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Is your iPod being bad? Is it having problems syncing or talking to iTunes? Let's try to troubleshoot this common problem.

Here's a letter from a MethodShop.com reader named Kate:

"my ipod froze the other day and i did the online steps to unfreeze it. It did unfreeze but now i have no songs. The songs are still on my computer itunes software but not on my actual ipod. Some thing is coming up each time i connect my ipod saying something about automatically updating my ipod each time i reconnect it. And i clicked 'yes' to this the first time i reconnected after the ipod froze. I cannot get all my songs to update back onto my ipod. What can i do to get them back on. ~kate.

Kate,

AutoSyncing the music from your computer back onto your iPod shouldn't be a problem. The fact that your iPod is freezing during this process means your iPod probably has an issue with its hard drive.

Hopefully your iPod's hard drive is just fragmented. An easy way to fix a number of issues with an iPod is to erase it.

Erase Your iPod
http://www.methodshop.com/gadgets/ipodsupport/erase/

If erasing your iPod doesn't work, you unfortunately could have a bad hard drive. If your iPod is still under warranty, please contact Apple about getting it replaced. If your iPod is no longer covered under warranty, please contact the guys at iPodMods.com. They not only colorize and customize iPods, but they can also replace bad parts and make repairs.

iPod Repair
http://www.methodshop.com/gadgets/vip/index.shtml

For more information about AutoSyncing your iPod with your computer, please check out this page.

AutoSync Issues
http://www.methodshop.com/gadgets/ipodsupport/autosync/index.shtml

Hopefully your iPod will be back from the dead in no time.

BeSocial: methodshop

Labels: ipod

When you're Peter Jackson, a three-time Academy Award winner coming off one of the most successful film trilogies in history (Lord of the Rings), what can you possibly choose as your next project that won't seem like a letdown?

King Kong, of course -- the timeless tale of a gargantuan ape-monster captured in the wilds and brought to civilization, where he meets his tragic fate.

You can't see Kong on the big screen until the film is released in theaters later this year. But you can see him on the small screen now.

iPodStudio.com is reporting that a new trailer to promote King Kong has been released in iPod Video format. The trailer has been compressed into a 12.5MB zip file and is available for download here.

King Kong hits theaters on December 14th (US).

It's official. Your standalone TiVo Series2 is going to let you transfer your recorded television programs to your iPod Video or your Sony PSP.

GadgetReview.com previously reported on a hack that would let you transfer TiVo content to your iPod Video. But soon this will be an official feature supported by TiVo. The feature will begin to be tested in the coming weeks.

The files will be watermarked and traceable to originating computers to discourage piracy.

No word on whether we suckers with DirecTV TiVo will be able to take advantage of this. However, so far all signs point to no.

[Via GadgetReview.com]

Over six months ago, methodshop.com posted a blog detailing the Madden Curse. The curse is that if you are featured on the box of Madden NFL Football for game systems, you will get injured...badly.

Donovan McNabb became the legengdary game's latest victim. McNabb just two days ago elected to have surgery to repair his sports hernia and is expected to miss the rest of the season.

The news is just another punch in the face to Eagles' fans, who have had a hard enough time dealing with three straight NFC championship losses, a super bowl loss, the loss of T.O., and now the loss of their franchise player, Donovan McNabb...The season, which now finds the team in the cellar of the NFC East is undoubtedly a lost cause, and will have to remain that until next year.

Let's say you just blew all your money on an iPod and now you don't have any money left for a fancy case or one of those slick clear covers. What should do you do?

You could bum some money off a friend to buy one, but why not go DIY and make your own out of Duct Tape for free!

Here's how I made mine: Duct Tape iPod Cover


methodshop

Labels: ipod

Ever wonder how some of your favorite songs would sound reduced to early 1980's 8-bit arcade audio?

Probably not, but SomethingAwful.com has posted a collection of 16 remakes of popular songs synthesized using the audio system from a NES (Nintendo Entertainment System).


Here's the list of songs:

1. REM - Losing My Religion
2. Europe - Final Countdown
3. Radiohead - Karma Police
4. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
5. Survivor - Eye of the Tiger
6. Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
7. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama
8. Led Zeppelin - Kashmir
9. Slayer - Angel of Death
10. David Pomeranz - Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now
11. Coldplay - Yellow
12. Rick James - Superfreak
13. Semisonic - Closing Time
14. (Silence)
15. Hidden NESmix Intro
16. Zero Wing (Opening Theme) (4x4 Remix)

These remakes are all great, but the 8-bit versions of Europe's The Final Countdown and Yellow by Coldplay are hilarious. Think of the 8-bit Hits collection as a clever way to spice up your iTunes library. Everyone needs a little more 8-bit in their life anyway, right?

You can download the collection of songs here or here.

