Apple iPod

iTunes can sometimes get on your nerves displaying confusing error messages without providing proper explanation even when help button is clicked, something similar occurred when my iPod firmware got corrupted and I used the Restore function in iTunes but to my surprise iTunes displayed error - "The iPod BNB could not be restored because the firmware file could not be found." , I allowed iTunes to check internet for firmware download but the error persisted.

This issue is caused when you have firmware files already downloaded in iTunes cache location but it gets corrupted, instead of allowing you to download a fresh copy of the firmware our not so smart iTunes keeps showing this error, to fix the error simply follow the solution next.

Many iTunes alternatives have been shared on this blog but what else can be better then managing and syncing music on your portable devices from popular multimedia player Winamp, the good news is that the latest version of Winamp comes with built-in support for importing iTunes database and playlists with full featured portable device management and synchronization functionality offering seamless integration with iPod (Shuffle, Video, Nano & Classic), Creative Nomad/Zen/MuVo, PlaysForSure (P4S), USB Thumbdrive and ActiveSync devices, for enabling iTunes support simply check the Import iTunes Tool option while installing Winamp and follow the guide ahead to work with iTunes and iPod from within Winamp.

Using Winamp to sync your iPod devices ensures that you don't need to worry about losing songs when syncing on different computers.

If you are receiving "The iPod [iPod Name Here] Cannot Be Synced. The Required File Is Locked" error while trying to sync your Apple iPod using iTunes as shown below the fix could be pretty simple.

All the error means is that iTunes is unable to read/write to the database file inside your device, their could be several possible reasons for the error which might be recoverable depending on the cause of the error.

Apple seems to have equipped iTunes 8 to detect and prevent the Pwnage exploit, iTunes 8 will now flash the error below if you try to load an Pwned IPSW file with an unPwned device preventing the exploit to suceed.

But, the iPhone Dev Team seems to have already figured the way out by patching the iTunes 8 itself,
In an blog post iPhone Dev Team said:

The nice thing about iTunes decisions is that we can provide you with patches to counter them. We have one such patch already for Mac iTunes 8 for iPod touch. We’ll be working out the full suite of patches for all the combinations over the next week.

Apple today announced release of the all new iPod Nano Chromatic and iTunes 8.0, Apple claims the new iTunes version to be equipped with Genius features with better ways to manage your digital entertainment.

The new genius features in iTunes 8 let users discover new songs and create instant playlist of songs matching your current track, Simply, Play a song, Click the Genius button and iTunes will create a playlist of songs from your library that go great together, at the same time the new Genius Sidebar will display songs from the iTunes Store that go great with currently playing track.

The rumored new iPod Nano is finally here, now available in 9 funky colors and 8 and 16 GB variants the gadget seems stylish and sleeker, priced $149.00 for 8 GB and $199.00 for 16 GB the new iPod version also includes several usability enhancements.

Just in time for Valentine's day Apple has announced 32GB version of iPod Touch, with this latest offering iPod Touch is now available in 8, 16 & 32 GB variants.

The iPod Touch (iTouch) series of iPod is similar to iPhone minus the phone capabilities, having Multi-Touch interface, 3.5-inch widescreen full color display, Wi-Fi connectivity and pre-installed applications for services like web-browsing, YouTube, Mail, Stocks, Weather, Notes, iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, Maps etc. iTouch is the gadget to go for this year.