iPod Tips


Here are some tips for getting more out of your iPod and appreciating its finer points.

Not So Loud!

Do you love music? Then turn it down. At the risk of sounding like a nagging parent, I'm telling you that you shouldn't listen to music at high volume levels, especially when you're wearing headphones or earbuds. Your brain can acclimate to loud volume levels, but your ears can'tthey'll be damaged.

When you're wearing headphones or earbuds, set the iPod's volume so that it's just loud enough. When you start playing back a tune, you should be thinking to yourself, "I wish that was a just a little bit louder."

Pay attention, kids. In a couple of decades, a lot of iPod users are going to be cupping their ears and saying, "Pardon me?" Don't be one of them. Just remember: your hearing is the only sense you can damage with too much of a good thing.

Apple has released a software update that enables you to specify a maximum volume for the fifth-generation iPod and iPod nano. For details and more background on the importance of safe listening, see www.apple.com/sound.

Scrubbing within a Song

You can quickly move around, or scrub, within a song while it plays. Press the Select button, and the elapsed-time gauge on the iPod's screen is replaced with a little diamondjust like the one iTunes displays during playback. Using the scroll wheel, move the diamond left and right to scrub within the song. You can zip around within podcasts and videos using the same technique.

Extending Battery Life

To get the longest playing time, turn off the screen's backlighting, avoid jumping between songs frequently (the hard drive is one of the iPod's biggest power consumers), and use the Settings menu to turn off the iPod's equalizer. And remember, you can play songs when the iPod is plugged in. If you put the iPod in manual-updating mode or use one of the iPod utilities discussed here, you can even play songs while the iPod is connected to (and charging from) the Mac.

When the Music Dies

The iPod's battery doesn't last forever, and many iPod users were incensed when their batteries began dying and Apple seemed to turn a deaf ear.

The good news is, Apple has launched a $59 iPod battery-replacement program. Some companies also sell replacement batteries that you can install yourselfif you dare to crack open the iPod's case and venture inside. One source is www.ipodbattery.com.

For details on replacement batteries and on iPod batteries in general, see www.ipodbatteryfaq.com.

Accessing Your Music Directly

Apple built a simple anti-piracy system into the iPod: its music files are stored in an invisible folder on the iPod's hard drive. Thus, you can't use the Finder to copy music files from the iPod to your hard drive. Music transfer is a one-way street: from the Mac to the iPod.

However, several free or inexpensive utilities let you directly access the music files on an iPod. This can be a great way to restore your music library should something happen to the copy on your Mac.

I'm fond of Findley Designs' iPod Access, which lets you access and play music on an iPod as well as copy it to your Mac's hard drive. Another popular iPod utility is CrispSofties' iPod.iTunes. You can find these and other iPod utilities at software download sites.

Manual Management

If you use the iPod Preferences dialog box to specify manual updating, you can manage the iPod's contents by hand using iTunes. (The iPod shuffle is always in manual-update mode.)

To delete songs from the iPod, be sure that the iPod is selected in the Source list, then select the songs and press the Delete key. To copy songs and playlists to the iPod, drag them from the iTunes library to the iPod's name in the Source list.

Get links to essential iPod utilities and more. www.macilife.com/itunes


When you have the iPod set up for manual updating, you can use iTunes to create playlists that exist only on the iPod. In the Source area of the iTunes window, select the iPod and then create the new playlist.

When manual updating is active, you must manually unmount the iPod when you're done with it. You can do this in iTunes (select the iPod in the Source list and then click the Eject button) or by using the Finder (drag the iPod's icon to the Trash or select it and press -E).

If you ever decide to switch back to iTunes' automatic updating mode, iTunes will replace the iPod's contents with the current music library and playlists.

Playing While Charging

When the iPod is connected to the Mac, its menus aren't available, preventing you from playing music located on the iPod. One way to work around this is to put the iPod in manual-updating mode, as described previously. You can then play tunes on the iPod by using iTunes. The other technique is to use a direct-access utility, such as iPod Access.

Library Too Big?

The time may come when your music library is larger than will fit on your full-sized iPod, iPod mini, or iPod nano. One solution is to use the iPod Preferences dialog box to switch into manual-management mode.

There's also an automatic alternative. iTunes can create a playlist containing only songs that will fit on your iPod. This playlist is called the iPod Selection playlist, and iTunes will offer to create it for you if it determines that your library won't fit on your iPod.

The iPod Selection playlist uses a five-step process to determine which songs will be copied to your iPod.

Step 1.

iTunes groups all tracks into albums.

Step 2.

iTunes calculates an average play count and average user rating for each album.

Step 3.

iTunes begins filling the iPod with albums that have non-zero average play counts and non-zero ratings, in descending order. In other words, albums with higher play counts and higher ratings get higher priority.

Step 4.

If Step 3 completes and there's still some free space, iTunes starts copying albums that were recently played or recently added to your library.

Step 5.

If there's still some free space after Step 4 completes, iTunes adds random albums until the iPod is filled to the gills and loosening its belt.

If there's a lesson here, it's this: rate your music. Ratings clearly play an important role in the iPod Selection playlist, so if you rate your songs, you'll stand a better chance of shoehorning your favorites into your iPod.

Of course, in the end, there's no substitute for your own smarts: you can probably do a better job of budgeting iPod disk space by manually managing your iPod's library.

Audiobook Speed Control

You love listening to audiobooks, but sometimes you wish the narrator spoke a bit faster or slower. With most recent iPods, you can get your wish. Go to Settings > Audiobooks, and then choose Slower or Faster.

The iPod adjusts its playback speed without changing the pitch (a trick it may have learned from GarageBand). To restore the normal playback speed, go to Settings > Audiobooks and choose Normal.

Time for the iPod

The iPod's alarm clock feature lets you wake up to music (or to a beep). You can also have the iPod always display the current time in the title bar area at the top of its screen. Choose Settings > Date & Time > Time in Title. Now you'll always know what time it is.

The iPod syncs its clock with your Mac's, and if you use the Network Time option in Mac OS X's Date & Time system preference, your iPod's clock will always be accurate.



The Macintosh iLife '06
The Macintosh iLife 06
ISBN: 0321426541
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 229
Authors: Jim Heid

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