Tag: ipod

Friday Link News Chum Stew: Politics, Resumes, Meters, Runways, Bananas, iPod Connectors, DirecTV

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Well, it’s Friday at lunch, and that means it is time to clean out the accumulated links that never quite formed into a theme:

  • And The Plan Is… Let’s get some politics out of the way first. One of my big problems with the GOP of late is that their position seems to be solely what they are against, not what they are for. The LA Times captures this well in an article that discusses how the GOP focus regarding “Obamacare” is the repeal, and they have taken no actions — even actions they  promised — towards finding a better solution. This was evidenced this week with the 33rd vote in the house to repeal the act, with knowledge aforethought that it would never pass the senate, let alone be signed. I think the GOP would have a lot more respect if they would work to modify the act into something better, as opposed to just tossing it out whole-cloth with no replacement.
  • Whither the Resume? CNN has an interesting article on the potential death of the resume. Their basic question is this: In this era where our job history is easily available via LinkedIn or even Facebook, why have a resume at all? Work history can be easily found out.
  • Broken Meters. Gov. Brown just recently signed a bill making it legal to park at broken parking meters. It takes effect January 1, 2013. But there’s a catch. Cities can create superseding rules… and it is expected that Los Angeles will be one of those cities.
  • Side Effects of Heat. As you know, it has been hot. You had it in the east; we’re getting it in the west right now. It has been up into the 120s in Las Vegas. Heat has an interesting side effect: it makes air thinner, and thus it is harder for planes to take off. Luckily, the Las Vegas airport is one of the few engineered specifically for hot weather. Specifically, McCarran International Airport has two built-in advantages that help pilots deal with extreme heat: an exceptionally long runway and one that goes downhill just enough — 1.1 degree over its 14,505-foot-length — to help jets reach takeoff speed.
  • Sequencing the Banana. Bananas are an interesting fruit. The best bananas are sterile, propagated by shoot. The majority of the bananas consumed are a single variety — the cavendish — because others do not travel as well or look as good. This has made bananas very susceptable to disease and hard to improve. Thus, it is significant news that they have sequenced the genes of the banana. No, not the cavendish, but something close enough that they might be able to use the information to improve the banana. In related news, did you ever wonder why people slip on banana peels?
  • Pinning it Down. Lastly, an interesting article that explores the Apple iPod Dock Connector: why the shuffle uses a 4 pin connector; why that doesn’t work for most iPods (which have 30 pin connectors), and why there might be a 19-pin connector in the future.
  • Compensating for Nick. CNN is reporting on how DirecTV is compensating for the loss of the Viacom channels. Supposedly, according to DirecTV’s facebook page, “to thank you for your patience until Viacom channels are returned, all eight Encore Channels (including Encore Family) will be made available to all customers thru July 31st”. Further, the article notes that some subscribers have gotten discounts on their subscriptions for multiple months due to the loss.

Music: Raisin (1973 Original Broadway Cast): It’s a Deal

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Periodic Musings on the iPod Classic and iTunes

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy2 Comments

A late lunchtime post: I recently ran across an article from TechnoBuffalo that noted that early June marked 1,000 days since the iPod Classic had received any love from Apple. In fact, we’re coming up on three years (in September) since the iPod Classic received any updates. There are those who believe the iPod Classic is a dead-player-walking. On the other hand, Apple still hasn’t killed off the little-music-box-of-holding, and it still remains one of the most cost-effective music players around.

However, I continue to worry about the iPod Classic. Mine is now over 29,000 songs (specifically, I’m at 29,065 songs and spoken-word comedy tracks, and 28,891 specifically music tracks). I truly enjoy having my entire music collection in my pocket, and go to (perhaps excessive) lengths to ensure I listen to it evenly, with playlists for unplayed music, < 5 plays, < 8 plays, and music not listened to in 21 months. All of these are a 0 except for < 8 plays, and that’s currently at 22,687 tracks. I worry about Apple discontinuing their high-capacity players; I don’t believe the cloud is the answer for music, both due to bandwidth costs and the fact that one doesn’t always have an internet connection (despite what the media and the vendors would like to portray).

