iPod: The Missing Manual (Missing Manuals)

These days, you don't have to use FireWire as the iPod-to-computer connection. If you own a 2003 or later iPod model, another option awaits you: USB 2.0.

NOTE

If you have a Windows PC, you can use a USB 2.0 cable for any 2003-or-later iPod, including the iPod Mini.

Make sure you connect the USB cable directly to a high-powered port on the PC or a powered USB hub. Low- or unpowered USB jacks , as on the side of a keyboard, don't have enough mojo for your Mini.

2.3.1 About USB 2.0

Before USB 2.0 hit the streets , a FireWire connection was the fastest way to transfer big chunks of data onto a computer from devices like digital camcorders, external hard drives , and CD burners. FireWire, which transfers data at 400 megabits per second, whips the plastic off a USB 1.1 connection (about 12 megabits per second).

When USB 2.0 products began to crowd store shelves around 2002, FireWire was left in the dust, speed-wise. USB 2.0 (also known as Hi-Speed USB) can whisk data from device to device at 480 megabits per second. USB 2.0 is also backwards compatible, so people with a box full of USB 1.1 mice, scanners , and other peripherals can still plug in and use their old devices in USB 2.0 ports, even if they don't get the 2.0 speed boost.

NOTE

Those are mega bits, not megabytes. Data transfer speeds are traditionally measured in megabits or kilobits per second ; disk and file sizes are measured in megabytes (MB).

There are eight bits in a byte. To put USB and FireWire into more familiar terms, then, USB can transfer files at up to 1.5 MB per second. FireWire can move 50 MB of data per second, and USB 2.0 can shuttle to 60 MB per second.

(FireWire isn't standing still, of course; there's now FireWire 800, which, as you can probably guess, moves data at 800 megabits per second. To add to the confusion, the original FireWire standard is now sometimes called FireWire 400. FireWire 800 is available on high-end Macintosh computers and peripherals, but has not yet made the leap to the iPod.)

2.3.2 Connecting with USB 2.0

If you've got a PC with an USB 2 port, you can skip FireWire altogether. You can sync the iPod with USB 2 instead ”if you have what it takes:

• The proper iPod . USB 2 requires a 2003-and-later iPod model, including the iPod Mini.

• The proper operating system . You need Windows Me, 2000, or XP.

• iPod Software version 2.0.1 or later . To find out what version you have, use the Settings About command on your iPod. If you dont have the latest, download it from http://www.apple.com/ipod/download. (To learn how to update your iPod software, see Section 15.8.)

• The proper cable . If you have a full- size iPod, buy Apple's $20 combo FireWire/USB 2.0 cable from the Apple Web site or a computer store. This cable has a flat, wide iPod Dock connector plug on one end; the forked far end has both USB 2.0 and FireWire connectors. Plug the flat end onto the iPod (or its Dock) and the USB end into the PC.

  You won't need the FireWire end of the cable until it's time to charge the iPod. The FireWire end snaps into the iPod's AC adapter and seeks its power from the nearest electrical outlet.

  If you have an iPod Mini, a USB 2 cable came right in the box. Connect it straight into the Mini or its dock, and plug the other end into a PC. As a bonus, this cable charges up your Mini whenever it's connected to the computer.

NOTE

Technically, you can sync your iPod via regular USB, even if your PC has only regular USB (not 2.0). You can use the same Apple cable. After all, USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 are compatible and use the same connector plug.

Remember, though, that USB 1.1 is very slow compared with 2.0. You may want to plan a day's worth of activities while leaving the PC and iPod to their data-transfer duet. (A performance of Wagner's entire Ring Cycle or the Boston marathon should do it.)