Secrets of the iPod and iTunes (Fifth Edition) [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Miscellanea

And then there are the iPod accessories that defy categorization.If you've done the rest, try these accessories on for size.

Belkin Voice Recorder and Universal Microphone Adapter

This $60 microphone/speaker (Figure 9.23) from Belkin allows you to record hundreds of hours of audio on your third- or fourth-generation iPod or iPod Photo (iPod Software 2.1 Updater or later required). The iPod supports recording voice memos as mono, 16-bit audio, 8 kHz .wav files.

As I said earlier in the book, audio at this resolution is hardly pristine.8 kHz is termed voice-quality because although it's perfectly fine for recording lectures or meetings, it's not the kind of device you'll want to use to bootleg the next concert you attend. And even if the iPod didn't limit your iPod to recording such lo-fi files, the microphone built into this device doesn't handle the low and high ends of the audio spectrum. It offers a frequency response of 500 Hz to 12 kHz. Compare this with the 20 Hz-to-20 kHz range provided by your typical home stereo, and you get the idea.

The $39 Universal Microphone Adapter allows you to plug the microphone of your choosing (as long as it can connect to the device's miniplug input jack) into your iPod.

iTalk

Griffin's $40 iTalk voice recorder does everything the Belkin Voice Recorder doesand more. The iTalk features a more robust speaker than the one on the Belkin recorder, producing louder, brighter sound than the Belkin device does. The iTalk also includes a pass-through miniplug jack that allows you to plug in your headphones while the iTalk is attached. You're also welcome to plug a microphone into this jack.

Neither the iTalk nor Belkin's Voice Recorder currently works with the iPod mini, as the mini's software doesn't support this feature.

Recording voice memos

To begin recording, plug the Voice Recorder, Universal Microphone Adapter, or iTalk into your iPod; select Record on the Voice Memo screen that appears; and press the Select button. The screen immediately displays two commands: Pause, and Stop and Save. After a delay of a couple of seconds, you'll see the word Recording flashing on the screen. As you might assume, your iPod is now recording.

Should you wish to take a moment to collect your thoughts without recording yourself muttering, "Um…er…well, dang, what was I gonna say?", press Select to pause your recording. When you're finished recording for good and all, use the Scroll wheel to select Stop and Save; then press Select. The iPod saves your recording. You can access the file from the Voice Memos screen, where it's labeled by date and time of recording (4/5 2:12 PM, for example).

iPod playback

To locate your voice memos, select Extras in the Main screen and then Voice Memos in the Extras screen. To play a voice memo, select the memo in the Voice Memos screen and then press Select. In the next screen (titled with the day and time of the recording), select Play and then press Select. The iPod's standard Now Playing screen appears, and your memo begins playing.

And yes, because this is just any old recording as far as your iPod is concerned, you can navigate through it just as you can any other audio file on your iPod. Not only that, but you can also assign a rating to the thing, if you like.

If the Voice Recorder is attached to your iPod, the recording plays through its built-in speaker. Otherwise, the iPod plays the memo through whatever device (headphones or speakers) you've plugged into the iPod's Headphone jack.

Should you care to delete your memo, just return to the memo screen and select Delete. In the resulting Delete Memo screen, select Delete Memo and then press Select. The memo is deleted, and you return to the Voice Memos screen, where you can choose to record a new memo or listen to another memo you have stored on your iPod.

Transferring memos

iTunes is on the job when it comes to transferring memos. When your iPod contains new memos, and you plug it into your Mac or PC equipped with iTunes, the memos are copied into iTunesif you've configured the iPod to be updated automatically. If you've configured the iPod for manual updating and plug an iPod into your computer, iTunes pops up a message that reads: "The iPod youriPodname contains new voice memos. Would you like to copy these voice memos to your Music Library?" Click Yes or No as the mood strikes.

When you move voice memos to your computer, either automatically or manually, iTunes creates a new Voice Memos playlist that contains all the memos you've transferred to iTunes. After each transfer, you'll discover that your voice memos have disappeared from the iPod's Voice Memos screen.Don't fretthey're not gone. iTunes and the iPod have simply moved them to the Voice Memos playlist at the bottom of the iPod's Playlist screen. Should you want to copy voice memos to your computer without going through iTunes, you'll find them stored in the Recordings folder on your iPod.

