Ipods and mp3s and things

[Terry Smart]

Hi folks

I'm tempted to ask Santa for an ipod shuffle, I like the small size and the clip on ability and I reckon it'll suit my needs to the ground.

I've used mp3 players before, does and ipod play mp3s? It may sound stupid to ask but I get confused with itunes and I've never really looked into it. Would I have to convert all my mp3 files?

All info gratefully accepted!

 

[Slim]

Yes it does support mp3's. However you may want to convert them to AAC files anyway, as they take up less space.

 

[RogerS]

Terry - my understanding is that with the Shuffle, you have no control over the order in which tracks get played. Maybe fine for pop music or jazz but a bit of a downer if, like me, you prefer classical music!

 

[Terry Smart]

Thanks Slim... thanks Roger too, that's very important for me as well, especially as I often listen to plays and the like- not much fun finding out 'whodunnit' in Episode 4 before learning who the victim was in Episode 1!

Is anyone able to confirm this 'feature' in the shuffle please?

Also, can I just 'drag and drop' files onto the shuffle or do I have to go through i-tunes?

 

[StevieB]

I have one of the 3rd generation nano's not the shuffle, but as far as I can tell the only interface it uses is the itunes one. That is not to say you have to buy tunes from there or even log onto the itunes store everytime you connect the ipod to your pc - you don't. itunes software is just like any other media player for organising your music. You can drag and drop and cut and paste files like normal. Once you get used to the interface its fine, although perhaps surprisingly for apple I found the instructions a bit rubbish to be honest.

HTH,

Steve.

 

[CHJ]

.......
Is anyone able to confirm this 'feature' in the shuffle please?

Also, can I just 'drag and drop' files onto the shuffle or do I have to go through i-tunes?

No guarantied to be gospel Terry, but Wiki has some speel on the subject.

 

[Terry Smart]

Hi Steve

Thanks for the extra input, always appreciated.

I'm being put off the idea at the moment, call me old fashioned but I desist the idea of being told by a machine how I have to do things and what program I have to use! There's just something about things that take over that I don't like!
All other views and opinions still welcome!

 

[RogerS]

Terry - don't be put off by being asked to use iTunes - the program is OK and let's face it, you do need something to rip the audio and then transfer it!

But Google is your friend.
http://lifehacker.com/software/ipod...d-from-any-computer-without-itunes-237986.php

and a load of links here
http://ohadp.blogspot.com/2005/06/ipod-shuffle-without-itunes.html

personally I think I'd just get on with listening to music. iTunes does also build in podcast subscriptions, internet radio channels and all that sort of thing. Also very very useful for browsing and istening to snippets of music on the iTunes music store.....so you can take a view on whether or not an album is worth getting.

Are you Mac or PC?

EDIT: Just read the Wiki article and I know that I could never live with the shuffle. Have you thought about the Nano? Or been seduced by the ipod Touch?

 

[Terry Smart]

Hi Roger

I'm on a PC and the problem is I'm happy with the way I've got things organised on it, I'd simply want to be able to copy mp3s onto the shuffle, listen to them at my leisure and then overwrite them when I want to, hence my desire to drag'n'drop.
That's how I use my current (limited) mp3 player and I'm probably just too stubborn to be told I have to do things differently just because someone thinks I should!

 

[RogerS]

Terry

I guess the key thing is playlists?? How do you currently manage these with your current set-up?

Were the links any good?

Roger

 

[Terry Smart]

Hi Roger

The links were very interesting, just seems strange that you have to do some work to make something (in my opinion) easier to use!

I've never really got into setting up playlists; I have various folders containing different types of music and just select them when I want to play them. There are probably better ways of doing this but it suits me!
I don't have anything on my computer that I don't want to listen to, the pre-selection has already been done.

 

[StevieB]

I've never really got into setting up playlists; I have various folders containing different types of music and just select them when I want to play them. There are probably better ways of doing this but it suits me!
I don't have anything on my computer that I don't want to listen to, the pre-selection has already been done.

But thats exactly how I have my nano set up. I have a playlist (another name for a folder really) for the gym with loud music for running to, a playlist called quiet with classical music in it and a third called middle for all the other stuff. I just select the folder I want, then the track I want to start with. I dont need to set the order at all, it just runs through the list like a CD player would.

