I am looking into getting a 40gig Ipod and I had a quick question. Do the files on my Ipod have to stay on my hard-drive or can I delete the files as I load them?

You can delete the files from your hard drive if you set your iPod to sync manually instead of automatically. However, I would strongly recommend backing up any mp3's that you rip by burning them to data cds/dvds, or simply to an extra hard drive.

you can delete them off your cpu, but if the need arises to copy them back to your computer there's a load of 3rd party programs that can do it.

my reccomendation is called PodUtil

I just bought an iPod 40g. I like it, but don't rip your CDs into MP3s using iTunes. Either rip them into AAC format with iTunes or use another program to create MP3s. I also hated the FM transmittor, it sounded like crap. I live near Chicago and there is a radio station on every other channel. I had just bought a new car that came with a 6 disc CD changer, but wanted my iPod to sound quality in the car. So I broke down and bought an Alpine CD head unit , the iPod adaptor, and also got Sirius satellite radio. It sounds great, but was very expensive.

sweet.

I wasted $30 on an iRock FM transmitter, complete piece of crap. Did you get the Alpine iPod Interface adaptor or just the cd changer->RCA adaptor? I have an Alpine head unit and thought about getting the interface adaptor, but I decided I liked the iPod's interface better than anything my head unit could display. So I got the cd changer->rca->headphone jack adaptors and it sounds great. I'm curious to see how people like controlling their iPods through their Alpine head units.

i hate my 15 gb iPod.. but it's really great.

I got the Alpine iPod Interface adaptor. It is nice because you can read different titles such as artist, song, CD name and suck. Its a little different than the iPod for browsing but you get used to it. Depending upon which Alpine head unit you have it will even show all the titles. But that is only if you buy the one over $1000 I believe that looks like a 5 inch TV screen. The iPod Interface adaptor is worth the $100, but buying a new head unit when I didnt need one, just to get the adaptor was rough.

If anyone has an iPod mini and the Griffin-brand iTrip mini, here is a reception trick:

The top of the iTrip mini has a sticker on it. Peel the sticker off and you will see a small antenna folded into a crease of the unit. Pull the antenna out of the crease. It should stick up about 1.5" and reception is enhanced amazingly.

This should allow you to lay your iPod mini in the seat or place it in a cupholder without having any reception problems.

iTunes looks for the stored files, so if you delete them, and connect your iPod, the software will believe their to be an error. Also, if you have to update or reload your iPod, you'll want those files stored somewhere, othewise you'll have to import them all over again (off of CDs). What I did when I decided to take the leap and get an iPOD was also purchase an external removeable hard drive, and I house my library and all the mp3s that go with it there. This way, I select the ones I want on the iPOD, and leave the rest on the hard drive for future use. I also got rid of alot of physical media (CDs and CD-Rs) by doing that. While the .wav files are presumably better quality than the mp3's my ears can't tell the difference, so getting rid of the physical media for others to use (gave alot away to PJ fans and sent the rest to the local library as a donation), I don't feel any regret over it.

c-

If you set your iPod to manual sync instead of automatic, you won't get any errors if you delete the music from your hard drive and connect your iPod. You'll be able to manually update Playlists, songs, and everything else on your iPod while it's connected. I did this for a while with no problems before I upgraded my hard drive.

This is true. The only flip side to that is if you have to reset your iPod, you won't have a back up file if you delete it from your hard drive, unless you have CD-Rs burned and use those as storage instead or something.

Thanks for all the advice guys. I ended up just buying an 80gig external hard drive to back up all of my files.

I also picked up a Belkin FM trasmitter and I'm suprised at how well it works.