2010 iPod + iPhone Buyers' Guide

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Ask iLounge 8-31-06

Author's pic

By Jerrod H.

Contributing Editor, iLounge
Published: Wednesday, August 30, 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 synchronize only “checked” songs with my iPod. Is there a way to use a smart playlist to identify those songs which are not checked? All I’m able to do it single out those that are.

- Zachary

A:

You’re right - there’s no obvious way to construct a playlist of unchecked songs using a single smart playlist. However, here’s a clever way to do it with two:

First, create a playlist that contains all of your checked items using the following logic:

Then, create a second smart playlist that excludes items in the first, effectively displaying only the unchecked items in your library:

Enjoy!

Q:

My new 2007 Chevy Impala has a built-in jack on the dashboard that supposedly allows iPod to play audio through my stereo. Unfortunately, all that fits are my headphones, which is clearly useless. How do I connect my iPod’s audio output to my car? 

- Bill

A:

Good news: the solution you need is inexpensive and easy to find. All you need is a simple cable with a male 1/8” “miniplug” jack on both ends: one for your dashboard’s jack, and one for your iPod’s headphone jack. Simply connect both ends, set your iPod to a moderate (not maximum) volume level, and select the auxiliary source in your car stereo’s menu.

For an optional sound quality enhancement, you can utilize this cable in conjuction with an adapter which extracts the iPod’s “line-level” output from its 30-pin Dock Connector. Examples of such devices are the Sik Imp and Sendstation PocketDock Line Out USB.

Q:

Is there a way to delete songs from iTunes and my hard drive at the same time? Currently, I have to right click on the song, select ‘Show Song File’, delete the song from Windows Explorer, and delete the song from the iTunes library. Is there a more simple process to do this?

- Anonymous

A:

There is a much easier way, indeed. To delete a song file from within iTunes’ Library window, simply highlight a song (or multiple songs) and press your keyboard’s Delete or Backspace key. iTunes will then prompt you as follows:

Select “Remove”, and you’ll see the next prompt:

Here, select “Move to Trash,” and iTunes will fully delete the file from your hard drive.

It is a little known fact that this process can also be initiated when deleting songs from smart or manual playlists: simply hold down the “Option” key (Mac) or “Shift” key (PC) while pressing Delete.

Q:

Is there any reason not to fill the iPod hard disk to its full capacity? On PCs, having a full hard disk frequently causes problems running applications, but is this true for iPods as well?

- Bret

A:

You’re correct - even on systems with large amounts of physical memory, most operating systems reserve lots of hard disk space as temporary storage (“swap” space), and performance drops dramatically when such space isn’t available for use.

However, to our knowledge, the iPod does not operate this way. The iPod does actually make use of a similar ‘temporary storage area’, but it’s only between 32 and 64MB, and this process takes place on a dedicated solid-state memory chip, not on the hard drive itself.

We’ve maintained plenty of iPods at as full a capacity as we could get them, and never had any performance issues. Load it up and enjoy!

Q:

How do I play one song in a playlist and have iTunes stop playing after it’s done? It seems the default behavior is to continue through the entire playlist or Library. The only way I’ve found to do what I want is to make a new playlist containing just that song, but that’s cumbersome. Have a better solution?

- Anonymous

A:

Indeed we do. We’re going to take advantage of iTunes’ “Party Shuffle” feature, and the “Play Next in Party Shuffle” command that’s in every song’s contextual menu.

First, we need a completely empty playlist. Simply create a new playlist, name it “Empty,” and add nothing to it.

Then, open iTunes’ Party Shuffle feature, and select this new “Empty” playlist as its source:

This will ensure that after a song is played using Party Shuffle, nothing follows it.

With Party Shuffle configured this way, you can then play any song - whether from the Library or a playlist - only once without anything following it by simply right-clicking on it, and selecting “Play Next in Party Shuffle.”

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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: FM Transmitters' Dirty Little Secret: FCC Violations

Previous: Why Custom Earphones Cost So Much: Inside Ultimate Ears' Labs

Comments

1

I recently got a 30g white iPod video and I was wanting to know how to put videos onto my iTunes? I have Microsoft XP.  Thanks!

Posted by sarah1993 on August 31, 2006 at 2:45 AM (PDT)

2

In regards to question #4, if you overload your iPod (at least on the Mac, and possibly only if you have disk use enabled), in your Console, you’ll see error messages involving disk Journaling after mounting/syncing. I’ve never researched just how critical the error might be, though, since clearing a little space is a simple solution.

Posted by kimota on August 31, 2006 at 7:48 AM (PDT)

3

i’m surprised that people who asked question #2 even know how to operate an ipod.

Posted by mrmojorisingi on August 31, 2006 at 3:56 PM (PDT)

4

Hi

I was looking for some advice. I was wondering can I play my ipod through my speakers on my pc, because if i keep using the itunes my memory will get used up pretty quick. So on that basis can i buy/upload music on to my ipod , then delete from my itunes libary. At least that way I will not use up my memory.

Hope it makes sense

Many Thanks

Nige..

Posted by nige.. on September 2, 2006 at 2:25 AM (PDT)

5

I own a computer with Microsoft Windows XL Media version. In February,I sold my 40GB iPod and purchased a 60GB iPod. All was fine until I went to the Apple store to purchase videos. Each attempt I was told to download iTunes 6.0. I have attempted to downlod it many times and as yet, have been unable to do it. The process starts, then I get Installshield error 1607. I have worked with Installshield, iTunes, and Microsoft support. All I have succeeded in doing is wiping out all my programs. When instructed in reinstallation, I have all the programs, but they are empty, just as when they were first installed. For some reason, I was able to initially load my music library from my computer to my new iPod. Now I am afraid to connect my iPod for fear of losing all the music I painstakingly loaded over the past three years.
Is there anyone who knows what I can do in this seemingly catch 22?

Posted by Devaweva on September 2, 2006 at 6:54 PM (PDT)

6

daily radio podcasts don’t play in order

Posted by FBL3 on September 2, 2006 at 7:58 PM (PDT)

7

Actually, the command to delete songs both from the playlist and the disk in Windows is Shift+Delete and not Alt+Delete

Posted by mcube on September 7, 2006 at 1:56 AM (PDT)

8

I recently accidently deleted the Voice Memos from my iTunes folder whilst doing a clean up. They still appear to be on my iPOd but they wont copy to my Mac.  However, I’m pretty sure I backed everything up to my external hard drive but I cant find a folder called Voice memos or authing similar. Do you know what file name iTunes creates to store VoiceMemos?    Thanks   G

Posted by gary2bad on September 7, 2006 at 5:43 AM (PDT)

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