iPod vs. Vista....Fight!

[Russell Nash]

thank you to everyone who brought up smart playlists.  I had never used these before, but now I have seven set up. 

[wintermute]

disclaimer:  I don't use the iTunes store, because MP3 (and AAC) files sound like shit.

Showing my ignorance, perhaps, but I thought iTunes used MP4.

MP4 and AAC are the same thing.

[wintermute]

I suppose you could rip directly to the DAP, but does anyone really not have their library on their computer?

I think where we're mis-communicating here has to do with your moving of playlists.  When you say "take playlists off" I thought you meant remove the music and put it on a computer that didn't already have it.  I have twenty or thirty different playlists and I add a few to my iPod or take some off all of the time.  I just go to the proper screen and check the playlists I want on my iPod and uncheck the ones I want removed.  Takes about as long as it does to read the playlist titles.  I hit "apply" and walk away.  When I come back, it's done.  It also updates my playlists if I made any changes to a list since the last time it was plugged in.  I don't play with the files.

OK, I'm slightly confused by this. A playlist is a text file (normally with an .m3u extension) that defines the order in which tracks should be played. I have a couple of playlists set up, where what I want to play isn't easily defined by tags (for example, I have a playlist which is all songs by Warren Zevon, plus two albums of covers of his songs), but more often I just play everything in a given directory, because I have a filetree set up as artist/album/track.mp3. Basically, I rarely do anything that involves "playlists" rather than actual audiofiles.

Anyway my point is simply there's no reason for me to be mad at Apple for making it hard for me to do things in a more difficult way when they have given me this program that works so easily.

Making something deliberately difficult and then providing a way to overcome that difficulty is far less elegant than just keeping it simple in the first place.

[stePH]

I suppose you could rip directly to the DAP, but does anyone really not have their library on their computer?

I think where we're mis-communicating here has to do with your moving of playlists.  When you say "take playlists off" I thought you meant remove the music and put it on a computer that didn't already have it.  I have twenty or thirty different playlists and I add a few to my iPod or take some off all of the time.  I just go to the proper screen and check the playlists I want on my iPod and uncheck the ones I want removed.  Takes about as long as it does to read the playlist titles.  I hit "apply" and walk away.  When I come back, it's done.  It also updates my playlists if I made any changes to a list since the last time it was plugged in.  I don't play with the files.

OK, I'm slightly confused by this. A playlist is a text file (normally with an .m3u extension) that defines the order in which tracks should be played. I have a couple of playlists set up, where what I want to play isn't easily defined by tags (for example, I have a playlist which is all songs by Warren Zevon, plus two albums of covers of his songs), but more often I just play everything in a given directory, because I have a filetree set up as artist/album/track.mp3. Basically, I rarely do anything that involves "playlists" rather than actual audiofiles.

This is also the way I usually work, but when I have multiple episodes of a podcast that I want to listen to in sequence (say, something I've just picked up and want to catch the back shows of, or anything from Podiobooks), this goes right out the window.  Playlists are the ony easy option.

I also agree with your point about making something difficult and then providing a "solution".  The only Apple products I have are my Nano and the iTunes software, so I don't know how much of this Apple does (though I'm sure Microsoft isn't blameless in this regard either).

[Russell Nash]

Anyway my point is simply there's no reason for me to be mad at Apple for making it hard for me to do things in a more difficult way when they have given me this program that works so easily.

Making something deliberately difficult and then providing a way to overcome that difficulty is far less elegant than just keeping it simple in the first place.

I was saying that you are doing things in a difficult way.  Then you are mad that Apple makes it a little more difficult way.  I'm happy that Apple gives me a blazingly easy way to do it that is far easier than your easy way.

[wintermute]

Easier than drag-and-drop? Well, if you find it so, then more power to you. My experience with such managers (including iTunes), however, has driven me in high frustration back to the simplicity of the file browser.

Each to their own, I suppose.

[Bdoomed]

disclaimer:  I don't use the iTunes store, because MP3 (and AAC) files sound like shit. 

