| The Problem | | | | company a call...they seem to specialise in |
| | | | telling people how to plug things in (for |
| It is probable that in your home, more than | | | | legal reasons you may have to lie and say its |
| one person owns an iPod / MP3 player of some | | | | your Microwave by the way....you could try |
| description. It is also probable, that one | | | | running the term "Network Attached Storage" |
| person seems to have been delegated the task | | | | by them but...) |
| of updating everyone's iPod and managing | | | | |
| iTunes. | | | | Anyway - when you power up your PC, the NAS |
| | | | should be pretty much plug and play - the NAS |
| If you are reading this article...it is | | | | will show up as another hard drive (viewable |
| probable that you are at least fairly | | | | from My Computer) or possibly a network |
| computer literate, and therefore probable | | | | location, depending on how it was designed. |
| that you are that lucky, lucky person in your | | | | |
| household. | | | | Either way, now all you have to do is move |
| | | | your music to the new hard drive. First, go |
| Sure, being the sole manager of your | | | | to iTunes, click the Advanced tab and then |
| household's music has its advantages - you | | | | click "Consolidate Library" - this will |
| have complete control of your music, you can | | | | simply make sure all your files are in one |
| update your own iPod whenever you want, and I | | | | place (My Music for Windows by default), so |
| suppose with some clever deviations from the | | | | if you have downloaded files to random places |
| truth you could loosely call yourself a DJ, a | | | | over the years, it will move them to My |
| sure way to pick up girls in your local club. | | | | Music. |
| | | | |
| However, once your mates start asking why the | | | | Now close iTunes and simply move or copy your |
| hell you have the latest McFly album (which | | | | music folder into it from your local drive. |
| you innocently downloaded for your girlfriend | | | | Once this is done, you may want to delete |
| / sister / roommate) on your iPod...a better | | | | your local copy to save space, and so you can |
| solution is needed. | | | | be sure iTunes is no longer using the 'old' |
| | | | library. |
| The Proposal | | | | |
| | | | Now to add the new library to your home |
| If you have even a basic wireless network in | | | | computers simply go to File (in iTunes of |
| your home then there is a simple solution. By | | | | course) -> Add folder to library -> select |
| using what is known as a 'Network Attached | | | | the folder you just copied everything to. |
| Storage" (NAS), you can attach a hard drive | | | | |
| to your home network, on which you can store | | | | You can now install iTunes on all PCs in your |
| all of your music. | | | | house, and link them to the NAS! |
| | | | |
| When you used any of the computers in your | | | | Extra: Choosing a NAS |
| house, they would detect the NAS as another | | | | |
| hard drive on your computer, meaning that | | | | NAS devices can be a simple "hard drive in a |
| from any PC in the house you could: | | | | box with an Ethernet port bunged on the back" |
| | | | affair - in which case the only real factor |
| Play music | | | | in making a decision is getting a balance |
| | | | between cost and space. |
| Download music from the iTunes store or other | | | | |
| (totally legal, of course) places | | | | I would recommend you be generous with the |
| | | | storage capacity - a 320gb model is little |
| Create a new playlist for your iPod | | | | more expensive than a 160gb in most cases, |
| | | | and it will obviously allow for future |
| Synchronise your iPod | | | | expansion of your (totally legal) music |
| | | | library. In addition, you can also use it to |
| Sound appealing? If so read on! | | | | store documents, backups etc in the future. |
| | | | |
| The Possibilities... | | | | These basic models will typically cost |
| | | | between £80 and £120. If you stretch |
| There are many ways to add a NAS device to | | | | the budget a little further, you can get the |
| your home network - the main one I will | | | | excellent "Asus WL-700gE NAS Appliance" ( |
| discuss here is the simplest - you buy a NAS | | | | This is not only a NAS device, but also a |
| device, problem solved. These are relatively | | | | router with firewall, and acts as a "media |
| new, especially to the home market. If you | | | | and print" server - so you can connect all |
| take a look at you will see a number of them | | | | your PCs wirelessly to one printer, and |
| ranging from £86 to £650. None of them | | | | stream TV etc. It can even be used to |
| there are particularly bad, but personally I | | | | download files without a computer running |
| use the Western Digital's MyBook series and | | | | through the night! I have not used it myself, |
| have had no problems with them. The | | | | but it has excellent write ups. |
| instructions you need to follow however will | | | | |
| be almost identical regardless of which | | | | As stated earlier in the review, if you are |
| product you buy in the end. For more info on | | | | looking for a simple NAS box, I'd recommend |
| choosing a NAS please look at the "Choosing a | | | | the Western Digital MyBook series, but LaCie |
| NAS" section at the end of this article. | | | | and other companies also produce good |
| | | | devices. |
| The Solution | | | | |
| | | | If you have an old hard drive lying about, |
| Once you have purchased a NAS (I like that | | | | you should be able to find an adapter to |
| acronym...) you simply plug the Ethernet | | | | give it an Ethernet port, but by the time you |
| (usually yellow or blue) cable into your | | | | have bought that and an enclosure for it, it |
| router or modem. If you have a PC connected | | | | would probably be more cost effective to just |
| to the router via Ethernet, as opposed to | | | | get a separate NAS device. |
| wirelessly, don't worry - you don't need to | | | | |
| plug the NAS into the computer directly. | | | | If you have any questions , feel free to |
| | | | contact me at james AT pimp-my-ipod DOT com - |
| It is beyond the scope of this article to | | | | this is my first article here but I intend to |
| cover plugging the NAS to a plug - if you | | | | post more and maintain my existing ones to |
| need help, give your household Microwave | | | | keep them up-to-date. |