Foo - (probably) dumb I Pod question

ok, I'll admit it. I'm probably the last person in the western world to think about getting an i-pod. Although i jumped on CD's as soon as they came out (alas, before most of you were probably born!!), I can barely manage to get a group of songs onto my phone and actually play them.... it's me, not the phone!

So anyway, I discovered the AUX input on the back of my Bose Wave, and was thinking I could copy all 200+ CD's onto an i-pod and then just plug the sucker in - instead of changing discs all the time... it seems to work with my phone and the wave, my car, and the treadmill. It would work with an i-pod, right?

Then I read something about i-tunes... is that free downloadable software, or do I actually have to buy music i already have - to get it onto an i-pod?

the simpler the answer, the better!!

I don't use iTunes to convert music, as it's format isn't portable.

My process is this:
Start CDex (http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/)
Insert CD
Select "Query remote CDDB" (or something like that) for Track titles and ID info
I pick 128kbps bit rate for older music without a lot of dynamic range and 192 or 256 for more recent recordings.
Then "Extract CD track to compressed audio file" (I use mp3 format)

Then I move the files to my music library where my kid's iPod is configured to look. I just listen with my laptop.

BTW, you will need to download iTunes to load existing music. It is a free download.

You can rip to mp3 in iTunes, it's set to AAC by default, however, so you have to change it in Settings.

so I can pop a CD into the PC, convert it to a MP3 with itunes and load it into a i-pod classic like the i-pod is just another drive? can I just use windows media to do that, or do I have to use itunes?

ipods can only be used with itunes. Same goes for MP3 players...can only use those with programs other than itunes. Like SB said, itunes format isn't as portable...one of the things that sucks about it.

I've ripped all kinda CDs to mp3 with iTunes and subsequently loaded them up and played them on my Sansa. Here's a how-to, I'd select a higher bitrate, however. (http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_do_i_have_itunes_rip_cds_into_mp3_format.html)

There is at least one way to load up iPods without using iTunes. I don't think it's recommended for beginners, however.

so I can pop a CD into the PC, convert it to a MP3 with itunes and load it into a i-pod classic like the i-pod is just another drive? can I just use windows media to do that, or do I have to use itunes?

Nope, iTunes and iPod will "Sync". You'll have to adjust playlists and whatnot to get the tunes you want onto your iPod (but until you have a huge iTunes library, you can just throw every song onto your iPod.)

As I mentioned in the post above there are ways around itunes syncing with an iPod, but I'm not going to advise it to a noob.

Or, you could get a Sandisk Sansa if you really want drag-and-drop loading instead of syncing.

So anyway, I discovered the AUX input on the back of my Bose Wave, and was thinking I could copy all 200+ CD's onto an i-pod and then just plug the sucker in - instead of changing discs all the time... it seems to work with my phone and the wave, my car, and the treadmill. It would work with an i-pod, right?


It most likely will.

well, thanks for the info. Once i get it, I may haunt you all with more questions, but it does sound easy enough. I managed to figure out ARES, so itunes shouldn't be much more difficult!

You will need itunes to initialize your ipod the first time. After that you can use itunes to copy music to the ipod or you can use other programs that are made for this. I don't know what the advantages are to the other programs. I use itunes myself even though I think it is a pretty poor program. (Despite how much better people claim Apple is at user interfaces, they didn't demonstrate it with itunes.)

Other MP3 players work differently. I know that some of the Sansa players mount to your PC just like another disk drive and you can copy files to them using Windows Explorer.

Like other Apple products, the ipod is a neat product. But it is also about twice as expensive as some of the other good similar products on the market. I like my ipod but I've also wondered if I shouldn't have saved some money and bought something like a Zune, and also I wouldn't have had to use itunes.

But anyway the ipod/itunes combination is easy enough to use.

Thanks for all your help; I got a 160 GB classic, loaded almost all my CD's, and have about 9 days of 24/7 listening to do! I understand that I can create playlists, but I can't seem to get that "genius" thing to do anything. Is it me, my computer, my internet, or Apple?

I haven't used iTunes in a while, but I think that the "Genius" feature is more like a recommendation tool based upon your listening history.

My wife has iPod nano, and I have a Sansa Clip+. I prefer the UI on the Sansa.

To make a playlist, go under "File" and select "new playlist", then drag all the songs you want in that playlist. Don't forget to double click the playlist to name it.

Genius just suggests songs you already have to play and other songs available in the itunes store. You can ignore it and it won't affect your settings or anything.

The ipod classic is sweet. I have one and it's stupid easy to use and plug into my friend's car stereo and force her to listen to my current favourite song (it's Tom Lehrer's "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" right now). Did you get the album covers to download too?