IPOD plug into any PC and transfer songs?

[seismik]

I've got a friend who wants to bring over their Ipod to plug into my PC and get a few mixes I've made -- I've got a Creative Nomad Zen NX and it needs special software to allow it to communicate with a PC, won't work without that software, does an Ipod work the same way? Or can it plug into any PC and allow transfers without drivers and special software?

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

depending on the model it can work as an external hard drive,however if he wants to PLAY the songs on the ipod he needs to use their software to tag and organize the songs.

 

[seismik]

Gotcha, it's a brand new 15GB white one... so chances are I'd be able to transfer the tracks over from my PC to her ipod, then she'll have to maybe transfer them back off onto her machine that has the software installed and then re-transfer them over to be able to play them? Maybe it'd just be easier if I installed the software? Is it just iTunes? Or is there some special stuff that comes with the player?

 

[ViRGE]

Like WB was saying, as long as she doesn't plan to play them on the iPod, you can use it as a portable hard drive, and just put the song on via a drag-n-drop, and pull it off the same way. However, if she wants to listen to it on the iPod, you need iTunes to load it, and iTunes loads it in such a way that you can't (easily) copy it off, meaning you'd have to also do the first trick mentioned in order to make everything kosher.

 

[seismik]

She definitely wants to listen to them on her ipod. So I'll drag them onto the ipod, then she can drag them off onto her computer at home and load them via iTunes...

Thanks for the info guys, I'm sure I've saved myself a pile of grief figuring this out in advance.

 

[screw3d]

If her machine is also a PC, then yes. Just use it like a normal external hard drive, or you can use Ephpod to manage the transfers (you can run the entire program off the iPod's HDD).