What is miShare?
miShare is a smart little handheld gadget for connecting
iPods and sharing files. No computer or cable is needed, and
it's super easy to use.
How do I select files?
Check out this
video. We want miShare to be both simple and powerful.
Just attach two iPods, slide miShare's on-switch to music,
video or photo, and press miShare's only button. You decide
whether you copy the song or video that was last played
through to its end, or a pre-defined photo folder. Give the
miShare button a longer press (three seconds) and it will
copy a collection of files. miShare uses the On-The-Go
playlist for multiple songs—simply create an On-The-Go
playlist on the source iPod by selecting by song, artist,
album, or even playlist.
How fast is miShare?
A typical song takes ten seconds to transfer once the iPods
are attached, depending on the file sizes. A short home
video in iPod format could be a half minute. (miShare runs
USB 2.0 "Full-Speed," which is rated at more than one
megabyte per second. Our real-world experience is about
500KB/second.)
Which iPods can miShare connect?
miShare works with all Mini, Nano, 3G, 4G, Video (5G), and
Classic (6G) iPod models. (The "G" here refers to
generation, and includes models of all storage capacity from
1GB -- "gigabyte" -- to 160GB. Here's the Apple list of
iPod models to confirm yours.) miShare's own internal
software can be updated with future downloads from
mishare.com. miShare does not work with Shuffle models (or
the original 1G and 2G iPods) since they lack the iPod's
standardized 30-pin dock connector. miShare does not
currently work with the iPhone or iPod Touch—we are working
on a firmware update to accommodate the different disk
storage in these models. miShare can handle iPods formatted
for either Mac or Windows, and it can transfer between mixed
formats.
I used miShare to copy files to an iPod. Where are they?
Check on the target iPod for a playlist called "miShare
Playlist." This playlist will contain songs or videos that
do not employ digital rights management (DRM). In some
situations files are also copied to the target iPod's disk
area.
|
Source files |
Location of files copied to iPod |
|
Song, video, or playlists of songs or videos |
Available immediately in the Music or Video menus,
and also in a music or video playlist called "miShare
Playlist". (miShare playlists are numbered if there
is more than one.) |
|
Photos or photo albums |
Photos are copied to "miShare Session" folder inside the "miShare Photos Dropbox" on the target iPod's disk area. (The "miShare Session" folders are numbered.) |
|
DRM files |
Songs or videos with DRM (some iTunes purchases, for example) are copied to "miShare Music" or "miShare Video" folder on the target iPod's disk area. |
How does miShare handle DRM files, such as locked
purchases from iTunes ?
miShare is a personal publishing device for sharing your own
media, including videos and photos, any time and anywhere.
miShare strictly honors all digital rights management (DRM),
including purchases from Apple's iTunes. miShare does not
unlock DRM. Locked DRM files are copied to the disk area of
the target iPod, for fresh authorization with a valid
password. iTunes purchases can be authorized for multiple
computers and iPods.
What are some uses for miShare?
iPods are everywhere so there are infinite chances to
connect with other people using miShare. Load up your iPod
with vacation photos, family videos, and
CC recordings, and
then you can share your content directly to other iPods
using miShare. Bands and video performers use miShare to
distribute directly to fans at shows and other public
places. Churches, synagogues, and mosques can use miShare to
download directly to the faithful. We are working with
museums so audio tours and even video art can be loaded by
visitors on to their own iPods. Some of us like to share
speeches from our favorite Presidential contenders.
miShare also goes beyond iTunes to help you manage music,
photos, and videos across multiple iPods. We want to hear
how you're using miShare, or, better yet, post videos to
Youtube.
miShare strongly supports the rights of artists. This
includes respect for copyright and other laws to safeguard
intellectual property, as well as the creation of tools,
such as the miShare device, for artists to distribute their
works.
What are some other tools for iPod file-management?
Our first choice is miShare! Also we don't want to mystify
the iPod or confuse people. Read here only if you promise
not to hold any eye-glazing complexity against miShare. That
said, there are many great computer utilities, too, that
augment iTunes, whether you are backing up an iPod or
working with one iPod on multiple computers (or multiple
iPods on multiple computers). The Wall Street Journal's Walt
Mossberg wrote an
excellent column about two years ago that is slightly
outdated but still good general reading on the limitations
of Apple's iTunes program. The two utilities we recommend
most often are
Senuti for the Mac and
ephPod
for Windows. Both programs, unlike iTunes, enable you to
copy files from the iPod to a computer—a life-saver if you
want to bring your iPod over to a new computer. There are
also many good summaries of iPod utilities at excellent
sites such as
iLounge
and
Lifehacker. We expect to expand this section of the FAQ
as a general service to people with iPod questions.
Meanwhile, here's one final godsend of a tip:
on iTunes, set your iPod to "manually manage music" and
you will have a much easier time using the iPod with more
than one computer.
