iLounge iPad 2 Buyers' Guide

Article

Ask iLounge 11-3-06

Author's pic

By Jerrod H.

Contributing Editor, iLounge
Published: Friday, November 3, 2006
Category: Ask iLounge

Ask iLounge offers readers the opportunity to get answers to their iPod-, iPhone-, iPad-, iTunes-, or Apple TV-related questions from a member of the iLounge editorial team. We'll answer several questions here each week, and of course, you can always get help with more immediate concerns from the iLounge Discussion Forums. Submit your questions for consideration using our Ask iLounge Submit Form. We reserve the right to edit questions for grammar, spelling, and length.

The most asked question at iLounge.com:

How do I copy content from my iPod/iPhone onto my computer?

Converting DVDs, web video, TV shows and more:

The Complete Guide to iPod, Apple TV and iPhone Video Formats

Converting DVDs, web video, TV shows and more:

The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Mac)

Converting DVDs, web video, TV shows and more:

The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Win)

Best Speakers?

Best Headphones?

Best Case?

Best In-Car Solution?

Best Battery Extender?

Find more answers in the latest publications in our Library. Free downloads developed by the editors of iLounge!

And now, for this week's Ask iLounge column:

Q:

I just installed the latest version of iTunes (7.0.2) and when I went to the iTunes Store, everything was suddenly displayed in German, despite the fact I’m in America. What’s up?

- Henry

A:

This is a known issue with the iTunes Store that has affected many users of multiple iTunes versions (even back to version 4), although it only materialized at the release of iTunes 7.0.2. With this bug, users who launch the iTunes Store often seem to be taken to the localized store of a random country.

When users are taken to the iTunes Store for non-english speaking countries, this problem is easy to identify. However, another, trickier variation of this issue is that when American users open the iTunes Store and are greeted with, perhaps, the United Kingdom’s storefront, all they notice is that the iTunes Store has suddenly stopped offering movies and TV shows.

We’re not sure what the technical issue is behind the bug, or why Apple still hasn’t fixed it for good. In fact, they seem to have installed a temporary user workaround for the problem, by adding a “My Store” country selection pull-down menu at the top of non-US storefronts, to mirror the one that’s always been there on the bottom.

Until the issue is resolved for good, simply use this pull-down menu to change to your local country, or sign into your iTunes account using the “Sign In” button in the top right of the window.

Q:

Hi! I’m having a weird problem: whenever I play a song, it picks up where it left off last time. Almost every song in my library that I don’t listen to completely will remain in that exact place until I go back to that song. What can be done for a situation like this?

- Malcolm

A:

This is an easy-to-fix problem with your songs’ tag information. It seems that, somehow, every track in your library has been tagged with iTunes’ “Remember Playback Position” flag.

Thankfully, it’s easy to remove en masse:

View your main “Music” library, and choose “Select All” from the “Edit” menu. Then, choose “Get Info…” from the “File” menu. Now, check the box next to “Remember Position,” and change the pull-down menu’s value to “No.” Do not check the boxes next to any other option, or you risk overwriting many tags in an irreversible way.

Click OK, and all of the erroneous flags will be removed.

Q:

I was wondering if I could make a duplicate of a song through iTunes and convert it to mono. I want to make sure that I have both a stereo and a mono copy of the song, though - this is for a temporary project, so I don’t want to permanently lose the full-quality track.

- Ben

A:

Absolutely! iTunes’ built-in song conversion feature makes a copy of the original file by default, so you won’t have to worry about overwriting your good-quality copies.

This conversion feature uses the CD-importing audio settings as its configuration. Therefore, to set up the feature to convert songs to mono, simply alter the importing settings in the “Advanced → Importing” tab in iTunes’ Preferences. For example, for a mono AAC setting, you’ll need to select the “Custom…” setting from the pull-down menu and configure the settings as below, where “Channels” is set to “Mono”:

With these settings prepared, how do you activate the conversion? Simply right click on the song(s) you’d like to convert, and choose “Convert Selection to AAC.”

Q:

I have had an unusual problem with my iPod:  Every morning at 8:10AM it starts playing by itself!  This happens even when I have securely shut down the system with the Hold switch. If I forget to check it, it uses up my battery completely! Plus, since I listen to audiobooks on tape, it completely throws me off of my bookmark and then I have to re-listen to huge portions of the book in order to get back to where I was the last time that I used it.

