iLounge

Leander Kahney of Wired News has written an article about Activaire, a company offering rented iPods loaded with a customized catalog of music to restaurants, nightspots, clothing boutiques and hair salons. In an earlier report Philadelphia DJ, Adam Porter (DJ Botany 500) offers a similar service and is also mentioned in the Wired News article.

For folks hooking up their iPod to a Volkswagen car, Ed’s Electronics Garage has put together a homebrewed microcontroller that “fools the stock head unit into thinking a VW CD Changer is connected, allowing you to listen to your audio device through your vehicle’s built-in speakers when you select “CD” at the head unit.” The VWCDPIC Audio Interface Adapter is $34.00 plus shipping.

Update: An anonymous reader has sent us the contents of a reply email from Blitzsafe:

“We did start a basic interface for the iPod, I do not think before September or October, We are working with Apple now. We do have the Aux interface available at this time, you will use the iPod to control function, or you may wait. Stay tuned.”

Wanted to let the iPodophiles know that Blitzsafe, the makers of the auxillary input adapters, is working directly with Apple (according to Blitzsafe, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) to create an adapter (for cd changer ready headunits) that will not only provide the audio input but also allow the headunit’s controls to control the iPod. I’ve not gotten confirmation on providing a power source for the iPod via this adapter, but headunits normally send 12v to the changer. The adapter probably won’t be ready before September/October time frame for general release.

Great news, especially since my iPod continually tries to kill me when I’m driving (distracting me while I should be braking, turning or just paying attention in general).

Editor’s note: Blitzsafe has confirmed this to be true in an email to iLounge with a simple ‘yes.’ No other information was provided.

Bose Corporation has announced the QuietComfort 2 Acoustic Noise Canceling headphones. We reviewed the first generation QuietComfort headphones last year, and were impressed with its performance. The QuietComfort 2 features include a fold flat design, single earcup audio cable, detachable audio cable with built-in volume control, Active Equalization, low battery life indicator, dual plug adapter, ¼” audio cable adapter, extension cable, and portable carry case. A full list of features and information is available at the Bose website.

Steve Gurly of Pyrim Technologies, Inc. wanted our readers to know that the i-Track carry case has inserts available to fit new iPods.

Macworld UK reports that Apple has posted a Knowledge Base document instructing musicians to contact Apple if they want their music to be added to iTunes Music Store. Musicians and independent lables should contact Apple via .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Deals on the Web: DevDepot is offering the Griffin iTrip FM Transmitter for iPod for $32.95. The device works with iPods that have a FireWire port on top, not the new dock-interface models. It’s among the best prices we’ve seen.

Stephen Williams writes about iPod and iTunes in his latest column for Newsday.

Christian Cantrell at Sparkshop has posted a comparison review of his ‘old’ iPod 20GB and his ‘new’ iPod 15GB.

Macworld UK has a report about a recent interview with Peter Lowe, Head of Consumer Marketing at Apple by Media Analyst, Phil Leigh at ON24 Financial Network.

The NEW iPods do have the volume cap that was introduced in the iPod firmware back to version 1.2.x already built into them. But Apple seems to have overdone it: the European iPod’s max-volume is so low, that you can’t use your iPod in crowded places like a subway or bus. You simply can’t hear the music at an efficient level! According to user’s tests the volume is about 25-30% lower then with the US version.

But not only the headphone jack is capped, also the line out: That means, that if you connect your iPod to a stereo at home or in the car, you have to turn the volume of that stereo way up what in many cases is causing sound-distortions.

There are plenty of people complaining about that on the net. What is striking is that Apple simply deletes those threads from their discussion board after a day or two.

iLyric searches the internet and downloads the lyrics for the music listed in your iTunes library. iLyric, allows you to copy you lyrics over to your iPod in the new Notes format supported by firmware release 2.0. Support for Vcards is in progress for older iPods.

Pod 2 Pod is a tool that will help make an exact clone of an iPod to another iPod—great for those with 2 iPods. P2P will also allow you to backup your single (or both) iPods to your hard drive, in case of theft or loss. Restore the backup to any iPod!

Charles Kelly has posted several freeware AppleScripts for use with iTunes and iPod.

Drag-n-Drop-Text to AIFF 0.01
Drag text files and convert them to AIFF files spoken by MacinTalk.
TextEdit to MP3 0.01
Converts whatever is in TextEdit to an MP3 file spoken by MacinTalk.
TextEdit to AIFF 0.05
Converts whatever is in TextEdit to an AIFF file spoken by MacinTalk.
DJ Track Names to AIFF 0.06
Gives your iPod or iTunes a DJ announcing tunes and artists.

####, the manufacturer of iSkin announces an inventory clearance sale of first edition iSkin cases (ISK5) for 1st generation iPod 5GB and 10GB. There are over 3000 iSkins with 25 colors left at 50% off. Soon #### will be announcing his latest accessory design, a special belt clip attachment for the 1st and 2nd edition iSkin along with a screen protector. All colors available are posted at www.iskin.biz and can be purchased at www.thinkdifferentstore.com

Danielle Demetriou of Independent Digital UK reports:

A reader has spotted another iPod clone at MP3mall.net. The Vonee Digital Jukebox M7 20GB has a similar look to the iPod as well as it being white. We’ve tried to learn more about the company Vonee, but found nothing of revelance on the Internet. Recently we reported that Apple had ‘threatened to sue’ Samsung over its latest Yepp MP3 player (in which they changed the design before releasing it to the public), and this makes us wonder if Apple is seeking other possible lawsuits as well.

Speck Products has released many new cases for iPod including the new, all clear FlipStand with dock port access for new iPods for $29.95, the iSport waist pack with a built in safety light for new iPods for $44.95, and iPod Skin featuring dock port access and KRATON plastic for new model iPods. iPod Skin for original 5, 10, and 20GB iPods are also available. The iPod Skins are available individually for $18.95 and in 3-packs for $28.95 and come in white, blue or grey. Speck Products is accepting pre-orders for all new cases. iPod Skin and iSport are expected to ship on June 30th while the FlipStand is due to ship on July 22nd.

Patrick Rapa of the Philadelphia City Paper interviews DJ Botany 500 who is renting iPods with customized catalogs of music to area businesses.

Jimmy Guterman has written an article suggesting that Apple sell customized, high priced iPods containing music from a recording artist already on it.