A really dumb question about iPods...
I've been thinking - for a while now - that I should get a 20GB or so external FireWire hard drive because here's the deal: when I do a clean system install or - heaven forbid - suddenly acquire the dreaded whitespotitis on my PowerBook and have to send my PowerBook back for repair/replacement, I have to go to a friend's iBook or G4 tower to "lifeboat" my 10GB iTunes library, as well as hold, say, 2GB worth of personal files (projects, writing, art, photos, etc.)
But doesn't the iPod do that very thing?
In other words, if I put my music on an iPod to listen to, it copies over the folder info and all the settings?
If I connected a 20GB iPod to my PowerBook today and it launched iTunes and did the whole "transfer library to iPod for listening" and I suddenly dropped my PowerBook out the window or something, could I take that iPod and hook it to another Mac (a new one, for instance) and all my music transfers BACK to the Mac (for iTunes usage), with artist/album info intact (and playlists and so forth)?
There's no reason to invest in a standalone 20GB FireWire hard drive, is there if the iPod does this?
What I want to avoid is a) losing all my music, now that I've actually GOTTEN RID OF my physical CDs (I'd NEVER be able to re-buy all those Beatle, Petty, Morrison, Crow, Earle, etc. CDs again!) and b) having to sit and manually re-enter all the track info because somehow it got lost or didn't transfer over from the iPod.
Is it a seamless back-and-forth solution, ideal for "lifeboating" and backing up during a potential Mac-less period? Because if so, I'm getting an iPod THIS WEEKEND so I can quit bugging my friends.
I assume it does because the folders/artist/album info all seems to stay intact on the iPod (as well as playlists).
I just want to make super-sure, and here it from you.
Is there anything special I have to do to tell the iPod "hold this music, BUT also keep these non-music files here too". As I said, maybe 2GB of non-music stuff I'd be looking to store as well, in the event of my PowerBook being repaired/replaced (or if I wanted to install a fresh, "erase and install" Panther).
But doesn't the iPod do that very thing?
In other words, if I put my music on an iPod to listen to, it copies over the folder info and all the settings?
If I connected a 20GB iPod to my PowerBook today and it launched iTunes and did the whole "transfer library to iPod for listening" and I suddenly dropped my PowerBook out the window or something, could I take that iPod and hook it to another Mac (a new one, for instance) and all my music transfers BACK to the Mac (for iTunes usage), with artist/album info intact (and playlists and so forth)?
There's no reason to invest in a standalone 20GB FireWire hard drive, is there if the iPod does this?
What I want to avoid is a) losing all my music, now that I've actually GOTTEN RID OF my physical CDs (I'd NEVER be able to re-buy all those Beatle, Petty, Morrison, Crow, Earle, etc. CDs again!) and b) having to sit and manually re-enter all the track info because somehow it got lost or didn't transfer over from the iPod.
Is it a seamless back-and-forth solution, ideal for "lifeboating" and backing up during a potential Mac-less period? Because if so, I'm getting an iPod THIS WEEKEND so I can quit bugging my friends.
I assume it does because the folders/artist/album info all seems to stay intact on the iPod (as well as playlists).
I just want to make super-sure, and here it from you.
Is there anything special I have to do to tell the iPod "hold this music, BUT also keep these non-music files here too". As I said, maybe 2GB of non-music stuff I'd be looking to store as well, in the event of my PowerBook being repaired/replaced (or if I wanted to install a fresh, "erase and install" Panther).
Comments
I didn't know that about the "keeping music when you've sold the CD" thing. The whole reason I sold them was because I didn't need them anymore and I NEVER used/listened to them.
So I de-clutter my life and fully embrace the "digital lifestyle"...and now I'm a criminal. Nice...
About 300 CDs that I bought LEGALLY (from stores, BMG, etc.) over the years, so I'm not going to get too torqued up on this end of it. The artists got paid and so forth.
Interesting. That never even crossed my mind. I didn't know that was even an issue.
In any case, my conscience is clear. It's MY music (300+ CDs purchased at Tower/Target/Wherehouse/Time-Life/BMG prices...do the math). And any new stuff I'm getting is all from the Apple online music store...
So you're saying do the standard iPod transfer as normal, BUT also manually copy my library over as data files?
Originally posted by pscates
What I want to avoid is a) losing all my music, now that I've actually GOTTEN RID OF my physical CDs (I'd NEVER be able to re-buy all those Beatle, Petty, Morrison, Crow, Earle, etc. CDs again!) and b) having to sit and manually re-enter all the track info because somehow it got lost or didn't transfer over from the iPod.
Is it a seamless back-and-forth solution, ideal for "lifeboating" and backing up during a potential Mac-less period? Because if so, I'm getting an iPod THIS WEEKEND so I can quit bugging my friends.
Re: your backup methods.....I buy my music on CD, transfer to computer then pod then I put the CD away and never play it again. Why? Because it will be when my computer's hard drive fails and I lose all my music that I drop my iPod. You know it's true! To me, nowadays, CDs are nothing more than the ultimate backup AND the best quality recording I have. I think it's worth keeping your CDs for these 2 reasons. I'd burn copies of what you've got onto CD if I were you. Now.
AND you should get an iPod this weekend so you can quit bugging your friends and quit banging on about it round here.
I've mentioned it one time here, thanks.
What's a "dill"? Do I know you?
Trust me, it works. I've done it before.
One thing to remember is that you don't have to copy the music over separately to listen to it through your computer. The iPod will mount in iTunes and you can listen to music directly from it through the computer.
Originally posted by pscates
I've mentioned it one time here, thanks.
What's a "dill"? Do I know you?
