[Jaoquin2002]

First off - I am a mac user. I use Windows XP at work, to do work, but my set up (including an iPod) at home is all Apple (not the printer, but everything else is Apple).
I have a friend and she wants to buy an iPod to use with Windows XP. Does iTunes work the same way on a PC using iTunes? Do you copy CDs into a playlist and manage music the same way? I have seen some of the kids in the coffee shops managing and listing to music with iTunes on their PC laptops and from what I can see, it looks pretty much the same as it looks on my Powerbook. However, I have never seen them sync their iPods to their PCs to update.
I use my firewire to transfer from iTunes to my iPod (20GB Scroll Wheel - previous edition) from my Powerbook. I am not sure what type of PC she has but she said it is about two years old so I assume she has a USB connection. She wants to get the IPod mini and it comes with a USB connection. She is not sure if her home computer has a firewire connection and I presume that sure she can transfer the music files using the USB. Is this correct?
Because she knows I use a mac and that I have an iPod, she wants me to help her get going with what she purchases. I recommended that she first down load iTunes and set up an account to test out how it all works on a PC first before she makes an investment towards an iPod. She is more interested in getting her CDs and other music on the iPod, then she wants to get on board with downloading podcasts from iTunes. Can anyone give me some feedback on potential differences using iTunes and XP OS with an iPod (so that I can help her out) ?
Thanks for any and all answers.

[tybowen]

Having just switched from a PC about 1 month or so ago I can try to help.
Yes you can transfer with USB and/or Firewire. Just most PC's don't have firewire built in so you might have to buy a seperate card for firewire, but hers might have one built in. If you are going over to help her set up you might as well check and see. Firewire is much faster then USB. YOu can't really get a feel until you've had to install all your songs using either method and one take a few hours and the other takes a day or two.
The windows version of iTunes is virtually identical to the mac, it just has the usual diference between windows and macs as far as button placement goes.
I have had some issues with windows recognizing my iPod when I plug it in and automatically syncing them. Though this can be sloved by just opening iTunes. It's more of an annoyance then anything else really.
The iTunes music store works the same
Most of the help you can find online is set up for the mac version of iTunes so it takes some detective work to figure out what to do in windows to accomplish the same goal if something goes awry.
Another annoyance is the vast number of music player for windows (I have four or five on my PC) and sometimes they can interfer with one another and screw something up. But that doesn't happen too often.
Rember that iTunes AAC won't play in Windows Media Player and Windows Media Player's WMA's won't play in iTunes or on your iPod.
That's really all I can think of.

[dtl]

You should not have any problems with iTunes for windows. I have a 3rd generaiton iPod and using it on XP. I had to purchase a firewire card because my iPod came with a firewire cable. Most likely her PC will not have a firewire port, but check to be certain. It is better for your friend to use the USB cable if she has the option. She will have more use with USB than firewire. USB 2.0 is a little faster than firewire which is much faster than USB 1.0. If she has USB 1.0, she can get a USB 2.0 card and install it on her PC. She will then be able to use other USB 2.0 devices on the card whick transfers a whole lot faster than 1.0. Hope this helps.

[Jaoquin2002]

Thank you both for your responses. I have not heard back from her regarding any purchases.

[tybowen]

In reply to:

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USB 2.0 is a little faster than firewire which is much faster than USB 1.0

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My firewire is much faster then USB 2.0. I don't know what is wrong with yours, but according to this firewire is a lot faster then USB 2.0.
And if you want to do anything with home movies or video editing on your computer a firewaire card is a must.