Redskunk.org, the popular website that posted BitTorrent files of the Howard Stern Show, closed down yesterday after getting a cease and desist letter from Stern's production company, One Twelve (Stern's birthday is Jan. 12th) and his current radio partner Infinity Broadcasting.

RedSkunk was a savior to Stern fans in radio markets that stopped carrying his show. The site offered mp3 BitTorrent files of Stern's weekday morning radio show. The past year several stations have dropped The Howard Stern Show because of his upcoming move to satellite radio and/or FCC fines.

Here is the letter from the CBS/Infinity lawyers:

A matter of serious concern has come to our attention. We have learned that you are offering audio downloads of THE HOWARD STERN SHOW (the “Show”) without the permission of the copyright owners. Enclosed herewith is a copy of the web page offering such download. Please be advised that the Show and the various elements thereof are owned jointly by Infinity Broadcasting East, Inc. (”Infinity”) and One Twelve Inc. (which is owned by Howard Stern). Neither Infinity nor Howard Stern has authorized you to use, copy, transmit, disseminate or otherwise exploit any material from the Show. These blatant and willful infringements have resulted in significant damages both to Infinity and Mr. Stern. You should know your copyright and other infringements could result in court imposed damages on you. Unless you immediately remove the audio downloads of the Show and other infringing materials and provide us with written assurances that all such infringing use has stopped and will not resume in the future, we will have no alternative but to take appropriate action to protect Infinity’s and Mr. Stern’s rights. We require receipt of such written assurance from you by no later than the close of business on November 15, 2005. CBS and Mr. Stern specifically reserve any and all rights and remedies with respect to your unauthorized use of their material.

Very truly yours,
Sanford I. Kryle
Vice President, Associate General Counsel
CBS Broadcasting Inc.
1515 Broadway, 49th Floor
New York, New York 10036
212 846-3601

If you are unfamiliar with BitTorrent and how to use it, please check out our in-depth BitTorrent tutorial.

Howard Stern fans, in markets that no longer carry his radio show, will have to wait until January 9th 2006 to hear his show on Sirius Satellite radio.

Shiny Shiny, one of the blogs that should be in our Gadget Network, is reporting on a product that puts the "Oh" in audio.

"Yes, that's right, someone's created a wearable vibrator, the Audi-Oh, that works in harmony with your iPod or portable music player.

Strap the silicone butterfly in place, plug it into your favourite music player and get jiggy with the musical beat. It will also work in rhythm with external noises from stereos or club sound systems, so you'll be able to get into the groove and get off on it all at the same time. Ah the joys of modern living! If that's not an example of technology making life better, I don't know what is." Source: Shiny Shiny

Still confused? Here's a product description for the Audi-Oh:

The mesmerizing Audi-Oh is the very first vibrator that vibrates to the throbbing beat of music, sexy talk, or any external sounds. It's a pearl-shaped clitoral vibrator with a soft silicone butterfly and has a thin elastic harness that allows you to strap it in place. The Audi-Oh will then vibrate to music coming from your stereo or directly from your iPod, other MP3 player or portable music device while you listen through your headphones. You can even wear the Audi-Oh discreetly under your clothes while you "dance with yourself" at your favorite dance music club. It will even pulsate to the sounds of your partner talking dirty to you. The Audi-Oh can also be used as a variable-speed vibrator without any music input.

You can get an Audi-Oh from Grand Opening for $69.95. It's on sale.

The next time you look at your watch, getting the time may not be the reason why. Watch maker, Fossil, has teamed up with Atari to help bring classic arcade games like Centipede, Breakout and Asteroids to the small screen on your wrist.

Sound cool? We thought so too, but don't get too excited. There are only 2,000 Asteroids watches available in the US (5,000 worldwide) and the game is not actually playable. A mock game of Asteroids just simulates in the background behind the clock hands.

Still interested? The watch can be purchased for $125 from Fossil.com while supplies last.

Fans looking to reminisce with 80's icon Cyndi Lauper and her new CD, The Body Acoustic, may want to consider a digital purchase via iTunes rather than a traditional CD.

Cyndi's record label, Sony, has a new anti-piracy scheme that has been breached by hackers. The faulty Sony software may prevent you from making copies of your CDs, but it unfortunately also provides a security hole for viruses to enter your computer.

Beyond the issues with Sony's faulty anti-piracy technology, this album is a fun acoustic makeover of Cyndi's greatest hits. The album features several guest appearances including Adam Lazzara, Shaggy, Sarah McLachlan, Vivian Green, Ani DiFranco, and Jeff Beck.

