Sigh. Once again I find myself swimming against the tide of popular opinion among my colleagues--this time because I don't love the Apple IPod audio player. I'd like to be part of the cool crowd, but I've got to be true to my own cranky self.

In October, when ITunes for Windows was announced (along with the updated IPod software that supports voice recordings and storing photos), I had to get my hands on an IPod--even if I was a year and a half behind on this trend. So I cadged a loaner from Apple, saying I wanted to test its usability as a PDA, since you can store appointments, contacts, and to-dos on it. I tried the 20GB version ($399).

My IPod Experience

When the IPod arrived, I excitedly dug it out of the elegant package and found that its sleek, minimalist face gave me no clue as to where the On button is. I've operated my share of electronic gadgets, and given that this is an Apple product, I expected a self-explanatory interface--but no matter. I swallowed my pride and asked a younger, hipper colleague how to turn the gadget on and off. After a quick coaching session on the multiple functions of the buttons, plus additional instruction on where the volume control is, I was good to go.

Next, I loaded the Windows version of ITunes onto my three-year-old notebook PC. I downloaded, er, bought songs like a happy idiot, and got ready to put them all onto the IPod. Only then did I discover that the IPod comes with no USB connector--if I want to do something so retrograde as to connect via USB, I have to buy another $20 cable. I grumbled briefly, then thought, "Hey, no problem. I have a newer IBook with a FireWire port; I'll just load my new music onto the IPod from that." I get to share the songs among three systems, right? Well, the ITunes music sharing doesn't work exactly in the way that I assumed. You can listen to your purchased songs on three authorized computers, but you cannot move or copy the files among them.

I learned the hard way that your purchased songs and your IPod must have the same computer as home base, or you have to resort to another throwback: sneakernet. You can burn your purchased music to a CD, then rip the CD on another computer, but you lose all the songs' metadata that way. You can also copy the songs to a removable USB drive and carry them to another computer, metadata intact. If you've got a small USB drive and a big purchased-music library, this will take a while. I guess that if I want to be one of the cool kids, I have three options: fire up the IBook every time I want to listen to my music library (too restrictive); get a newer Windows machine (not happening this year); or buy a music player with less lofty hardware requirements (very likely).

No More PDA?

True to my word, I also checked out the IPod as a PDA. I really like the idea of using the extra hard drive space for all that important personal information--plus, the IPod is prettier than any Palm or Pocket PC handheld I can think of. But here I was in for another teeth-gritting moment, because the IPod can sync only with the Mac OS. Since the IPod stores standard vCal and vCard formats, it shouldn't be hard to port this feature to the Windows version of the IPod software.

We use Lotus Notes for Windows here at PC World, so that's where all of my critical to-dos and appointments live, although I use Palm Desktop for contacts. Syncing from Notes to a PDA is painful on a Windows machine, and I knew I'd have no hope of syncing Notes directly with the IPod. Ever resourceful, I sent my contacts, appointments, and to-dos to the IBook by syncing with my Palm PDA. After loading up Palm Desktop with my stuff, I imported the appointment and contact files into my IBook's ICal and Address Book applications. Surprisingly, all the data ended up in the correct fields. However, I found no way to import my to-do list, even though I could export it from my PDA as a tab- and return-separated file. From ICal and the Address Book on an IBook you can export your files to the IPod very easily. You can also have multiple calendar files loaded onto the IPod. After all this transferring I found out, by trial and error, that you can export Palm Desktop files directly to the IPod.

The ability to use the Palm Desktop is a definite plus, since I find ICal and the Mac Address Book to be a little thin on features. For example, ICal doesn't show a meeting's location in the default calendar view; you have to open the details window to add attendees and alarms, or to see where you're supposed to go for your next meeting. If you live and die by your PIM, you'll want to sync your IPod with Palm Desktop; Microsoft Entourage (aka Outlook); or Now Up to Date, another full-featured PIM for the Mac.

Appointments and contacts are laid out legibly on the IPod's LCD, showing all the information you need, including an appointment's location and all your notes. You can't add or modify appointments and to-dos on the IPod itself, as you can with a traditional PDA. If you rely heavily on your PDA and do lots of input while on the go, the IPod can't replace a Palm or Pocket PC handheld.

The IPod Multitasks

I also tried the new Belkin media reader ($109), which lets you transfer photo files from a flash media card to an IPod (only the newer, dockable IPods). The reader was easy to assemble and connect, and the instructions are simple. It took about 5 seconds to import 3.1MB of image files from the reader to the IPod. When I docked the IPod again it appeared in Apple's IPhoto application the way a camera would, and I could pull photos from it. The Windows-compatible reader accepts CompactFlash, Secure Digital, SmartMedia, MultiMediaCard, and Memory Stick media.

Belkin's Voice Recorder ($50) was also easy to use; its driver is built into the most current IPod software (version 2.1), so when you plug the recorder into the IPod's headphone jack you're ready to record. After you plug it in, the IPod's LCD displays the commands Record Now and Play/Pause. My test recording sounded a little crackly, and included the sounds of the button being pushed for starting and ending the recording, but the quality was fine for dictation. The recorder also is compatible only with the newer, dockable IPods.

And I've figured out the killer app for IPod voice memos: Record pep talks for yourself, then set the IPod to play them back as alarms in the morning. "Today's a brand-new day! C'mon, get up, that jogging track's waiting!"

On second thought, I think I'll buy a digital music player with less lofty requirements.

Comments or questions? Drop a line to The Mac Skeptic.