My Karma seems to have died a horrible death (maybe not permanently, Mark Lord says he thinks he can fix it) so in the meantime I have purchased a refurb iPod on eBay, 20 GB, $70. This is the first Apple product I have ever owned.

Apparently iTunes is the only method of music management the iPod will talk to, and since it is different from what I'm used to, I know it can't possibly be any good.

I have found one thing about the iPod I am not entranced with, but maybe there's a workaround. At present the only way I have of recharging it is by connecting it to my computer through the USB port. This is fine, no hardship, except that the moment I connect it, the "Now Playing" list goes away. If I am 32 minutes into a 74 minute track on a 10-CD audiobook, this is inconvenient if I don't remember to write down exactly where I was before I plug it in. I have ordered an AC plug-in USB charger adapter from DealExtreme so I won't have to have my computer running to charge the iPod. Will this change its behavior of deleting the Now Playing list when I plug it in? I have configured iTunes and the iPod to not start iTunes automatically when I connect it to the USB port, but this did not make any difference. The Now Playing list still goes away.

The second question is about iTunes. Even though I have un-checked the box that says "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library" (and I especially checked the box to "Disable automatic synching to iPods and iPhones") anything I add to the iTunes library gets copied into it, rather than just setting up a pointer like the owners manual says it will do.

I'm thinking this is most likely because my music files (all 150 GB of hierarchically arranged and tagged files) are located on my D: drive (with backups to E: mirrored drive and G: USB external drive) and the iTunes music library is by default on the C: drive, and from what I have read it is not trivial to change that default. Am I correct in this supposition? Can I move the iTunes library to my D: drive, if so how, and will it then start using pointers to the music instead of copying the files into the library? My C: drive is not a large drive, it was intended to hold Windows and the Program Files, but data is stored on other drives.

All in all, I am very impressed with the iPod. Hardware wise, I think it is far superior to the somewhat fragile Karma with a far simpler mechanical interface. I mean, the Karma with those fiddly little separate buttons for volume up and volume down, that little joystick that is so hard to press in the right direction without really looking at it, separate on-off switch, that fragile scroll wheel that always hits the ground first if you drop it (and just what does the "click" function on that scroll wheel do, anyway?)... the iPod does all of those functions and more with that elegant "scrub disk" on the front of it. I guess the software interface is a different story, although for my usage (primarily audiobooks) the Karma UI is no advantage, and the FF/REW function with the scrub disk on the iPod is really, really good. In all fairness, the iPod has had five or six more years of development time, who knows what the Karma would be like today had it continued.

Anyway, is there a way to preserve the Now Playing list when recharging; and can I get iTunes to use pointers instead of copying the files?

tanstaafl.

To quickly answer one portion, ensure iTunes thinks your audio books are actually audio books. Then it should preserve the position information, and even sync it back and forth, allowing playback to resume on the PC if you want. Here is the quick way to change this using iTunes 8: link

As for the rest, I'll have to let someone else step in. My iTunes usage has been limited to OS X only, and set to let it manage my music. I can say that on OS X, holding Option (alt) when launching iTunes allows me to point it to any drive or location to make the library folder. This may be similar on Windows, likely by holding down Control or something when launching it.

There are free open source software applications (for Linux) that do much of what iTunes does for managing an iPod. This includes a kioslave setup ("ipodslave") so that an iPod becomes an ordinary drag'n'drop device, like everything else in the KDE environment. The highly-regarded Amarok application can use this interface as well.

Cheers

I'm using SharePod, which is free for Windows XP, it seems simpler and much quicker than using itunes, given that I don't do any downloading from the net. Similarly, I can't answer your question about holding the position in audiobooks, as it's not a use that I put mine to.

It's a little piezo sounder, the mighty mouse has the same thing to make its scroll ball 'click' as well.

I read that as the scroll wheel on the Karma.

When I had mine I used a product called Xplay from Mediafour, a lot neater/quicker than iTunes

There's also Songbird.

iTunes still provides (by far) the best interface of any music management application. In typical Apple fashion, it's the small things that it's missing (chosen on purpose) that get to be infuriating sometimes. In the grand scheme of things however, the weak link in the chain, IMO, are the iPods themselves - at least the UI running on them.

Really ? I find it an absolutely appalling interface.

iTunes has set the bar and you can see its design spilled over into software of all kinds on every platform.

Other music management applications tend to use it as a blueprint for their own designs as well. Songbird, despite what its creators claim (which is that common interface elements are borrowed because they're "best of breed"), isn't much more than an iTunes clone built on XUL.

What aspects of iTunes don't you like? Keep in mind that while I've installed the Windows version in the past, I really only ever use the Mac OS version. I also use it only for management, not for playback, and not for file organization. iTunes has only been a solid product since version 7 and the introduction of Album-based views.

Well, that helps, but doesn't solve the problem entirely.

With that done, the iPod remembers where it was in the track, but the Now Playing list is still gone, so unless I know what track was actually playing when I plugged in the charger, I am still lost. However, it is much easier to get back to where I was, simply by starting at the first track of the audiobook, and skipping track by track until I come to a track whose starting position isn't at 0:00, and that'll be where I was when Now Playing went away.

Thank you for the link.

tanstaafl.

I deleted everything from the iTunes library and put it all back in, and this time it set pointers instead of copying the files. Don't know what's different, I suppose it is possible that the "Copy files..." box was checked when I built the iTunes library the first time, but I really don't think it was.

Go figure...

tanstaafl.

There is an option in iTunes to the effect of "Manage files manually". It should allow you to have your whole audio library in iTunes library, while copying to iPod only what you want. I don't use it at the moment, because all of my music (just) fits on 160GB Classic.

