I thought iPods were easy to use

[DeeBye]

My wife got an iPod Shuffle as an early Christmas bonus this year. That's kinda cool. It has a TD Canada Trust logo on it, but hey free iPod :wub:

Since she has no interest in using it, she gave it to me. I briefly considered putting it up on eBay, but then I noticed that I could also use it as a 512MB USB storage drive. I figured what the heck, I'll keep it and put some songs on it and carry it around for the usefullness of a USB storage drive. It might come in handy.

I read the thin manual front to back before I did anything. It said not to connect the iPod until I inserted the iTunes installation disk, so I obeyed. I installed the iPod software and iTunes, set up an account, claimed my free tune of the week (Two for Joy by Electrelane - nice song), and then I plugged in the iPod. Everything went okay. Windows detected it, iTunes detected it - everything seemed peachy. Eager to hear what this sounded like, I downloaded the free song to the iPod.

When I tried to play the song, I got nothing. I tried another set of headphones, I checked the battery level, I ripped another CD to mp3 format and tried that - everything was useless. My iPod absolutely refused to give me music until I downloaded the latest iPod software from apple.com and reset it. Why couldn't this thing work right out of the box with the software provided? It was kinda infuriating :angry:

It seems to be working nicely now. I've never had the need to rip my CDs to mp3s before, so now I'm in the process of ripping my entire collection of Nine Inch Nails to put on my little iPod Shuffle :)

Also - is there any real reason to convert my playlist to AAC format the way iTunes seems to want me to do?

[gekko]

Also - is there any real reason to convert my playlist to AAC format the way iTunes seems to want me to do?

AAC is sort of like Apple's own format (think ATRAC3plus and SONY). AAC files will be smaller than typical mp3 files, with nearly* as good quality. Opinions vary as to the quality of the sound.

I've become used to always downloading the most recent version of any software the first time I use it, but I agree that it certainly should have worked without that. Haven't heard of that specific problem before though.

It's been interesting to watch everyone try to dump the iPod shuffle recently - the Source by Circuit City (formerly RadioShack) bought a whole bunch from HP when HP decided to stop carrying them, and we had them on sale about $20 below the 'normal' shuffle price last week. I'm looking forward to seeing what Apple does to spice up the low end of the iPod line. I've just tonight made a deal with my father that will see him inhereting my 30 gigabyte iPod photo so I can pick up a nano. I'll be taking a huge hit in capacity but the things are just so darned small I can't resist. Looking forward to taking my iPod to the gym and not having it feel too big.

gekko

[Doc]

iPods seem to have a number of problems after you hook them up to Windows.

At least, I read about it a lot on various tech sites where people buy iPods and use them and they work just fine at home but when they hook it up to the peecee at work it has some hiccups.

Lots of people have noticed it, but as far as I know, nobody knows what causes it. And it happens to more than just the Shuffle.

AAC sucks eggs. Really. It does.

It makes everything midrange. You lose all of your low frequency bass and high frequency treble for an averaged out midrange sound in a small neat soundfile.

For your average pop song weekly top 40 hit, this is of course, no big deal. But for actual music... Like say, if you pop some Van Halen, ZZ Top, Led Zepplin, or Black Sabbath in there with a broad range of frequencies, they are going to sound like #$%&. Especially Black Sabbath. Ugh. It's like listening to them on a mono transistor radio all over again. Or even classical tunes, and I mean classical as in Bach and all those old dead guys. ACC is horrible. It strips the soul from the music.

Use OGG or MP3.

[Munkay]

Why couldn't this thing work right out of the box with the software provided?  It was kinda infuriating  :angry:

Technically, the shuffle should work with the firmware update on the CD, with the included version of iTunes on the CD (non-updated). If it didn't work out of the box, then I agree that is something worth getting angry about.

Once iTunes is updated the old firmware goes a bit topsy turvy. I may be entirely incorrect, but I believe my iPod's directions were to install the CD, then log online and check for updates before plugging the iPod in.

I sympathize with your aggrivating experience, it's Apple's fault for misleading owners by not putting enough emphasis on updating via the online updates.

Glad to hear it's running well now :)

Also - is there any real reason to convert my playlist to AAC format the way iTunes seems to want me to do?

No reason to convert mp3's to aac's, though iTunes will require that you rip your .wav files to AAC files in order to make them play in the iPod.

Like Doc mentioned, OGG format is superior, though entirely unsupported by iPod's. High quality AAC or Mp3 shouldn't be too much of an issue for the casual listener (I can't tell the difference).

iPods seem to have a number of problems after you hook them up to Windows.

