Is there any way to download tracks and then transfer them to ipod with
windows?  i have tried napster.  no luck.  i tried music match jukebox and it
supports ipod and i can transfer my cd's over, but not downloaded
music.  how about itunes?  will it work? if so, how? i tried installing it and
setting up an account, but ran into problems connecting to the
internet when i tried to set up an account, so i took it off and went
back to musicmatch.  i use netscape and mozilla firefox browsers - i
don't have internet explorer.

Hello Swimmom26

There are many different legal music download stores on the internet
at the moment but which ones you use depend on the music player you
own.  The largest 4 in the USA are:

Walmart.com - not iPod compatible as they copy protect their WMA files
Napster.com - not iPod compatible as they copy protect their WMA files
Listen.com Rhapsody - not iPod compatible as they copy protect their WMA files
iTunes.com - iPod compatible

From your question it appears you are having trouble with the
installation of iTunes on your PC and it connecting to the internet. 
iTunes is the Apple preferred method of transferring downloaded music
onto your iPod (but mainly because they earn the money from it!).

There is a comprehensive support section for the iTunes software at
the Apple.com website.  Some links that might help you troubleshoot
this are:

http://search.info.apple.com/?search=Go&lr=lang_en&kword=kituneswin&q=connect%20internet
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/windows/
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93011
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=150461
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93431
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/download.html

There is another solution that has been raved about in the technology
press - http://www.Allofmp3.com

This site is a russian site that has been running since 2001.  When
people first hear of this site they think it is one of the many
illegal sites that trade in MP3 files but after investigation by many
well known web sites this has been found to be untrue.

Allofmp3 has signed agreements with the russian copyright holders of
the music on their servers and they can legally offer music by all
artists and from all labels.

The music you download from Allofmp3.com is not copy protected and
therefore you are free to copy it to your iPod.

Reviews of Allofmp3.com:
http://www.museekster.com/allofmp3info.htm
http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/26/1082831475556.html?oneclick=true
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/28/russian_music_service/
http://www.g4techtv.com/feature.aspx?article_key=779

Once you have downloaded your MP3 files and wish to transfer them to
your iPod there are several good alternatives to MusicMatch.

Personally I use three different packages depending on the mood I am
in and how quickly I need to do things.

The first and probably best solution is XPlay from MediaFour.  This
integrates with Windows Explorer to give you a simple drag and drop
method of transferring files to your iPod.

http://www.mediafour.com/products/xplay/

The other two I use are vPod and ephPod which are both written and
supplied for free by fellow iPod users.

vPod: http://www.vonnieda.org/vPod/
ephPod: http://www.ephpod.com/

I would recommend you give each of these a try and see which meets your needs.

Remember when transferring your files to your iPod they need to be
copyright free (that is they must not be DRM-protected, most stores
tell you of this in their small print after you have joined) AND
should either be an AAC, MP3 or WMA file.  These are the only formats
the iPod currently supports.

If you are wishing to try downloading music I would strongly recommend
AllofMP3.com.

If you have any further questions on this subject please ask for
clarification and I will do my best to help.

---

Clarification of Answer by palitoy-ga on 29 Jun 2004 03:22 PDT

You may also be interested in these websites that have active
community forums and news sections.  They will have users who will be
able to answer any further queries you have regarding your iPod:

http://www.ipodlounge.com/
http://www.ipoding.com/
http://www.ipodhacks.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=index