Thinking of buying an iPod

[Thunderpants 0]

bought a 60 gb thing the other day...

I'll try to make it short:

unpacked it and was thrilled about the menu system and that wheel,

 

great!

 

I soon discovered that ipod organizes and renames it's files in a way that is impossible to understand.

bad, VERY BAD!

 

except for a few poor clones, the only program that can do this magic disorganizing is itunes

 

My ultimate nightmare came thru: i was more or less stuck with itunes.

itunes is not only poorly designed: handling many files is really messy.

It is also painfully slow, but worst of all it is unstable as hell (pc ver.)

i've had a few crashes in the middle of sync. and that is ugly.

 

 

bought a controller thing for my car stereo so i can control the ipod (i refuse to give my ipod a name ) from my stereo. BAD 1 man yen CHOICE!!

how can you control an ipod with this???

 

I noticed that "next" and "Previous" did NOT get me to next song, it felt more like the lottery (which song am i going to listen to now???)

 

I am working on cutting a few of the wires from the controller in the car, so i can control the ipod from itself, which is impossible as it is now.

 

I am still a very happy man though. When i get that cable trimmed and the ipod holder installed i will have a nice setup.

I am totally thrilled about the podcasts i can get. High quality journalism from dk's national radio, daily and totaly automatic.

 

gotta love the thing

[damian 0]

Hi Thinder,

 

>>I soon discovered that ipod organizes and renames it's files in a way that is impossible to understand.

 

What did it do? Can you give an example. I have not had the iPod rename a file.

[Thunderpants 0]

Hi BPC

When itunes suncronizes with ipod, all files are put into folders named f00 to f49 in

ipod/(hiddenfolder)ipod control/music/

 

all files are renamed to a 4 letter code like XGHY.mp3

 

if i only copy 10 albums (folders) from my pc the files will still be spread into those 50 folders.

 

if i copy 900 albums, the story is the same, files get into these folders.

 

I think this is done to make it more difficult to copy the music from ipod to pc.

 

BPC, you are using a mac, right? guess the formatting is different then.

 

i use a PC with itunes 5 and ipod firmware 1.2

[damian 0]

goodnes, I have never seen that before. In fact, on my iPod I have never even seen a folder (but I know that they exist). I do use a mac, but I doubt that makes a difference.

 

You needn't browse song files via the folder structure at all, just use the normal artist > album > songName structure that feeds of the id tags. Synch of pod and PC doesn't require access to folders either, at least not on Mac. hmmm, I have never heard of this and know a few pretty techy PC iPod users. Had they found this issue then I am SURE they would have mentioned it as it sounds unusable.

[Thunderpants 0]

Go ask your techy friends bpc, they will confirm what i say.

problem is that the connector i use on the car stereo is a cd changer plug. The car stereo then thinkd that the secret little f00-f50 folders on the ipod is seperate cd's in the changer, and then the problems start. When i use ipods own menusystem, everything looks fine and in order.

 

I just wanted to use windows to copy my music to and from my ipod. i wanted to keep it simple. Instead i i am "sentenced" to life with itunes.

 

 

http://www.aplus.co.yu/ipod/ipod-shuffle-file-structure/

 

you can read more here, this explains the problem a little better than i can do.

[damian 0]

If you are talking about issues that arise from the car player thingy, then I can't comment on that at all. If that doesn't inter-play with the hidden iPod folder structure then I suggest you bought the wrong in-car iPod player. As for car stereo cables etc, I don't know one end of a shovel from another but what has that got to do with iTunes?

 

As for iTunes, I have never used it on a PC, but everyone i talk to say that if you have your music correctly tagged and let iTunes automatically manage your music file system (by artist, album and then song list.... just like a standard catalogue) then there are no issues at all. PC users seem to have some difficulty letting the system manage filing of files sight unseen. I don't care where or how my music is stored behind the scenes: it is just a dumb data base that I needn't peer into beyond the iTunes front end. Do you ever look at the email data base or filing system on your computer? Of course you don't. You happily access your mail database, add mail and delete mail all from the front end GUI (most likely Outlook Express). Take the same work-relieving attitude with your music storage and enjoy the freedom from wasting time managing file placement: that kind of menial task is exactly what a computer is designed to do. Why try and do it yourself?

