Ask the question “what is an iPod?” and just about everyone will answer “It’s an MP3 player”. Well, that’s certainly a correct response (although it plays other digital music formats, but that’s another article). But the iPod can do so much more. Some capabilities require a Mac, but Windows users are not left out either.

Both the iPod and iPod mini use a hard drive just like your computer’s hard drive (although obviously much smaller in size) to store music and other stuff that we’ll get to in a minute. Whether your computer is a Mac or a PC, you can use your iPod as a portable hard drive to transport stuff around (if you have any room left after importing your music) - digital photos, or Word documents, digitized movies - anything that can live on a hard drive. As of right now, you can’t view photos or movies on the iPod itself, but you can hook up the iPod to your computer and use your computer’s photo or movie viewer. One note for Windows users: If your iPod’s hard drive is formatted to work with Windows (the FAT32 file system), the largest size file you can copy to your iPod is 4 GB. Probably not a big deal if you’re dealing with music or photos, but some digital video files can be very large. Of course, the Mac’s Extended HFS Plus file system can easily handle larger files. Just an aside, of course.

Now, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to move digital photos directly from your camera’s media card to the iPod, so you can take more photos while “out in the wild” and away from your computer? Well, you can. iPod accessory maker Belkin makes a Media Reader (www.belkin.com, $99) that connects a six-format media card reader to your iPod and transfers your photos at blazing FireWire speed. A 40 GB iPod can hold up to 24,000 digital photos captured with a three-megapixel camera.

When you get home to your digital darkroom (your computer, of course), you hook up the iPod to your computer via FireWire. iPhoto or Image Capture see the iPod and will automatically begin importing. You can then Photoshop to your heart’s content.

Need to record meeting notes, professor lectures, or just your personal reflections on life? Several companies make add-on voice recorders (around $35) for the iPod. Because the recorder has a small speaker in it, it can turn the iPod into a travel alarm clock as well.

Although there is no way to directly input or change information on the iPod via a stylus or keyboard, you can use it as a PDA. Apple’s iCal calendar application and Microsoft Office’s Entourage both export formats supported by the iPod. Using Apple’s iSync utility, you can export all the contact information in your Address Book onto your iPod for easy on-the-go reference.

Any information that can be formatted in text format (shopping lists, news downloaded from the web, directions, etc.) can be placed on the iPod and read with a simple spin of the Click Wheel.

Finally, get ready for another techno-term: Podcasting (rhymes with “broadcasting”). Podcasting is a general term that describes downloading audio content (like radio programs, speeches, talk shows, information shows, etc.) directly to your iPod. Many bloggers are now recording their thoughts into audio files. Eventually, you will be able to “subscribe” to various subjects, similar to the RSS (Really Simple Syndication) format gaining popularity among websurfers. The sky’s the limit.

And you thought the iPod was just an MP3 player.

© 2004 Peter F. Zimowski