The only thought that I have about this problem is that I recently had a bad virus on my computer. Could that possibly have affected the programming of the iPod? If so, can I fix this problem by re-installing the software?

- Connie

A:

No need to worry - nothing is malfunctioning, and nothing has been damaged by a virus: you simply have your iPod’s alarm clock set, and programmed to play a playlist!

To disable the alarm, simply browse to “Extras → Clock,” enter each of your iPod’s clock entries, and find the one with “Alarm” set to “On.” Then, simply disable it, and your problem is solved!

Q:

I recently ripped Tim McGraw’s Greatest Hits CD into my iTunes library, and then dragged it to my iPod. The album is listed on my iPod while it’s connected to my computer, but once I disconnect my iPod from the computer, it doesn’t appear in the iPod’s menu system. I’ve deleted it and tried it again, but it still doesn’t appear. I’ve also ripped CDs after that and the new CDs appear on my iPod. What’s up with that?

- Roger

A:

Since the problem is occurring with a “Greatest Hits” album, here’s our two-part guess:

The track information that iTunes automatically fetches when you import a CD has marked the album as a “Compilation.” That’s the first part of the issue. The second is that your iPod is set to display “Compilations” separately from regular albums. To verify that this is the case, go to your iPod’s “Settings” menu, and see that the “Compilations” setting is set to “On.”

This is nothing but good news, then: your iPod is behaving exactly as expected, given the settings it has, and the tags on the album. The album is, in fact, on your iPod, but to browse to it, you must select “Music → Compilations” instead of any of the other second-tier options.

If you’d rather this album fall within the other Tim McGraw albums in a regular listing, simply either disable the iPod’s “Compilations” option, or remove the “Part of a Compilation” flag from the tracks’ information in iTunes. To do this, highlight the tracks in iTunes, and select “Get Info…” from iTunes’ “File” menu.

Clip to Evernote

Ask iLounge Archives:

2-3-12: Deleting pictures from Photo Stream, Transferring Apps to a new iTunes library, Apple Universal Dock and iPhone 4S, Getting Track Names after CD Import, Video Playlists on the iPad

11-25-11: Removing music after activating iTunes Match, Smart Playlists and iTunes Match, Backing up data from an iPhone, Syncing MP3s to an iPod nano, Migrating Playlists to a new Computer

11-11-11: Configure Apple IDs on family iOS devices, Recovering lost audiobooks, Unable to disable passcode lock on iOS devices, Buying an iPod for audio-only use, Preventing deleted tracks from coming back from an iOS device

11-4-11: iPhone 4S storage capacity doesn't match, Transferring HD video from iPhone 4S to a computer, Recovering photos from iPod touch, Notification Center and iMessage in iOS 5

10-21-11: Using iCloud's Find My iPhone on older devices, Batch deleting photos in Camera Roll, Using iTunes Gift Cards internationally, Audiobooks and iCloud, Merging contacts from two devices into iCloud

See the rest of the Archives...

« DJ-AM and Sean Avery on iPods & Accessories

The New shuffle: Seven Facts Worth Knowing »

Related Stories

Comments

1

I have just bought an Ipod Video. I am trying to find a wireless remote control, battery charger and FM transmitter to use in my vehicle. I am unwilling to remove the stereo to connect cables and wires. The only option I have found is the Scosche Wireless Remote and FM Transmitter Combo Kit. It has not been reviewed by iLounge, so I am unsure if it works well or not. Any suggestions?

Posted by airforcenav on November 10, 2006 at 11:05 AM (PDT)

If you have a comment, news tip, advertising inquiry, or coverage request, a question about iPods/iPhones/iPad or accessories, or if you sell or market iPod/iPhone/iPad products or services, read iLounge's Comments + Questions policies before posting, and fully identify yourself if you do. We will delete comments containing advertising, astroturfing, trolling, personal attacks, offensive language, or other objectionable content, then ban and/or publicly identify violators.




Email:

Recent News

Recent Reviews

Recent Articles

New Deals


Shop for Accessories: Cases, speakers, chargers, etc.