Article
Ask iLounge 2-2-06
By Jerrod H.
Contributing Editor, iLounge
Published: Thursday, February 2, 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.
How do I copy music from my iPod onto my computer?
Click here for the answer.
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, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Mac)
The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Windows)
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!
Q: Since I’ve upgraded the software on my fifth-generation iPod to version 1.1, I can no longer turn my backlight on or off by holding the “Menu” button. This trick worked on my old iPod, and it worked on my new one, at least until I got the new Software Update. What gives?
- Anonymous
A: This is a change in the iPod’s interface, not a bug. We can tell this because Apple has updated its online manuals to reflect the following change: holding the Menu button no longer controls the iPod’s backlight. Now, it instead forces an instantaneous return to the iPod’s main menu. There doesn’t appear to be any way to restore the backlight functionality without finding a way to revert back to iPod Software version 1.0.
While the loss of manual backlight control may be a minor disappointment, we actually prefer the new navigation shortcut, reducing the need for repetitive button presses to access, for example, the “Settings” menu to change Shuffle preferences.
Q: Do you know any way that I can change the order of songs once I have put them in a playlist? I can’t seem to find any way to move them around to be in the order I want them in once they have been added to the playlist (either through the iPod or iTunes).
- Jason
A: In true Apple fashion, it’s as easy as drag-and-drop. In iTunes, select the playlist you want to edit, and simply drag songs up and down among one another.
While this works for both manual and smart playlists, there’s one simple caveat to doing this: the playlist must not be sorted alphabetically by Name, Album, or any other data column. To enable manual sorting by drag-and-drop, sort the playlist by its left-most column: the numbers without a column heading.
The order of tracks cannot be changed on the iPod itself, on either regular or On-the-Go playlists.
Q: Before the latest revisions to iTunes, I think I used to be able to change the extension on a .mp3 file to .m4b and re-import it so that it holds its place when played like an audiobook. Now when I drag an .m4b file back into iTunes, iTunes does not respond - does not copy or import the file. Has the feature been stopped? If not, how can I convert long mp3s to book format?
- Steve
A: iTunes doesn’t know how to handle .mp3 files renamed to .m4b, because MP3 and M4B aren’t the same formats. The renaming trick only works when renaming existing AAC files (ending in .m4a) to a .m4b extension.
Second, this trick simply isn’t required anymore! The newest iTunes has an option to make any file - AAC or not - bookmarkable. To utilize this feature, select the song or songs you’d like to make bookmarkable, and choose “Get Info” from iTunes’ “File” menu. Then, select the “Options” panel, check the “Remember playback position” box, and click OK. From now on, this file will behave as the .m4b files you’re used to, regardless of their filetype.
Q: I am interested in buying an iPod using Apple’s educational discounts. I’ve selected what I would like to purchase. The items are in my cart and they’re are still the same price!
At what point do I apply my educational discount, and see what it saves me?
- Dave
A: To see the education discounts available to individual customers, you must access the Apple Store for Education. This is available via a link in the right hand column of the main Apple Store webpage, or here.
By accessing the Apple Store in this manner, every price you see has been preadjusted to reflect the educational discount. Note that the educational discount applies only to Apple hardware and software.
Only the following individuals can use the educational discount:
K-12 Employees (Not students):
- Employee of public or private K-12 institutions in the United States
- School Board members who are currently serving as elected or appointed members
- PTA or PTO executives currently serving as elected or appointed officers
- Qualified homeschools
- Employee of a public or private, profit or non-profit preschool
College / University Employees and students:
- Faculty or staff member of a public or private Higher Education Institution in the United States
- Student currently attending or accepted into a public or private Higher Education Institution in the United States
Enjoy! You should be able to save $30 on any iPod, $20 on any iPod nano, and $10 on the 1GB iPod shuffle. Furthermore, you’ll save 10% on most Apple-branded iPod accessories.
Q: Do iTunes and the iPod offer any accessibility features for the visually impaired?
- Anonymous
A: iTunes itself doesn’t offer any specific accessibility features other than a modest set of keyboard shortcuts, and unfortunately seems to make only minimal use of Apple’s excellent VoiceOver feature built into MacOS X 10.4 Tiger. However, Tiger does offer excellent built-in enlargement and high-contrast viewing features that work wonderfully in iTunes, retaining the ability to drag-and-drop, unlike some PC enlargement solutions. Even if it couldn’t, iTunes can execute most of its drag-and-drop features from contextual menus instead.
