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The Free iPod + iPhone Book4

Ask iLounge 4-13-06

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By Jerrod H.

Contributing Editor, iLounge
Published: Thursday, April 13, 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: I carry my iPod in my pocket most of the time, and I’m worried about pocket lint degrading the iPod’s Dock Connector. I’m not much interested in a big bulky case that protects everything, but does anyone sell a simple cap or plug to protect the port itself? I’ve been searching high and low, but to no avail. Any help would be appreciated.

- Andrew

A: There’s only one such company that we know of. RadTech sells $6 plugs they call Portectorz. In our review of the product, we mentioned we’d be hesitant to pay $6 plus $5 shipping for such a small piece of rubber, but you’re right - if you’d rather not use a fully-protective case, this may be a perfectly valid option.

Q: I have a 5G iPod and an Apple Universal Dock. Is there any way to view the iPod’s screen itself (song title, album art, etc.) on my TV?

- Jim

A: The current version of Apple’s iPod software doesn’t support this feature. Until it does, Apple’s Universal Dock will be of no use for on-screen navigation. However, other companies have been developing hardware solutions to the problem.

We addressed this question back in January after having seen two such devices at Macworld Expo, but we’ll revisit it today with an important update:

DLO has announced that their HomeDock Deluxe, a dock-and-remote solution featuring on-screen navigation, is now available and shipping for $149. See iLounge’s full review of the product here.

The second such device we’ve seen, and one we’re even more excited about, is Griffin Technology’s TuneCenter and, now, their TuneCenter Pro. At $100 and $130, both are cheaper than DLO’s option, and have the additional feature of wired or wireless networking for internet radio. These will be available in May and June.

We’ll reserve our final judgements on the TuneCenter for our full review, but be aware that more solutions are on the way.

Q: I have a 4GB iPod mini and a Dell PC with Windows XP. How can I load my Outlook contacts and calendars onto my iPod?

- Kenneth

A: If you’re using iTunes 5 or later, and Outlook 2003 or later, you can do this from within iTunes itself. Simply plug in your iPod, open iTunes’ Preferences, locate the “iPod” tab, and select the appropriate options in the “Contacts” and “Calendars” panels.

Users of Outlook 2002/XP may want to try using PodPlus from iPodSoft, a $15 utility that allows syncing with this version of Outlook, along with many other features.

Users of other calendar or contact software may still be able to take advantage of calendar and contacts on the iPod, albeit manually. Open your software, and choose to export your calendars or calendar events in iCalendar (*.ics) format, and your contacts in vCard (*.vcd) format. Then, drag these files to the “Calendars” and “Contacts” folders on your iPod, respectively.

Q: Through my family member’s iTunes Music Store accounts, and a few I’ve purchased on eBay, I seem to have exceeded a limit I never knew existed: my iPod will only accept songs from 5 of these accounts, refusing to synchronize songs from the others. Is there any way to get around this?

- Anonymous

A: This is indeed a rather subtly-advertised limitation of the iPod/iTunes system. Similarly, an iPod can only synchronize Audible audiobooks from no more than two accounts simultaneously.

You can’t (legally, at least) get around this limitation at all. However, you can attempt to exert more control over which five accounts iTunes will synchronize; by default, iTunes chooses itself.

The trick is to manually disable the synchronization of the songs belonging to accounts you’d like to temporarily disable. One way to do this is to disable the synchronization of unchecked songs, and simply un-check the songs associated with your older accounts. You could also use the “Automatically update selected playlists only” mode, and ensure that the accounts you don’t want aren’t included in your selection. For more help, see our synchronization tutorial here.

Granted, this isn’t the solution you’re looking for, as the ultimate result will be that you’ll still be carrying less than all of the songs you’ve paid for. However, at least with this method, you’ll be able to choose what you have to leave behind.

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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: Editorial: 50 Million iPods and Growing?

Previous: Hands-on with eMagin's EyeBud 800 Wearable Display

Shop in the loungeStore for iPod + iPhone Accessories.

Comments

1

I’d like to know how i can edit anything on the ipod itself.
I searched but canoot find. For ex: i want to delete certain artists, because their names are doubled on the ipod…

Posted by sjonnie1 on April 17, 2006 at 3:43 AM (PDT)

2

i have my music video’s loaded on itunes but they wont transfer to my i pod. how can i convert them?

Posted by rizlady on April 17, 2006 at 3:46 PM (PDT)

3

I just bought a 30g ipod video, after MANY problems, i got intunes installed, but now when i try to update my ipod, it comes up with “ attempting to write to the disk bexipod failed. The disk could not be written to or read from”

Any ideas?
On another forum, someone suggested asking you guys. also, apple told me it could be my windows xp computer needs its drives updated… i have no idea what they r on about… plz help

Posted by AngelwithAttitude on April 18, 2006 at 9:13 PM (PDT)

4

ok i got video’s to transfer to my i pod but they have no sound? I have been working on this for a week now..... help.... i have done the updates i dont know what else to do

Posted by rizlady on April 19, 2006 at 2:45 PM (PDT)

5

recently i had turned my ipod nano on to find that when i want to higher the volume the percentage bar is replaced by five dots. this is also the same for the time counter for all songs. so far it doesnt seem to be damaged or showing any signs of being broken but im worried. any ideas?

Posted by everhexxed on April 28, 2006 at 5:03 AM (PDT)

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