The Littlest iPod: shuffle


iPod shuffle is something completely different. It lacks a display and click wheel. You can navigate to the next and previous song, but you can't skip around within songs or jump to a specific song in a playlist or album. And forget about storing photos, contacts, and calendar information.

But where iPod shuffle shines is in your pocketand pocketbook. This is a truly tiny music playeryou've carried bigger packs of chewing gum. It's also the least expensive iPod, starting at $69.

And true to its name and marketing campaign, iPod shuffle embraces the random world of shuffle discussed on page 76. iTunes has a special Autofill feature that will pack your iPod shuffle with a random selection of tunes. You can, of course, also take the reins yourself and manually copy specific songs, albums, and playlists.

iPod shuffle at a Glance

iPod shuffle debuted in January 2005 in two capacities: 512MB (about 120 songs) and 1GB (about 240 songs). You can connect an iPod shuffle to any USB port that provides sufficient power. For much faster music transfers, use a USB 2.0 port, if your Mac provides one (all current Macs do).

Filling your iPod shuffle

Unless you have a ridiculously small iTunes library, you won't be able to fit all your music into an iPod shuffle. That's where the Autofill feature comes in: it lets you easily corral a collection of songs into your shuffle.

iPod shuffle Tips

Keeping the fill. Like what Autofill has come up with? You can save it as a standard playlist: select any song in the Autofill list, and then choose Select All from the Edit menu ( -A). Finally, choose New Playlist from Selection from the File menu.

Autofill based on playlists. When you simply Autofill your shuffle from your main library, you're likely to end up with a lot of songs you might not have chosen otherwise. When you want more control over Autofill, choose a specific playlist from the Autofill From pop-up menu. Indeed, you might want to create some smart playlists that allow you to Autofill based on genreclassical, jazz, rock, and so onor on other key criteria, such as an artist's or composer's name. (For details on smart playlists, see pages 5053.)

Self-serve fill-up. Autofill is an easy way to sling some songs onto a shuffle, but you might prefer more control over what gets copied. No problemfill your shuffle yourself. You can copy songs directly to the shuffle by simply dragging them from your iTunes library to the iPod shuffle in the Source list. Drag songs one at a time, or use the selection techniques described on page 44. You can also copy an entire playlist by simply dragging it to the shuffle.

Middle ground. You can combine the convenience of Autofill with the control of manual management. If you like most of what Autofill has come up with, just delete the tunes you don't want on your shuffle: be sure that your shuffle is selected in the Source list, then select tunes you don't want on the shuffle and press the Delete key on your keyboard. Then, add some additional tunes if you like.

Or take the opposite approach: start off by manually adding the songs and playlists that you want, and then click Autofill to finish the job.

Take it from the top. When your iPod shuffle is in play-in-order mode, you can jump to the first song in the shuffle's playlist by pressing the Play/Pause button three times.

For more iPod shuffle tips, see page 102.




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

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