The iPod & iTunes Pocket Guide, Second Edition

The iPod & iTunes Pocket Guide128

Get the Goods

Now that you have an account and can fi nd your way

around The Store, it’s time to stop manhandling the

merchandise and actually buy something. You’ll be

amazed by how easy (and addictive) this can be.

The pick-and-pay method

The pick-and-pay method is akin to going to a record

store, picking up a CD, taking it to the counter,

purchasing the disc, returning to the store to pick

another CD, purchasing it, going back to the store

once again, and . . . well, you get the idea. You pay as

you go. This is how The Store operates by default.

Pick-and-pay works this way:

1. Pick your Poison (or Prince, “Prison Break,” or

Pirates of the Caribbean).

Using any of the methods I suggested earlier,

locate music, audiobooks, or video that you

desperately need to own.

2. Click the Buy button.

To purchase a song or TV episode, click the Buy

Song or Buy Episode entry in the Price column

that appears in iTunes’ main window. To purchase

an album, TV season, movie, or audiobook, look

near the top of the window for a Buy button. The

price of your purchase is listed next to each of

these buttons.

Chapter 4: The iTunes Store 129

note

At times, you can’t download an entire album. Instead,

The Store may list a partial album—one from which you

can purchase only individual songs. Other times, you

can’t buy certain music tracks individually; you must

purchase the entire album.

3. Enter your Apple ID or AOL screen name and

password in the resulting window.

4. Click the Buy button.

Just to make sure you weren’t kidding around

when you clicked the Buy button, a new window

asks you to confi rm your intention to make your

purchase. Should you care to banish this window

forevermore, check the Don’t Warn Me Again

check box.

If you’ve decided not to purchase the item, click

Cancel and go on with your life.

5. Click the Buy button again.

The media you purchased begins downloading,

and you’re charged for your purchases. As each

item downloads, its progress is monitored in

the Downloads folder in iTunes’ Source list. You

can pause some downloads to give priority to

others—pause your podcasts from download-

ing to get a TV show or movie more quickly,

for example.