I’m also worried about iTunes. I’ve written about problems with iTunes before. These problems have led me to eschew regular upgrading of iTunes. I’m still on iTunes 10.4.2; iTunes is now up to 10.6.something. I have yet to have confidence that the 10.6 versions work reliability with the iPod Classic on Windows 7. [As an aside: If you have an iPod Classic and are using with iTunes > 10.4, please let me know]. Further, the rumors are now starting to swirl that Apple is completely rewriting iTunes for iTunes 11. I have little confidence that they will get the iPod Classic interface right.

If I had to replace it, what would be the options? Ideally, it would be something with 160GB or greater hard-disk or solid-state disk, and could import the iTunes database (so as to preserve playcounts and ratings). A recent review of high-capacity players pointed to the Archos 5 as a potential alternative; however, the Archos website doesn’t list a current Archos 5 product with 250GB of storage. They do have an Android G9 Tablet with a 250 GB hard disk that is worth exploring; the Archos 7 can also support 250GB. Another high-capacity possibility is the Cowon X7 with 160GB; it is probably closest in form factor to the iPod Classic. [ETA: Looking at the reviews on Amazon, both the Archos and the Cowon are getting middling reviews — one can now see why the iPod Classic is being retained — it has no competition and thus keeps selling.] [As an aside: If you have thoughts regarding high-capacity MP3 players, I’d welcome them]

But for right now, I’ll just stick with my Classic (which I use every day for a large portion of the waking hours) and iTunes 10.4. It works. But I do worry everytime Apple makes an announcement or updates the Apple Store.

Music: The Six String Conspiracy (Rick Ruskin): Slow Drag (Piano Rag)

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Formats of Music

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Today has been a long day, with a telecon that started at 430am and just ended. Being on a telecon means that I can’t play my iPod in the background. Speaking about iPods (how’s that for a leadin), there have been a few interesting articles of late regarding digital music. The first, which I listened to as a podcast last Friday, was a segment from Science Friday on LPs vs CDs vs MP3s. This is well worth listening to: it talks about the relative sound qualities of each, and even illustrates what you lose going to MP3. I’ll admit that I’ve never noticed that much audio degradation in MP3s. As for LPs vs. CDs, I generally prefer CDs simply because they have less background noise, but I’ll take either. I do record from LPs to MP3s, and do clean up the audio, so I’m not a 100% purist. Speaking of cleaning up audio, another interesting article I’ve run across (from Ars Technica) has to do with how sound engineers are slightly tweaking masters so that they encode with less audible loss. In the SciFri podcast, it was said that they didn’t do that, but it does make sense. Just as sound engineers in the LP days tweaked the dynamic response to best fit the vinyl (including reducing bass so the needle didn’t jump out of the groove, or compressing the range to fit more music), I’m sure they are tweaking to get MP3s to sound better (given that is now the dominant sales form). What I don’t know is whether they are generating different masters to compress for Amazon to be sold as MP3s vs. a master for Apple to be sold as an M4A (AAC).

What about you? Can you hear the difference between formats? What formats of music do you prefer? Do you record in order to convert formats?

Music: Trio (Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt): I’ve Had Enough

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iPod Classic: Dealing with Sync Problems

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy7 Comments

I’ve mentioned before that I’ve become a regular reader of the iPod Classic support forum. I’ve also posted in the past some of my observations from reading that forum (which have been updated since they appeared on LiveJournal). With this post, I’d like to discuss one specific problem that seems quite common: people connect up their iPod Classic, and then iTunes report that it is corrupted and needs to be restored.  The occurance of this problem seems to have increased with iTunes 10.5, so my guess is that it is related to iTunes 10.5. Will Apple fix it? Unknown, as they don’t a lot of interest in the older iPod Classic.

What Appears To Cause the Problem. From reading lots and lots of posts and responses on this, it looks like the basic cause (not the specific culprit) is a timing issue. Basically, iTunes is expecting to talk to the iPod at a particular speed (probably the speed of the newer iOS devices based on the iPhone approach), and the older classics can’t keep up. This results in a corrupted file system. The culprit is harder to pinpoint, although there are a number of potentials:

  • Low power USB ports
  • Slow USB ports
  • Insufficient memory (iTunes is a memory pig)
  • Slower and older processors
  • Conflicts with USB hubs

Fixing the Problem. The variety of culprits makes it harder to fix the problem.  The first thing to be done is to ensure a strong and reliable connection to the iPod. If you have a Macbook, reported the rear USB port is on an internal hub and has lower power, so only plug the iPod into the front USB port. In general, you should avoid USB hubs if you can; if you must use one, make sure it is (a) powered, and (b) uses the newest fastest standard. I’d also try to avoid conflicting traffic on the hub.