Sure, if you want to get creative you can and set the track order or repeat or random or whatever, but you dont have to at all. Although I have not tried any other mp3 players other than a tiny freebie that came with my PC as far as I am aware from researching before getting my ipod, they are all pretty much the same in terms of what they do. Apple has the cachet value, a display screen and the 'innovative' wheel selector but underneath its just a music player. The major benefits of them are the ability to store so many tracks on one small device, and digital playback so there is no skipping if you run with it in the gym etc. They are fairly common these days, do you know anyone who would let you look theirs over to get a feel for how it works in terms of its PC interface?

Steve.

 

[Terry Smart]

Hi Steve

Thanks for the extra info. Strangely, I don't know anyone who has one that I could have a play with, or at least I don't think I know anyone with one, it's not something I've brought up in conversation. I didn't realise how 'complicated' this all was!
Oh for the simple days again!

Thanks again to everyone above for their input.

 

[Michael7]

Terry, if you like the idea of controlling by drag and drop and like the mp3 player to show the same folder structure as your music folder on the PC then have a look at this site.
http://www.rockbox.org/
It has a complete firmware write for the mp3 players listed and does no harm to the mp3player. I have two players using this and it is great.

 

[Terry Smart]

Thanks for the link Eric, I will study it at leisure later.

 

[Losos]

That's how I use my current (limited) mp3 player and I'm probably just too stubborn to be told I have to do things differently just because someone thinks I should!

Have to agree with you there Terry What the heck happened with the concept of 'upward compatibility' :?:

In a previous life I spent many hours / days/ years even trying to ensure that our new products would work with products we had made in previous years. Norw the thinking seems to be "Oh we've got all these gullible new customers who'll keep us profitable for years to come so why should we bother with the existing customers..............they can go to hell" :x

 

[Vormulac]

I believe the Shuffle can only play randomly selections of music (thus the name), I don't have one, but a couple of my mates do and this is what they tell me. However, a couple of mates have recently bought the Samsung YP-K3 mp3 player which is basically the ipod nano without the itunes faff, cheaper too. They say they are excellent and you just plug them into your pc and drag and drop files.

 

[Terry Smart]

Thanks as ever gents, loads to think about! I hadn't realised it was so complicated!

I'm looking at all comments and reading up on them, thanks again!

 

[tnimble]

Have to agree with you there Terry What the heck happened with the concept of 'upward compatibility' :?:

In a previous life I spent many hours / days/ years even trying to ensure that our new products would work with products we had made in previous years. Norw the thinking seems to be "Oh we've got all these gullible new customers who'll keep us profitable for years to come so why should we bother with the existing customers..............they can go to hell" :x

Seems that it has nothing to do with not spending time to stay upward compatibility. It has much more to do that instead of just have a device that can connect through the 'normal' channels (aka emulate an external hardisk) and there fore evenly not needing any driver at all, the manufacturer must write huge and overly cluttered software (read iTunes in this case) to manage every task thinkable the user would want to do in the way the company does think your should do it. :?

Plug in a device, have your PC think its a harddisk so you can drag and drop your stuff back and forth is waaaaaaaay to complex for the user.

Instead a user should be guided since the only thing s/he capable of thinking "I want to hear a song, please help me becouse I'm only capable of remembering how to hit play" So the company spends weeks, months and even years to write the software to manage the life of the user.


Mind you I'm also looking for a device to listen to files I have, but I'm not spending huge amounts of cash on a iPod I can;t even get the files to because apple made iTunes about completely unaccessible for me to use and doesn't even support connecting the iPod because that are incapable of writing normal compatible software.

Going to look at the Samsung now

 

[RogerS]

.... huge and overly cluttered software .....

Isn't this just the nature of the beast? I seem to remember that MS Word started off as a very straightforward word processing program that fulfilled the needs of 99% of the customer base. But then, as competitive products entered the market, in an attempt to maintain/grow market share, the Word developers added more and more 'features'....none of which the majority of users actually use or want.

Bloatware has become the norm.