Media Reader for iPod and Digital Camera Link for iPod w/ Dock Connector

Belkin and Apple put their heads together for these as wella $100 device (Figure 9.24) that allows you to download photos and movies from removable media, and a similar $80 device that connects directly to your digital camera via its USB connector. The Media Reader for iPod supports CompactFlash (Type 1 and 2), SmartMedia, Secure Digital (SD), Memory Stick, and MultiMedia Card (MMC) media. The device works with third- and fourth-generation iPods or iPod Photos running iPod Software 2.1 Updater or later. (The Media Reader isn't supported by the iPod mini.) The Media Reader for iPod is powered by four AAA batteries and plugs into the data/power port on the bottom of the iPod.

chapter 3, it warrants repeating here: The iPod Photo won't display pictures that you've imported with one of these readers. Before your iPod can display these pictures, they must be transferred to your computer, converted to a form acceptable to the iPod by iTunes, and then transferred to the iPod via iTunes.

Importing pictures and movies

When you plug the Media Reader or Digital Camera Link into the iPod, the iPod displays the Import screen. If there's no media plugged into the device or camera, the iPod displays a message that tells you so: "No card inserted."

When you insert a hunk of media, the screen changes to read something like this:

Type: Media card
Photos: 41
Free: 81.8 MB of 91.4 MB

At the bottom of the screen, you'll see the Import and Cancel commands. If you press the Import button, the iPod shifts to the Importing screen, begins pulling data from the media card, and places that data on the iPod.

As the data transfers, the LED on the top of the Media Reader blinks, and the iPod's Importing screen displays the Stop and Save or Cancel command. If you click Stop and Save, the pictures and movies already copied to your iPod will be saved. Cancel does just that.

The Media Reader works wonderfully with media 128 MB and smaller. Transfer rates for larger media256 MB and moreare painfully slow.

When the transfer is complete, you'll see the Done and Erase Card commands. Clicking Done takes you back to the Import screen, where your photos are labeled as rolls, along with the number of pictures each roll containsRoll #1 (41) and Roll #2 (165), for example. Erase Card performs that very action.

When you select a roll and press the Select button, you go to the Roll screen, where you'll see the date the roll was saved, the number of photos it contains, and the size of the roll. From this screen, you can delete the roll or select Cancel to move to the Photos screen.

Downloading pictures to a Macintosh

When you plug an iPod that contains photos into a Mac and fire up iPhoto, iPhoto switches to the Import screen and recognizes the iPod as a device that contains pictures. Click the Import button, and the pictures on the iPod are downloaded to your Mac and into iPhoto. When you dump photos into your Mac, the photos aren't shifted from their original locations on the iPod (unlike voice memos). If you want to access these rolls againto delete them, for examplejust select Extras in the Main iPod screen, Photo Import in the Extras screen, and then a particular roll in the Photos screen.

Speaking of deleting rolls, a nifty way to do this in one shot is to select the Erase Camera Contents After Transfer option in the Import portion of the iPhoto window. When you enable this option, every time you download photos to your Mac, they'll be automatically deleted from the iPod.

Downloading pictures to a PC

At the risk of disappointing those of you who use your iPods with Windows, I have to report that because there is no iPhoto for Windows, you can't move the photos from your iPods to your PC quite as elegantly as Mac users can. However, Mike Matheson's iPodSync (a utility I discuss in some depth in chapter 7), can copy pictures and voice memos from the iPod and place them wherever you like on your PC.

You can also copy pictures to your PC manually by following these simple steps:

1. Mount your iPod, and when iTunes opens, click the iPod in the Source list.

2. Click the iPod icon in the bottom-right corner to open the iPod Preferences window.

3. Check the Enable Disk Use check box.

This option allows you to view the iPod's hard drive from the My Computer window.

4. Open the My Computer window and then double-click the icon that represents your iPod.

5. Open the DCIM folder you find within; then open one of the picture folders inside that DCIM folder.

The name of the picture folder on your iPod (or folders, if you've downloaded more than one roll to your iPod or if your media card contained pictures from multiple cameras) depends on the kind of camera you used the card with. My Nikon camera, for example, produces folders named 100APPLE, 101APPLE, and so on. A Canon camera may produce a folder called CANONMSC. Regardless of what the folder is called, this is where your pictures are stored. In Windows XP you should see your photos as thumbnails in the picture folder (whatever it may be called). If you don't, choose Thumbnails from the window's View menu.

6. Select the files that you'd like to transfer to your PC, and choose the Copy the Selected Items command from the File and Folder Tasks portion of the window.

7. In the resulting Copy Items window, choose a destination on your hard drive for the photos, and click Copy.

The photos are copied to the destination you specified.

Alternatively, you can select the files, right-click, choose Send To from the resulting contextual menu, and copy the files to one of the destinations in this Send To submenu. Or you can choose the Open With command from the contextual menu and open the files in the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer program, Paint, or another graphics application of your choosing.

