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The Free iPod + iPhone Book4

Ask iLounge 12-14-06

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By Jerrod H.

Contributing Editor, iLounge
Published: Thursday, December 14, 2006
Category: Ask iLounge

Ask iLounge offers readers the opportunity to get answers to their iPod-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 music from my iPod onto my computer?

Click here for the answer.

The second most asked question at iLounge.com:

How do I put DVDs on my iPod?


For converting DVDs, web video, TV shows and home movies to your iPod, iPhone or Apple TV, we have a three-part series outlining the best formats, settings, and various tools to use for converting all types of video content for use on these devices.

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

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

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

Top five questions most recently asked by iLounge readers:

Q: What are the best speakers to use with my iPod? (15, 76-79, and 90-92)

Q: What are the best headphones to use with my iPod? (10, 72-75, and 90-92)

Q: I really want to get a nice case for my iPod. Do you have any suggestions? (36-37, 54-67, and 90-92)

Q: How can I connect my iPod to my car stereo? (14, 32-35, 68-71, and 90-92)

Q: Are there any batteries that I can use to extend my iPod's battery life? (82-83 and 90-92)

A: Answers to these and many other questions can be found in two places. Our Free iPod Book 3.3 provides a complete report card to all of the iPod accessories we've reviewed as of summer 2007, as well as over 125 iTunes and iPod tips & tricks. Further, our new 2008 iPod & iPhone Buyers' Guide has accessory tutorials at the page numbers listed in parentheses above. These and other publications in our Library are free downloads, developed by the editors of iLounge!

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

Q: Is there a way to search the “comment” field of songs using the search box? I used to be able to do this with previous versions of iTunes. Even choosing “all” in the search box does not work with the latest version.

- Kevin

A: In our tests on both Mac & PC versions, we make iTunes search the “comment” field, but only if that field is visible in the currently-viewed list. If that column has been removed from the current view, iTunes won’t search it. This is an odd departure from typical iTunes behavior, where many other hidden fields are searchable, but it’s impossible to tell if it’s a bug, or an intended change in behavior. Until the behavior is fixed - if it will be - the solution is simple enough: re-enable the comment field column display in the iTunes view you want to search from.

Q: Some of the 2006 Jettas, and many more cars, I’m sure, come with an Aux-in jack on the dash or in the glove box. However, my dealer can’t even tell me where to get the right cable to use with my iPod. Help!

- Mark

A: The cable you need is one of the simplest and most generic audio cables you can find: a simple male-to male 1/8"-to-1/8" (sometimes “miniplug-to-miniplug") stereo audio cable. Such cables can be found cheap from many retailers: here is one for sale at Radio Shack for $5.50.

Q: I was just wondering if it were possible to set up a playlist that show what your top 25 songs were over the past week. I could only get it to show songs with the highest total playcount that just happened to be played in the last week.

- Josh

A: As you’ve found, iTunes simply lacks the ability to do lists like this, since the program only records the total number of play counts and the last time the song was played - it doesn’t record date stamps for each play count.

One way to analyze your listening habits is through an external program that links to a web-based statistics system, like Last.fm. This site tracks your listening habits, shows you your most played music in the last week, month, and year, and can also recommend similar music to you. However neat these statistics may be, however, there’s a fundamental problem with this solution for most of iLounge’s readers: they’ll only track the music you listen to in iTunes; the music you listen to on the iPod is ignored. If you want time-sensitive “top played” charts to monitor your own habits, Last.fm is one of the best ways to do it, but - as always - we’ll all have to wait and see if Apple expands iTunes’ statistics capabilities with an optimal solution. (Edit: Correction - alternate Last.fm clients iScrobbler (Mac) and iSproggler (PC), have the capability to “scrobble,” or publish, your listening habits directly from an iPod as well as from iTunes. Thanks.)

Q: I like to make smart playlists of a genre when the mood suits me to listen to a certain type of music. The problem is some albums fit into more than one genre. Is there a way to list multiple genres within iTunes?

