IF YOU’RE LIKE MOST PEOPLE, YOU WANT TO JUMP RIGHT IN AND GET your spiffy new iPod up and running. Apple thoughtfully includes a tiny folding pamphlet of starter info with every iPod it sells. And while it’s nicely designed, you may find that it doesn’t go far enough; you want more help than a few line drawings and some haiku-like instructions can give you.

This book—and especially this chapter—is designed for you.

You won’t get bogged down in a bland gray ocean of print here. You’ll learn how to get your iPod whistling sweet tunes in your ear in no time, and find out how to control your particular iPod model. If you want more information on in-depth ‘Podding or getting the most out of iTunes, you can find that in chapters farther down the road.