Getting started with your new iPod

So you got a new iPod for Christmas? Congratulations. You're going to love it. And here are a few tips to get you started.

iTunes is not normally this slow: You've got to understand what happens on Christmas morning and throughout this week is that the iTunes store is bombarded by all you new and excited iPod owners–not to mention everyone who already had an iPod and got a gift card under the tree. Sure, go ahead and peek around the store but you might want to delay your serious iTunes shopping for a few days until things settle down and the store response time starts getting better.

You don't have to fill up your iPod right away: Don't let your CD collection intimidate you. There's plenty of time to rip your CDs and put them onto your iPod and you don't have to do it all at once. Just pick an album or two at first and let your ripped digitized music grow slowly over time. Your music won't be fun if you see it as a burden. In the mean time, check out some of the great podcasts available on the Internet. They're lots of fun to listen to and you don't have to rip anything for them to work.

Switch earphones: Yes, those white earbuds are a status symbol, but you can do a lot better in terms of comfort and audio quality by switching to a better pair of headphones. Just saying...

Charge it: It shouldn't take more than 3-5 hours to fully charge your new battery. Apple says you don't have to let it charge for 24 hours before the first use. Right out of the box, there should be enough charge on your new friend to take it for a quick spin and check out its functions.

Use teenagers: If you have any questions about how your iPod works, track down a random teenager. They'll know a staggering amount about how your iPod functions. They will also be happy to borrow it to "work out the kinks" for you at little or no charge.