The iPod, likewise, has no audible navigation features, other than the minimally useful fact that it emits clicking noises as you navigate throughout its interface. Access World, published by the American Federation of the Blind, reviewed the 4th generation iPod, finding its interface “somewhat accessible” for basic use such as shuffling through a large library, but found that visually impaired users are unlikely to enjoy full-featured usage of the highly visually-oriented device.
If you’re interested in using an iPod at home, and are able to read with the aid of enlargement devices, we’d suggest Apple’s latest color-screened iPods, including both the full-size iPod and iPod nano. Each of these displays all text in black on white, at a much higher contrast level than on the previous monochrome iPods.
If you’d prefer to have audio navigation on the go, consider Rockbox, a free open-source replacement operating system for certain older Archos MP3 players. One of its many features is “Speaking Menus,” easing navigation without sight.
For more information on using MP3 players for the visually impaired, check out this collection of links here.
Ask iLounge Archives:
7-4-08: Recovering a corrupt iPod, Hard cases for iPhone, Reimporting CDs into iTunes, iPod shows only Other content, Managing multiple audio formats in iTunes, Optimum iPod video output cables
6-27-08: Creating Smart Playlists for Purchased items, Keeping place in multi-track audiobooks, Backing up iTunes before a reformat, iPod Games on 5G and classic, Editing CD tracks before import, Getting Album Artwork automatically
6-20-08: Third-party iPod management tools, Transferring large files on iPod, Shuffling On-The-Go Playlists, Removing played podcasts from iPod, Continuously playing one track, Moving iTunes from PC to Mac
6-13-08: Artists not appearing on iPod, Unchecked items do not play in iTunes, iTunes shows incorrect CD track information, Podcast support on older iPod models, Upgrading to a new iPod, Photo albums on iPod touch
6-6-08: Downloading YouTube videos onto iPod, Selling old iPod models, Fit iTunes Window to Screen, Handing down an iPod, Dock Compatible iPod cases, Problems transferring music from iPod to Mac
Shop in the loungeStore for iPod + iPhone Accessories.
Next: First Looks: Kensington Dock 500/Radio Duo, Icuiti DV920, Belkin TuneBase FM & More
Previous: First Looks Special: Motorola SLVR L7 iTunes Phone (photos inside)
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1
I just tried to do the “Remember Playback Position” change as it is listed in the 2/2/06 “Ask iLounge”. While it works as described for a single track, it will not for multiple tracks. Is there any way to do this to a whole bunch of tracks (like for a book that fills several CDs with several tracks per CD)?
Posted by GC Rider in Wichita, KS on February 3, 2006 at 5:42 PM (PDT)
2
i used software update and got a new ipod updater.
I had previously set up the ipod in terminal to add _show_voltage into the device subfolder, but now the battery display has reverted to the inaccurate battery symbol instead.
mounting my ipod and bringing up terminal shows that _show_voltage is still there, so I’m assuming that the new updater has somehow bypassed this useful hack.
any way of re-doing it (i’ve tried iPodBatteryIndicator v1.0 and iVolt v 2.01 but they still don’t work)
any help?
thanx
gaffer
(PowerBook G4, 1.67Ghz, 1Gb RAM, Mac OS X.4.4
4thGen 20Gb iPod, Hdphn Remote, Senny PX100, Sony MDR-EX71slw, iSkin evo2, iPoDonut, iTrip)
(2nd Powerbook = G4, 550Mhz, 512Mb RAM, Mac OS X.1.5)
Posted by Gaffer74 on February 4, 2006 at 11:35 AM (PDT)
3
I have th ipod 30gb, with pics and movies and music. well i want to know how to put movies on it, but i have a hewlett packard. so can you let me know how to do this?
Posted by james.c on February 5, 2006 at 10:05 AM (PDT)
4
How do I get the 1.0 software back on my nano because with the software update I can’t manually control the backlight, a feature that I found very valuable and I really have no value for the quick jump to the main menu. I found this to be a lot more than a minor disappointment! :(
Posted by MES28 on February 7, 2006 at 10:26 PM (PDT)