More iPod Loading Without iTunes…

I realize that last night TQT was missing but it will be back next week as my Tuesday night schedule should be easing up a bit.

A couple of weeks ago, I highlighted how to load up an iPod Shuffle without using iTunes because of some major issues I’ve had with iTunes in the past (read here and also here). This post will fill in the blanks for those of you using iPod versions other than the Shuffle. Unfortunately, this method does NOT work with iPhones and also requires you to sync your iPod with iTunes and load at least one song on there. I, personally, would recommend you do this on your friend’s computer rather than loading that piece of garbage on your computer. Now, off to the races.

The program we are going to be using is called Floola. Floola is a free side project by a helpful chap, so I would highly recommend donating if you like the product.

Start by downloading Floola here and be sure to extract the zip file to your iPod’s base directory. If you go to My Computer, you should see the C: drive and a couple other drives. On of them (E: on my computer) is the iPod. Double click it and you will see a couple of folders named Contacts, Calendars, Notes, and an see-through folder called iPod_Control. This is where you want to unzip your Floola folder to. Head over to the folder you extracted the files to and double click on Floola.exe.

The first task you need to do is choose which model of iPod you have. If you aren’t sure, you can visit Apple’s model identification guide. Floola will also give you some suggestions. It suggested that my iPod Nano 2G was either a 1G or a 2G (where G stands for generation). It also gives you some warnings and instructions, so be sure to read them through.

Once you hit save, you are pretty much home-free. At this point you can add tracks, delete tracks, manage photos stored on the device, and do pretty much everything else iTunes did.

A huge added bonus is that Floola is now saved on and runs from your iPod itself. That means if you visit anyone’s computer, regardless of whether they have iTunes or not, you will be able to update your music, photos, and podcasts using only the information on your iPod.

Have you tried any other alternatives to iTunes that worked for you? Found any hidden gems on Floola that cemented the deal for you? Share in the comments!

Load an iPod Shuffle Without iTunes…

Before we get started, note that this tutorial is for the iPod Shuffle only. We’ll get to other iPods later, don’t worry.

It is fairly well documented around these parts that I’m not a huge fan of iTunes (read here and also here). It is easy to find a new music player and manager (I mostly use foobar2000), but it much more difficult if you own and iPod.

Apple loves making beautiful, functional products, but then they manage to lock you into everything Apple. In order to use your Apple iPod, you have to use Apple iTunes. Want to use the gorgeous and simple OSX? You can only use it on a Mac (well, almost ‘only’).

I bought a iPod Shuffle because I loved that it was super compact, had good battery life, had a durable aluminum shell, and was nice and inexpensive. When I first got it, I used a program on Linux called gtkpod since iTunes isn’t made for Linux. I no longer have my Linux PC around so I was searching for a way to load music on my iPod Shuffle without iTunes and I found an amazingly simple way: iShuffle.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Make sure you’ve either uninstalled iTunes from your computer or be sure to uncheck the box that automatically launches iTunes when you plug in an iPod.
2. Go to the iShuffle site and download the ‘iShuffle-without-iTunes.zip’ file. Open it and move to Step 3. We’ll use this zip file for Step 4.
3. Plug in your iPod Shuffle. Now click on “My Computer” or “Computer” and you should see your iPod showing up. Go ahead and double click on the iPod to view it’s contents.
4. Go back to the zip file from Step 2 and open it. Extract the file labeled ‘iShuffle.exe’ on to your iPod Shuffle. It should go on the iPod directly (in the root), not in a folder. In the above example, it should go in E:\.
5. You will need to create folder named Music to put in that same location. After you create the folder, its location should be E:\Music in the example above.
6. You can now load any music you want in the Music folder. After loading the music, double click the iShuffle.exe file to build the playlist and finish up the process!

Note that if you make any changes to the music located in the Music folder, you have to re-run the iShuffle.exe file to re-build the playlist.

If you are lacking some decent music to listen to on your iTunes-free iPod Shuffle, be sure to head to Amazonmp3.com to download some new tunes.

We’ll discuss Floola soon for managing iPods other than the Shuffle soon, but do you have any other media managers that you use in place of iTunes? I’m looking for some new running music, so be sure to let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions!

Friday Night Links (3/5/2010)…

Friday, Friday, FRIDAY…

The weekend is here and I’ve got some good plans: sis-in-law’s birthday dinner, moving a friend, fixing a computer, making USB flash drives filled with goodies, and a couple other odds and ends. But for now, I’ve got some links.

