iLounge iPad 2 Buyers' Guide

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Ask iLounge 3-05-10

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By Jesse Hollington

Applications Editor, iLounge
Published: Friday, March 5, 2010
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?

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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 moved iTunes to an external hard drive. When I click to check for updates, I have to close iTunes. Then it downloads to my Mac hard drive and not the external. How to I update the copy of iTunes on my external hard drive?

Susan

A:

You don’t actually need to keep your iTunes application on your external hard drive—you can easily have your iTunes library database and your media content stored there and leave the application on your Mac’s internal hard drive. In fact, it’s best to keep all of your applications in the Mac OS X “Applications” folder as that’s where programs like Software Update expect to find them.

Our guide on Transferring your iTunes Library describes the different aspects of iTunes: the application, the library database, and the actual content, and describes how to transfer the library database and the content onto an external hard drive. There is no connection between the location of the iTunes database and content and the iTunes application, however, so there’s not really any point in keeping the iTunes application on an external hard drive, particularly since every Mac comes with iTunes already installed on its internal hard drive.

Q:

My iPod shuffle does not show any “Content” tab so I am unable to see which music is being synced. It plays fine but I can’t see what music is on it in iTunes. I have restored settings in the Summary tab but there is no change. The only tabs I see are Summary, Music, Podcasts, and iTunes U. Any ideas?

Becky

A:

The third-generation iPod shuffle is handled by iTunes a bit differently from previous iPod shuffle models. The first- and second-generation iPod shuffle only supported a single, flat listing of content, so there was little need to organize this any further than simply listing it on a “Content” tab in iTunes. On the other hand, the third-generation iPod shuffle supports multiple playlists and podcasts, and content on the 3G shuffle is therefore handled in the same way as it is for other iPod models.

This means that rather than seeing a “Content” tab on the main screen, you see similar sync options that appear for other iPods: Music, Podcasts and iTunes U. To actually see the content that is stored on the shuffle, you must expand the shuffle in iTunes by clicking on the small triangle that appears to the left of your iPod in the Devices listing. This will display a view of the categories of content and playlists that are stored on your device.

Selecting any of these items will show you a listing of content for that particular category or playlist. Note that you may see the items in this listing appear greyed out; the 3G shuffle now syncs in the same way that other iPods do, and if you want to manage the content on it directly, you must enable “manual mode” by going back to the Summary screen and choosing the option to Manually manage music and clicking the “Apply” button.

Q:

I installed iTunes on a new laptop while my old laptop was being “de-virused.” Inadvertently, I used my email address as my iTunes (Apple) ID instead of the old ID. Now it won’t play any of my music. How do I change the new Apple ID back to the old Apple ID?

Walt

A:

You actually don’t need to “change” the Apple ID back over, but rather simply authorize your computer to play music from your original iTunes Store account. Normally iTunes should prompt you to enter your iTunes Store username and password whenever you try to play a protected item, but you can also bring up this dialog box directly by choosing Authorize Computer from the “Store” menu in iTunes. In either case, you’re presented with a dialog box asking you to log in to the iTunes Store.

Simply enter your old iTunes Store ID and password and iTunes will download the necessary information from your account to authorize the computer to play your existing music. Note that you can have more than one iTunes Store account authorized on the same computer, so you don’t specifically need to worry about removing the ID with your e-mail address. If you want to do this, however, you can Deauthorize your computer for a given iTunes Store account by choosing Deauthorize Computer from the Store menu and entering the username and password for the account you want to deauthorize from iTunes.

Q:

Hi, I was wondering if they made an external microphone for the current generation of iPod nanos?

Thomas

A:

Since the fifth-generation iPod nano includes a built-in microphone, there has not been much demand for third-party microphone accessories. In our review of the 5G iPod nano, we found that the built-in microphone was surprisingly good and “effectively eliminated the need for any third-party microphone add-ons.”

Realistically, the only reason you might want to consider an external microphone is for stereo recording. In that case, many of the microphone accessories that were made for earlier iPod models will still work fine with the 5G nano as long as they physically fit the device. The main concern here is that some of the older iPod nano microphones used both the Dock Connector and headphone jack, and the new model reverses the position of these two ports, meaning that some accessories such as the XtremeMac MicroMewmo will be incompatible simply because they can’t physically connect to the 5G iPod. Accessories that use the Dock Connector only, such as the Belkin TuneTalk Stereo should work fine, however.

Q:

How can I make the “artists” column go away in iTunes?

Jason

A:

To add or remove columns in your iTunes library listing, simply right-click on the column headings to display a context menu that you can use to pick which columns you want displayed.

Alternatively, you can choose View Options from the “View” menu in iTunes to display a dialog box allowing you to check and uncheck the columns that you want displayed.

You can also change the order of the columns in iTunes simply by dragging and dropping the column headings to the left or right. Note that the two left-most columns cannot be moved or turned off.

It’s also worth noting that each section and playlist in iTunes has its own independent column layout. The name of the section or playlist that you are currently setting the view for is shown at the top of the View Options dialog box.

Q:

Thanks for iLounge - tremendously informative. My classical/jazz/opera collection runs 10,000+ songs. I use an external 250 GB hard drive and several backups and run iTunes to manage it. My question concerns using an iPod touch. In my home I have 4 stereos that I listen to. I connect the iPod touch using the headphone jack. I would like to buy 4 docks, one for each stereo, and one power charger where the iPod touch would spend the night recharging. I would like a single remote that would be used on all 4 docks. Does Apple sell multiple docks that work with a single remote? Does anyone else?

John

A:

The Apple Universal Dock is probably your simplest and most inexpensive option. Although each Dock includes its own remote control, by default each of these remotes can be used interchangeably with other Apple devices. This includes not only other Apple Universal Docks, but also Mac computers and the Apple TV. Apple does provide a “pairing” process for its devices in the event that you want a Dock or other device to only respond to a specific remote, but by default one Apple remote will control all Apple IR-enabled devices within range. In addition, Apple now offers an even nicer aluminum option in the 2009 Apple Remote that was released late last year.

Note, however, that the Apple Remote and Universal Dock provides only playback controls—play, pause, rewind, fast forward, previous/next track and volume control—it will not allow you to actually navigate the menus on your iPod touch from the remote. You’ll pay a bit more if you’re looking for a Dock and remote solution that provides the ability to navigate through the menus on your iPod touch, but the Dexim AV Dock Station with Remote Control and Logic3 Pro-Dock are both options worth considering in this case.

If you’re willing to spend a bit more, however, another solution that is definitely worth considering is purchasing an Airport Express unit for each of your stereos and streaming your music wirelessly directly from your iTunes library on your computer. In this case, you could use the iPod touch as a Wi-Fi remote control by using the free Apple Remote app. While this is a slightly more expensive option, it would provide access to your entire music library from any of your stereos and could even provide simultaneous multi-room audio. In addition, the Airport Express units provide optical output capabilities and could possibly be used to extend the range of your existing wireless network.

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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...

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