School me on ipods and itunes

[UNSTUCK]

Okay, so as of today I stepped into the cool dads group when my girls (ok, maybe their mom helped a bit) got me an ipod for fathers day. It has 8gb's and the touch screen.

So how do I make the most of it? My wife already has one and her itunes is full of junk music. I was told that we cannot have two ipods on one itunes anyways. Do i have to use itunes at all? I'm into 70's, 80's, 90's rock. Anywhere from Pink Floyd to ac/dc. So whats the best way to get that music? As I understand it, ipods will only play itunes. Is that right?

Clue me in on this stuff if you will. I'm not much of a tech guy. I'd rather play with a welder then a computer.

Thanks.

 

[Caleb]

First, iPods play music, it doesn't play iTunes. iTunes is an app used to load the music you play on to the iPod. iPods will play just about any lossy format of music that's not DRM protected besides the Apple DRM protected music (it will play that fine).

Second, you can sync as many iPods as you want off of the same iTunes library. I currently have probably a dozen iPods, a half dozen AppleTVs (sync much the same as an iPod), a couple iPhones, and an iPad that are sync'd off my iTunes library.

How you get your music is up to you. Apple iTunes music store is a great no hassle way to do it, you can rip your CDs you have using iTunes, you can find a way to download them "for free" (whole other thread), or you can download them from just about any other music store as long as they provide a DRM free file.

 

[UNSTUCK]

Ok. That clears up a few things. Now I guess I need to figure out how to do all that. My wife was telling me that one time she loaded up some music from her sister and then when she plugged her ipod back into our computer, she lost all that music, but it saved all the music that she already had from our computer. Dont know why?

 

[YOUKNOW]

Ok. That clears up a few things. Now I guess I need to figure out how to do all that. My wife was telling me that one time she loaded up some music from her sister and then when she plugged her ipod back into our computer, she lost all that music, but it saved all the music that she already had from our computer. Dont know why?

Music will only stay on your Ipod from the last computer it sync'ed with. As for your wife's Ipod when she sync'ed with her sisters computer, that is what the Ipod loaded last. Afterwards, when your wife plugged her Ipod into her home computer, she would load her music onto her Ipod again, loosing her sisters music. There are programs out there that allow you to plug other peoples Ipod into your home computer and load their music into your Itunes permanently. I do not know the link or names off hand. Hope this helped.

 

[Caleb]

Music will only stay on your Ipod from the last computer it sync'ed with. As for your wife's Ipod when she sync'ed with her sisters computer, that is what the Ipod loaded last. Afterwards, when your wife plugged her Ipod into her home computer, she would load her music onto her Ipod again, loosing her sisters music. There are programs out there that allow you to plug other peoples Ipod into your home computer and load their music into your Itunes permanently. I do not know the link or names off hand. Hope this helped.

That's not true either. You have to choose to manager music manually (when the iPod is plugged in to iTunes) and then from then on, you can put music from as many iTunes Libraries as you want on your iPod. You are correct that it requires a third-party program to easily pull music off the iPod and store it on the computer.

 

[sixstringsteve]

After several years of using apples and iTunes, I've had enough, and I refuse to use iTunes (or apple for that matter). That doesn't mean you should hate apple too, just know that there are alternatives out there. Not trying to start a war, just trying to offer some alternatives.

iTunes is the easiest way to get songs onto your ipod.

However, if you want more flexibility (ability to rip higher quality music files, more flexibility with uploading and downloading, pulling songs off your ipod, etc) I'd recommend using something other than iTunes. Now is the time to decide which program you want to use, because it's a major pain to switch once you've got your entire library in one program.

a little background. I'm a musician, and music quality and the quality of sound is very important to me. I can hear the difference between an MP3 and a .wav lossless file. I also create videos, and move my songs from computer to computer, and edit and record music. So flexibility and sound quality are a must for me. The fact that iTunes requires me to import all my music into an apple-only format (for lossless quality) is ridiculous to me. I use my music for more than just listening to an ipod. As an artist, I appreciate iTunes as a medium to sell my music, and I'm very happy with the royalties that apple pays me when I sell a song. However, I refuse to even install iTunes on my computers.

If you're a casual listener, and an mp3 sounds good enough to you, then iTunes is probably the easiest way to go.

 

[NoTrax]

Ipods are awesome.. Itunes is garbage, that is all.

 

[Gravy]

Josh, you're too old.
You should just give it to me.

 

[airmanwilliams]

when you get this itunes figured out another great program to have is "avex dvd to ipod conversion". this program allows you to copy any dvd at home onto your computer into a format that allows you to view the videos on your ipod. I really enjoy this program cause then my son and wife keep intertained on trips and dont bug me so much.

