A semi-idiotic iPod mini question...

pscates

The more I think about it, the more I find myself attracted to the iPod mini over the traditional - and still cool - iPod.



I have around 10GB of music.



What happens if I plug a 4GB iPod mini into my PowerBook? Does the iPod just load up as much of the 10GB library as it can.



Or do I have some sort of say-so or control over what gets transferred?



Is there a way to connect the iPod and then - either via playlists OR manually dragging songs to it - put on what I'd like, up to 4GB? Probably 1/4 of my iTunes library is classical or world music of some sort that, honestly, I don't see myself listening to on a frequent, regular basis. I could see just making some nice playlists (walking, relaxing, driving/upbeat, oldies, etc.) and dragging those to and from as desired.



Short of waiting for an orange 6-8GB model to be released, I think I'm "this close" to getting one of those green or silver iPod minis.

mslifkin

You can set iTunes to manually sync your iPod; this way you decide which tracks / playlists land on it. I know it can be done, but I've never had to do it myself. I think the first time you connect the iPod you'll be prompted for how you want to sync. I've got a 30 gig Gen 3 iPod, and I think it's great! Good luck.



Marc

Quote:

Originally posted by pscates

The more I think about it, the more I find myself attracted to the iPod mini over the traditional - and still cool - iPod.



I have around 10GB of music.



What happens if I plug a 4GB iPod mini into my PowerBook? Does the iPod just load up as much of the 10GB library as it can.



Or do I have some sort of say-so or control over what gets transferred?



Is there a way to connect the iPod and then - either via playlists OR manually dragging songs to it - put on what I'd like, up to 4GB? Probably 1/4 of my iTunes library is classical or world music of some sort that, honestly, I don't see myself listening to on a frequent, regular basis. I could see just making some nice playlists (walking, relaxing, driving/upbeat, oldies, etc.) and dragging those to and from as desired.



Short of waiting for an orange 6-8GB model to be released, I think I'm "this close" to getting one of those green or silver iPod minis.

torifile

I think that the first time you connect the ipod mini, it'll make a playlist automatically. You can decide what goes on it by telling it to sync only certain playlists. You can then create playlists to your heart's content and as long as it's set to sync those automatically, you're all set. If you want to manually do stuff on the iPod (like create playlists on it) check manually manage playlists and songs.



BTW, these options are in the iPod preferences that you can access when you plug your ipod in. A button will come up next to the EQ button in the iTunes window. HTH.

thegelding

Quote:

Originally posted by pscates



Short of waiting for an orange 6-8GB model to be released, I think I'm "this close" to getting one of those green or silver iPod minis.

yeah, me too...same color choice also...thought either silver or blue at first, but my daughter gets rolling stone magazine and they had cut outs of all the colors and i really like the green...and the size is amazing





still...how are they for freakin jogging??





g

hom

Quote:

Originally posted by torifile

I think that the first time you connect the ipod mini, it'll make a playlist automatically. You can decide what goes on it by telling it to sync only certain playlists. You can then create playlists to your heart's content and as long as it's set to sync those automatically, you're all set. If you want to manually do stuff on the iPod (like create playlists on it) check manually manage playlists and songs.



BTW, these options are in the iPod preferences that you can access when you plug your ipod in. A button will come up next to the EQ button in the iTunes window. HTH.

That's not what happens when you plug an iPod into the computer. pscates was right. The first time you plug it in, it will sync as much as it can. What you can do is set the iPod to act in one of three ways. First is auto sync. iTunes will send as many songs as it can to the iPod. Third is auto-sync playlists. Here you can say only sync the "iPod Mini" playlist or whatever ones you want. Third is manual. Here you drag the songs across that you want, but you lose the ability to have play count and star rating get moved back to iTunes.



I decided to try and see if I could live with an iPod mini. I've got 28 GB of songs and a 30GB iPod. I created a smart playlist with only the songs that I have listened to more than once. I was shocked to find out that I only listen to 3.68 GB of the music on my computer.

jante99

A good solution I just implemented on my 15 gig iPod is to label all the songs you want to put on your iPod as group 1. Then create a smart playlist of all songs with grouping of 1. Set the iPod to only add songs from this playlist. To add songs to the iPod simply change the group label to 1.

endymion

I've set up an smart playlist on itunes that I use to sync to my ipod that does the following:



Limits the list to a total size that fits on my ipod sorted by most often played.

Doesn't add genres that I don't want on the iPod like Comedy.

Doesn't add incompatible tracks like ogg files and other quicktime imports.



So this gets my favorite most listened to music on my ipod whenever I sync while leaving some room for my contacts and address book info.

whisper

Quote:

Originally posted by HOM

I decided to try and see if I could live with an iPod mini. I've got 28 GB of songs and a 30GB iPod. I created a smart playlist with only the songs that I have listened to more than once. I was shocked to find out that I only listen to 3.68 GB of the music on my computer.

I just tried that on my computer; 13.61GB shrunk down to 3.85GB (3.52CB if I tell it to match only checked songs).

fred_lj

While on the topic of the mini, I just saw one personally two days ago. A chick walking past me while I was waiting on the elevator had a gold one -- spotted her earphones first, then looked to see what she had. They are very, very sexy. Ultra-nice product --- and these tips about syncing are great!!

pscates

Wow, great responses. This pretty much seals it, I suppose. All these months I was pretty much aiming for a 20GB (MORE than enough capacity, plus the dock and the other things). But almost seems like overkill in some ways.



I need to get using those smart playlists more, because it sounds like I could have a fairly fluid, ever-changing and hassle-free iPod list if I just did a little front end work. And I don't think I'd go anywhere long enough with the iPod only that 4GB wouldn't keep me entertained.



Any long trips or getaways (more than 2 days, say) the PowerBook comes with, so I'll have my entire library anyway.



Maybe 4GB is plenty for someone like me (walking, reading, laundromat, aimless weekend driving, relaxing around the house, running errands, listening during the workday, at lunch, etc.).



And I really dig that green (my second favorite color)! Was considering the silver, but hell...everything Mac-oriented I own right now is either silver or glossy white (PowerBook, Bluetooth mouse, JBL Creatures, AirPort Extreme station, etc.). It wouldn't kill me to introduce a little color into the mix.

ghost_user_name

My music collection recently grew beyond 30GB. So my iPod said, "Woah, look dude. Synaptic Seepage is going to be goin' down in this shizzy if you try and make me load all that muzizzy on to this here hard drizzy!"



It then offered to make a playlist that would sync to the iPod. It automatically populated the playlist with the majority of my music. In fact, I'm not sure what it omitted, as I haven't been able to figure that out yet.

pscates

Fo' shizzle, my nizzle.



Your iPod from the 'hood, huh?

ghost_user_name

Quote:

Originally posted by pscates

Fo' shizzle, my nizzle.



Your iPod from the 'hood, huh?

Fo' shizzle, my nizzle.

---

"fo shizzle ma nizzle" is a bastardization of "fo' sheezy mah neezy" which is a bastardization of "for sure mah nigga" which is a bastdardization of "I concur with you whole heartedly my African american brother"



Thank you Urban Dictionary...

pscates

Oh, thank you. I can now get on with my life...

ghost_user_name

Well that was for me really... you see, I wanted to find out just what that was all about... so I looked it up and that's what I found. I found it funny so I posted it.



Anyway...