Best Headphones for Your iPod

I happened to come across a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones (the Quiet Comfort 3) in a store the other day and picked them up to give them a try. All I can say is: wow, and double wow. I have never heard headphones sound so great. Now granted, this was a Bose display with music that is probably tuned for the headphones perfectly, but it certaintly made an impression on me. My 20 dollar earbuds for my iPod can't hold a candle to these. It just felt like I was surrounded by sound; I couldn't hear any distractions of the store and I did not have to crank the volume up. (A common approach we all take with cheap headphones that actually damage our ears) Based upon what I heard (and Ultimate AV had a positive experience with them too), I would buy them in a minute - if it weren't for the $350 price tag. But I think these would be killer for your office or for traveling on the plane; heck these would be killer anytime.

Don't Get a Fancy Case for Your iPod, Get Wireless Headphones

So once you get your new iPod for Christmas you need to figure out how you are going to tote it around. Sure, you could get a case for it when you are lying around and an armband when you are at the gym – or, you could get some wireless headphones that would work for every situation you could imagine. Just plug an adapter into your iPod, slip it away somewhere, and your headphone wirelessly pick up the music.

You can try the iMuffs wireless headphones (via PC Magazine) for 179 bucks (hey, I didn’t say it would be cheap) or logitech has some cheaper phone that may do the trick.

Simple Hack For a Clearer Radio Signal Using Your iPod FM Transmitter

Someone made a great suggestion to remove your car radio antenna (essentially making it so you can’t pick up an radio FM signals) in order to get a clearer radio signal from your iPod FM transmitter. Usually these FM transmitters work great until you are in a city with lots of stations and FM signals and then you get so much interference that you can’t pick up the signal. I’m definitely going to try this and see how it works.

(from mac osx hints via digg)

More Video Content for Your iPod

iVideo Blast is a new service where you can buy and download video for your video iPod. They have cartoons like bugs bunny, Alfred Hitchcock shows and some classic movies. They don’t have a whole lot of content up yet and most of it looks like it is ‘public domain’ stuff that you could get free anyway but it’s another resource none the less.

Leave me some comments if you have a video iPod and have used this service.

iPod in Your Prius

Sean Alexander points to the SoundLinQ SLI by Vais Technology that allows you to connect your iPod directly to the stereo in your Toyota Prius. You can use the touch screen control and stereo steering controls to play the music off of your iPod.

You can now listen and control your iPod™ through the vehicle's head unit and audio steering wheel controls. No more Cassette Adaptors, FM Transmitters, or Cigarette Lighter Chargers. Enjoy the clear, genuine high quality sound through your factory audio system.

SLI provides direct Plug-and-Play connection to Toyota/Lexus OEM audio system and supports vehicles with and without Navigation system.

Of course, as with anything that has to do with the iPod, this is not cheap at 300 bucks. But for static free (think no more FM transmitters) music it might be worth it. I might have to check this out for my Prius …

Install Apple's Front Row Media Center App on Your Mac Mini

If you have a Mac Mini are envious of Apple’s new Front Row media center app then check out this post on how to install Front Row from Apple:

Thanks to an update from Apple, Front Row can now be easily installed on any Mac running 10.4.3 Tiger. While you previous had to rely on quirky hacks, Front Row can now be added to Tiger with full support, including keyboard shortcut and sound preferences.

Requirements 1. Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later 2. iLife ‘05 (for iPhoto support) 3. iTunes 6.0.1 or later

Quick Guide

1. Download Front Row 1.0.1.
2. Install the update using Pacifist 1.6.3.
3. Download Front Row Enabler 1.0.1 Then reboot.
4. Set Keyboard Shortcut and Sound Effects in System Preferences.
5. Launch Front Row (command-Esc)

If anyone has Front Row working on their Mac Mini, then leave some comments and let us know what you think of it. The only downfall I see to this approach is you will have to add an external (probably USB) remote.

Download Content for Your Video iPod

This digg points us to Podtropolis, a bit torrent tracking site specifically for the video iPod. The site basically tracks different bit torrents out there for your video iPod like recent TV shows and full length movies.

Welcome to Podtropolis, we are the first, best, and only tracker for iPod content. Our streets are filled with loads of high quality content for your iPod including movies, television programs, music videos and of course music. All video is encoded in iPod compatible formats (H.264, MP4, M4V) so you do not need to bother with conversion.

Technically they are not doing anything illegal because they aren’t hosting the bit torrents but I’m pretty sure most of the material they are linking too is violating some digital rights management law. But then again, doesn’t everything violate DRM law these days?

This is actually a pretty good idea but it probably needs to track public domain material and such so it won’t get shut down. Anyone know of any good sites tracking stuff you can download for your video iPod?

Play Doom on Your iPod Nano

A couple of crazy programmers ported the all time classic first-person shooter Doom to the iPod Nano called iDoom. So if you have been looking for games for your iPod then this is it. You do need to put linux on your iPod to get this to work but just check out the screenshot – this is cool!

