[ Music ] ^M00:00:10 >> Donald Bell: The iPod Shuffle is one of the smallest MP3 players on the planet. There's no screen and no buttons yet compared to last season's iPod Shuffle this little guy is way more complex. If you're brand new to the iPod or at least to the iPod Shuffle I'm going to walk you through the setup and offer you a few tips. Like any new iPod the first step is making sure you have the latest version of iTunes running on your computer. It's free and you can get it from CNET's download.com. Next, plug the Shuffle into your computer's USB port using the included cable. This is a different cable than the standard used with most iPods and much, much smaller so be careful not to lose it. Once you're connected you'll see an iPod setup window where you can make sure the voice over kit is enabled and decide whether to synch your music automatically. Leaving this box checked in the quickest way to get up and running but since the shuffle's capacity is rather limited iTunes will likely grab a random selection of music from your library instead of the whole collection. If you'd rather have direct control over what music added leave the box unchecked. Next, you'll see the iPod Shuffle summary window. Here's where you can find information on the model and capacity of your Shuffle along with a handful of options for how the iPod synchs with your computer. Oddly enough there are more options in this menu than with any other iPod. For the iPod Shuffle there are 3 important options to be aware of. First, the enable sound check box will ensure that all songs on the shuffle are just to play at a consistent volume. We usually sneer the idea of iTunes medaling with how loud our music is but if you're using the Shuffle for working out or just don't like the idea of messing with the volume controls Sound Check comes in handy. On that same note the limit maximum volume slider down here at the bottom is a great tool especially if you're worried about a child playing music too loud or if you want to use this with a pair of headphones that don't have Apple's special volume control clicker. Finally, there's the manually manage music option. Check this is you want direct grab and drop control over what music and playlist gets synched to the Shuffle. For a middle ground between synching everything and synching manually the music tab allows you to automatically synch specific artists, playlists and genres. Also note the tabs for podcasts and iTunes University. The Shuffle now offers a way to navigate between different media using the clicker remote and voice cues so you're not just limited to playing music. You can also find an audio book synching option hidden in the music tab. Once your settings are all dialed in, hit the apply button in the bottom right corner. [ Background music ] >> So there you go some tips on setting up the Apple iPod Shuffle. For CNET.com I'm Donald Bell. ^M00:02:47 [ Music ]
