i-pod tinkering (Fred, others?) - http://www.mmcafe.com/ Forums


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Maou
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"i-pod tinkering (Fred, others?)" , posted Thu 27 Dec 05:29post reply

So I seem to have finally acquired an i-pod after years and years and I was just remembering the Cafe having had a really helpful conversation about them maybe about half a year ago, but I can't remember what thread! I feel like Undead Fred and Gojira were involved, but it could be all the food I've just eaten going to my head...

Basically, I like Winamp just fine and would gladly use that if I could rather than bother with iTunes at all, but if I can't, do you all remember the somewhat non-intuitive steps everyone was talking about to get your ipod working for you the way you want it. By this I mean:

-wasn't there a less-than-obviously-explained way to have it so that your ipod wouldn't be bound only to one computer and thereby delete all the mp3s if it should come into contact with another computer's itunes and music?

-and on that note, is iTunes necessary period to load music onto an ipod, or can you simply drop stuff onto it like with normal recording media?

-and while we're at it, how about the infamous debate of how to charge batteries (wait till depleted, always leave plugged in, etc.)?

Thanks for any tips!!





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Evenor
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"Re(1):i-pod tinkering (Fred, others?)" , posted Thu 27 Dec 05:38post reply

quote:


-wasn't there a less-than-obviously-explained way to have it so that your ipod wouldn't be bound only to one computer and thereby delete all the mp3s if it should come into contact with another computer's itunes and music?



When you first install/connect your ipod to your computer, it should as you whether or not to manually manage your music - just chose "no".





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Oroch
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"Re(1):i-pod tinkering (Fred, others?)" , posted Sun 30 Dec 02:44:post reply

quote:
So I seem to have finally acquired an i-pod after years and years and I was just remembering the Cafe having had a really helpful conversation about them maybe about half a year ago, but I can't remember what thread! I feel like Undead Fred and Gojira were involved, but it could be all the food I've just eaten going to my head...

Basically, I like Winamp just fine and would gladly use that if I could rather than bother with iTunes at all, but if I can't, do you all remember the somewhat non-intuitive steps everyone was talking about to get your ipod working for you the way you want it. By this I mean:

-wasn't there a less-than-obviously-explained way to have it so that your ipod wouldn't be bound only to one computer and thereby delete all the mp3s if it should come into contact with another computer's itunes and music?

-and on that note, is iTunes necessary period to load music onto an ipod, or can you simply drop stuff onto it like with normal recording media?

-and while we're at it, how about the infamous debate of how to charge batteries (wait till depleted, always leave plugged in, etc.)?

Thanks for any tips!!



with all modern lion batteries you can go ahead and charge whenever you want, infact frequent charges tend to keep the battery alive longer than waiting till it has drained style charging


just got a touch myself, and just make sure you dont allow it to sync automatically, should be the first thing it asks


i use itunes currently it isnt too bad as a file manager, you do have to use it once atleast, to initalize the pod and then to set it into disk mode, then youre free

i touch myself





[this message was edited by Oroch on Sun 30 Dec 02:47]

Undead Fred
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"Re(1):i-pod tinkering (Fred, others?)" , posted Sun 30 Dec 04:15post reply

quote:
So I seem to have finally acquired an i-pod after years and years and I was just remembering the Cafe having had a really helpful conversation about them maybe about half a year ago, but I can't remember what thread! I feel like Undead Fred and Gojira were involved, but it could be all the food I've just eaten going to my head...

Basically, I like Winamp just fine and would gladly use that if I could rather than bother with iTunes at all, but if I can't, do you all remember the somewhat non-intuitive steps everyone was talking about to get your ipod working for you the way you want it. By this I mean:

-wasn't there a less-than-obviously-explained way to have it so that your ipod wouldn't be bound only to one computer and thereby delete all the mp3s if it should come into contact with another computer's itunes and music?

-and on that note, is iTunes necessary period to load music onto an ipod, or can you simply drop stuff onto it like with normal recording media?