 

If you have properly tagged music and let iTunes manage storage and filing protocol the ipod and iTunes couldn't be more plug and play if you tried (unless you have attempted to get music from another iPod owners computer onto your iPod, then you will have problems as that is theft and Apple put block in place within the iPod firmware).

 

Hang on - I just glanced at that article, for starters it is about the Shuffle, not the 60gb that you bought. Secondly, it speaks to the exact block that I just mentioned. You cant transfer songs from any computer to any iMac, or the other way around. They are not designed to do that. They are designed not to do that, and for the very reason that it is illegal and Apple cant be seen to support illegal music sharing.

 

My confident guess is that all your problems are unique to you and are a s a result of trying to use bodgy third party in-car adapters with the wrong cables for an iPod and also by trying to transfer music via the file system in a way that you are specifically not supposed to attempt. Use the iPod for what it was designed to do and you will be happy.

 

In fact, why dont you go and read teh 4 page user manual that comes with the product.

[veronica 2]

No problems on my PC with any of that. I have all my artists in different folders on my hard disc as well.

 

vPod is now just (im)patiently waiting to get a copy of Playing The Angel inside her.

[damian 0]

ThunderP's! If Veronica can do it without hitch then that proves my point! It is fool proof plug and play.

 

(sorry V)

 

Actually V - that last post of yours finished with a kind of unintended rude sound to it.

[Thunderpants 0]

I think we are talking about different things, and if i am being to much of a nerd or annoying, please just ignore my post.

 

i am perfectly able to copy music to my ipod, only thing that irritates me is that it's not possible to drag and drop files from my computer directly to my ipod.

I need to import my .mp3 files to itunes from where ever they are located on my pc.

From itunes, i then update the ipod.

itunes then renames all the files, copies them to the ipod in those strange folders i talked about before, not the original artist/album structure from my harddisk

Then itunes builds an index file called itunescontrol (not to be confused with the program of the same name)which is stored in my ipods hd's ipod_control/itunes folder. That file is huge (57 mb on my ipod). ipods software uses this file to navigate the music (not sure how this file works).

 

This is apples way of making it very difficult to copy the music back to the pc from the ipod, which makes illegal copying. It is also a way to prevent other mp3 managment programs to work with ipod.

If anyone knows of some good programs for pc i would be love to know. i already tried anapod and xplay, i think anapod may be a good program, but it costs...

 

I know some of you ipod users are quite sensitive about your babies but this is only a minor annoyance for me, i am still a very happy man, got the setup in the car finished today, it works great and sounds wonderful.

[xxx 2]

...and hows the leg thunderpants...?

[Thunderpants 0]

leg is ok, lost some movement in the angle though

Thanks for asking

(TP is bowing)

[Thunderpants 0]

But back to itunes and ipod.

 

ipod is a great toy. the podcasts is a big thing for me. itunes and ipod let me save the playback position. Great when i listen to audiobooks and podcasts. not everything about itunes is bad

[damian 0]

Ok, I get it now.

 

I think that the best way to get the most from your thunderPod is to tag up all your music with a minimum of artist, album and song and then import it to iTunes. Then let iTunes do its thing.

 

Glad the leg is better. Are you and Lady Thunder still leaving Japan?

[amandanism 0]

just got off the phone with an extremely helpful apple chap.

im sending my aPOD in for repair.

 

anyone know if applecare is worth the cash? its going to cost me 40 dollars just to ship the thing, so it probably isnt a bad idea just to pay an extra 40 and get the applecare.

[indosnm 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by manda:
[QB] just got off the phone with an extremely helpful apple chap.
im sending my aPOD in for repair.

helpful? Sure it was Apple?