Here’s the developer’s list for compatible iPods:

Currently iDoom works on the following iPods:

• iPod 1G (scrollwheel)
• iPod 2G (thouchwheel)
• iPod 3G (disorientated keys)
• iPod 4G (clickwheel)
• iPod Photo
• iPod Color
• iPod Mini (both versions)
• iPod nano

This list will be updated whenever a new iPod is supported by iPodlinux.

- Do I need anything more than iDoom in order to play?

You need to install iPodLinux first, it's only officially supported for 1-3G (but can be installed on other models) and will probably ruin your warranty. However if you really want to install it on other iPods, search their forums for instructions.

Get Free Cartoons for Your iPod

Channel Frederator has launched a podcast (free, of course) that is packed full of cartoons!

We're packaging together some of the world's coolest and funniest cartoons and sending them straight to your iPod each week.

Cartoon Fans Subscribe to Channel Frederator now. It's free and easy, and each week you'll get a fresh new 10- to 15-minute episode featuring some of the hippest animation on Earth.

This is pretty cool. Frederator studios is responsible for cartoons like the Powerpuff Girls and Dexter’s Laboratory. I haven’t had a chance to watch the first two episodes but if you have then let me know what you think of the quality of the cartoons.

[It looks like the podcast is in the .m4v format which is the video format for the new video iPods so you will probably need the latest version of Quicktime to watch it on windows – does this work with portable media centers?]

Get Your MythTV Content onto Your Video iPod

If you have a MythTV box and are wondering how you will get your recorded shows onto your shiny new video iPod then you need to check out Myth2ipod. This script will help you get your MythTV content onto your video iPod. It looks like they are working on a web interface for it as well to make is super easy and simple. I don’t have a MythTV box so someone will have to let me know how well it works. The applications for getting content onto the video iPod are everywhere – I think Steve Jobs hedged a good bet this time around …

AppleScripts for iTunes

This digg is all about using AppleScripts (sorry Window users) for iTunes. There are a ton of AppleScript hacks up on Doug’s site to do everything you can and can’t imagine with iTunes. I don’t have a Mac but leave some comments if you try any of these out. Here’s an example:

No Lyrics to Playlist

written by Herwin Lans
posted: Sep 23, 2005
total downloads: 333

This script will search your main library for all tracks that do not contain lyrics and copy them to a playlist it will create called "No Lyrics". Includes a second script to clear the "No Lyrics" playlist of tracks with lyrics.

Video iPod Review

Ars Technica reviews the video iPod – complete with taking it all apart of course. Here are some choice quotes – the last one is the most interesting:

While not a radical change, the wider screen evokes a reaction of trepidation from people who are used to the original design. Once I got an actual unit in my hands I was relieved. In reality the new iPod is the exact same width as all previous iPods

So what exactly has changed, appearance-wise, on this new iPod? The most noticeable physical update is that the LCD is larger. It's been upgraded to a 2.5" LCD from the previous 2" LCD and the effect is great. The screen is only marginally bigger, but it feels considerably different.

The new model is approximately 39% thinner than my fourth generation 40 GB model (which is pretty darn thick) and 28% thinner than my 10 GB, third-generation model.

The final change to the design of the iPod is the relocation of the headphone jack, which is now positioned opposite the hold switch. This is a departure from the headphone jacked located in the center of the device, and will make a number of accessories designed for the old iPod either incompatible or awkward, at best.

One change that has caused a lot of uproar from long-time Mac users is the lack of Firewire support on these new iPod models.

It plays video, and that's about it. Imagine your average iPod photo with the ability to play video on a slightly larger LCD or output that video to your TV and you've got it covered.

Overall I was very pleased with the video output to my standard definition TV. I'm certain that some videophiles will be disappointed with the low video resolution the device offers, but I'm convinced that a majority of Apple iPod consumers will fail to notice or care about it very much.

This chip natively decodes H.264 and MPEG4 video up to 640x480 which is noticeably higher than what Apple's specs state are the maximum allowable video resolution.

Video iPod vs PSP vs Portable Media Center

This digg points to a nice post about the new video iPod and the competition it will bring to the playstation portable and portable media center players. I have an iRiver portable media center that has a 3.5 in screen and I love it. I think the 2.5 in screen on the video iPod is going to be just small enough to be annoying.

Both machines are highly video-capable, although the 320x240 resolution of the video iPod’s 2.5” screen can’t really match the 480x272 4.3” widescreen of the PSP.

The video iPod definitely wins in every other category against the PSP in terms of music and photos. You can’t beat Apple on music for portable players – they have that locked down. But I don’t think the video iPod is any better than a portable media center – I get all the TV I want for free I can do slide shows with music and play videos as well.

It will be interesting to see how the video Ipod sells and more importantly how well the videos sell in the new iTunes store.

