 Pro version, App Store)

Keep all of your Internet logins and passwords as well as credit cards, frequent flyer numbers and more in the palm of your hand at all times. Works in tandem with the 1Password desktop software ($39.99, Mac only) to keep your data synced between your iPod touch and your computer.

Amazon Kindle for iPhone (Free, App Store)

Whether you own a Kindle e-book reader or not, Amazon’s Kindle for iPhone (which also works on iPod touch, naturally) opens a fantastic new world for book readers. Purchase books on Amazon.com and they’ll automagically sync to your new iPod touch (Wi-Fi connection required) so you can read them on the go. If you also own a Kindle, the iPod touch version will remember where you left off and you can pick right up from the same place on the Kindle hardware, too.

Convertbot (99¢, App Store)
Covering a whopping 440 different units, Convertbot is your unit conversion robot. Tackle any common conversion such as area, weight, speed, temperature and even currencies (requires Wi-Fi connection, over 100 currencies supported). Convertbot also has one of the sexiest, most fun interfaces on the App Store, too.

CosmoPod (€8.90, Mac only)
If you have a video-playing iPod and frequently visit YouTube, you’ll want a utility like CosmoPod, a Safari add-on that makes it quick & simple to download videos from your favorite Internet sites and convert them to iPod-friendly format. You can even set iTunes movie tags directly in the software, and play files as you download them.

Handbrake (Free, Mac & Windows)
If you’re a movie collector by nature, Hollywood has probably already enticed you to shell out for your favorite movies in a number of formats already -- at least on VHS tape and probably DVD by now. They’d be more than happy to take more of your hard-earned money to have you buy the same content again from the iTunes Store, but if you already own the DVD, just install the open-source Handbrake and convert your DVDs to iPod-ready movies instead. It’s absolutely free and if you have a newer computer, it’s quite fast as well.

Pocketpedia2 (Free, App Store)
If you have a large collection of DVDs, CDs, games or books, chances are you’ve stood in a store with an impending purchase and wondered, “Do I already have this?” If so, you’ll enjoy the free Pocketpedia2, which uses data from the accompanying DVDpedia, CDpedia, Gamepedia and Bookpedia desktop software for Mac ($18 each or available cheaper in bundles) to keep your libraries in the palm of your hand at all times.

PodWorks ($8, Mac only)
The first thing iPod users will discover is that iTunes is a one-way street -- you can copy music from your iTunes library to the iPod, but not from your iPod back to your computer. So what happens if your computer bites the dust and takes your massive music collection with it? Not much, if you use a program like PodWorks. With PodWorks installed, your iPod actually becomes a portable backup of your music & video collection, and you can quickly & easily copy all of your valuable digital data right back to your computer, complete with iTunes playlists and metadata intact. PodWorks has a free 30-day trial and is well worth the $8 price of admission.

Postage - Postcards ($2.99 for a limited time, App Store)
Save yourself some stamp money and turn your iPod touch into a greeting card maker! The excellent Postage app features a variety of first-class postcard designs. Turn your photo library into electronic postcards which can be easily e-mailed to family & friends or even shared on Facebook with the press of a virtual button.

ReaddleDocs ($4.99, App Store)
An almost indispensable utility for any iPod touch user, ReaddleDocs makes it easy to copy files from your Mac or Windows PC to your device and use it like a flash drive, using USB or Wi-Fi. ReaddleDocs reads all common Microsoft Office documents, lets you save e-mail attachments or documents from the web and even doubles as a book reader, too. If your friends have Readdle Docs installed as well, you can even transfer files between devices. It’s one of the fastest PDF readers in the App Store as well.

Remote (Free, App Store)
Even if you have an iPod touch, there are times when you’re at home or work and prefer to listen to your music through the iTunes software instead. Thanks to Apple, you can remotely control iTunes from your iPod touch (or iPhone) using the free Remote app. See your songs, playlist and album art right on your iPod touch as if you were in front of your computer, and play, pause, skip & shuffle. It even controls your Apple TV, should you have one.

Now that we’ve empowered you with some new abilities for your iPod, it’s time to launch you into full-on “guru” mode with our handy how-to tips!