[torihada 2]

 Quote:

Originally posted by scouser:
That sucks torihada. Were you giving it some heavy usage before it conked out??

Scouser; re my crappy battery on my ipod;

Not really. It appears to be working better now...except it occasionaly shuts down when you change tracks. I have heard that if you let the battery run flat it can prove difficult to recharge. Which I did.I am now treating it very tenderly, and charging it before it gets too low.

I have a PC and don't mind itunes too much. Except I had to de-install itunes as there was a software/hardware conflict with the new version and re-installed the old version.

I have to recommend one piece of kit I bought for my ipod; the xtreme airplay;
http://www.xtrememac.com/adapters/airplay.shtml
this was a very cheap way of listening to my ipod thru' my car stereo. It's small and you can scroll through the FM stations via the little buttons on the unit. You don't need to put any software on your ipod. Sound quality isn't fantastic, but then again I'd previously been listening to cassettes on a 12 year old nissan factory fitted radio, with a shagged out left channel, so anything was an improvement. Also my kids can now listen to Japanese nursery rhymes in the car......what have I done?

[Ocean11 0]

> but then again I'd previously been listening to cassettes on a 12 year old nissan factory fitted radio, with a shagged out left channel

 

Great sound on those things eh? Especially if the tape was made from a vinyl disk (slightly scratched) from the public lending library.

[Thunderpants 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by British Potato Council:
Are you and Lady Thunder still leaving Japan?

Long story BPC, we are leaving Japan yes, but i have some immigration probs, and it looks like i have to wait 2 years to leave this country if i ever want to return. (those 93 days if you remember)

[Thunderpants 0]

my ipod has already been getting a frw scratches.

did a quick search on the web, and found out that a lot of people scratches them too. You can buy "ipod polish" or covers at ridiculous prices.

 

I just wrapped mine up in one layer of vinyl wrapping, the kind you use in the kitchen. It doesn't look too bad, and the clickwheel is fully funcional.

[damian 0]

So in a way, you are still imprisoned! It cant be that bad. There are places

in Japan where I would gladly spend a year with my Japanese friend. In a way you are being forced to take advantage of what the country has to offer. Just don't go to a big city!!! Go spend 2 years living in the mountains with your wife eating soba with fern shoots. You will miss it when it is gone.

 

As for the scratches on your thunderPod: I have always used the black case that shipped with the machine. I once did a stupid thing and bought a floppy soft rubber case. It was functionally crap for a variety of reasons and it now sis forgotten in some shoe box. I was always surprised at people who used theirPod without a case.

[egglesby 1]

You don't get that nice black case with newer ipods - comes completely naked so you have to go out and buy something if you want to protect your pod.

[veronica 2]

 Quote:

Actually V - that last post of yours finished with a kind of unintended rude sound to it.

Oops. She is very impatient about it though....

[scouser 4]

Some Nano users not too chuffed with their scratches....

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4286294.stm

[cal 6]

And:

 

Following public reports of iPod nano screen flaws, Apple has responded to the complaints and concerns, confirming that the breakage is due to a very small batch of the devices that use defective screens.

 

“This is a real but minor issue involving a vendor quality problem in a small number of units,” Apple said in a statement, referring to the reports of seemingly unprovoked nano screen breakage. “Our figures show this issue has affected less than 1/10 of 1 percent of the total iPod nano units that we’ve shipped. It is not a design issue.” The company said affected customers should contact Apple to arrange for a free replacement unit.

 

Apple also addressed complaints that the nano screen gets scratched too easily, noting that it uses the same surface as that found on 4G iPods. “A few vocal customers say the nano is susceptible to scratches. We do not believe this is a real issue,” the company said in the statement. “We make the screens using the same material as we use in the 4G iPod. We suggest concerned customers use one of the iPod nano cases that are coming to market to protect the music player.”

[sakebomb 0]

 Quote:

We suggest concerned customers use one of the iPod nano cases that are coming to market to protect the music player

I suggest that you make a product that doesn't need fixing from day 1.(Even if it is "just a few")