- Chris

A: There is, and there isn’t. For the purpose of smart playlists, you can certainly type as many genres into the genre field as you wish: simply edit the field via the “Get Info” window for each track/album, and separate the fields with commas, slashes, spaces, or anything else. What matters is that your smart playlists use the “Genre” ”Contains” condition, which will catch anything in the tracks’ fields.

Again, this feature works great for the purpose of smart playlists, but you’ll notice that iTunes doesn’t truly treat these multiple genres as separate; each permutation of multiple genres will be listed separately in both iTunes’ “Browse” function and in the iPod’s “Music → Genres” listing. Your solution depends on your primary listening habits, but given that you’re planning to use smart playlists, this should work well.

Q: There used to be a section that you could browse radio stations by city and see their playlists. Is this still around and just I can’t find it, or is it gone?

- Anonymous

A: This and several other music-related options (most notably, a list of Genres) have disappeared from the iTunes Store’s front page with its recent addition of full-length movies, but rest assured, it’s not gone. To access it, you simply need to first enter the “Music” store using the link in the top-left box on the main page. Then, “Radio Charts” will be in the “More in Music” box in the left-hand column.

Alternatively, you can use the “Browse” button in the bottom right corner of iTunes (the eye icon) to jump straight to the store’s comprehensive content listing, which includes “Radio Charts” as the second option:

Or, bookmark this link in your browser to go to radio charts directly.

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Ask iLounge Archives:

11-14-08: Cover Flow on 4G iPod nano, Setting up iPod touch without Internet access, Internet radio for iPod touch, Apps button missing on iPod touch, mm50 speakers and new iPod models, Including Year field on iPod

10-31-08: iPod charging accessory compatibility, Adding tracks to multiple albums, Removing pre-installed games, Transferring contacts from iPod touch to a second computer, iPod touch accessory compatibility, iPod synchronization to a new computer

10-24-08: Importing folders with M3U files, AV cables with 2008 iPods, Moving iTunes libraries between computers, Unknown albums after importing music, Newly added tracks don't show up on iPod

10-17-08: Backup up your iPod, iPods and viruses, Using an iPod on Mac and Windows, Managing photos on an iPod manually, Adding iTunes Shared Music to iPod, iPod video out

10-3-08: Displaying lyrics on iPod touch, Calculating playlist sizes, Transferring tracks to iPod in manual mode, Purchasing older iPod models, Using iPhone without phone service, Shuffle modes

See the rest of the Archives...

Next: Welcome, new iPod and accessory owners!

Previous: The iPod Year in Review 2006: Evolution, Not Revolution

Shop in the loungeStore for iPod + iPhone Accessories.

Comments

1

“However neat these statistics may be, however, there’s a fundamental problem with this solution for most of iLounge’s readers: they’ll only track the music you listen to in iTunes; the music you listen to on the iPod is ignored”

This is not true. The Audio Scrobbler plug-in used by Last.FM now integrates iPod data into your stats as well. You just need to create a *most recent songs played* smart playlist on the iPod itself, which AudioScrobbler can then refer to every time you hook the iPod up to your computer.

Posted by ElijahM on December 14, 2006 at 2:35 PM (PDT)

2

There’s also the dock connector-to-miniplug option that’ll give you unfiltered sound:

http://www.amazon.com/Cable-Ipod-3-5MM-Dock-Con/dp/B000CCF9UM/sr=11-1/qid=1166141538/ref=sr_11_1/103-5112259-6316651

Posted by Chucklenuts on December 14, 2006 at 5:18 PM (PDT)

3

i heard that if you hook up two ipods to the same computer then the songs on the ipod are deleted. i was wondering is there a way to hook up different ipods to the same computer and avoiding this side effect

Posted by dsabes on December 20, 2006 at 4:42 PM (PDT)

4

my ipod was downloaded from a mac but i have windows. how do i hook up my ipod to my computer with out loosing my music? hepl!

Posted by nancy1snd on December 23, 2006 at 4:17 PM (PDT)

5

can I have more than one iPod attached to my itunes library

Posted by victoriafrances on December 28, 2006 at 2:33 PM (PDT)

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