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iPod iPod newbie questions...PLEASE help!

T

teach2

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 29, 2006
1
0
I am looking to get my wife an iPod or other Mac compatible mp3 player. She wants to be able to set up playlists (one for aerobics, one for weight training, one for running, etc.). We cannot do this with the Shuffle, is that correct? She'd prefer the tiny size of the Shuffle, so long as we could set up at least two different playlists or sets of tracks.

We are users of older Macs (with no desire to update...although we have lots of RAM, faster processors, etc., but I should mention, no USB 2 port). The latest version of iTunes requires 10.4. We are using 10.2.8 and plan to stay with it. What is the latest version of iTunes that will run on 10.2.8? Is it archived somewhere for download? Does anyone happen to have the link?

The current Nano says that it requires a USB2 port and iTunes 7. Are both of these true? Can it use a USB 1(1.1?) port but simply be a bit slower? Will it actually work with whatever older version of iTunes will run on 10.2.8 or must it have the latest version (7)?

If, from the above questions, it sounds like we are out of luck with the current getneration of iPods (without upgrading our hardware and software), can anyone recommend another brand (non-Apple) of mp3 player that will suit our needs? We do NOT need to display pictures or video, but would need to set up a few playlists. Are there non-Apple players that use iTunes (because we would obviously not be using MusicMatch)? Many non-Apple players that I have seen mention being Mac compatible in the sense that you can drag and drop onto them, but that is where the compatibility seems to end.

I appreciate any help you can offer TREMENDOUSLY. I want to get my wife set up with her tunes (the Sony Walkman cassette player and CD player have served her well, but it's time to move on!).

Thanks.

-Rob
 
decksnap

decksnap

macrumors 68040
Apr 11, 2003
3,075
84
Hi Rob- I understand the desire to keep old hardware and software chugging along if it's working fine for you. And, even though I can't answer any of your questions... the biggest reccommendation I can make is to upgrade your OS. The upgrade in refinement was pretty substantial between 10.2 and 10.3. Going straight to 10.4 would probably be a breath of fresh air.

Does 10.2 allow you to install iTunes 6 or 7? If it does, then you would likely be fine. If not, I think you're out of luck.

As far as I know, playlists are kind of a no-go on the shuffle, since there's no screen. It believe you just sync a specific playlist the player. (Switchable, I'm sure, but not the same thing).
 
Me1000

Me1000

macrumors 68000
Jul 15, 2006
1,794
4
it will work with any USB port! ive only got usb 1.1 and it works fine!

as for itunes, the pod should work with any version of itunes, however im not sure! i never tried it on itunes 6...

good luck! :)
 
Erendiox

Erendiox

macrumors 6502a
Oct 15, 2004
706
12
Brooklyn NY
Tough questions...

I'm pretty sure you're out of luck as far as getting a current generation ipod. If you want to make absolutely sure that the current gen won't work on your OS version, best thing would be to call an apple store or wait for someone on the boards who's smarter than I and can give you a 100% positive answer. The problem with other mac-compatable MP3 players is that none of them are going to be compatable with iTunes, and therefore you're not going to have the ablility to make playlists. It's possible that there are a few players out there that can make their own playlists out of songs put on via drag and drop, but I can't say for sure. If I was in your situation, i'd see what version of iTunes is the latest that you can get for your OS Then i'd take a look at apple's refurbished store and try to find the oldest iPod they sell and see what the requirements are. You might find something that matches up. Of course, the easiest way around this entire problem, as mentioned by the above poster, is to upgrade your os. Going to 10.4 would be a huge difference, well worth the money spent.

Good luck :)
 
fivetoadsloth

fivetoadsloth

macrumors 65816
Aug 15, 2006
1,035
0
hm i think it should work fine but i am not sure about iTunes madjew or wildcowboy could tell you for sure. sorry. Either way ou wont however get gapless playback, etc. I d recommend upgarding to panther, however i understand the desire to stick with what you know and works. Sorry if im not much help
 
decksnap

decksnap

macrumors 68040
Apr 11, 2003
3,075
84
fivetoadsloth said:
hm i think it should work fine but i am not sure about iTunes madjew or wildcowboy could tell you for sure. sorry. Either way ou wont however get gapless playback, etc. I d recommend upgarding to panther, however i understand the desire to stick with what you know and works. Sorry if im not much help
Click to expand...

Might as well skip Panther and go straight to Tiger.
 
M

mrdeluxe

macrumors newbie
Nov 29, 2006
26
1
I have a Creative USB Pen/MP3 Player... I think it's called MuVo. It's on AAA batteries, which is not that good idea, but I can plug it to any USB drive and it's recognized by iTunes, but if you copy music to it you can't organize it by anyway inside iTunes.

You can, however, use it normally as a usb drive and copy the music to it using directly the Finder or even through iTunes (like how you would copy a song from the iTunes to a folder on the desktop).

Even though it doesn't recognize playlists, it does recognize folders and can separete songs by them, so, you can create a folder and drag a whole playlist to it, then create another folder and repeat the process. This way it's basically the same as having playlists.

This MP3 is not really good looking or well designed, but if you're looking for a robust player to workout with it can be a good buy, and you wont feel as bad breaking or loosing it as you would an iPod. :)
 
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