Let’s face it; while this article is supposed to be “business” focused with tips and strategies to help you run a cleaner, faster, and less expensive computer network for your business, what people really want to know is how to use their PC to store and play music.

So we gave in to our client’s wishes and wrote this article on cool things you can do with your iPod that most people don’t know.

Recording Voice Memos

Most iPods can record voice memos if you purchase a compatible microphone. Almost all stores that sell iPods will have these for sale as an optional accessory; just make sure it’s compatible with your iPod before you leave the store. To record, simply connect the microphone to your iPod and the Voice Memo screen will appear. To begin recording, select “Record.” To stop recording, select “Stop” and “Save.” You’ll find your recordings under the “Extras—Voice Memos” menu.

When you connect your iPod to synchronize with iTunes, your recordings will be transferred automatically if you have your iPod set up to synchronize automatically. Otherwise, you’ll need to drag and drop them from the iPod’s “Recordings” folder.

Important! Once you synchronize your iPod, the location of your recorded messages will change to the “Voice Memos” play list on the “Music” menu.

Play Games

The games stored on your iPod are more reminiscent of the game “Pong” than the more sophisticated games available on your Xbox or Playstation, but they will pass the time when you’re waiting in line at the airport.

From the main menu, scroll to “Extras-Games.” There you’ll have four games to choose from: Brick, Music Quiz, Parachute and Solitaire. Brick is similar to the old video game Breakout. The object of Parachute is to shoot down paratroopers and their helicopters by using the scroll wheel and the Select button. And Solitaire is the old standby.

But the game that really uses the iPod’s music-playing capability is Music Quiz. It plays a portion of a song from your collection and then challenges you to identify it from a list of titles.

Calendar and Contacts

Included with your iPod is a very basic contact and calendar program that can be synchronized with Outlook Express, Outlook, or Address Book on a Mac.

In the iTunes window, right-click your iPod and select iPod “Options” (on a Mac, select iPod in the “Source” list and click “Options”). Click the “Contacts” tab and check the “Synchronize Contacts From” box. Select the correct program in the dropdown list (on a Mac, click “Synchronize Address Book” contacts). You can synchronize all of your contacts or only selected ones. Click “OK.” To view your contacts, select “Extras—Contacts” from the main menu. Scroll down to the name of the person and press the Select button.

To view your calendar, select “Extras-Calendar” from the main menu. Scroll to the day you want to view. To view other days, use the “Next” or “Previous” buttons. To view a day’s schedule, highlight the day and press “Select.” You can review the details of a meeting or event by scrolling to it and pressing the “Select” button.

Storage and Backup Device for Large Files

If you haven’t filled your iPod with music files, you can use the extra space to backup files or to transport large files. To do this, open iTunes and right-click on your iPod (on a Mac, select iPod in the “Source” list). Then select iPod “Options” and click on the “Music” tab. Select “Enable Disk Use.” A dialog box will warn that you must remove the iPod through iTunes before disconnecting. Check the “Do not warn me again” box unless you want to be reminded.

This will enable you to load files onto your iPod using Windows Explorer (and Finder on a Mac). In Windows, click “Start-My Computer.” Double-click on your iPod. Then simply drag and drop files into your iPod window to store them. On a Mac, double-click the iPod disk icon on the desktop. Keep in mind that we do NOT recommend you use your iPod as a backup device for important files; this is just a quick fix to transport large files if you can’t send them any other way.