orioles35's Full Review: Apple iPod classic 6th Generation Black (80 GB) MP...
An iPod?
A friend of mine a few years back made an interesting comment to me that stuck in my head: "There's no reason to buy CDs now-a-days." I don't completely agree with that, as there are some artists that can't be found on iTunes (yeah, I know...not many). But that one comment set me on a course to join the iPod generation.
Since the mid 80's, I've been something of a music aficionado...not in a huge way, but it's been important to me. My first CD was 1983's Genesis self-titled CD, I still remember thinking how cool the shiny disk was and that neat noise it made when I placed it in the player...wow, a LASER plays this! Fast forward 25 years later and my collection still has that same CD, plus around 300 more. Moving them around has been a pain (along with a similar number of DVDs), storage, trying to figure out which ones to bring with me in the car every day...and those neat little mp3 players, iPods. Boy it would be neat to have your entire music collection on one little player!
So I had a process to go through to get there:
1) Record all my CDs to mp3s 2) Sell all my CDs 3) Buy an iPod and sync it with all my music
Step 1 took awhile, but wasn't that difficult, thanks to RealPlayer.
Step 2 went better than expected...all those years of painfully taking care of my CDs, not scratching them, replacing cracked or scratched cases...all of it paid off. The "We Buy Used CD" shop ended up giving me enough to pay for an 80GB iPod, instead of the 30GB I had originally considered! Good thing, too, otherwise I would have had no room left on a 30GB iPod.
After unpacking my new 80GB iPod, the next logical step would be to sync it with my home computer to get the music on the iPod. Synchronization is done with iTunes, a software app that allows you to sync not only music, but movies, audiobooks, podcasts and more. It also permits you to make your own CDs, listen to streaming internet radio, watch videos and TV shows. ITunes also allows you the ability to enter song lyrics and album artwork that can be viewed as each song or CD plays.
iTunes
There are several things to keep in mind as you start to use your iPod with iTunes:
Your iPod will ONLY work with the version of iTunes on your home computer. If you take your iPod and sync it with someone else's computer, it will warn you of the change and offer to overwrite whats already on your iPod with everything on the new computer. Obviously this isn't ideal. However, you do have the option of not having any synchroniztion performed from the new computer and continue to iTunes. You then do have the option to load music from that machine, BUT remember that you cannot take music OFF of an iPod and move it to your home computer.
Your iPod groups mp3s by artist, genre, album title, play order and other values. Those values are NOT based on what the mp3 is named on your home computer!!!!! This is not made clear in any of the iPod or iTunes documentation I found. These values are obtained by right-clicking on your mp3 file, then selecting Properties and clicking the Advanced button. The values pulled into iTunes and subsequently into your iPod are found here...not having the correct values or not having any values at all will severely limit your ability to play what you want. Without correcting these values, songs show up on your iPod without artists, without an album title, in the wrong play order or other mistakes. Songs with an artist such as Sean Kingston, or Shawn Kingston, or Sean Kington will show up as three different artists, when in fact it is the same singer.
Organization is vital if you want to keep good track of what you have/don't have and making sure it ends up in the correct place on your iPod. I have a music folder and underneath that, folders for each artist. Within those folders, are more folders for each album I have and below those are the mp3 files.
There are many people who despise this kind of organization and others who simply just don't care or don't want to spend the time changing the values appropriately. That's fine, but I want to be able to find what I have, what I need to download and what I want to play without having to "hunt" for it. So to organize things, there's more than likely a bit of work that needs to be done on the Properties of your mp3s before synchronization.
So if you're happy with your mp3s, it's time to do your first sync to your iPod. Using the white sync cable (which in my opinion is way too short, what is it maybe 3 feet long?), attach one end to the bottom of your iPod, the other to a USB port on your computer. Once the device is recognized, iTunes will start automatically if not already open, and synchronization will begin. This can take some time if you have a large music collection and if you've elected to have iTunes download the CD cover art while doing a sync. Once iTunes indicates that "Syncronization is completed.", you may disconnect your iPod and start listening to music.
A further concern is one of backing up your mp3s. A large music collection can easily span many 4.7GB DVD disks, but to be completely safe, you should investigate some method of backing up your music files. While all your mp3s may reside both on your iPod and home computer and the likelihood of both of those crashing is small, if that does happen, you will lose ALL your music...meaning you'll have no choice but to try and remember everything you have AND be able to repurchase it all. Some of what I have on my iPod are concerts I've attended (and bought recordings legally), and rare b-sides or unreleased tracks. To lose those would mean I likely would never have them in my collection again...ever.
Music to your ears
Upon first using an iPod, it seems like such a simply device. The unit has the main screen, click wheel, headphones port, hold switch and dock connector. That's it. But the controls and capabilities go well beyond this simplicity. Navigating through the various menus is performed by using the click wheel, either by selecting options such as Artist, Album or Playlist, then pressing the center button to select that item. Scrolling through larger lists of entries is done by running your finger or thumb around the click wheel, clockwise to go "up" the alphabet and counter-clockwise to go "down" the list. This is why having the mp3 properties set is so important! The click wheel also allows you to turn off your iPod by holding the Play/Pause button, play/pause a song, change volume, skip songs or parts of songs or restart an mp3 from the beginning. Songs can be played in various orders, for instance:
1) Your entire collection from start to finish by artist, song or CD 2) An entire artists catalog, by CD, then track 3) One CD 4) Alphabetical order by song name 5) Random shuffle 6) By Genre (rap, classical, progressive rock, etc) 7) By Playlist, created in iTunes (for instance, I have a "Party Playlist" for when we're entertaining. That way I can turn it on and just leave it the night of the party.)
Design
Apple's design team has consistently produced nicer looking products that anything Microsoft has ever thrown together. The size is just right, measuring 4.1in by 2.4in by .5 in and weighing just 5 ounces. It feels solid and substantial in your hands. The screen is a vibrant and clear 2.5in LCD, which proves to be sufficient for watching movies or looking at pictures. It can be found in either silver or black, but the color is only on the front of the iPod. The back is a shiny metallic mirror finish, which some people choose to get engraved with their identification, since without that there's no real way to determine whose iPod belongs to who.
Capabilities
Music supported formats: mp3, mp3 vbr, AAC, apple and AIFF formats
Can be used as a data storage device, once the "Enable Disk Use" has been turned on.
Can be used as an alarm, stop watch, or you can play games (iQuiz, Klondike and Vortex come installed from Apple). More games are available from the iTunes store.
Issues
The battery lasts approximately 20-25 hours when playing music (much less when playing a movie, so be careful on those long flights), although unless you're extremely negligent in connecting it to your home computer or Sounddock, where it will charge automatically, it's tough to run this thing down to where it has no juice. A continued problem is that the owner cannot change the battery, when that situation exists.
As with all electronic/computer devices, sometimes things go wrong and the iPod will lock up. To fix this situation, hold the center button and the pause button simultaneously to reset the iPod. Other troubleshooting tips are well documented online, should you find that necessary.
Finally
Apple, iTunes and now the iPhone are all the next steps towards developing one convergent device that does everything, can purchase anything in a matter of seconds and is something that eventually everyone will carry with them each day. Music and movies is just the first step and as time passes, these devices will be capable of more amazing things as technology develops.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 310 Recommended for: Music Lovers - High Capacity Storage for an Entire Album Collection
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