Category > Software

September 15, 2006

iTunes 7 - It Lives!

In my mind, the best part of this week's announcements from Apple has been a chunky upgrade to the iTunes application. New features include:

I've been using the new iTunes version 7 for a couple of days now and I couldn't be happier. It feels like a well-rounded and capable piece of software. As I use it, no longer do I lament what is missing. In fact, some of the (long overdue) improvements - gapless playback and automated cover art fetching/display - make you wonder how you ever lived without them. iTunes has finally hit its stride with the version 7 release and I'm curious, and excited, to see how Apple will improve on this.

Related
- Use iTunes Better: iPoditude.com’s guide for getting the most out of iTunes
- Use multiple windows in iTunes
- New iTunes 6 is announced, details

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June 16, 2005

CoverBuddy for iTunes

CoverBuddy is a new application that displays your iTunes library as albums with cover art. CoverBuddy will import artwork embedded into your music tracks from iTunes and there is a 'search amazon' feature to make it easy to add additional cover art. However, cover art added in CoverBuddy doesn't transfer back into iTunes.

The web site says, "Instead of scrolling through an endless list of track names and album titles, transform your iTunes collection into an actual album collection..." This is really a great idea, and they touch upon something that is lost with a digital music library, that of the sense of touch and the visual cues of going through a stack of CDs or a shelf of records.

CoverBuddy costs US$25 and requires Mac OS X v10.3 or later and iTunes 4.7 or later.

Via ipodstudio

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March 31, 2005

Wirus podType: Type on your iPod, sort of

The web site says it's, "a little idea using on-the-go playlists lets you 'type' on your iPod." The concept is sufficiently creative and the execution is good. In fact, podType is a handy little utility to keep on your iPod.

Here are the details: go to the Wirus web site and download the zip file that contains the collection of small (about 7k each) mp3 files. Each mp3 has the artist listed as 'Ω Wirus podType' and the album is 'Ω podType [type of character such as Alpha, Special, or Numeric]'. Add these files to your iTunes library and then sync them to your iPod. That naming convention organizes all of the podType "songs" at the end of your library, but the important thing is the name of the "song" - each of these podType files has a single character for the song title.

The idea here is to use the On-the-go playlist feature on your iPod and use the characters provided by the podType "songs" to take notes or record any short piece of information that you may need. If you recall, adding a song to the on-the-go playlist in your iPod is as simple as scrolling to it and then pressing and holding the middle button for 2 seconds. The song title will flash to let you know it's been added. To read back what you've recorded just navigate through the playlists to the on-the-go playlist.

You may not want to write your first novel with podType, but for recording phone numbers, addresses, or anything else short, podType works surprisingly well. It really is fast and easy to use. The most difficult part is reading it back, since the iPod will only display each character vertically, in a listing. So you may have to scroll to read your note back.

podType hardly takes up any space on your iPod, and it can come in handy. It's free, the execution is done nicely (with the leading Ω character, all of the directories stay out of the way on the bottom of your lists), and it adds even more functionality to the iPod.

Category: Software | Comments (2)

March 28, 2005

iPod-TV: Television listings on your iPod

iPod-TV is a free application that transfers television schedules to your iPod. A week's worth of programming for each selected channel can be saved on your iPod and then used to decide which is better - continue to listen to music, or plant your lazy arse down in front of the TV and zone out. Due to the massive amount of garbage fine entertainment on television, each listing is saved as a small mp3 file (since the iPod Notes doesn't have the storage capacity necessary). Currently, iPod-TV is a Windows application and works only with UK television. Versions for the USA and other countries are in the works.

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December 29, 2004

iPod eBook Creator Concatenates Copious Compendiums

On Monday I told you about Book2Pod, a handy Mac application that chops up text files so they can be loaded into your iPod notes. The iPod eBooks Creator does the same thing, is cross-platform, and there is no need to install software. Visit the web site and upload your text file. It will process it and provide a link to a zipped archive containing your minced text file. Download the archive, unzip it and copy to your iPod. Nice.

Now, if only I had remembered to get the English translation of Dante's La Divina Commedia, I'd be all set.

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December 27, 2004

It Slices, It Dices, It’s Book2Pod.

Well, I thought that if we're going to make this the unofficial iPod notes day, we might as well do it right, so I dug up one of my favorite iPod utilities Book2Pod. Book2Pod is a handy little utility that takes a large plain text file and chops it up into little pieces so it can be loaded into the notes section of your iPod. This is great if you want to read books or short stories on your iPod. You have to copy it to the iPod manually, but Book2Pod takes care of the directory structure. Book2Pod is FREE and it even supports Mac OS Services but it only runs on the Mac, sorry no Windows version.

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Eat, Drink, and Be Merry.

In keeping with our iPod notes theme for the day, Enrique Quintero Design was considerate enough to publicize their version 2 redesign of Podtender. Podtender is a mixed drink reference containing 900 mixed drink recipes. I'm not responsible for what you might say if you try them all in one night. Anyway, version 2 sports reformatted recipes and restructured navigation which should make using it much easier, even to the blurry-eyed. Podtender promises to ensure that the iPod is the ultimate party machine. $9 shareware with a free demo available here.

And just in case you haven't reached the 1,000 note limit on your iPod, Enrique Quintero Design also publishes two recipe databases; PodGourmet for iPod and for those health-conscience ethical-eaters (myself included) PodGourmet Vegan Edition.

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