-and while we're at it, how about the infamous debate of how to charge batteries (wait till depleted, always leave plugged in, etc.)?

Thanks for any tips!!

Yeah, once me and my iPod came to an understanding, I've had a very good relationship with it. Some of your answers have been addressed here already, but I'll give you my quick ramble and hopefully it'll help.

You don't HAVE to use iTunes, which made me really happy. You only need iTunes on your computer for long enough to get your iPod set up and then you can un-install it forever. I had heard stories of people losing their files because Apple likes to use "oh, you don't know how to do it yourself... let me go ahead and do that for you" software, including a less obvious way they worded the "no, I don't want sync" option. It's been a while since I've installed it, but as Evenor said, pay attention to the options they bring up on the iTunes installer. It'll ask if you want iTunes to manage your music for you, or if you want to do it yourself (choose "I'll do it myself" of course). Just let it run through the process of installing and then plug in the iPod so you can name it, have it realize it's an iPod and then you're free to uninstall iTunes. After that, WinAmp will work great.

You do need some sort of software like WinAmp or iTunes to get your music on there, since it uses some kind of wacky re-naming to store your MP3's in the system. They'll still be MP3's, but they stick them in folders with their own coded names and re-name the MP3's to something coded as well.... guess they're trying to make sharing with friends trickier if you just wanted to reach into your iPod and grab a song. I know WinAmp's got some sort of option to transfer songs back to your HD, but I haven't used it very much so I'm not sure where they put the songs and stuff (basically, I'm not totally sure how it works and how to control it, but it's there). I'm pretty sure if WinAmp can read a non-MP3 file and you tell it to put it on your iPod, I'm pretty sure it'll convert it over for you (and I'm sure iTunes does the same, I guess?). You can drag and drop files into your iPod using Explorer windows or something, but they just won't be recognized through the little iPod menu when you're away from your computer. That does let you use your iPod as a portable hard drive as you need it, though. You can make a folder in the iPod specifically to dump files if you like, and it won't hurt anything.

As for the battery, my battery has been working pretty good... I usually just charge it when I get home from work (you don't even really have to do it that often). I don't know if this is the best method for charging, but it's been working fine for me. Anyway, hope all of that helps.





Maou
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"Re(2):i-pod tinkering (Fred, others?)" , posted Sun 30 Dec 06:58post reply

Thanks, everyone! This should help me master the new ee-pod, as it shall lovingly and phonetically be called. I'm excited.





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Maou
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"Re(3):ID3 tinkering" , posted Mon 31 Dec 03:44post reply

Hmm, while we're at it:

The one sad thing about this newly-subjugated-with-the-Cafe's-help i-pod is that itunes/ipod software seems to have hickups with the id3 tags on some mp3's. ID3 tags that work perfectly in Winamp don't necessarily display properly in itunes or more imporantly on the ipod, which strikes me as odd.

This is only a problem with about one in five mp3's, but still kind of a drag. I know that the much-hated MusicMatch used to have a 'super tagging' feature that would re-tag mp3's for you by using online databases, but it's gone, and musicbrainz seems spotty at best. Have you all seen any way to manhandle itunes so that it will read the existing id3 tags it currently is ignoring? Thanks much!





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Makondo99
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"Foo!" , posted Mon 31 Dec 08:18post reply

You could try Foobar to tag those MP3s with an online database or do it manually with an application like ID3 TAGIT.

Actually, there should be some components to manage an Ipod with Foobar. Check the Hydrogenaudio forums and look up that info.






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Maou
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"Re(1):Foo!" , posted Tue 1 Jan 04:32post reply

Ah, a good idea I shall look into. Thanks!





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Digitalboy
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"MUSICRESCUE" , posted Wed 2 Jan 01:28post reply

If you ever somehow lose all of your songs and STILL have your I-pod. Musicrescue program will recover all the songs you have stored on your I-pod so that you do not have to search for them again.

I would post a link for it but I feel lazy right now to use a search engine for the site.





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