To delete the photos from your Windows iPod, simply drag the picture folder(s) to the Recycle Bin.

Movies from the Media Reader?

Eagle-eyed readers noticed my claim that movies can also be pulled from a camera's media card, placed on a third- or fourth-generation iPod, and then transferred to your computer. Before you get all het up with the idea that the iPod can import movies from a camcorder, let me explain that I'm talking about the short .avi movies recorded by digital cameras such as Canon's PowerShot models. These movies are stored on the camera's media card and transferred, along with the camera's still pictures, to the iPod via the Media Reader. From there, you can transfer these movies to your computer for playback. But there's a trick to it.

Regrettably, the trick for Windows users is to move them manually. Follow the same instructions I issued for copying pictures from the iPod to Windows.

You can transfer them automatically if you're using a Macintosh, however. The means for doing so is an application other than iPhoto, which recognizes only still-photo files. That application is Apple's Image Capture. Here's how it works:

1. Connect your iPod to your Mac, and ensure that it's configured to mount in FireWire Disk Mode (an option in the iPod Preferences window).

2. Launch Image Capture.

An iPod window opens.

3. Click the Download All button.

All your still pictures are copied to the Pictures folder inside your user folder, and the movies are copied to your Movies folder. When the copy operation is complete, these folders open in the Finder so that you can access the new items within.

Alternatively, you can click the Download Some button and, in the resulting window, choose just the items you want to download to your Mac.

4. Double-click the movie file to open it in QuickTime Player.

Before leaving Image Capture, be sure to check out the options in the Automatic Tasks pull-down menu. After downloading your pictures, Jaguar's version of Image Capture can turn the pictures into a slide show or open them in Preview. In addition to performing both these tricks, the Panther version of Image Capture can build a Web page from your pictures, as well as crop them. Too cool!

iPod Remote

If you have a 10 or 20 GB second-generation iPod or an original 15, 20, 30, or 40 GB third-generation iPod (not the $299 15 GB third-generation iPod), you already have Apple's iPod Remote (Figure 9.25)the company's wired remote control. If you have a 5 GB iPod, an earlier iPod model, the $299 third-generation 15 GB iPod, the iPod mini, a fourth-generation iPod, or an iPod Photo, the $39 iPod Remote is worth considering. It allows you to access the iPod's play controls without removing the device from a case or pocket. Very handy. The iPod Remote includes a set of Apple's earbuds.

Apple changed the design of the iPod Remote with the third-generation iPods. The new remote won't work with old iPods; neither will the old remote work with current iPods.

The iPod Remote works only with music; its Forward and Back buttons have no effect on an iPod Photo's slideshows. To move through a slideshow you must use the iPod Photo's click wheel.

iPod Dock/iPod mini Dock

If you have a 15 GB third-generation iPod, an iPod mini, or a 20 GB fourth-generation iPod, and you routinely plant it next to your computer or home stereo, the $39 Dock is for you. (I describe the Dock at length in Chapter 1.) Even if you already have a Dock, getting an extra one is worthwhile if you often plug your iPod into your home stereo.

If you already have a Dock and have purchased an iPod mini, there's no need to purchase a mini Dock also. The original Dock will work perfectly well with the mini, though those who are finicky about aesthetics may be displeased by the empty space on either side of the mini as it sits in the Dock.

NaviPod Wireless Remote

TEN Technology's ([www.tentechnology.com]) $50 NaviPod is perfect for the iPodding couch potato whose iPod is tethered to a home entertainment system. Just plug the NaviPod into the data/power port on the iPod, and you can control such functions as Play/Pause, Next Track, Previous Track, Volume Up, and Volume Down with the included wireless remote control (Figure 9.26).

The NaviPod comes in two models: one for first- and second-generation iPods, and the other for the new models. The NaviPod for third- and fourth-generation iPods and the iPod Photo also works with the iPod mini but, like Griffin Technology's iTrip, it extends off to one side due to the petite nature of the mini and the placement of its headphone and remote ports.

Like Apple's Remote Control, the NaviPod won't control the slideshows on an iPod Photo, though it controls the music functions perfectly well.

Altec Lansing inMotion Speakers

If you doubt the inspirational power of the iPod, you no longer will once you set eyes on Altec Lansing's ([www.alteclansing.com]) series of inMotion portable speakers. The $180 inMotion iM3 (Figure 9.27), $130 inMotion iMmini, and original $150 inMotion speakers are works of art. The original inMotion and iM3 speakers are about the size of a quality paperback book and serve as both a dock for your third- or fourth-generation iPod and as perfectly reasonable-sounding-given-their-size powered stereo speakers. (As we go to press, the iPod Photo doesn't fit in the dock slot of these speakers.)