Regarding the "Now playing" list, have you tried disabling "USB disk interface" (it is called something else in iTunes, but you know what I mean)? Anyway, an AC power adapter (or a special USB cable with only power leads connected) should help - my Classic simply keeps playing while being connected or disconnected to the power (usually via dock, in my case).

Cheers!

Yes, I know of that... but it is exactly opposite of what I want to do. I do not want to manage my whole audio library in iTunes. The only thing I want iTunes for is a temporary storage library for the stuff I want to put into the iPod. My library is permanent, the stuff in the iPod is definitely transient. So what I do is delete things from the iTunes library after I have listened to them on the iPod (strictly audiobooks at this time) and copy things into the iTunes library I haven't listened to yet, and then just synch to the iPod, leaving the main audio library intact.

tanstaafl.

I think that when you set iTunes to "manage files manually", you can actually simply dran and drop files from any folder (I am assuming you use windows) into the iPod, without bothering having to deal with iTunes music collection.
Also, in "manage files manually", iPod content becomes "editable" directly, again without any need of the Music Collection section of iTunes. Any change you make to those files (tags, etc) will be made into the iPod itself. The only problem I found is that, if you use your iPod this way, you won't get any album art into it.

Aha, that's even better for Doug's needs than I assumed.

Again, it's been a long time since I've done this, but no one has said yet whether or not it will work.

Start up iTunes, but don't load anything at all into it. Attach your iPod. Select the iPod within iTunes. Find the files you want to put on your iPod on your hard drive. Select them. Drag them directly to your iPod within iTunes.

When I used to do this, it completely bypassed the iTunes library and just put the tracks onto the iPod.

Actually... that's a feature (not having to deal with album artwork) I'd pay extra for!

tanstaafl.

That works. Thank you, Bitt!

Now if there were only a way to just treat the iPod as a USB drive, create my own directory structure on it and drag and delete files with Windows Explorer...

Does anybody know why my audiobooks, even though I defined them in iTunes as audiobooks (see posts above about getting the iPod to remember file location when recharging) and they show up in iTunes in the audiobook category (as opposed to "Music"), in the iPod itself they still show up in "Music", and the "Audiobooks" category (which I had to enable in "Settings") is empty?

tanstaafl.

Another question... When I plug the iPod in for recharging, its screen lights up with a big red "Do Not Disconnect" warning. Since iTunes is not running, and I am not adding or deleting any files, is there really any danger of corrupting any files if I disconnect the cable without going through the tedious process of "...safely disconnecting my USB device?"

tanstaafl.

No, not actually. The manual even somewhere says that if one has to disconnect the device while it thinks it is syncing, it is enough to touch it to check (by vibration) that the disk is not spinning (and especially not seeking), and you know it is not. However, to be on a safe side, I would still follow "safely disconnect the peripheral" procedure (but that's just me; I always do it for my thumb drives, even when I know there is nothing to be flushed to them). Better yet, get hold of a charge-only USB cable.

Cheers!

Been there, done that! It works perfectly, and for 1/4 the price that the local Apple store was asking for just the wall-wart, never mind the cable and the car adapter.

I kinda suspected that I could unplug the iPod from my computer when it was just charging (I mean, it is USB, right?) and the one time I did it didn't explode or set the house on fire or anything.

tanstaafl.

"hot-plug" support of anything, including USB doesn't mean it is always in a good state to be unplugged. Generally warnings exist on devices to not hot plug until ready is to ensure any unwritten data in a cache has a chance to be flushed and written.

I've worked with servers that had hot-plug RAM, and you had to really be sure it was in a good state to have a module pulled, otherwise the entire server would come crashing down.

As for your specific case, I'm guessing even though the iPod was only attached to charge, Windows still mounted the hard disk, and caused the iPod to throw up the do not disconnect warning.

!!? I thought I had checked this site in the past when it was mentioned here. They actually ship to Canada for NOTHING and on items at such low prices? I'm sure they have some amazing shipping discounts, because standard shipping prices alone are more than the purchase price of many of the items.

Wow. I snagged that little charger kit in a heartbeat.

Sweet, I might pick up a gross of "body massagers" as gifts for my wife's friends for Christmas.

Yeah, DE is quite amazing. They use the postal service, which gives them pretty cheap shipping costs. And cheap on the receiving end too -- anything under $50 generally doesn't incur taxes/duties.

I think they lose money under $10, and make money over $10. Or something like that.

Delivery is faster from them in HK (about 8 days) than from most shippers in the USA.

I'd almost be willing to bet they have some inside connection to their postal system that's providing them with free shipping. Stranger things have happened.

Then they are not alone. I bought a "car lighter extension box" (3x12V + USB) on eBay from this HK outfit (before Mark pointed me to those usually patronized by empeggers) for $5.99 and free shipping. It actually arrived (it took three weeks), seems quite solid and works.

Speaking of DE, this item is finally back in stock (but not for long..).

Every empeg owner needs one of these. It's a 2.5" USB/eSATA drive enclosure that.. wait for it.. accepts either SATA or regular 44-pin IDE (empeg) drives inside.

Mix and match.

You need one!

Note that it actually has just a regular SATA connector on the outside, not a proper eSATA. If that bugs you, then also get one of these to go with it.

.. and if you don't care about SATA, or eSATA transfer speeds, then this gizmo is 1/3 the price and works with 44-pin IDE (empeg) drives. Cables included, of course.

I have one of these (or one very similar). Connects to 2.5" and 3.5" ATA and SATA drives, and who needs to bother with a case when doing this sort of thing?