iTunes: Expert Guides and Resources

iTunes comes preinstalled on every new Mac that's been sold since 2003. But if you have an older Mac, installing iTunes is easy. To manually install iTunes on to a Mac or manually upgrade the version you have, start at the Apple website.Download the iTunes installer from the Apple site.Go to the Apple website, select the Mac OS version you need, and then click the Download button.

Open an iTunes account (Apple ID) to purchase media such as music, movies, audiobooks, podcasts, and so on. Install iTunes on your computer, and setup an iTunes account to create the Apple ID. With it, you can log onto iTunes, purchase and download media onto your computer, and synch (transfer) that media to your iPad.

As soon as you have Apple iTunes set up, you can shop for music or videos. This video also shows you how to download your purchases to play them on your computer or music player.

iTunes lets you add podcast episodes to your playlists, or you can even create a playlist consisting entirely of podcast episodes. However, podcasts are a slightly different animal than albums or songs. You can drag individual podcast episodes to a playlist. However, if you drag a podcast by its name, iTunes adds to the playlist only the most recent episodes you listened to (even if only for one second).

You probably won’t be too surprised to discover that, on the off chance your iPod gets confused or refuses to turn on, you can fix it by resetting it and restarting the system — just like computers and other iPods. Resetting does not restore the iPod touch to its original factory condition, nor does it erase anything — your content and settings remain intact.

Although it's designed by Apple, iTunes runs just fine on a Windows PC. To install iTunes on a PC, start at the download page for the free iTunes for Windows software at the Apple Web site. Download the iTunes installer from the Apple site.Browse the Apple Web site and click the Download iTunes Free button. Follow the instructions to download the installer to your hard drive.

iTunes makes buying music and videos easy. But before you can purchase your first song or video, you need to set up an iTunes Store account. Follow these steps to get your Store Account situated:In iTunes, click the iTunes Store option in the Store section of the Source pane or click a music link or Genius sidebar link.

You need to create a playlist to burn a CD in iTunes, but playlists can also make it easier to play items you like without browsing the entire iTunes library looking for them. You can create playlists of individual songs or entire albums.Click the Add Playlist button or choose File→New Playlist.Clicking the Add Playlist button, in the lower-left corner of the iTunes window under the Source pane, creates a new playlist in the Playlists section of the Source pane.

You can sync your entire iTunes library with your iPod, if you have enough space. Follow these five easy steps to sync all the content and apps in your iTunes library to an iPod:Connect the iPod and click the iPod button.After connecting the iPod, iTunes adds the iPod button in the upper-right corner of the window, which includes the eject button on the right side, and either the X cancel button to cancel syncing (move your pointer over the animated sync icon to see the X if the iPod is syncing) or an iPod icon on the right side.