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Mike Landi
February 3rd, 2006, 10:29 PM
I decided to try out iTunes. I've bought a bunch of songs, and find the iTunes program easy to use.

I do not have an iPod, I have a SanDisk player.

Surprise! Music purchased from iTunes can only be played using iTunes or on an iPod. Apple encodes the songs in M4P format.

Since I bought and paid for the songs, I'd like to put them on my MP3 player. I guess this is either very hard to do or so damn easy that I cannot figure it out.

Anyone know how this is done (or if it can be?) I Googled around but came up with old posts or suggestions that involved using two or more programs in a row to convert one song.

Judy G. Russell
February 3rd, 2006, 11:12 PM
Apple says it can't be done. ("Songs purchased from the iTunes Music Store are encoded using the AAC Protected format and cannot be converted to MP3 format. You can burn them to audio CDs and play them in consumer audio CD players.") Programs exist to do it (see this one (http://www.blazemp.com/convert_protected_aac.htm) or perhaps this one (http://www.topvideopro.com/mp4-m4a-converter/convert-m4p-mp3-converter.htm)) but some folks say you can burn your purchased songs to a CD and then rip the CD into MP3 format. Dunno for sure... haven't tried it.

fhaber
February 4th, 2006, 10:59 AM
I won the cheapest iPod in a raffle by re-upping at my gym. I was totally chagrined. My life to that point had been so blissfully un-trendy. I owned nothing smooth and white.

It was a Shuffle. It has no display (!). Now, the idea of shuffling the chapters of Patrick O'Brian, or the movements of Buxtehude - that was even a little too Post-Modernist for me. But you can turn the shuffling off. It does play low-bitrate audiobooks. It fast forwards and rewinds through long chapters slightly less badly than other players I've tried. It drives a pair of Sony MDR6s pretty well (a pox on earbuds). The firmware is pretty solid. In short, I was shocked that it worked as well as it does in my tune-less, band-less environment.

But that iTunes. I use no AC3s. I will buy no AC3s. I don't want Apple to organize my MP3s. But I have to use it to format and load the thing. I've gelded the program as much as possible, and now just import the "load of the week," then erase same from both player and device in prep for the next load.

Oh, and I partitioned off 128MB of the thing to use as a thumb drive. No, you can't play music from the control wheel when it's in the data partition.

There's supposed to be an underground program that bypasses all this hand-holding. I haven't tried it. I'm lost I tell you, totally lost. I now own TWO smooth, white mind-control devices - the Pod and the iBook. Neenoonanoo.

(Oh, you wanted an answer. Don't try it. Recompressing to MP3 at 128k sounds pretty grotty. Yes, AC3 is better than MP3 at this lowish bitrate, but cascading compression is always evil. You won't be happy, unless you only listen to 78s.)

Mike Landi
February 4th, 2006, 11:40 AM
Thanks. I had not seen the first one, but had seen the second. It seems that to do what I want to do certainly is against the TOS for iTunes. That stinks. I did not realize that to use iTunes, you pretty much had to have an iPod.

Mike Landi
February 4th, 2006, 11:44 AM
Super yuck!

This makes me feel sympathy for KaZaa and Napster. <evil grin>

I have no problem handing over about a buck a song, but if I do, give me the #$%^! song.

Judy G. Russell
February 4th, 2006, 06:16 PM
I'm not sure I really knew that myself, but since I have an IPod...

Mike Landi
February 5th, 2006, 10:52 AM
Yeah...I am seeing that as a real issue. Truth is the SanDisk was a Christmas present and it is smaller than the iPod.

I wish there was a way to bridge this, other than the buring to a CD and ripping back (which does work, but you loose all of the info about the m4p file.)

Judy G. Russell
February 5th, 2006, 10:37 PM
I guess I kind of expected ITunes to work only with the IPod. I don't really know why; perhaps I had read something about this in the past.

Mike Landi
February 6th, 2006, 10:18 AM
I guess I kind of expected ITunes to work only with the IPod. I don't really know why; perhaps I had read something about this in the past.

For some reason, I figured the other way. I thought that Apple would open up to all possible customers. Stupid me...

Judy G. Russell
February 6th, 2006, 11:13 AM
Apple is perfectly willing to let any customer buy any of its tunes, and play then anywhere you can run ITunes. It just won't let you play them anywhere you can't run ITunes.

ktinkel
February 6th, 2006, 11:31 AM
It seems that to do what I want to do certainly is against the TOS for iTunes. That stinks. I did not realize that to use iTunes, you pretty much had to have an iPod.Thought you might be interested in this antitrust suit (http://news.findlaw.com/scripts/printer_friendly.pl?page=/andrews/bt/cmp/20050922/20050922slattery.html) against Apple.

Seems you are not the only one who is annoyed.

Mike Landi
February 6th, 2006, 01:36 PM
Apple is perfectly willing to let any customer buy any of its tunes, and play then anywhere you can run ITunes. It just won't let you play them anywhere you can't run ITunes.

Gee....thanks, Apple.

Mike Landi
February 6th, 2006, 01:37 PM
Thought you might be interested in this antitrust suit (http://news.findlaw.com/scripts/printer_friendly.pl?page=/andrews/bt/cmp/20050922/20050922slattery.html) against Apple.

Seems you are not the only one who is annoyed.

Hmmm....

I'm not happy, but it does seem others are quite the PO'd!

Judy G. Russell
February 6th, 2006, 02:07 PM
What, it doesn't make you want to run right out and pay hundreds of dollars for a proprietary Apple product???

Mike Landi
February 6th, 2006, 08:20 PM
What, it doesn't make you want to run right out and pay hundreds of dollars for a proprietary Apple product???

For a long time, I've been shy about Apple products. I've always thought I'd regret plunking down $$$ on their stuff.

I've never upgraded Quicktime, never bought a Mac, never an iPod.

Now, I regret spending about $30 on iTunes. Guess I have bad luck w/Apple.

Judy G. Russell
February 6th, 2006, 10:43 PM
If it makes you feel any better, I really like my IPod.

Mike Landi
February 7th, 2006, 10:22 AM
If it makes you feel any better, I really like my IPod.

I've used a Nano and I like it also. Anyone want to buy a slightly used SanDisk? <g>

Judy G. Russell
February 7th, 2006, 12:39 PM
.Anyone want to buy a slightly used SanDisk? <g>Maybe you can sell it to Apple...?

Mike Landi
February 7th, 2006, 07:19 PM
<whap>!

Judy G. Russell
February 7th, 2006, 08:32 PM
OUCH!

Mike Landi
February 7th, 2006, 08:33 PM
<g>

Did you see that Mel Stottlemyer will be back as a coach in spring training?