5 Cool New Things You Can Do with the 2009 iPods and iTunes 9

The iPod has been around since 2001 and changes every year. And for those who want to maximize their fun with the latest hardware and software, J.D. Biersdorfer's iPod: The Missing Manual, 8th Ed. shows the way in full color.

Biersdorfer, also the author of the weekly computer Q&A column for the Circuits section of The New York Times since 1998, offers Five Cool New Things You Can Do With the 2009 iPods and iTunes 9.

1. Share Your iTunes Goodies With the Whole Family.
Tired of trying to remember who in the house bought the new U2 album or has the season pass for "30 Rock" downloads? The new Home Sharing feature of iTunes 9 not only lets you see what's in everyone else's media libraries form your own iTunes window, but also lets you copy over the files to your own computer. You can even set it up to automatically copy new purchases made on other computers in the house to your own machine. Home Sharing works with up to five authorized Macs or PC's on the same network. To get started, just click the Home Sharing icon on the iTunes Source list and follow the instructions on screen.

2. Turn Your Nano or Touch into an Audio Recorder.
Older iPods (and the iPod Classic) have been able to record voice memos with the aid of a third-party microphone for years, but the new iPod Nano and iPod Touch models with the Apple earbuds 'n' microphone combo can now instantly turn their players into dictation machines with the Voice Memos feature. Just tap the Voice Memos icon on the iPod Touch Home screen or choose iPod→Extras→Voice Memos on the iPod Nano. WiFi-enabled Touch owners can even email their voice recordings right from the iPod.

3. Let the Genius Make Your Mixes.
Genius Playlists are easy to make with just one click, but Genius Mixes are even easier -- iTunes does it all for you. After you install iTunes 9, the program scans your music library and comes up with themed mixes from the different types of songs in your collection. Before you know it, you could have a Soundtrack Mix, a Country Mix, an Alternative Rock Mix and more all waiting for you in the Genius area of the iTunes Source list. If you want to take them with you, you can sync your Genius Mixes right over to your iPod with a click or two in the Music sync settings.

4. Jazz Up Your iPod Nano Videos.
Yes, the new Nanos shoot video now, too, but if reality is just too boring for you, you can add one of 16 special-effects filters to your clip. They make your video look like it was shot on grainy film stock or through the eyes of the Terminator. You have to turn the filters on before you start shooting. To select one, choose iPod→Video Camera and hold down the center button to get to the effects menu, which shows samples. Scroll to the effect you want and click the center button. Press the center button to start recording.

5. Get That iPod Just How You Want It With Precision Syncing.
Forget about trying to drag your iPod Touch apps around over several tiny screens to rearrange them. The new syncing screens in iTunes 9 give you an overview of all the different icons and screens on your Touch when you connect it to the computer -- and make it much easier to drag and drop those app icons on just the screens you want them on. Just connect the Touch to the computer, click its icon in the iTunes Source list, and then click the Applications tab to get rolling. The syncing fun doesn't end there -- for all iPods, you can now sync your music based on artist or genre and iPod owners who also use iPhoto '09 can even sync their photos by Face to get every photo of that special someone copied over to the portable player.