• Homemade Granola Bars (http://thedig.in/c3) – Man I love granola bars. I will point out that I love crunchy ones, but if someone happened to make these and drop them off at my house, I would definitely eat them and sing your praises. If you didn’t quite get what I said there, “Bring me granola bars.” Clear?
• iPod Auction (http://thedig.in/c4) – Pictures speak volumes. I’m heading over there to put up my ‘$52 reward’ sign tomorrow. Hopefully nobody is smart enough to put up a $53 sign. That would just be CRAZY.
• Survive a Tsunami (http://thedig.in/c5) – After concerns about tsunamis from the recent Chilean earthquake, I saw this guide from the US Geological Survey that has a ton of pictures, charts, stories, and tips on how to survive a tsunami. I think the amazing thing is how low and how high the water actually goes. Additionally, the pictures of the before and after are pretty scary as well. Below is my favorite chart.
  

  Image from USGS website: http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/c1187/images/fig17.jpg

Gifts for Your Techie: $100-399…

Yesterday, I tossed out some gift ideas under $100 for the gadget lover in your life. Tonight we are going to cover the $100-399 range. If you have a spouse, significant other, parent or child, this is probably the sweet spot for how much you are going to spend.

Personally, this is probably the range I am most excited to cover because you can get some really amazing things and yet still get a bargain. Without delay, let’s get to the gifts:

• Aliph Jawbone PRIME – If your little techie is a jabberjaw, this is the perfect gift. No more giant bluetooth headsets with bright blue flashing lights. This svelte little headset is a work of art and technology, and includes a metal case and military-grade noise reduction. This is especially useful if your state requires hands-free devices when driving and talking on the phone.

  

• 32gb Apple iPod Touch – The hottest phone over the last three years has been the iPhone. Unfortunately, getting an iPhone will run you nearly $100 a month and you have to deal with AT&T’s possibly shaky service. A better way to get your fix of apps, music, and internet is to get an iPod Touch. Once hooked up to WiFi, you can download games, grab music for your collection, and browse the internet. Plus, there is no monthly service fee and you get a ton of storage space.

  

• PlayStation 3 – After a recent price drop from $399 to $299, the PS3 is an amazing piece of machine for the money. It has a Bluray Disc high definition player, streams Netflix, and plays the latest video games. There continues to be rumors that it may add digital video recording (DVR) capabilities and even 3-D movies in the distant future.

  

• Asus Eee PC Netbook – Netbooks are great little computers for people on the go or those just lounging around the house. My friend, Mr. Noobie, covered the pros and cons of netbooks extensively, so be sure to check out that article. For my money though, nothing beats the Asus 10″ Eee PC. The 1005HA-PU1X has a great keyboard, a multi-touch trackpad, and up to a max of 10.5 hours of battery life.

  

For tomorrow, don’t forget to make a withdrawal from the bank because we are going to be hitting the $400-1,000 gifts that will have your geek, all worked up in a lather.

If you have great gadget gift ideas at any pricepoint, let me know in the comments.

New Apple announcements…

I’m taking a short break from our little Google series to catch you up on the little Apple shindig that happened today. It was a pretty boring deal with no new products and no particularly ground-breaking features. However, there was a bit of intrigue in there.

iTunes 9

• They added iTunes LPs which have lyrics, concert videos, exclusive songs, and photo albums. Oddly enough, they don’t include lossless, uncompressed versions of the song for high fidelity listening. Boring!
• Improved interface, an App manager, and tweaks to the syncing procedure. More “who cares.”
• A Home Library that allows all the computers on your account to automatically import songs from other computers. Basically, if you download a new song on your desktop, next time your laptop is on the same network, it will import that song from your desktop. This feature is great, especially for anal retentive people like me who do everything they can to be sure all their music is the same on all computers.
• Tweet your current listening selection. Meh. Its kind of cool, but I doubt I’d ever use it. I’ve got much more important things to post on Twitter.

iPod Nano

• The Nano got a camera and a microphone. This is pretty nice and it includes a voice-over feature and effects for the camera such as night-vision (the green blurry footage) and 19 or so other effects.
• On the aesthetic front, it got a new paint job that is shiny instead of the matte finish in prior generations.
• FM tuner: Welcome to 1998, Apple. 1998 is approximately when the first mp3 player got its FM tuner. Downside is you need to plug in headphones to get reception. Not a big deal for the most part though.
• Did you know that people that use a pedometer walk approximately 2,000 more steps than those without? Did you know the iPod Nano now has a pedometer? Get your walk on!

iPod Touch

• Upgraded processor in the 32 and 64Gb models. Boring!
• The 8Gb version price is lowered to $199. Boring!

That about covers it aside from some extremely minor updates to the iPod Shuffle and the iPod Classic. If you have any questions, ask away in the comments. Back to the Google series tomorrow with Google Docs!