At least, I read about it a lot on various tech sites where people buy iPods and use them and they work just fine at home but when they hook it up to the peecee at work it has some hiccups.

Lots of people have noticed it, but as far as I know, nobody knows what causes it. And it happens to more than just the Shuffle.

iPods do have a number of problems hooking up with Windows. Every iPod goes wonky after a while if you format the file system for a Mac, then start plugging it into PC's. The PC's don't like reading the file system, and sometimes after prolonged cross use the HD starts getting a bit scrambled.

The inherent PC problems (when not cross using on a mac platform) aren't altogether too bad. And actually are minimized quite well through the firmware updates from Apple.

Cheers,

Munk

[Doc]

I can tell the difference between AAC and MP3.

AAC sounds flat.

A really good way to see what I am talking about is to fire up War Pigs from Black Sabbath. In the beginning, you can hear the Doomsday Whistle. (Air raid siren for those that have never heard the term.)

In all AAC and low bit rate MP3s, like those 128 and under, the Doomsday Whistle is flat and tinny sounding. It's also monotone. In high bit rate MP3s and OGG, the sound wavers and has distortion, and you realise that it is actually several layers of sound overlapping each other, producing a haunting blood chilling effect. For me anyway. It has an echo quality. It's like fingernails down a chalkboard. I guess it's because I grew up in the Cold War, but that sound scares the bejeebus out of me.

Or, alternatively, you could fire up any Harry Belafonte tune. The music on there is distinctive and unusual, that funky island groove... In AAC it sounds like it is coming out of the bottom of a tin can.

And if you don't know who Harry Belafonte is, well, you are beyond my help.

[klaus_weg]

Heh. I grew up in the midwest. I associate the "air raid siren" noise with tornadoes and other severe weather. :)

I have a 3G standard iPod. I've only used it with windows, and I've never had trouble with it.

[Quark]

Heh.  I grew up in the midwest.  I associate the "air raid siren" noise with tornadoes and other severe weather.  :)
[right][snapback]95949[/snapback][/right]

That for me was the monthly test of the nuclear plant's emergency system :P

My family's gotten two iPods, and I've had two Christmas days getting frustrated figuring out why they wouldn't work out of the box.

[Munkay]

I can tell the difference between AAC and MP3.

AAC sounds flat.

To a degree I agree AAC sounds flat. This is due to the fact that AAC is encoded at a fixed bitrate of 128kbps. But a 128kbps mp3 vs. a 128kbps AAC is nearly impossible to distinguish. 128kbps is flat in general.

If you are interested in a fuller sound, and larger file size look into encoding to a higher quality mp3 using a different program, or go to OGG. The Shuffle can play higher bitrate mp3's as well as AAC's.

As I said earlier, OGG is superior. IIRC, OGG's encode with a varying bitrate preserving the highest highs and lowest lows while keeping the size down. But sadly, they aren't supported everywhere.

For casual listening, I still maintain 128kbps to be fair quality. Past 196 bitrate the quality becomes almost indistinguishable on regular quality speakers/headphones.

The long and the short of it DeeBye, is that if your music sounds "flatter" than it does on CD, try encoding at a higher MP3 bitrate.

Cheers,

Munk

[DeeBye]

The long and the short of it DeeBye, is that if your music sounds "flatter" than it does on CD, try encoding at a higher MP3 bitrate.

Cheers,

Munk
[right][snapback]95968[/snapback][/right]

Yeah, I've been ripping everything to variable bitrate and it sounds CD quality (at least as good as it's gonna sound through the little iPod earbuds). Everything is generally in the 200kbps range.

[Quark]

The long and the short of it DeeBye, is that if your music sounds "flatter" than it does on CD, try encoding at a higher MP3 bitrate.
[right][snapback]95968[/snapback][/right]

I use high-variable encoding for MP3s. Takes up alot more space than normal, but I find it worth it. Space is cheap, my tastes aren't :)

[DeeBye]

I use high-variable encoding for MP3s.  Takes up alot more space than normal, but I find it worth it.  Space is cheap, my tastes aren't :)
[right][snapback]95984[/snapback][/right]

After testing high variable bitrate MP3s versus 128 kbps MP3s on my little iPod Shuffle, I think I'll just go ahead and rip the rest of my CD collection to 128 kbps for Shuffle use. I absolutely agree that high variable bitrate is the way to go for superior sound quality, but it's not needed for my purposes. I generally just listen to my iPod on my walk to work and back, and when you consider the background street noise and the tiny earbuds, I'm not losing anything as far as sound quality goes. 128 kbps is going to be good enough for me when listening to my Shuffle.

If I want to hear my music with excellent sound quality, I'll just pop the CDs into my home stereo.