[Herknav]

I know this has been covered before but I can't seem to find it....How do you deal with the two computers one ipod issue?
Specifically what is the best way to make my laptop, my desktop, and my ipod all match? At this point I dont have my ipod synced with my laptop, I just manually transferred the music through firewire. My laptop recognizes the ipod but I cant use ISync to update the address book or Ical on my laptop.
Thanks

[lkalliance]

The challenge is that iPod is not designed to send information back to the computer, becuase with very limited exception there is no way to enter data on the device. So the only way a "sync" would be possible is by getting data off of one computer and putting it on a second computer...which is something Apple (read: the RIAA) doesn't want you to do.
Using one iPod with two computers (each of which has its own music library) isn't hard...just set the iPod to manual update on each computer and manage them separately. Again, this method does not allow you on its own to get songs FROM the iPod TO your computer, but there are third-party solutions (my favorite is the free Senuti) that enable this.
However, you said in your post you want all three devices to have the same thing, which is possible using these methods but a real pain in the butt. (Anyone else: chime in here if I've overlooked some utitlity that does just this. I'm pretty sure I have.)
But an easier answer might be: if you want the same thing in all three locations, you only need worry about two of them. Use Computer A (your desktop, say) as the host of your music library. Have your iPod automatically sync with it. When you want to play your music off of Computer B, plug your iPod into it. Make sure it's set to MANUALLY sync with Computer B, which will enable you to play the music off of your iPod. So you don't actually have to maintain a music library on Computer B, as long as you want it to be a carbon copy of what's on Computer A and your iPod...just plug in the iPod and it's there, including, I think, your playlists.
Just an idea, at any rate.

[doodly]

I'm in a similar situation: all my music on my desktop (at work), and on a 3G iPod. My laptop at home (an old TiBook) doesn't have the capacity to put a copy of my songs on it, so I just want to use its version of iTunes to access the material off the iPod (and stream it to the hi-fi).
The desktop is set to automatically sync with the iPod, and I want the laptop to manually sync (ie not sync at all, and have nothing in its library). But the only way I can check that the laptop is set to manually sync is by plugging in the ipod, which would risk syncing automatically and wiping the iPod.
Am I missing some setting on the 'pod itself that lets me ensure that the laptop won't auto-sync when I plug it in?

[Nobody]

You can try but I am not sure that if you will be able to change the prefence setting in time so the autosynch doesn't begin.... but let's say it does, so what? do it just before leaving for work, resynch at your desktop and you are done.

[digidan]

If you plug in the iPod, and it's been set to manual updating (via iPod Options in the iPod's native iTunes library), it shouldn't ask to sync. If it does, click no. there may be a box that you can check to that effect (ie - never link to this library), I just don't know.
I can add songs to my sister's Windows formatted Nano, with manual update, with my Tiger-running Powerbook, and it works fine. I just don't have access to test whether or not it wants to update every time you plug it in.

[Jon Seff]

You might find this article of use.