Showing my ignorance, perhaps, but I thought iTunes used MP4.

they do, but its pretty much the same.  my dad doesnt like the sound of mp3s either, he downloads a lota flack files.  i think thats just a waste of space and completely ineffficient.

as for the ipod's random directories, i explored the thing on my own a while back and discovered the possibility of copy/pasting music from there.  in my experience (at least on pcs) after the copy/paste, the computer auto renames the files, you dont have to manually do that.

[Windup]

Easier than drag-and-drop? Well, if you find it so, then more power to you. My experience with such managers (including iTunes), however, has driven me in high frustration back to the simplicity of the file browser.

Each to their own, I suppose.

Hmm... I guess so.  I switched to an iPod a year or so ago specifically to get away from the hassle of dragging, dropping, manually ordering and manually deleting on my iRiver.  Now, I have a bunch of "smart" playlists set up, and most days I can just update the library, synch those and be done. It happens in the background while I'm reading internet comics.  Though to keep the library pruned, a couple of times a week I go through and wipe things that got missed by auto-delete, and pick up the occasional podcast that doesn't get downloaded.

[wintermute]

they do, but its pretty much the same.  my dad doesnt like the sound of mp3s either, he downloads a lota flack files.  i think thats just a waste of space and completely ineffficient.

That would be FLAC. As a losslessly compressed codec, it should be exactly as good as the source it was recorded from. In most cases, you won't be able to tell the difference between a FLAC recording and an MP3 at 192Kbps, but there also won't be huge difference in file size. Once you start getting into lower bitrates on MP3s, the sound can degrade quite significantly (music at anything below 128Kbps is unlistenable, IMHO).

Most of my library is in FLAC format on my computer as an archive, so that I don't need to go back to the CDs, if I want to re-rip them, but my "working library" (as it were) is transcoded from there to MP3 or OGG so that they take up less room on my player.

[birdless]

See below.

If you fiddle with the sort -- either by selecting a field or manually moving podcasts around -- and want it to play in that order, <right-click> on the playlist and select Copy to Play Order.

Thanks for the tips, Heradel and Windup. I figured there was probably a way, but you just saved me the time in searching for the solution myself.

thank you to everyone who brought up smart playlists.  I had never used these before, but now I have seven set up. 

I love'em, too. I can't remember how i stumbled onto it, but i think i use more Smart Lists now than regular lists.

[Russell Nash]

thank you to everyone who brought up smart playlists.  I had never used these before, but now I have seven set up. 

I love'em, too. I can't remember how i stumbled onto it, but i think i use more Smart Lists now than regular lists.

I've now moved up to "Super Smartlists" as Wherethewild called them.  That's where you set up a bunch of sub-lists and then have another list that refines the choices made in the sub-lists. 

[Planish]

As I understand it, one drawback to Smart Playlists (as opposed to the vanilla playlists) is that iTunes takes longer to start up because it has to scan through the entire Library each time and see which tunes satisfy the filters.

[Windup]

As I understand it, one drawback to Smart Playlists (as opposed to the vanilla playlists) is that iTunes takes longer to start up because it has to scan through the entire Library each time and see which tunes satisfy the filters.

I can't say I've noticed the change, but my computer was "sized" for home photo manipulation, so it's over-powered for most other jobs.

[Russell Nash]

As I understand it, one drawback to Smart Playlists (as opposed to the vanilla playlists) is that iTunes takes longer to start up because it has to scan through the entire Library each time and see which tunes satisfy the filters.

I can't say I've noticed the change, but my computer was "sized" for home photo manipulation, so it's over-powered for most other jobs.

Haven't noticed anything and my machine is running at it's maximum just to watch a you-tube video.

[Sandikal]

I resisted upgrading my iTunes until I got my new iPod in May.  Managing podcasts was so much easier on my old version of iTunes.  Now, it's a pain in the butt.  I hate having to have a smart playlist to manage my podcasts, or even to view what episodes I have.  I used to be able to see every episode from the podcast directory. 

I can't stand my new Canon camera window interface either.  Shouldn't newer versions of software be EASIER to use than older versions?  The software developers seem to work overtime to make things less user-friendly rather than simplifying.

