iPod

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The Apple iPod is a portable music player that comes in many forms, including the iPod Touch which runs iOS, iOS applications, and can be used as a mobile communicator and web browsing device.

Why

The iPod touch is smaller and lighter than any iPhone, can be used to message & call anyone, and with a good contact page, can be used to easily receive messages & calls.

The battery life typically lasts longer than an iPhone.

How to

How to best use an iPod Touch, specifically to avoid or minimize "data capture" that is subsequently difficult (if not impossible) to export.

General Use Strategies

Use offline plus sync apps. Use applications that both:
- allow you to create and edit content even when offline
- automatically background sync that content to a server / online service
Avoid using applications that lack automatic background sync.
Run similar apps on MacOS and auto-download the data, e.g.:
- Messages: use https://github.com/aaronpk/iMessage-Export on MacOS
...

For Different Content

Notes
- Use Gmail drafts for note taking / text files
  - drafts then available on apps across platform, and via Gmail's web UI.
- instead of the built-in iOS Notes application - which only syncs via Apple proprietary iCloud, which can only be accessed by Apple proprietary apps (no web access to iCloud content).
Photos & Videos
- Use the built-in OSX Image Capture application to import photos and videos, and delete them from the iPod. (Deleting helps avoid having the device fill-up and crash various functionality, apps, features like wifi, or the whole system).
Messages
- Use Facebook Messenger
  - available on apps across platform, and via Facebook's web UI.
- instead of iMessage, which can only be accessed by Apple proprietary apps
- alternatively use Google Hangouts, which has similar advantages as Facebook Messenger, except is VERY slow to launch / open / view conversations, and also VERY slow to confirm sending of messages to the server, and is much less reliable about background notifications to message recipients
Starbucks Gift Card
- Take a screenshot of the app when you bring up the "Pay" screen with the QRCode-like bar, then use archive/copy that screenshot per the "Photos" instructions above.
...

Export Your Data

How to export your data from an iPod, especially if its wifi is broken.

Photos - use Image Capture to download all the photos (and optionally delete them to free up space on the iOS device)
...

... this really needs much more documentation - see real world example of this problem in #Broken_Wifi below ...

iPod Touch Issues

Broken Wifi

It is possible for an iPod 5 Touch running in iOS9.2(.1) to somehow get into a state where its Wifi is neither on nor off, and you cannot change it either.[1]

This is indicated with a dark grey circle on the swipe-up preferences where the Wifi status/button would normally be, and in a greyed out toggle switch in Settings:

Blog post(s):

http://tantek.com/2016/020/t3/ipod-touch-ios9-wifi-stopped-working

Update iOS from iTunes

Normally iOS devices like iPod Touches can updated themselves over wifi, but if for some reason you can't (e.g. Broken Wifi above), you can update your iOS software from iTunes, over USB/Lightning.

... (need precise steps) ...

As part of the iTunes iOS software update process, you may see one of the rare MacOS auto-dimiss alerts:

Related Sessions

2016-01-22 IndieWebCamp NYC: Device Data Portability

Why