Let’s assume now you have a good connection. From hereon, I’m going to be PC specific, simply because I don’t know the MAC. This post by Bilbo_Chesire on the forums describes how to check the disk from Windows.  You may want to run disk diagnostics on the iPod to confirm there isn’t a harddisk failure starting. More info can be found here, here, and here.

If you’ve just been disconnecting the iPod without formally ejecting it in iTunes, it could just have a Windows bit set wrong. This could result in Windows asking you to “Scan and Fix” the iPod. Here’s what to do if you get that message.

For some of this, you may need to put the iPod into Disk Mode. To do that,first turning it on then toggle the hold switch an then hold down the center and menu buttons. As soon as you see the Apple logo, hold down the center and play buttons. This should get you to disk mode. You may have to try this several times before it takes.  The Apple Support article on disk mode may be found here.

If the file system is really corrupted. this post explains how to erase and reformat it. Avoid that if you can.

By now, hopefully we’ve made sure the iPod itself is not the problem, and the connection is not the problem. Now to iTunes itself. Ask yourself: Was the product working with a previous version of iTunes? If it was you want to go back to that version.

Before you do any mucking with iTunes, make a copy of your iTunes library. Go to your music/iTunes directory, and make copy of the directory. Call it something like “safe.iTunes”. This way, if you need to recover your files or your music, you’ve got it. Better safe than sorry. (You should be backing up this directory regularly). BTW: If you don’t understand how your iTunes library is structured and how to back it up, then you should read The Complete Guide to Backing Up Your iTunes Library over at iLounge. This will tell you what all the files are and how to back things up. Go and read it now, I’ll wait….

Next you want to download an install file for an older version of iTunes. If you use Windows, you can try visiting the oldapps page for iTunes (they have both x32 and x64 versions). Oldapps doesn’t appear to have old Mac versions; I haven’t found them yet (if you have, let me know in the comments and I’ll update this post). Alternatively, you can visit the Apple Knowledgebase Search function, search for your version, and then restrict the search to “iTunes” and “Downloads”. For example, doing so I found the link to download iTunes 10.4.1 for Windows (64 bit).

Before you attempt to reinstall iTunes, you want to completely remove the old software. This is more than just uninstalling iTunes; you need to uninstall Apple Media Drivers, Quicktime, Bonjour, and such. After you’ve backed up your directory, follow these instructions from Apple. It probably wouldn’t hurt to have a complete backup of your music files as well, but I’m sure you do that already.

Note: Changes are made to the iTunes library between 10.4 and 10.5. This manifests itself as the error “Impossible to read iTunes Library because it was created with a earlier version of iTunes”. If you didn’t backup your library, you may need to recover a compatible version. If you look in your music/iTunes directory, there should be a subdirectory called “Previous iTunes Libraries”. The process is sorta-described in this Apple post or in this TechnicallyEasy post. You may be able to find a suitable archive copy of your iTunes library in that directory. After you’ve made the backup and reinstalled iTunes, but before you reconnect your iPod, copy the appropriate archive version into the the new music/iTunes directory and rename things appropriately. Start up iTunes and see if your library is there.

With the new iTunes, make sure your library is visible and works independently of the iPod. Reauthorize things as necessary. When you connect the iPod, restoring it if necessary, it is time to reload the iPod. Before you do, turn off automatic syncing. It is better not to load the entire iPod at once, especially if you have a large media library (for example, I’ve got almost 28,000 songs at present). Here is some advice on how to break up a transfer.

(3/13) Even after downgrading, the iPod may still not be recognized by iTunes. This discussion chain on the Apple Support Forum presents a possible solution to that problem.
I’ll be doing some other summary posts on other common questions. If you have any corrections to this, I welcome comments. Expect this post to be regularly updated.

