2010 iPod + iPhone Buyers' Guide

Article

Ask iLounge 12-29-05

Author's pic

By Jerrod H.

Contributing Editor, iLounge
Published: Thursday, December 29, 2005
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:

Every time I replace my computer, iTunes re-authorizes the music purchases I have made at the iTunes Music Store. I know that in the next few years I will replace my computer more than five or ten times. How can I preserve my purchased music so that I can listen to the music I bought in 2005 in the latest iPod in 2055?

- Paul

A:

First off, you’ve missed a very important feature of iTunes’ Digital Rights Management: you can deauthorize computers at your leisure. The five computer limit is merely a maximum number of concurrent licenses one can have activated. Before you replace your computer, simply choose “Deauthorize Computer” from iTunes’ “Advanced” menu. If you’ve forgotten to do so, iTunes allows you to deauthorize all of your computers at once from your iTunes Music Store Account Information page, although you can only perform this procedure once per year.

Despite this, the longevity of digital music is an incredibly important issue to discuss. Without careful attention, digital music is far less timeless than an old box of albums sitting in an attic or basement for years. Not only is there an enormous risk of the permanent loss of many files in a hardware failure, but files can become corrupt and codecs are sure to become obsolete over time. The maintenance of a digital collection will become an important task for long-term collectors.

What can you do to protect yourself from loss? Inevitably, the answer lies in a bulletproof backup system. Although you can copy your music from your iPod back to your computer, don’t treat your iPod as your sole music library backup method. Instead, be sure to conduct regular backups of your library to DVD or alternate hard drives. You can never choose too many methods; with backups, security lies in redundancy.

In an added tip, keep at least one backup set physically stored away from your computer. This way, you’ll have your important data and music in the event of theft or loss of your home.

For further reading, iLounge has published a Complete Guide to Backing Up iPod & iTunes Music.

Q:

I received a used iPod for Christmas, and I’m very excited about getting familiar with it. However, I didn’t receive the manual with it. Is there anywhere online where I can find general instructions on how to use my new toy? I’m looking for very simple instructions such as how to turn it on and off, how long to charge it, etc.

- Shirley

A:

Congratulations, and welcome to the iPod world. If you need basic information such as that found in the included manual since you didn’t get one, then what better source to get your information than a replacement manual? Apple offers PDF versions of all of its iPod manuals online at this website.

For more detailed information about how to use both the iPod and iTunes, be sure to check out iLounge.com’s Ask iLounge Archives, and our iPod 101 and iPod 201 tutorial series.

Q:

Can you have 2 iPods, such as a mini and a 5G, plugged in to your computer at the same time?

- Adam

A: Assuming your computer has a sufficient number of ports, yes. iTunes properly handles multiple iPods connected at once. This applies to both disk usage and regular syncing, as iTunes can concurrently synchronize two or more iPods without error.
Q:

Is it safe/possible to use the Firewire AC Adaptor that came with my older iPod to charge my iPod video or iPod nano?

- Many iLounge Readers

A: Yes. The iPod video and iPod nano may not be able to synchronize via Firewire like their predecessors, but they retain the ability to charge from it. Simply use the same adaptor and an iPod Firewire cable, and you’re set.
Q:

I prefer to use iTunes’ mini player mode to control my playback, but I wish it had a few more features. Primarily, I’d like to be able to rate my tracks in one click using the mini player. I’m aware I can do this from the system tray (Windows) or dock (Mac), but I’d like to eliminate some clicks. Do you know of any way I could do such a thing?

- Dave

A:

Our suggestion would be to try several of the many replacement iTunes controllers offered as add-ons to the Yahoo! Widget Engine (formerly Konfabulator). This Mac/PC program will, among many other things, allow you to use an alternate mini iTunes controller such as iTunesBar. One of iTunesBar’s many features is easy-to-access rating controls.

For Mac users who would prefer to stick with Dashboard, try the DashTunes widget.

While we’re discussing Konfabulator and Dashboard, we’ll remind you to try out the iLounge Dashboard and Konfabulator widgets to keep up to date with our latest site content!

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Ask iLounge Archives:

11-20-09: Sharing iTunes libraries between two user accounts, Enlarging text on iPhone 3GS, Transferring an iPod to a new user, iPhone shuffles when walking, New 8GB iPod touch models, Transferring purchases from a remote iTunes library

11-13-09: Syncing different contact info with two iPhones on the same computer, iPod shows no content, Syncing music and videos in playlists, Exclamation marks next to tracks in iTunes, Playing podcasts on 3G iPod shuffle.

11-6-09: Storing iPod software updates, Playing an iPod continuously, Transferring play counts to a new iTunes library, iPhone backups, Klipsch S4i earphones

10-30-09: Authorization problems with iPod touch, Changing Grid View background in iTunes, iTunes library and Music Folder are different sizes, Older iPods and firmware updates, Reconciling two different iTunes libraries, Syncing multiple devices to one iTunes library

10-23-09: Using a laptop with an iTunes library on an external hard drive, Transferring YouTube videos to iPod, iPod touch accessibility settings, Disabling Shake to Shuffle on iPod nano, Purchased songs fail to download from iTunes Store, Charging and powering off iPhone

See the rest of the Archives...

Next: Video-to-iPod Conversion for Windows PCs, Part 1

Previous: Listen Safely: Your Ears and Your iPod

Comments

1

I just purchased an iPod 30G.  Can you advise me if it is possible to transfer my Palm Pilots address book to the iPod?  If it is, would you explain how?

Thank you.

Posted by Dolphin aaveve on January 3, 2006 at 8:02 AM (PDT)

If you have a comment, news tip, advertising inquiry, or coverage request, a question about iPods or accessories, or if you sell or market iPod 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.





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