The design of the original inMotion speakers gives you a notion of how these things work. To start, you flip the speaker unit up and over the top of the unit and then place your third- or fourth-generation iPod between the two speakers, connecting its data/power port to the connector on the speaker base. (If you own these speakers and have adopted an iPod mini, Altec-Lansing will send you an adapter that allows the mini to work with the speakers.) Turn on the inMotion's power switch, and start playing your iPod. The music on your iPod plays through the speakers.

The iPod's volume control has no effect on the inMotion's speakers when the iPod is connected to it. Instead, you control the speakers' volume with the up and down volume buttons on the front of the unit. You can, however, attach headphones to the iPod's Headphone jack and control the headphone volume via the iPod's volume control. The inMotion bears a headphone jack of its own. Plugging headphones into this port turns off the speakers.

The inMotion also carries an auxiliary input jack on the back of the unit, allowing you to play another device through the inMotion speakersyour laptop or a first- or second-generation iPod, for example. To accommodate these earlier iPods, the inMotion includes a cover for its iPod connector, allowing you to rest an older iPod between the speakers. A short stereo cable is included to make the connection between the older iPod's Headphone jack and the inMotion's auxiliary jack.

The inMotion also carries Apple's data/power connector on the back. When you string Apple's cable between this jack and your computer and then connect the inMotion to the iPod, the iPod behaves much as it would if you attached the iPod to Apple's Dock. It mounts on your computer, and you can't play audio through the inMotion speakers. When you unmount the iPod from your computer, the speakers work with the iPod.

The inMotion runs on either AC power (an adapter is included) or four AA batteries. When the inMotion is running on AC power or plugged into a computer's powered FireWire port, you can charge a dock-connector iPod by placing it in the inMotion's dock. The iPod won't charge if the inMotion is running on battery power.

JBL On Stage

Resembling nothing so much as a 1950s flying saucer, JBL's ([www.jbl.com]) $200 On Stage portable speaker carries four small speakers, includes a dock-connector slot, and is powered by the included AC adapter (Figure 9.28). Like the inMotion speakers, it features an auxiliary input port so you can use it with a first- or second-generation iPod (by stringing an audio cable between the iPod's headphone port and the On Stage's audio input port). As I write this, it's possible to fit an iPod Photo into the On Stage but that fit is pretty tight. Frankly, if you want to use your iPod Photo with the On Stage, see if JBL has reengineered it to accommodate Apple's most colorful iPod.

Bose SoundDock

Yet another hint that the iPod inspires creative design is Bose's ([www.bose.com]) SoundDock. This $300 system places the iPod in a dock slot with a full-face metal grill behind (Figure 9.29). This grill hides two speakers a bit larger than what you find in the inMotion and On Stage. These larger speakers allow the SoundDock to deliver a richer bass than these other portable systems. Regrettably, it doesn't include a pass-through dock connector that allows you to connect the iPod to your computer while it's sitting in the SoundDock. Also, unlike the inMotion and On Stage speakers, there's no auxiliary audio input jack, so you can't attach a different audio device to the unit. That said, the SoundDock, though more expensive than the competition, delivers better sound. It also includes a credit-card-sized remote control that lets you play, pause, skip forward or back, adjust the volume, and turn the iPod on or off. Though it was made prior to the release of the iPod Photo, the SoundDock can accommodate an iPod Photo, using the included fourth-generation iPod adapter (but it's a tight fit).

Tivoli Audio iPAL

Purists will fight over this one. Tivoli Audio's ([www.tivoliaudio.com]) $130 iPAL is a great-sounding monophonic AM/FM radio that happens to include an audio input port that you can use to connect the iPAL to your iPod's headphone port. Those aforementioned purists will scoff at the idea of using a stereo iPod with a device that broadcasts in mono. Yet these same folks will reluctantly admit that to get the best listening experience from a stereo system, you must plant your ears equidistant from the left and right speakersthis triangulation scheme provides optimal separation between the two stereo speakers. Essentially, this means placing your nose on the front of the inMotion and On Stage speakers.

Mono though it may be, the iPAL sounds great.

FMXtra

A feature lacking on the iPod that's included on a couple of lesser digital music players is an FM tuner. Digisette ([www.digisette.com]) offers a way to incorporate such a tuner into your personal listening experience with its $25 FMXtra (Figure 9.30). This radio-on-a-lanyard sports a pendant that looks a bit like a slightly garish bolo tie. The pendant is actually an FM tuner that features two buttons for auto-scanning up and down the FM band, a set of earbuds attached to the lanyard, and a pass-thru stereo miniplug that you can plug into your iPod.