Music [2/25 5:09p]: Aspects of Love (Original London Cast): Love Changes Everything
Music [2/26 3:14p]: Don’t Cry Now (Linda Ronstadt): The Fast One
Music [3/2]: Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd): Money
Music [3/13]: The Best of Friends (Loggins & Messina): Be Free

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iPod Classic and iTunes 10.5: Support Observations

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy10 Comments

Ever since iTunes 10.5 came out with support for “iTunes Match”, I’ve been debating whether I should upgrade my home system. I did a wide variety of web searches, and finally opted to monitoring the RSS feed of the Apple Support community for the iPod Classic. In doing so, I’ve learned a lot…

[Updated 2011-12-16;  2012-01-13;  2012-01-16;  2012-01-25; 2012-02-26; 2012-03-04]

[¶1] First and foremost, I’ve learned that many iPod users (well, at least those that go to the support forums) don’t understand how iTunes and the iPod coexist. There are numerous questions about syncing, and why something doesn’t sync. There are loads of questions on how to move an iTunes library from one computer to another. My advice in this area: Keep your digital music on an external hard drive, and back it up regularly. Also backup your .itl files (iTunes Library Files), and the XML equivalent, and recognize that paths need to stay the same if you want to use the library on a new computer.

[¶2] Second, I’m still unsure about iTunes 10.5 or 10.5.1, and wouldn’t advise moving to it unless you really need it. I’ve seen loads of posts from people using the latest version of iTunes, and the common complaint is that the new iTunes is taking forever to synchronize, or it doesn’t recognize the iPod, or thinks the iPod is corrupt. The problem appears to be (especially on Windows) that antivirus products interfere with the synchronization, the synchronization times out, and ends up corrupting the filesystem of the iPod. The iPod then mounts as a disk but isn’t seen in iTunes, with the usual recommended solution of disabling the anti-virus, doing a CHKDISK of the iPod, and then attempting to restore the iPod. This is a typical response in this vein. Here’s is more useful advice on how to break up a transfer.

[¶3] If you want to try to reinstall an older version (no guarantee it can read the library), try visiting the oldapps page for iTunes. Alternatively, you can visit the Apple Knowledgebase Search function, search for your version, and then restrict the search to “iTunes” and “Downloads”. For example, doing so I found the link to download iTunes 10.4.1 for Windows (64 bit). If you do so, I suggest making sure you have a backup copy of your iTunes database (i.e., the .itl, .itdb, and .xml files in your iTunes directory), and that you have completely removed iTunes following these instructions from Apple. It probably wouldn’t hurt to have a complete backup of your music files as well, but I’m sure you do that already. If not, here are instructions on how to backup your music to an external drive.

[¶4] ETA: Another interesting data point: If you just disconnect, the archive bit could be set resulting Windows to ask you to “Scan and Fix” the iPod. Here’s what to do if you get that message.

[¶5] For a lot of other problems, it seems that people still don’t know about the “5 Rs”. In particular, rebooting the iPod (I find) tends to be the answer for click-wheel slowdowns. Don’t know the 5Rs? Look here.

[¶6] When something goes wrong, ask yourself: Did it work before? What changed? Sometimes that can give you the clue. If you updated your iTunes, that could be the underlying cause. Although you might have to restore your iPod, you should consider going back to an older version of iTunes. This points out two other another important rule: (1) Always back up your iTunes database before you update iTunes, and (2) Always make a copy of each iTunes software download, so you have it in case you need to go back.

[¶7] I’ve learned there are some hidden modes on the iPod Classic. In particular, there is an iPod diagnostic mode. I haven’t experimented with it yet (although I will if there is a problem). This post on the forum talks about the mode. I’ve also found articles on the mode here and here. Another good discussion of disk diagnostics is here.

[¶8] A common query is how to move music from the iPod back to a computer. A lot of people refer to this post on the forum (written by forum regular Zevoneer). Myself, I’ve had good luck with Copytrans, or you can just find the music files and add them directly (of course, then you lose ratings and play counts).

[¶9] A similar common query is how to move music to an external drive. This support article indicates how. If you want to understand things better (or are moving between operating systems), this article from iLounge provides a real good explanation about how to move media the right way.

[¶9.5] Backing up your music is an important thing to do. iLounge has an excellent article on the subject: The Complete Guide to Backing Up your iTunes Library. Read it. It describes the structure of the library and how to find your files. There are lots of ways to do it: Use your backup program to backup your music files and your iTunes directory; manual copying; etc. Here is one user tip from the iTunes forum for backing up; I haven’t tried it yet. However you do it, do it regularly and to a different drive than your main music drive.

[¶10] An iPod displaying a Red X is a bad thing. In almost all cases, it appears to be a hard disk crash. Alas, the answer for that is either Apple Service, or just buying a new Classic. Here’s what Apple says. Some suggest attempting to realign the head by a gentle slap of the iPod against your thigh. It is important to remember that an iPod Classic has a spinning hard disk, not a solid state disk. Sharp bumps, drops, etc. can misalign the heads and result in a head crash, and that’s often all she wrote.

