Best iPod functions and/or hacks?

March 30, 2007 10:16 PM

I've finally broken down and purchased an iPod. And I love it! Now I'd like to hear everyone's favorite features/hacks.

This isn't my first mp3 player. It is my first iPod or Apple product at all come to think of it (8 gig nano if you were wondering).

So far I've found a great program called iTheory out of Duke University that claims to give user perfect pitch with enough practice.

Currently I'm trying to figure out how to run both my girlfriend's and my iPod off one desktop without cross-contaminating our music collections... uhg.

So wha cha got?

posted by willie11 to computers & internet (18 answers total)

google says: ipod hacks.
posted by b1tr0t at 10:46 PM on March 30, 2007

iTunes 7 supports multiple libraries, hence multiple people/pods. (lifehacker or google)
posted by misterbrandt at 11:00 PM on March 30, 2007

Podcasts - search for NPR on the iTunes store and catch up on teh news during your daily commute. Or listen to science stories, this american life, yadda yadda.

If you use iCal or Outlook, this is much simpler, but you can also sync your google calendar with your iPod calendar.

Use smart playlists. Embrace them wholeheartedly - a few good rules go a long way. There are about a gazillion tutorials on how best to use them - that's just one of them.

Keep your todo list in a text file and use the notes feature of your ipod to carry it around with you.
posted by chrisamiller at 11:19 PM on March 30, 2007

No hacks for ya, but a mighty fine resource. Also, Apple's iPod service/support pages (the discussion section is especially useful for how-to's and trouble-shooting).
posted by rob511 at 11:38 PM on March 30, 2007

If your iPod has enough capacity, make sure to keep ALL your music synced. In the event of a hard drive crash, you won't lose any music. You can restore your music back to your computer using one of the hack utilities made for that. (It's late... you can Google that part.)

:)
posted by The Deej at 1:45 AM on March 31, 2007

iPod Linux
posted by blue_beetle at 6:15 AM on March 31, 2007

No hacks but I recommend you check out emusic.com if you like indie music or jazz. Much cheaper than iTunes and no DRM.
posted by dobbs at 6:41 AM on March 31, 2007

i'm a big fan of submitting what i listen to on my ipod to last.fm. i use lastpod (formerly audiopod) to do it, which doesn't require use of itunes whatsoever. there are other plugins available here
posted by noloveforned at 6:48 AM on March 31, 2007

Rockbox.
posted by rxrfrx at 8:08 AM on March 31, 2007

If you're still trying to find a way to keep your music separate from your girlfriend's this should help
posted by .taft at 8:22 AM on March 31, 2007

Rockbox

As long as you didn't get a 5.5gen 80gb video ipod. I'm still waiting on this support. :/
posted by antifuse at 8:26 AM on March 31, 2007

I'm gonna get made fun of for telling you the thing I loved most about my iPod when I had one, but still...

It was the little Brickbreaker game.
posted by Glitter Ninja at 2:16 PM on March 31, 2007

Check out "The Sound of Young America" and "Jordan, Jesse, Go!" from MetaFilter member YoungAmerican.
posted by ColdChef at 5:00 PM on March 31, 2007

I recommend getting a copy of Sharepod, a program which you install on your iPod, to get past Apple's pesky 'No music shall be transferred from an iPod to a computer' rule.
posted by Effigy2000 at 6:14 PM on March 31, 2007

iPod misfunctions:

Be careful in what you do with your iPod! I just today replaced my second iPod--both my first and second iPods died after 13 months of owning them (and running a few miles with them every day)--and the standard warranties are only 1 year. Fortunately, I "learned my lesson" after the first one and bought Applecare (for an extra $60) for my second, to extend my warranty to a total of two years (so I'm good through next February).

I think I'm going to just buy a Shuffle, so that I don't have to worry about the stupid harddrives dying anymore because I like to listen to music while running.
posted by J-Train at 8:33 PM on March 31, 2007

I think I'm going to just buy a Shuffle, so that I don't have to worry about the stupid harddrives dying anymore because I like to listen to music while running.

This is good advice. Don't run with a hard drive based mp3 player. Hard drives are not meant to be jarred up and down repeatedly while in operation.
posted by antifuse at 2:52 AM on April 2, 2007

A good case from agent18.com

not a single scratch on my 2 year old iPod Nano.

and effigy2000: there are tons of utilities that do that now. It's barely even an annoyance. ;)
posted by drstein at 1:28 PM on April 2, 2007

I just bought TipKalc and it's pretty neat.
posted by dobbs at 3:34 PM on April 17, 2007