10 IPod Geek Tips

The iPod is a great gadget and here are 10 iPod Geek Tips. The iPod has gained popularity for its ease of use and straightforward nature, but every geek knows that the iPod is deceptively nuanced and there are lots of tips and tricks that can make it work even better. 

1. Use your iPod as a storage device. Who needs a Flash drive? Your iPod can carry anything other portable drives can, including documents and programs. Connect your device to your computer. Open iTunes and  right click or control click your iPod to get to Properties for iPod, then enable disk usage. This allows the device to be opened as if it were a hard drive.
2. Download YouTube videos to your iPod. Sure, you could watch YouTube videos on most iPods but if you're not at a Wi-Fi hotspot, the quality can be poor. To download a YouTube video to store on your iPod device, copy the YouTube URL and paste it into the file convertor on vixy.net. This results in a video file that can be stored and viewed on your iPod.
   
3. Save music from your iPod. If you purchased or otherwise acquired music, applications, movies or anything else on your iPod, synching your iPod with iTunes could mean losing everything on your iPod without the chance to back it up first. Using your iPod as a storage device can fix this problem. Or, connect your iPhone and open iTunes. Choose not to sync your device. Instead, go to the file menu and choose transfer purchases from iPod.
4. Use two different iPods or libraries on one computer. Synching two different iPods can be a pain one on computer, because you need to manually update all playlists and other information for each device. But there is an easier way. Simply create two different user accounts on the Mac or PC you're using. Then each user account can have its own library, maintained separately, but music can be shared through the shared music folder.
   
5. Troubleshoot your device. If  you're trying to troubleshoot an iPod issue, use the built-in Diagnostic Mode to help identify the issue. Reset the iPod. Once the Apple logo appears, press the REW FFW and Select buttons on the iPods 1G though 3G and REW and Select on newer iPods. If you run the Hard Drive Diagnostic Test, plug into a power source because the test uses power much more quickly than any other function on the iPod. To get out of Diagnostic Mode, restart your device.
6. Take a screenshot. Have an unbelievably high score in a game? On the iPod touch, you can take a screenshot of whatever's on your iPod screen by clicking the home (or menu) button and power button (on the top of the phone) simultaneously. The photo will be in your photo roll.
7. Use accents when typing. If you frequently type in a language other than English or just enjoy being correct by using accents, umlats and other diacritical marks, you can easily find these letters on the iPhone keyboard. When typing a message, hold the corresponding letter down for a couple seconds and a menu will pop up over the regular keyboard. Slide your finger to the correct letter and then continue typing.
   
8. Move through screens faster.  If you'd like to move through your iPod Touch's screens faster without the risk of unlocking and moving your icons, clicks the grey circles below your application icons that indicate pages. Alternatively, simply tap the bottom right corner of the screen to go forwards, and the bottom left corner to go backwards.
9. Add a website to the iPod Touch's screen. If you'd like a website bookmark to have the ability to be accessed even more quickly then having it bookmarked in your Safari browser, put it on the homepage. When you're on the website in Safari, click the plus sign in the taskbar and "add to home screen."
   
10. Configure your music iPod settings. On an iPod Touch, click on iPod and go to the more screen. Click edit in the top right-hand corner. There is a page of icons representing various options of your iPod that you can include in the iPod taskbar, depending on your preferences.