How to switch iPod from PC to Mac?

[KevRC4130]

Hey guys,
Right now I'm thinking of buying a used 3G iPod. However, it is currently setup for a PC (I know, yuck!). The seller has lots of songs on it, that I would preforably like to keep, but when it switches to be formatted to a Mac, will I lose the songs? Also, how will I change it to be formatted to a Mac, or will my Powerbook just recognise it and work with it right away?

Also, is a mint condition 3G 20gb iPod with all accessories a good deal at $165-175? It was bought at the beginning of the year, with no scratches on the LCD or back, but a small one on the front. What do you think?

Also, is the 3G really any worse than the 4G? The 3G actually LOOKS much cooler.

Thanks!

 

[wPod]

sounds like a good deal as long as it is in good working condition and the battery life is still strong. you should be able to plug it right into a mac and it will work fine. though it will show up as an external storage disk rather than an iPod. . . you will have to re-format it to get it to show up properly as an iPod (even though it will still function as an iPod through iTunes) if the person bought any of the songs from iTMS then you will not be able to play them. otherwise there are programs that will pull songs off of the iPod and put them on to your computer. ipodlounge.com has many and explanations of the differences b/w them. so, what i would do, is buy it, plug it in, then dl one of the programs to pull off the songs. once you have all the songs run the iPod updater (downloaded through software update) and that should re-format the iPod to apple. then sync all the songs (and all of your songs) back onto the iPod.

 

[KevRC4130]

sounds like a good deal as long as it is in good working condition and the battery life is still strong. you should be able to plug it right into a mac and it will work fine. though it will show up as an external storage disk rather than an iPod. . . you will have to re-format it to get it to show up properly as an iPod (even though it will still function as an iPod through iTunes) if the person bought any of the songs from iTMS then you will not be able to play them. otherwise there are programs that will pull songs off of the iPod and put them on to your computer. ipodlounge.com has many and explanations of the differences b/w them. so, what i would do, is buy it, plug it in, then dl one of the programs to pull off the songs. once you have all the songs run the iPod updater (downloaded through software update) and that should re-format the iPod to apple. then sync all the songs (and all of your songs) back onto the iPod.

Thanks for the help, I bought it. Can you tell me what program to get to get the songs off the iPod? I couldn't seem to find one (though I really didn't know what to look for)

 

[KevRC4130]

Nevermind. I figured it out. So far this thing is sweet, well worth my $165!