iPOD and USB, a question...

[Dolemite]

Hello all! This is my first time here after lurking a bit. Well, after seeing the iPod in person at the local CompUSA, I KNEW I just HAD to have one! :) anyhoo, I have a question about using USB with the iPod.

Well, unfortunately, my motherboard does not come with onboard Firewire, and I do not really want to spend 40-50 Dollars on a Firewire card. However, I noticed with the new iPods that you can buy a USB cable, but on the product information page, it says at the bottom that there is an "internet download" coming in June. Leading me to my first question:

Does anyone know if the iPod already supports transferring files with USB and the upcoming download is simply a new version of Apple's file transfer utility, or does the iPod NOT support USB at the moment and the upcoming download is really a firmware update?

My second question is that if the iPod does support USB and I buy the cable along with my 'Pod, can I use a 3rd party utility and transfer mp3s to it? More importantly, with USB, will I be able to literally plug it into any computer with USB and start to use it as a hard drive? That would help me immensely, since I do things at the school computers and I'd like to be able to bring my work home (and do it in style ;) ).

Sorry for such a long-winded first post, but I really need to know this information before I sink 300 Dollars into the 'Pod, that's a ton of cash for me! ;) Thanks in advance for any help, guys! :)

[rmaxey1]

I won't attempt to answer all your questions, just one observation: You do understand that went Ipod talks about USB, it means USB 2.0, right? There's a big difference; it won't work with the old USB. If you computer doesn't have USB 2.0, you can always add a card. But if you're going to do that, I personally would go with Firewire.

[Dolemite]

Originally posted by rmaxey1
I won't attempt to answer all your questions, just one observation: You do understand that went Ipod talks about USB, it means USB 2.0, right? There's a big difference; it won't work with the old USB. If you computer doesn't have USB 2.0, you can always add a card. But if you're going to do that, I personally would go with Firewire.

Hi. :)

Yes, I saw that it is USB 2.0 and my motherboard has USB 2.0 built-in.

[Kenny]

Originally posted by rmaxey1
I won't attempt to answer all your questions, just one observation: You do understand that went Ipod talks about USB, it means USB 2.0, right? There's a big difference; it won't work with the old USB. If you computer doesn't have USB 2.0, you can always add a card. But if you're going to do that, I personally would go with Firewire.

Actually since USB2 is backwards compatible, the iPod will also work with USB1.0. However, this will be very very slow.

[rmaxey1]

Technically, yes, it'll work with the older USB. Sorry, I should have been clearer. However, as you note, it would be so agonizingly slow that it would be unusable for all practical purposes. That was my point.

[ToddW]

However, to clear up matters if you wanted to buy an iPOD and put music on it without using firewire, you may do so using USB 1.1, that is until the firmware update in June. All you would need is to get the $20 dollar cable. However, the Belkin firewire card at BestBuy will go around $40 bucks I think. The are some benefits using firewire vs USB 2.0. So if you get the cable with shipping will run you around 25-30 dollars. You might be better off getting a firewire card that way you can have the fast transfer speed and can use your iPOD like intended. And who knows their could be a lot of problems using the iPOD with USB 2.0. That June date could be pushed back to August or something like that. That is just something to consider.

[Zak]

Here (http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?DPNo=412702&adcampaign=email,ECOSTCNET) is a WD 1394 card for $27. If you're going to spend the money on an iPod, you really should spend the extra few bucks to get the correct connectivity. Besides, you might want a DV video camera sometime in the future.

[Dolemite]

Zak, thanks for doing a bit of shopping for me. :) I was looking through newegg.com's store and found they had an 18-Dollar Firewire card from Koutech. The two reviews from people that bought the card are positive and the shipping is free. So even with my student discount bringing the cost of the USB cable down to $17.90, by the time you tack on shipping, it's gonna cost more than simply buying the Firewire card.

That said, I still would like to know if the iPod will be able to be used as a portable HD with USB. More importantly, if there is no software involved. Is it simply plug in iPod in to the USB port and it then shows up as a HD? I know the Zen can do this, but you need to install software first. I ask this because the computers at my college's computer lab only have USB, and not Firewire. :( A huuuge selling point for me is that the iPod can be used as a portable HD.

O/T but the Firewire card I am considering is the Koutech IO-FUTURE IO-PFW310. Anyone here have any experience with this card? I'm trying to keep the cost down since I am having to get my dad to help me out with the cost of buying the iPod and Firewire card. Thank the lord for Apple's student disconts. ;)

[difool]

I read on another forum that the ipod appears as an external hardrive on any w2000 or xp pc without further installation. You only need additional software if you want to transfer playable mp3s.

I would like this very much to be confirmed from somebody else before I actually buy one because this is also a killer criteria for me...

[Zak]

Originally posted by difool
I read on another forum that the ipod appears as an external hardrive on any w2000 or xp pc without further installation. You only need additional software if you want to transfer playable mp3s.

I would like this very much to be confirmed from somebody else before I actually buy one because this is also a killer criteria for me...

That is correct. It just appears as a removable disk, like a zip drive.

You still need software to manage the ipod_control directory and iTunesDB file. You can't just copy MP3s over and expect to be able to play them on the iPod.

I use EphPod, which is small, effecient, and does the job well.

[destined_wind]

By the way, I have heard that some firewire cards are better than others when it comes to ipod compatability... For example, Belkins and Adaptec are good and Audigy is not so good... Yet, I thought that all firewire (6-pin) were alike...why the compatability issues?

[Dolemite]

First, let me say, thanks for all the responses so far, guys! :)

In the end, I went ahead and purchased a 10GB iPod and I couldn't be happier! I decided to just go ahead and buy a SIIG Firewire card at CompUSA. 40 Dollars but well worth it, Windows XP Pro found the card, installed the drivers, and from there, it was a simple install of the iPod software. Wow! Firewire is fast! I swear I must've transferred 212 songs in like two minutes or something! It seemed like it went a song a second!

So again, thanks for the help guys. :)

[Kenny]

Originally posted by ToddW
However, to clear up matters if you wanted to buy an iPOD and put music on it without using firewire, you may do so using USB 1.1, that is until the firmware update in June.

Actually that's not true. Even though that cable shows in the apple store, you cant actually purchase it until next month (I suppose you might be able to prepay, but it wont ship until later).

[dwynne]

So if I understand it correctly - if I don't have a FireWire port (or don't have it handy) then I can't interface with a Windows iPod at this time via USB (1 or 2) ?

After the cable is available and the upgrade has been posted and installed THEN it should work?

I have an older Archos 6gb and a Nomad 10gb and I am thinking about a 15 or 30gb iPod to replace them. I don't mind getting a FireWire port for one of the desktops, but I normally add songs to the others via a notebook (has USB, no FW). I know FW is faster, but I only need to "load it up" once - after that adding a few songs at time is not bad via USB.

It looks like folks recommend the Belkin or Adaptec FW card for a PC - are there any good (and cheap) PCICIA FW cards that will work with the iPod?

Thanks!
Dennis

[Kenny]

You're absolutely correct. At this time, only firewire users can use the iPod. Until that cable is released next month, the iPod cannot be used with USB drives.

As for firewire cards, there was a lengthy thread about this... just do a quick search.

Personally, I use a cheap $30CND STLabs firewire card myself. If you go over to the Ephpod webpage, in their FAQ section, you'll see a list of recommended firewire cards.