[¶11] It appears that car audio systems, especially those with dock connectors, are particularly bad for the iPod classic. If there is no transformer or fuse in the middle, some of the newer ones can corrupt an older classic. At this point, I’m only sticking with using the headphone jack to connect to a speaker system. BMWs are particularly bad here. Often, the problem is software incompatibility between the car software and the iPod software. Again, the headphone jack and an external charger is the safest approach.

[¶12] Some people don’t know the generation of their iPod. This page can help them find out.

[¶13] What else have I discovered? Error 1439 can be the wrong type of USB port. Error 69 indicates some corruption in the library. Sometimes the only answer is to start afresh–that is, completely erase and reformat the iPod disk, and then restore the iPod to out of the box status and reload.

[¶14] Lastly, it’s a bad thing to drop an iPod Classic. No duh from me: there’s a hard disk in there. But loads of folks drop their iPod Classics, and then post wondering why it is no longer working, and making a clicking sound… Water is also bad, but if your lucky and the amount of water is slight, you might be able to save it using these tricks.

[¶15]Evidently, there is an alternate OS available for some, not all, portable music players. In particular, it does not seem ready for prime-time on the iPod Classic. Information is available at http://www.rockbox.org/

[¶16] Turingtest2 has a nice post explaining how to fix album groupings in iTunes.

I’m posting this mostly for my reference–so I can find these things in the future. They may be of interest to others. For those out there that have iPod Classics (us older holdouts) and Windows 7: How is iTunes 10.5 or 10.5.1 working for you?

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Some Local News, with a Little Extra

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Today’s lunchtime news chum brings together a collection of items with a local flavor:

Bonus Item: Folks probably know I love my iPod. If you are a long time user, you should know that there is a recall of 1st generation iPod Nanos due to batteries reheating. If you have one (I did), you can look into replacing it here. Related to this, I saw an article about how CDs are dying (I see those regularly), and began to think of an ancillary impact: It will be harder to see your used music. This must have echoed into the ethersphere, for shortly after those thoughts I saw an article about how the RIAA doesn’t like resale of used digital music files. We’re moving from an era where you own the copy of the music, to where you are licensed to listen to it. This is why I don’t want my music in the cloud, and why I eschew purchasing from the iTunes store (which has digital rights) in favor of Amazon (which sells unlocked MP3s).

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Birthday of a Beloved Friend

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Yesterday, was the birthday of a beloved friend: the iPod. It turned 10 years old. Amazingly, the original has held up quite well, as a current review shows. It still syncs with iTunes, it still plays music, and still does what it was designed to do.

How did I celebrate the birthday? By adding more music to my iPod, of course. Over the weekend I was recording while working on the highway pages, and added almost 200 songs to the iPod. Some were from CDs picked up at a nearby estate sale (where I also picked up a 78rpm shellac version of “Showboat”—anyone got the technology to get it to .wav?) and some were from LP. Here’s what was added this weekend (from LP unless indicated with *):

Bob Dylan (“John Wesley Harding”, “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”, “Blood on the Tracks”, “Bringing It All Back Home”)
Dan Fogelberg (“Windows and Walls”, “The Innocent Age”)
Barbra Streisand (“My Name Is Barbra Two”)
Mandy Patinkin* (“Mandy Patinkin”)
Dick Tracy* (songs from the movie)
On the Town* (1992 London Concert)
Harry Belefonte (“Calypso”)
Jose Feliciano (“Alive Alive O”)
The Cole Porter Collection, Volume 2* (Various Artists)
Hot Tuna (“Hot Tuna”, “Splashdown”)
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass (“Lonely Bull”, “Sounds Like”)
Jim Croce (“Photographs & Memories – His Greatest Hits”)
Michael Feinstein* (“Isn’t It Romantic”)

This is on top of the four Judy Collins LPs I added last week. This is why I love the iPod Classic: I’ve got a collection that is nearing 25,500 songs, and I’m not even 90GB full. I’m happy with a dedicated music device with lots of storage, and I’m sure there are those out there who agree. Sure, I’d love solid state storage, although I’ve heard some reports that it might be less reliable over time, although it is more shock resistance. I treat my iPod carefully, so hopefully it will last.

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