Woah! Sh*t eh? Can I plead being Australian? It's always worth a try. It didn't occur to me "dill" might be a colloquialism and I'll probably only dig myself into a deeper hole if I try to explain it so suffice to say no offence was intended.
OK I'll admit to having lurked here for about 2 years before registering so I apologise if I've come across as overly familiar. There's nothing sinister about this I hasten to add. It was just really hard to get a look in around here just before the G5's release if you weren't registered. Now I am, I figure I may as well stick my bib in if the mood takes me.
So, for instance, I've hooted at the pre-LCD iMac release shenanigans, I've been fascinated to watch the changing opinions of US AIers over the war with Iraq (but I'd never get involved in THAT one), I know Brad and Amorph are the ever-present voices of reason (mostly), I know Eugene is on this child thing at the moment even though I don't know why. And I know pscates writes long rambling posts that are frequently highly entertaining as we get to enjoy the trials and tribulations of your Appley-existence.
Now I could have sworn you'd mentioned the iPod thing several times before but I'll stand corrected. Okie dokie Skip. Let's have another look at that post. You have 10 GB of music. That's a reasonable amount and suggests you enjoy listening to music. Your musical choices indicate a degree of taste and appreciation of quality. You exhibit a fairly deep-seated fear at the idea of not having access to your music. Ergo I conclude you would love an iPod.
So what I've been expecting (if the laptop saga is anything to go by) is that you'd procrastinate for ages about the iPod (which you do kinda admit to doing yourself in the post above) but would eventually buy one. At which point we'll be treated to this wonderful, effusive post punctuated with lots of
and
and possibly
as you publicly beat yourself up for having waited so long to get one. And it shall be immensely enjoyable.
I can assure you, if I didn't have respect for you I wouldn't bother reading your posts let alone replying.
Originally posted by pscates
Thanks for the info, tonton.
I didn't know that about the "keeping music when you've sold the CD" thing. The whole reason I sold them was because I didn't need them anymore and I NEVER used/listened to them.
While you may not have needed them for use, you needed the license they contained. You never own music, you own a license to it, and that license is part and parcel with the original delivery method (in this case, the CD).
Now, you see, two people (you and whoever bought your CDs) have copies of the music, but only one license has been paid to the artist and copyright holders. Therein lies the legality issues.
It's the same as if you had a piece of software, installed it on your computer, left it on your computer, and sold the software to a friend. Music is just software, after all.
What should I say? I sold them to a used record store here in town that's popular.
They're long gone, so I don't think I'm going to exactly fall on my sword over it.
But it's nice to know for future stuff. Not that I'll ever spend $15 on a store-bought CD again...
And Chester: I'm not rich, so some of these large purchases have to be thought out and mulled over a bit. Actually, my "laptop saga" has been the only one that caused such turmoil because in the past I knew EXACTLY that I wanted a tangerine iMac DV and a SuperDrive LCD iMac.
This laptop thing was different, just because of the particulars involved: iBook probably wouldn't cut it, but I could easily afford it (and then some). Wanted a PowerBook, but we all know the troubles they faced. In the end, the 10% on the SuperDrive PowerBook won out (I was looking to the future for once).
So I bounced back and forth a bit. Sue me.
Probably should've got a damn iBook G4 anyway...
And I'm totally aware of the coolness of the iPod. That wasn't the reason for this post. I had a specific question about its storage/backup/lifeboating capabilities. NOT "do you think I'd like an iPod? Are they cool?". Of course I would, and of course they are. I already know THAT.
And I consider smiley usage an artform. So much so, that I won't cheapen this post by using one inappropriately...
(yes, my tongue is firmly implanted in cheek right now...relax)
Originally posted by pensieve
If you've got a .mac account, Backup v.2 will backup to an external drive (an iPod). Or, you could go the low-tech way and just copy your home folder over to your iPod manually. That will introduce some redundancy with the music being there twice, but that's the only sure-fire, non-pain-in-the-ass way to do it. Otherwise, backup all your stuff minus your music folder and you'll be mostly good to go.
One thing to remember is that you don't have to copy the music over separately to listen to it through your computer. The iPod will mount in iTunes and you can listen to music directly from it through the computer.
Just following the crowd here.
(iChat me some evening bro, we'll have a little iPod discussion)
Originally posted by murbot
Paul, you big jerk.
Just following the crowd here.
(iChat me some evening bro, we'll have a little iPod discussion)
Oh look, murbot knows what "dill" means. (That's a joke OK, pscates)
If you value that music you should save it in multiple ways.
For example.
Burn it to DVD-R. Make two or more copies and store them separately. Maybe one at home, one at your parent's home.
Make fresh copies of the DVD-Rs every several years.
Put a copy on the iPod.
Put another copy on a laptop.
etc.
Originally posted by neutrino23
Keeping music files (or any other digital data) in only one place is risky.
If you value that music you should save it in multiple ways.
For example.
Burn it to DVD-R. Make two or more copies and store them separately. Maybe one at home, one at your parent's home.
Make fresh copies of the DVD-Rs every several years.
Put a copy on the iPod.
Put another copy on a laptop.
etc.
That's great and all, but it doesn't really answer scates' question.
I've never burned a data DVD before...would I be too naive in assuming it works just like burning a CD in the Finder (drag the crap to the disk, let it copy and select "Burn disk"?
follow up:
Indeed, just check out the "What's New section of iTunes and Music Store Help for this tidbit:
Burn large playlists to multiple CDs or DVDs; when your playlist is too large to fit on one CD or DVD, iTunes asks you to insert another disc
So, yeah, as far as I know burning a data DVD is just like burning a data CD. Pop in a DVD-R, tell it to mount in iTunes (check your CD/DVD prefs in the System Prefs), drag and drop to the DVD icon in the source view, and click the burn button.