the iPod nation. - response needed.

[dancingleaf]

ugh okay.

so yeah it's my birthday Saturday.

and.... J has decided that he feels guilty etc.

so for my birthday he's thinking we should order, using our saved up AirMiles points - we have a TON of them- not enough to fly anywhere but more than enough for an iPod for me. 

I've been trying to buy a new portable boombox for dragging with me for teaching purposes. However... pretty much all you can buy are docking stations for iPod's.  (lightweight etc.)

I have an MP3 player and I really like it.  but... yeah - it's an iPod nation and pretty much it's taken over the world.  So I'm agreeable to the change over -

For teaching I use CD's.  I like using CD's ... not sure IF I would actually be able to use an iPod - but lets just assume I could.   It could potentially be a pain in the ass but.... lets assume.

Now - the options we are considering are...

the Apple iPod classic 120GB.  - huge.  but seriously ? really? I could put everything on there and more.

OR 
the Apple iPod 8 GB.  Should hold all of my music and leave me a nice chunk of my 'points' left over if I wanted to get that... travelling boom box.


hmmm.  I think I need to check our points total. (I have enough points for both the 120 GB AND the player.)

Cr@P.  I should pay $ for this.  It is technically  REALLY a business write off!  Sh*t!


WHAT I REALLY WANT TO KNOW!    Do you have an iPod.  What do you like/dislike about it.  Is 8 GB enough is 120 too much.  What factors should I be looking at.  

What I really need is my own (fully functional)  computer - but if J gets back to work.... I can HAVE OURS! 



*how would it be a pain in the @ss?   I edit music.  I break a song down into managable sections and put it on a disc.  Usually each managable section goes on in 3 repetitions.   Combo 1 - plays 3 times, Combo 2 - plays 3 times ... etc.  etc.  If I want the song or specific section on repeat - awesome - I can do that.  For review  - If I just put the disc in - we can just repeat a section before moving on to the next.  It's all beside the point.  I have a system and I LIKE IT.    I'm old and resistant to change.

Comments

[philady.livejournal.com]

I looooooooove my iPod. I'd go insane without it. I got a 20 GB iPod in 2004. Its hard drive was full by 2007, at which time I upgraded to an 80 GB.

Whether an 8 GB will be enough for you depends on how much music you have. I have a lot of music. I have 9600 songs on my iPod, which is 36 GB. Of those, 2800 songs are for bellydance, which is 13 GB of bellydance music.

My iPod has about 50 GB of stuff on it, because I listen to a lot of podcasts and watch some video podcasts. I also had my boyfriend rip some bellydance DVDs onto the computer, so I can watch them on my iPod when I'm on the treadmill or on public transportation.

Once you get the hang of making playlists, which is super easy, you're set. You can just make a playlist for each class meeting. Drag and drop the songs you want into the playlist. If you want to play a song three times in a row, drag it into the playlist three times. The iPod will play each song in order, or you can tell the iPod to repeat a song over and over.

It will save you money on having to burn a new CD for each class, and it will save you time because you won't have to wait for a CD to burn.

It's quicker and easier to fast forward and rewind through songs, because you can see the timestamp on the screen. So if you want to start at 2:11 in a song, you can quickly fast forward to it in seconds. Or, in iTunes, you can tell it to always start a certain track at a certain time in the song. This is useful for songs with long wandering intros that you always want to skip, or for songs where you want to use just a part in the middle of a song that is just perfect to teach a certain combo or something.

Another feature about the iPod that I like is that it makes selecting songs for performance a lot easier. I have my one big "Bellydance" playlist, which I play in my car or while I'm at my desk at work. If a song jumps out and grabs me, right there I can store it to an "On-the-go" playlist, which I can come back to later. Then, later, I can go to my "On-the-go" playlist and play it in my car, or at home, and listen to the songs again to see if I still like them. I also have a "Dance Inspiration" playlist for songs that I'd definitely like to perform to eventually. I always listen to a song at least 50 times before I'll perform to it, so this makes it easy for me to keep track of which songs I want to listen to more. The fact that iTunes keeps track of the play count is also helpful. If I have a performance coming up, but no song jumps out at me, I can arrange my bellydance playlist by play count, and the songs that I've listened to the most show up at the top of the list. Then I can pick a song from my most-listened-to songs.

I feel like I'm getting more of my money's worth on my music purchases, because I'm not limited to what CDs I have in my immediate vicinity at any given time. I used to only carry a few CDs in my car at a time for security reasons, and I only took a few CDs to work with me because it was a pain to be hauling them back and forth. But with an iPod, your entire music collection is at your fingertips all the time. It's very helpful for when you get a song stuck in your head...you can just bring it up on your iPod, listen to it, and be done with it. :)

As you can tell...I've got nothing but love for the iPod. And I'm actually pretty anti-Apple...I never liked using Macs, even when I was a graphic designer...but this is just a really great piece of technology that works seamlessly with its software.

[sacramentalist.livejournal.com]

I have an 80G ipod video. I have more than I can manage, and I haven't filled it up.

The touch is nice because the screen is larger (for video) and it has games and apps. 8G is quite a bit, but probably won't hold your entire music collection.

I've never done sound file editing with itunes. You may be able to set repeat points in a track. I'll look it up later if you haven't already made a decision.

I am nerdy, yet I am still cantankerous with portable electronics.

[tangyapple.livejournal.com]

Sorry, no, I don't have an iPod. But I am looking for a good portable stereo as well! One that has no trouble playing any damn CD I stick into it. (The reader head is getting worn on mine.) However, if you can use an iPod to hook up to a stereo and play through that.... hmmm, that would be really cool! As long as the speakers are detachable and wireless. The sound is much better when you can separate the speakers and place them against a wall for better sound.

I know what you mean about editing music. I wouldn't want to be stuck with always using songs in their original form. Sometimes the intro is too long or awkward or the ending isn't right and clips off too quickly (or takes too long to fade out), or you need to clip a section or adjust the tempo or the volume. Then you're pretty much stuck burning it onto a CD, which-- probably wouldn't work in an iPod, right? One drawback.