When you want to listen to the radio, switch on the FMXtra and, if it's connected to the FMXtra, turn off your iPod. Press either of the two scan buttons. When the device encounters a station with a signal strong enough to be listenable, it stops at that station. The FMXtra offers a two-stage volume controlloud and louder (yes, I wish there were one setting a bit quieter than loud).

Groove Bag Triplet and Tote Speaker Purses

I'm aware that a fair number of iPod owners buy the device not only because it's the finest portable music player on the planet, but also because it's fashionable to own one. If you're seeking the almost- ultimate fashion accessory for your iPod (see the next item for the ultimate accessory), check out the Groove Bag Triplet (Figure 9.31) and Groove Bag Tote Speaker purses, sold by Dr. Bott at [www.drbott.com]. That's rightthese $145 white synthetic-leather purses double as boom boxes, including two speakers and a clear plastic compartment for your iPod. Compatible with all iPods, the Groove Bag Triplet and Tote Speaker purses make a statement.

PowerMate

Griffin Technology's $40 programmable USB audio and media controller, PowerMate (Figure 9.32), isn't exactly an iPod accessory, in the sense that you can't attach it directly to the iPod. You can, however, attach this jog-wheel controller to your Mac and use it to adjust your iPod's volume within iTunes.

Just attach the PowerMate to a free USB port, install the driver, and restart your Mac. Upon restart, launch iTunes; click your iPod in the Source list; open the iPod Preferences window; and select the Manually Manage Songs and Playlists option, which allows you to play your iPod through your Mac's speakers.

Then press down on the PowerMate to start playback, and turn the wheel up or down to adjust volume. Bonus: The PowerMate will perform these iTunes chores even when iTunes is not the active application.

AirPort Express

Apple helped put wireless networking on the map way back in The Day with its AirPort Base Station and AirPort wireless cardstwo devices, uncommon in their day, that allow you to connect computers to each other (and to the Internet) without the benefit of wires. In the summer of 2004, Apple released the smaller second cousin to these devices: the $129 AirPort Express Base Station (Figure 9.33).

There are surely some of you who will be elated to learn that the AirPort Express is a smallish 802.11g wireless hub that plugs into a power socket and offers wireless printing to compatible USB printers and an Ethernet port for attaching a broadband modem. But given the subject matter of this book, you're more interested in the fact that with the help of the AirPort Express, you can stream music wirelessly from one end of your abode to another. It works this way:

1. Plug the AirPort Express into an electrical socket near a stereo receiver somewhere within 150 feet of a computer that bears a compatible wireless networking card.

Obviously, Apple's AirPort Extreme cards are going to be the most compatible cards for this purpose.

2. String an appropriate adapter cable (likely one with a stereo miniplug on one end and two RCA connectors on the other) between the AirPort Express' audio out port and an auxiliary input port on your receiver.

3. Run the AirPort Express Setup Assistant, and somewhere along the way, you'll be asked if you'd like to stream your music. Of course you do, so you respond in the affirmative.

4. Once you've run through the Setup Assistant, fire up iTunes 4.6 or later on the computer that contains the wireless card.

Shimmy with delight when you gaze down at the bottom of the iTunes window and spy a pop-up menu you've never seen before (Figure 9.34).

5. From this AirTunes pop-up menu, select the wireless network you've created with the AirPort Express Setup Assistant.

The selected song is converted to the Apple Lossless Codec format, encrypted, and streamed wirelessly to the AirPort Express and the audio device attached to it. Although this may sound like a complicated process (and it is), it doesn't take long. There are a few seconds' delay to start the first tune, and from them on, the music plays back without interruption (because the device caches music as it can).

The Personalized iPod

What could personalize your personal music player more than having your name and favorite quote etched across the shiny back of your iPod or aluminized rear of your iPod mini (Figure 9.35)? As we go to press, Apple offers engraving for free when you purchase your iPod from the online Apple Store. This offer may end by the time you read thischeck the Apple Store ([http://store.apple.com]) for details. Although I can't predict prices, I can tell you that whatever the cost, Apple will engrave the back of an original iPod with two lines of text, comprised of 27 characters per line (and yes, spaces and punctuation count as characters). If you wish to engrave your iPod mini, you're allowed 23 characters per line.

Should you already own an iPod and desire this kind of personalization, try taking your iPod to a local jewelry store. For the right price, a jeweler should be able to do the job for you.