Here's the track listing from The Body Acoustic. Click on the links below to hear 30 second samples of each song from :

01. Money Changes Everything (ft. Adam Lazzara)
02. All Through The Night (ft. Shaggy)
03. Time After Time (ft. Sarah McLachlan)
04. She Bop
05. Above The Clouds (ft. Jeff Beck)
06. I'll Be Your River (ft. Vivian Green)
07. Sisters Of Avalon (ft. Ani di Franco & Vivian Green)
08. Shine
09. True Colors
10. Water's Edge (ft. Sarah McLachlan)
11. Fearless
12. Girls Just Want To Have Fun (ft. Puffi AmiYumi)

Bottom Line: The Body Acoustic is a great album with horrible CD copy-protection software that makes your computer a target for viruses. If the security and integrity of your computer is important to you, then Cyndi Lauper fans may want to purchase this album via iTunes and not from Amazon.com or your local record store.

Podtropolis recently released what they claim to be the first BitTorrent tracker exclusively designed for iPod-formatted videos including movies, music videos and TV shows.

Their website says:

"...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."

Grab those videos before Apple tries to shut them down!


[Syndicated post via ipastudio.com]

Have Microsoft and Apple finally buried the hatchet over the iPod? Although it's hard to believe, Apple and Microsoft making the Xbox and iPod compatible is more likely than peace in the middle east or pigs flying.

But could it be true?

There's no denying that the enormous success of the iPod has irked the brass at Redmond. Apple and Microsoft are currently suing each other over technology patents used in the iPod and Bill Gates reportedly frowns upon Microsoft employees using their iPods at work. So you can imagine the level of astonishment felt by many in the tech industry when CNET published an article about the compatibility of the new Xbox 360 with Apple's extremely successful iPod.

"If you play Project Gotham Racing 3 on an Xbox 360 after the console hits stores later this month, Microsoft invites you to use tunes straight off your iPod as an alternative to the game's sound track.

Officially, the company says the new console can stream music from just about any MP3 player. But during a preview of the next-generation console in San Francisco last month, Microsoft execs talked up the interoperability between iPods and the Xbox 360.

"When you plug your iPod in," Xbox digital-entertainment executive producer Jeff Henshaw told CNET News.com, "the Xbox 360 automatically detects that it's there. You can browse by artist or album or genre or by custom playlist."

"We do not have an official relationship with Apple for the iPod connectivity," said Scott Henson, product unit manager in Microsoft's advanced technology group. He maintains that "Xbox 360 leverages standard protocols such as USB mass storage to enable iPod support."

Henshaw said Microsoft tried to "engage" Apple in a partnership that would have officially made the iPod interoperable with Xbox, but Apple rejected the overture.

So the Xbox 360 and iPod many not work perfectly together, but at least it's a start.

Got a big trip coming up and need something to listen to on your iPod? For the next few days, all MethodShop readers get one free download from Audible®. We're serious. It's free. No tricks. No catch. No commitment. No credit card required.

Choose among 70 different spoken audio titles from The Constant Gardener to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Your iPod will thank you.

You can get your free Audible download here.

Many people use GOOGLE MAPS on a regular basis, so wouldn't it be handy if you could easily download them to your iPod? Well, Mac.com user, Ian Meyer, has devised a very simple way of transferring the maps to an iPod Photo. The method will also work with 5G iPods like the Nano.

The process is simple. Basically, he took screenshots of the maps he wanted, cropped and saved them as .png files before transferring them to his iPod via iTunes.

Once the maps are on your iPod, just use the zoom function to accurately read the maps. Simple but seemingly effective! READ ON.

[Syndicated post via ipastudio.com]

What's your favorite song? You may find this surprising, but iTunes may be able to answer that question for you. Each time a song is played in iTunes, the Play Count of that particular song increases by one.

But what if a song you loathe and only play as a gag for friends happens to creep into your ‘Most Listened To' playlist?

The following tutorial explains how to reset the Play Count of one or more songs in your iTunes library. Most savvy iTunes won't need a tutorial this in-depth, but everyone is a newbie once.

Labels: gadgets, tutorial

Having trouble driving and DJing your iPod? If so, you'll be happy to learn about the CarClip.

The CarClip is an iPod holder that hangs from your vehicle's rear view mirror. It's cut from a single piece of laser-cut, clear acrylic plastic and conveniently puts the iPod at eye level.

Don't have a rear view mirror? The CarClip also comes with a Universal Auto Attachment and a pair of 3M CommandStrips for older model vehicle compatibility or mounting in other locations.

The CarClip is available from Amazon.com. An iPod nano version will be released on November 8th.

For more information, visit: http://www.thecarclip.com.

So the story goes something like this: You save up a couple hundred bucks to buy your new iPod Nano. You take it home, open the box, and load your music. It's a beautiful thing.

Then disaster strikes! You decide to carry your iPod Nano in your pocket! Your pocket! How could you?! What were you thinking? An item as precious and delicate as the iPod Nano was not meant for portability. And the ungodly amount of scratches seen on my iPod Nano prove it. After a few failed attempts to get Apple to help me out, I decided to fix the scratches myself.

Here's how to remove the scratched from your iPod Nano for only $4.