10 How-Tos You Should Know

1. Use smart playlists to manage music on the fly
While the non-shuffle iPods are quite effective at gathering your music by artist, album, genre and more, you can manage your music more efficiently by using Smart Playlists within iTunes before syncing. Just go to File>Smart Playlists (or press Option-Command-N) and set up a few rules, and in no time flat you’ll have a new playlist set up only for music released in the ‘80s or to separate your favorite band’s music into its own playlist without ever having to do any heavy lifting.


2. Use Genius to find new music (or rediscover what you already own)
As the iTunes Store has ballooned in size, it’s gotten harder to find new music that might appeal to you. Pop into iTunes and go to Store>Turn on Genius and let Apple scan your music library. Then, you can select a music track and click the Genius button in the lower-right corner and have iTunes generate a list of recommended albums & tracks that you might also like, just like magic. Genius can also recommend Mixes based on your existing library, to help you rediscover musical gems that might be buried as you’ve continued building your collection.

3. Export your home movies to your iPod
Home movies no longer have to be a group event -- you can carry your favorites with you on any video-capable iPod. If you edit your memories in iMovie ’09, you can export a project directly into iTunes using the Share menu, and then sync it straight to your iPod. With Elgato’s $149.95 Turbo.264 HD video encoder, you can even speed the process up dramatically, or use the included software to easily tie multiple videos together with no editing knowledge required.



4. Manage the apps on your iPod touch
Thanks to iTunes 9 and the iPhone OS 3.1 update, iPod touch (and iPhone) users can now better arrange their applications. Simply connect your device, select it in the sidebar and click the Applications tab. Drag & drop applications between screens and even change the order of screens -- it doesn’t get much easier than this.

5. Control thy syncing
Apple has made it quick & simple to sync your iPod, just by plugging it in. iTunes launches and begins syncing, just like that! But after awhile, you may want to avoid having your iPod automatically go into sync mode. Just select your device in the sidebar and uncheck the first box under Options, “Open iTunes when this iPod is attached.” Sometimes the easiest solutions are the best ones!



6. Automatically fill free space with songs
This tip is particularly handy for newer iPod owners with a large iTunes library who are having a hard time narrowing down what they want to include on their device. Plug in your iPod, select it on the sidebar and click the Music tab. Under “Sync Music,” you’ll find an option called “Automatically fill free space with songs.” Select it, and iTunes will magically fill up the remaining space on your iPod with whatever songs it can every time. Hey, everyone likes surprises, right?

7. Juggle multiple iTunes libraries
It doesn’t take long for iTunes to become a hard disk space-gobbling behemoth. One solution to the problem is to create a second iTunes library on an external drive, particularly useful for tracks you don’t sync to your iPod or also for those iPod users without video capabilities. If you hold down the Option key when launching iTunes, you’ll see a dialogue with buttons for Create Library or Choose Library (as well as an option to Quit). Your main iTunes library is located in your ~/Music/iTunes folder (assuming you haven’t moved it already) and you can create an alternate library anywhere you’d like.

8. Extend your battery life
You can get the most out of your iPod by setting the Hold switch on when you’re not using it, or when it’s in your pocket and playing. If you leave it unattended, press the Play/Pause button to pause the current song, otherwise it will keep playing until the battery is fully drained. If you don’t use the Equalizer, turn it off under Settings > EQ > Off. And last but not least, use your iPod in an approved temperature range (between 32º and 95º F) where it works best.



9. When in trouble, reset!
Every device gets confused occasionally, so before you panic, try a hard reset of your iPod. On newer models, that entails toggling your Hold switch on and off, then press and hold the Menu and Center (Select) buttons simultaneously until the Apple logo appears (about 6-10 seconds). That should clear up most problems quickly.

10. If all else fails, restore
If a reset doesn’t solve your problem, the last line of defense is a full restore of your iPod. After making sure you have the latest version of iTunes, connect your iPod to your computer, select your iPod in the sidebar and click the Restore button. Depending on which model you own, you may have to choose between a few different options -- the last two are generally the best ones, which include Use Newest Version and Restore & Update. Be sure to let iTunes do a backup of your device, if possible, before you do the restore, since that will send you back to factory-fresh, like-new mode, ready to re-sync all of your media again.

There you have it! From iPod novice to master, just like that. And you’ll have peace of mind knowing that the next major iPod refresh won’t be until September of next year, which gives you almost 9 months to enjoy your new friend before iPod envy sinks in…