If your PC or Mac is a recent model, it probably is ready to work with whichever new iPod you choose. If it’s older, or if it’s a budget model, or if you’ve picked up an older iPod, you may need to add new components

Here are the requirements for an iPod classic, an iPod touch, an iPod nano, an iPod shuffle, or an iPhone:

• A PC running windows Vista(Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise Edition) or either window XP Home Edition or Windows XP professional with Service Pack 3, or a Mac running Mac OS X 10.4.10(Tiger) ir Mac OS X 10.5(Leopard).
• A USB port. It’s best to have a high-power USB 2.0 port, although you can scrape by with a USB 1.x port if you’re prepared to be patient. This USB port must deliver enough power to recharge the iPod or iPhone. If your keyboard has a built-in USB port (as many Apple keyboards do), chances are that it doesn’t deliver enough power for recharging.
• An optional drive(a CD drive ot a DVD drive) if you want to be able to rip songs form CDs to put on the iPod or iPhone.
• A CD burner if you want to burn CDs from iTunes, or a DVD burner if you want to be able to burn both DVDs and CDs (Most modern optical drives include burning capabilities).

Why USB 2.0 makes a Huge Difference to using an iPod or iPhone

• USB 2.0 is up to 40 times faster than USB 1.x, so you’ll definitely want USB 2.0. If you have the choice. USB 1.x has a top speed of 12 megabits per second(Mbps), which translates to a maximum transfer of about 1.5 MB of data per second. USB 2.0 has a top speed of 400 Mbps, which gives a data transfer rate of about 60 MB per second.
• As a result of this difference, loading an iPod via a USB 2.0 port will go far faster than via a USB 1.x port. The difference is most painful when you’re loading an iPod classic, but you’ll feel the pinch of USB 1.x even with the lower capacity of an iPod shuffle or an iPod nano.Apple will no doubt release higher-capacity iPods and iPhones in the years to come, but USB will be improving its act too. USB 3.0, known as SuperSpeed USB, will provide up to 5 gigabits per second(Gbps), will be backward compatible with USB 2.0 and is expected to arrive in 2010.