iPod and iTunes Hacks

I contributed a handful of articles and served as technical editor on O'Reilly's iPod and iTunes Hacks by Hadley Stern. I've read all the way through the rough copies of the book, and it's packed with hackery goodness. Here's a link to O'Reilly's page for the book, which also links to some sample hacks, including this hack in pdf format by yours truly. Go preorder a copy already!

Thanks for the work, Hadley! Great working with you!

*x-posted everywhere...

iPod Promotions Galore!

Welcome to the 21st Century! There's no reason why you shouldn't have an iPod or iPod mini, as everyone would seem to be giving them away forfree, albeit with a few strings attached. As previously mentioned, Ongo Bongo is giving away a free iPod mini if you sign up for a year of their service,. But now, Air France is giving away free iPod minis to anyone who flies to a European destination via a mail-in rebate. Also, although it isn't quite free, Audible.com will give you 100 bucks off an iPod with a year subscription to their service. In any case, join us. Get thee an iPod!

iPoDonut...

Have you been craving glow in the dark sticker goodness for your iPod / iPod mini's click-wheel? Well, iPoDonut is here to save the day. Sure, it has a stupid name, but that hazardous materials sticker is cool!

iPod flashlight and laserbeam

Griffin announces the iBeam, a set of peripherals for your iPod/iPod mini including a flashlight and a laserbeam. From their site:

Introducing the Griffin iBeam set, ready for your dock-connector iPod or iPod mini. The snap-on flashlight is great for finding keys in the dark. The other half of the package is a class IIIA laser pointer, handy for iPod-friendly presentations and other, less professional pursuits. Both units come with a snap-on protective cap that can be attached to any keychain for convenient portability and accessibility.

I have to point out here that actually finding the iPod and the snap-on flashlight in the dark would probably be more difficult than finding your keys (especially if the snap-on protective cap is attached to your keychain). In any case, lasers are always cool, but all in all it looks like the least useful iPod peripheral ever, as neither part of the set actually interacts with the iPod itself. Make a little laser attachment that produces a light show to go along with the currently playing track, and then you might actually have something interesting, Griffin.

The Cult of Mac blog on Free iPods

The Cult of Mac blog has a few notes on FreeiPods.com that are worth reading. I've been trying the FreeiPods thing since they first launched and still only have two people who have completed the offer under me, so I am still waiting for that free iPod. If you're interested in trying to get your own free iPod, and wouldn't mind helping me out, then please use this link to FreeiPods.com and complete an offer. But read all the warnings over at C.O.M.B. first.

Free iPod mini for $264

Ongo Bongo is giving away "Free" iPod minis after mail-in rebate and if you subscribe to their service for a year. The service? Basically: Netflix for CDs. But with an iPod mini, who needs CDs? If you are only renting the CDs you cannot legally put them on the iPod mini (or I suppose you cannot legally leave the songs on the iPod mini), so it looks like one big lawsuit waiting to happen. Check it out if interested, but make sure you read all the fine print on their legal page.

iPodDownload yanked!

iPodDownload yanked. Apple killed it. Did you get it beforehand? Will a torrent of it emerge?

UPDATE: Somebody is mirroring it here.

iPodDownload

iPodDownload is the brand new hotness:

This free iTunes plugin allows you to download tracks from your iPod to your iTunes library.

The integration with iTunes is what makes this great. Pick which songs you want to copy over without having to copy over everything.

Replace your iPod's Battery

This is a pretty cool walkthru of how simple it is to replace your iPod's Battery.