I must be one of the only living people under the age of 25 who doesn't own an i-Pod, but I want to get one.

I don't have net access on my home computer and was wondering, do I need the internet to use an i-Pod? All I really want to do is put my CD collection onto an i-Pod. I'm not really bothered about downloading stuff from i-Tunes etc.
Can I do this???

Well to use the IPod & get music on it you have to use the ITunes program (it rips your cd's into your IPod). I can't remember if the ITunes program comes with the IPod or not, but if it does then you may not need to connect to the web if you're strictly importing cd's & transferring them to the IPod. The best thing to do is to ask someone who got one recently & remembers or contact Apple. Mine is so old I truly can't remember

CalhounSq said:

The iTunes disc used to come with the iPod, but a friend of mine recently bought the new 80 GB iPod classic, and it did not come with the software disc. It may, however, have come pre-loaded with the software. I'm not sure.


BTW, even if you're just ripping CD's to iTunes to transfer to your computer, it's a hell of a lot easier being connected to the internet so that it can lookup all of the artist/album/song information, instead of typing it all in track-by-track yourself.

Aside said:

Here in the UK, my wife bought an iPod recently and you do indeed have to download the iTunes software from Apple's website.

MattyJam said:

Well the new Ipods don't come with the Itunes Disc to load the program and
if you don't have internet access you will have to sit and type the names of the songs and artists and you won't be able to download the CD artwork

There are many other brands of MP3 players. iPod is not all that since you do not want to download from itunes and stuff

I used to wonder (worry?) about the exact same things and didn't have any sort of ipod or itunes before my older sister handed one down to me when she upgraded.

iTunes is the program that rips your cds and saves the mp3s* (* yes, mp3s.. itunes allows you this format). The good thing about iTunes software is you have the choice to instantly start to rip your cds as soon as you put an unrecognized one into your disk drive. My friend with a very slow internet connection has built a very neat and tidy collection of mp3s from his cds just by doing this.

To a new adopter, it is confusing to note that it just so happens that their online store (which i have never purchased from) is also referred to as iTunes. There is no mandatory fee, and you do NOT have to download the cds you already have from their store (another rumor I heard before I had the program).

i think your two biggest obstacles will be:

1. getting the iTunes software by a method other than downloading it from the internet (this is not impossible - it'll just involve a little research and maybe a phone call or an email to apple or something)

2. when you are ripping CDs to iTunes to load onto your iPod, iTunes will automatically label your music files - album, song, artist, SOMETIMES the cover art - but you need an internet connection to make that happen. so you'll be naming all your music files by hand, which again, is not the worst fate in the world. it's just kinda tedious.

MattyJam said:

What you will need is a converter to convert your audio files to readable format. These are usually available via the internet and can be downloaded to your computer for managing your audio files.

For the record, an ipod is nothing that a fancy MP3 device. Like Coke Kleenex and Xerox, Apple has been very fortunate in getting their brand-name into our lexicon. There are a host of players out there that do tke exact same thing.

Aside said:

OK, I'll be the one to ask: you're under 25 and a complete technophobe? Really?

AlexdeParis said:

Probably an overstatement... let's settle for "technewb".

The iTunes software used to come on a separate CD when you bought an iPod, but they changed that at some point and now you gotta download it online.
Also, like others have mentioned, unless you are connected to the Internet, you'll have to manually type in the information for each album you put into iTunes.

FuNkeNsteiN said:

i wonder if retailers might have copies of iTunes on CD that they will give upon request when someone buys an iPod? i doubt it, but if you're in a situation where downloading it is inconvenient, it's worth asking. i'm sure an apple store would have it on CD, but those aren't exactly the easiest places to find unless you're in a big city.

Anxiety said:

We got one here in Helsinki, and they are opening another in the near future.

I'm sure apple will send you an Itunes disc if you buy an ipod.

Or, you could get one of those free "1000 hours of AOL" discs and use that time to download Itunes.

I'm sure many orgers like me also have itunes discs that they would be willing to send you, especially since we can all download it now.

I think it's worth it to dig up the cheeeeeapest online access possible if it's affordable & get the full use of the product, but that's just my greedy/spoiled side talking

CalhounSq said:

i agree. even if it's some cheapo dial-up deal, it's worth it.

Anxiety said:

BTW, I once tried to dl iTunes and burn the setup file to a disc and load it on another computer and it wouldn't work.

I don't know if that's always the case, but I could never get it to work, for what it's worth.