Hi Martin,

I believe you've been misinformed about connecting iPods to multiple 
computers. ipods have no such limits, and are useful portable storage 
devices for that reason.

There is an issue with the fact that the file systems used by the 
Windows and the MacOS versions of the iPod software are not 
cross-compatible, however, and so users with one system would not be 
able to download files stored on a machine running the other operating 
system. (to address the original posting)

perhaps the confusion is with the music downloads from the 'itunes' 
store and limits imposed on transferring those purchased music files 
between computers. As I understand it, there is a copyright protection 
scheme encoded into those files which limits the number of times they 
can be copied back and forth.

Obviously that is specific to those files sold from the itunes store, 
and not all audio files encoded in one of the several audio formats 
that are playable on an ipod.

regards,
Kevin


On Apr 12, 2006, at 5:43 PM, martin weiss wrote:

> 	Interesting idea that seems to spreading. One problem for offering 
> the tours to folks who come to the museum is for Mac iPods; Apple 
> limits the number of computers any one iPod can connect with in order 
> to download files. I think it is four but it maybe fewer. I am not 
> certain. There is a hack to overcome this but I am not certain the 
> Kansas Museum of Natural History wants to be associated with hacking 
> since Apple is limiting the spread or sharing of music that they sell 
> via iTunes in this manner. Another way of delivering audio tours with 
> visitor-familiar-instruments is use of  cell phones. You could find 
> institutions experimenting with this via Google. I saw an article 
> recently, I think, in the LA Times.
>
> Martin
>
>
>
>> The Kansas Museum of History is creating digital audio tours for use 
>> on
>> MP3 players.  These players are owned by our visitors, not available 
>> for
>> checkout at our front desk.  Although the audio files can be 
>> downloaded
>> through iTunes and other podcast directories, we'd also like to offer 
>> a
>> download station at our facility for visitors who need to get the 
>> files
>> on-site.  Have any other museums created download stations at their
>> facilities?  If so, we'd like to hear from you.  Our questions 
>> include:
>> - Where is the download station located (e.g., lobby, gallery)?
>> - Is the download station connected to your server and/or the
>> Internet?
>> - How do you accommodate the different needs of PC and Mac users? - 
>> Do you provide cables for any MP3 players?  If so, which ones?
>> - What have you learned from this experience (security issues,
>> compatibility issues, visitor confusion, etc.)?
>>
>> If you'd prefer not to reply to the list, you can email me directly at
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>> Rebecca Martin
>> Assistant Director
>> Kansas Museum of History
>> 6425 S.W. Sixth Ave.
>> Topeka, KS 66615-1099
>> 785-272-8681
>> http://www.kshs.org
>>
>
>
> -- 
> Martin Weiss, Ph.D
> Vice President, Science
> New York Hall of Science
> 47-01 111 th Street
> Corona, New York 11368
> 718 699 0005 x 356
>
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