[Bdoomed]

I resisted upgrading my iTunes until I got my new iPod in May.  Managing podcasts was so much easier on my old version of iTunes.  Now, it's a pain in the butt.  I hate having to have a smart playlist to manage my podcasts, or even to view what episodes I have.  I used to be able to see every episode from the podcast directory. 

I can't stand my new Canon camera window interface either.  Shouldn't newer versions of software be EASIER to use than older versions?  The software developers seem to work overtime to make things less user-friendly rather than simplifying.

umm i dont know whats wrong with ur itunes, but mine has a podcast directory without having to use a smart playlist....

[Sandikal]

Do you have the newest version?  I never had to use Smart Playlists for podcasts until I downloaded the newest version in May.  I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get a list at all.  It just didn't work the way it used to.  So, I went to iTunes support and their help files said that Smart Playlists were the only way you could list individual episodes of podcasts.  THEY BROKE IT!

[Heradel]

Do you have the newest version?  I never had to use Smart Playlists for podcasts until I downloaded the newest version in May.  I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get a list at all.  It just didn't work the way it used to.  So, I went to iTunes support and their help files said that Smart Playlists were the only way you could list individual episodes of podcasts.  THEY BROKE IT!

There's a little triangle you can click next to the podcast in the directory which shows the individual episodes of a given podcast, like so:

[stePH]

Do you have the newest version?  I never had to use Smart Playlists for podcasts until I downloaded the newest version in May.  I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get a list at all.  It just didn't work the way it used to.  So, I went to iTunes support and their help files said that Smart Playlists were the only way you could list individual episodes of podcasts.  THEY BROKE IT!

I just checked and it says that my version, 7.6.2, is the current version.  I can expand the podcast list to view individual episodes by means of the little triangle that Heradel mentions.

(PS Heradel your illustration seems to be missing.)

[Heradel]

Do you have the newest version?  I never had to use Smart Playlists for podcasts until I downloaded the newest version in May.  I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get a list at all.  It just didn't work the way it used to.  So, I went to iTunes support and their help files said that Smart Playlists were the only way you could list individual episodes of podcasts.  THEY BROKE IT!

I just checked and it says that my version, 7.6.2, is the current version.  I can expand the podcast list to view individual episodes by means of the little triangle that Heradel mentions.

(PS Heradel your illustration seems to be missing.)

Arg, yes, it was. Fixed.

[Sandikal]

Thank you!  My screen didn't look anything like yours.  I realized that my problem was the view.  I switched to list view and they all showed up!  It's still different than it used to be.  The list now shows episodes that haven't been downloaded and those episodes have a button that allows you to download them without going into the iTunes store.  That's pretty cool, but cluttered.

[stePH]

(PS Heradel your illustration seems to be missing.)

Arg, yes, it was. Fixed.

OMFG where do you find the time to listen to all that?  I'd have to do nothing else in my spare time but listen to podcasts.

[Heradel]

(PS Heradel your illustration seems to be missing.)

Arg, yes, it was. Fixed.

OMFG where do you find the time to listen to all that?  I'd have to do nothing else in my spare time but listen to podcasts.

Commute+multitrack mind+mindless work.

[stePH]

(PS Heradel your illustration seems to be missing.)

Arg, yes, it was. Fixed.

OMFG where do you find the time to listen to all that?  I'd have to do nothing else in my spare time but listen to podcasts.

Commute+multitrack mind+mindless work.

Mindless work would help.  I can't really listen at work except on occasions when they've got me making copies of site plans on the wide-format copier.  Then I put on the ol' iPod, resume playback of the last podcast, and get to copying.  It takes very little mental energy to feed sheets in and catch the sheets coming out, nor to collate and staple the finished product.

[stePH]

OK, I must say I LOVE SMART PLAYLISTS!  Finally I can keep podcasts on my iPod until I'm done listening to them, and not have them automatically removed whenever I plug into iTunes just because I might have played the first half-second just to check out what the running time is.  Smart playlists keep my place in the podcast and won't remove it until I've played it all the way through.