Apple's Front Row Media Center App

Along with the video ipod Apple also released a new media center application called ‘Front Row’. This appears to be their first attempt at a media center application and with this release it only does music, videos, photos, and DVD’s so there is no PVR capability – yet. Here’s what Apple has to say about it:

The new Apple Remote makes it easy to navigate through all the digital goodies you’ve collected and created on your iMac G5. Apple designers simplified the average remote from 60 buttons you’ll never use to just the six buttons you really need. So you can navigate quickly and easily through the Front Row interface to enjoy your music, video, photos and DVDs exactly as you wish. Play. Pause. Skip. Rewind. Crank up the volume. Whatever your pleasure, wherever you sit.

Apple also released a new remote as well – it looks like an iPod shuffle to me.

Front Row doesn’t look too bad – it has a simple and clean interface. Here’s some sample screen shots:

Matt Goyer has a good write up on what everyone is thinking about it so far and this Green Button thread has lot’s of opinions too.

Co-worker, Charlie Owen, Apple Finally Has An Answer to Media Center with Front Row

Frankly, I'm underwhelmed -- I really expected Apple to have much more to brag about, especially given their momentum with iPod over the last couple of years. Based on everything I'm seeing, Front Row doesn't even have feature parity with the first version of Media Center released back in October 2002. No hint of a developer platform either

I think it’s too early to count Apple out – look at the iPod. I think they are just getting started with their takeover plans for video and I think Front Row is going to play a prominent role down the line. What if they add a built-in tuner to a Mac mini? Plus, as some people have pointed out, the future of the living room is not in putting your cd’s and dvd’s on your computer but downloading it. And Apple so far has done a great job in getting Hollywood to partner with them and offer content that consumer’s want. Add to the fact that Windows Media Center won’t fully support HDTV until Vista and Apple may not be that far behind.

The fight for the living room just got a lot more interesting.

Solar Charger for Your iPod

I saw this over on uncrate and this little baby will charge your iPod (3rd generation) as well as other mobile gadgets. for under 100 bucks. More from the manufacturer’s website:

The Solio generates energy from sunlight and stores it within its integrated Lithium Ion battery. A range of mobile devices including iPod, mobile phones and pdas can be charged at the same rate as their individual wall chargers thanks to Solio’s intelligent internal circuitry. This means users are free to travel without an array of chargers and travel plug adapters.

The design is really slick too. It folds out into a three fan blade design and looks pretty portable.

Replace Your Ipod Mini Battery

You can go either of two ways to replace your Ipod battery: have Apple replace your battery for you for $99 or you can do it yourself for $29. Not one being afraid of a little diy repair, I signed up to replace it myself. I got the replacement battery through Laptops for Less for $29 that included a screwdriver and directions.

Here’s how to replace the battery in your Ipod Mini:

1. It is suggested that you use the flat tip of a screwdriver to pry the white plastic cover from the top of the Ipod. The cover is attached to the Ipod with some glue. Other people have suggested to use a hard piece of plastic so you won’t scratch your case or the cover of the Ipod and I agree with this after using the screwdriver. A tack is also useful to go around the outside of the cover to get rid of some of the glue. This was the hardest part to get it started but rest assured you can get it off.

Here’s what it looks like once you have the top cover off:

Here’s what the cover looks like. You can tell where the screwdriver was used to pry off the cover.

2. Once you have the top cover off, use a screwdriver to remove the two screws. The screwdriver sent with my replacement battery had too big of a tip I found, so I used a smaller one. (the green one)

3. Once again, use the flat tip of the screwdriver (or hard plastic) to remove the bottom cover to the Ipod. I found the bottom to have significantly more glue than the top.

4. Now you need to remove the metal clip. You can do this by prying each end up until it pops off.

5. Next you need to disconnect the motherboard from the Ipod. The connector pulls out toward you.

6. Push from the bottom and slide the motherboard out through the top of the Ipod case.

7. Now remove the battery from the motherboard (it may be held there by glue or tape) so you can disconnect the battery. You may need to use the flat edge of the screwdriver to pop the connector off.

8. Plug the new battery into the Ipod. Make sure your connector is plugged in the correct way. It may help to write down where the red and black wire goes on the connector. Even though the connector only fits one way, sometimes people can “force” it to fit. Below is a picture of the old battery and replacement battery.

9. Place the new battery into the original position on the motherboard. Now comes the tricky part: sliding the motherboard back into the Ipod case. Be careful not to catch the wires on the new battery on the outside of the case or else you will tear the wires. Also the motherboard may hit on the inside of the Ipod case so it may take some wiggling and curse words to get it back in there. Trust me, it will fit back in there.

10. Put the bracket back on, put the screws in and put the covers back on and you are done!

For people not use to dealing with electronic boards and components, replacing your battery can be a little heart pounding at first. But if you take your time and keep your cool, you can easily get it done in about 20 minutes and have the satisfaction of knowing you did it yourself.