If you end up getting this program and need help figuring it out let me know and I can come over and help you out.

 

[Jesser04]

That's not true either. You have to choose to manager music manually (when the iPod is plugged in to iTunes) and then from then on, you can put music from as many iTunes Libraries as you want on your iPod. You are correct that it requires a third-party program to easily pull music off the iPod and store it on the computer.

Can you does this with a iPod touch? I'm not so sure you can. I know the iPhone will not let you. There is a way around it with a jailbreak app but that's a whole different thread as well.

 

[Caleb]

However, if you want more flexibility (ability to load higher quality music files, more flexibility with uploading and downloading, pulling songs off your ipod, etc) I'd recommend using something other than iTunes. Now is the time to decide which program you want to use, because it's a major pain to switch once you've got your entire library in one program.

The fact that iTunes requires me to import all my music into an apple-only format (for lossless quality) is ridiculous to me. I use my music for more than just listening to an ipod.

Steve, before bashing a program, you should learn how to use it. The only part of this statement that's true is yes, iTunes does not play lossless music, but you can import your music in most lossy formats (as I already mentioned) and in just about any bit rate. It doesn't have to be in an "apple-only" format. You can also put those same high quality songs on your iPod. Too many people jump on the "iTunes sucks" bandwagon and have no clue how to even use the program.

 

[Badger]

All I have to say is dump iTunes and use Ephpod. It will allow you to use it more efficiently. It allows full drag and drop and will not tie the device to a specific user, computer, or account. It will also allow you to drag and drop off the device to any computer running the program.

 

[Caleb]

Can you does this with a iPod touch? I'm not so sure you can. I know the iPhone will not let you. There is a way around it with a jailbreak app but that's a whole different thread as well.

You can do it on an iPhone (and touch and any other ipod). This is on my iPhone 4 that's currently plugged in to my computer.



The iPod that's the most limited on control are Shuffles and you can even manually manage your music on them.

 

[Jesser04]

You can do it on an iPhone (and touch and any other ipod). This is on my iPhone 4 that's currently plugged in to my computer.

View attachment 64225

The iPod that's the most limited on control are Shuffles and you can even manually manage your music on them.

Have you you done this with your iPhone? Or are you just assuming since you clicked that little box it will work? Because it won't try if you can get music from two separate iTunes on one iPhone without deleting the other you must have a super iPhone.

 

[Jesser04]

The only way is to jailbreak your phone and install the app pwntunes. Clicking the little box only works for iPods.

 

[Caleb]

Have you you done this with your iPhone? Or are you just assuming since you clicked that little box it will work? Because it won't try if you can get music from two separate iTunes on one iPhone without deleting the other you must have a super iPhone.

I do it all the time between my home computer and my work computer. Imagine that, the little box really does work.

 

[Jesser04]

Could it be the same library at work and at home? Have your phone sync to two computers with the same music is not what I'm talking about. You can not sync two libraries to one iPhone with out this.
http://www.pwntunes.net/

 

[Caleb]

Could it be the same library at work and at home?

Nope, different libraries. My home library is a couple TB in size, no way would I try and move it around. My work computer only has a few songs that I find while "working" I also use Senuti to pull songs off my phone once I sync them from my work computer and put them in to my home library.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Steve, before bashing a program, you should learn how to use it. The only part of this statement that's true is yes, iTunes does not play lossless music, but you can import your music in most lossy formats (as I already mentioned) and in just about any bit rate. It doesn't have to be in an "apple-only" format. You can also put those same high quality songs on your iPod. Too many people jump on the "iTunes sucks" bandwagon and have no clue how to even use the program.

Yes, I've learned to used iTunes. I haven't touched it in two years due to my frustration with the controls and limitations apple put on it back then. I'm sure they've made improvements over time, but I refuse to use it. I'm not jumping on the "iTunes sucks" bandwagon. I've tried it, with a lot of other software (I taught a tech class at BYU for 4 semesters), and I found it lacking significantly. No offense intended, but it doesn't work for me. I tried it out, thoroughly, and found it severely lacking for my needs.

 

[Caleb]

Yes, I've learned to used iTunes. I haven't touched it in two years due to my frustration with the controls and limitations apple put on it back then. I'm sure they've made improvements over time, but I refuse to use it. I'm not jumping on the "iTunes sucks" bandwagon. I've tried it, with a lot of other software (I taught a tech class at BYU for 4 semesters), and I found it lacking significantly. No offense intended, but it doesn't work for me. I tried it out, thoroughly, and found it severely lacking for my needs.

Well, everything you said it can't do, it has been able to do since it's been around...poor students