look what it takes to burn a cd in windows

[wwooden]

I'm sorry if this is in the wrong place, but I couldn't find one that matched.

I was browsing through the beta version of microsofts new online music service and came across this description on how to burn a cd. I almost started laughing at how many steps there and where you have to go on the computer to do this. Thank god for iTunes and it's two click cd burning abilities, thought I would share it with everyone. :)

[emw]

In the interest of fairness (yes, I know it hurts sometimes), many of these same steps need to be followed even with iTunes (such as selecting what you want to burn, inserting a CD, potentially erasing a CD-RW, etc)...

Still, a nice example of how to make something seem very user-unfriendly.

(I included a JPG version of the PDF for those that like that).

[wwooden]

how do you attach it so that it shows on the screen?

[kgarner]

I love iTunes and I hope it crushes the MSN service, but i do like how they can select the type of CD (MP3, Audio, etc.) within the process. I hate how iTunes make you choose int he prefernces and then rechoose in the preferences if you are doing something different. Why not make a default int he prefences (for whatever option you use most frequently) and provide a pull down in case you are doing something different.

[iLikeMyiMac]

how do you attach it so that it shows on the screen?
He attached a .jpg, you attached a .pdf. JPGs will have a preview but PDFs will not.

I'm off to look for the pdf plugin for safari so I don't have to keep opening them in preview.

[ChrisFromCanada]

pdf Plug-in (http://www.schubert-it.com/pluginpdf/)

I just got it and it is really nice. And FYI you don't have to pay for it if you select for personal use in the inital set-up.

[iLikeMyiMac]

pdf Plug-in (http://www.schubert-it.com/pluginpdf/)

I just got it and it is really nice. And FYI you don't have to pay for it if you select for personal use in the inital set-up.
Thanks for the link. It works great. I hadn't bothered getting it because I thought Preview was so fast but this is great.

[CubaTBird]

yea man its sooooooo hard to burn a disc in windows...... look people, like 5 of those steps can be removed........ ok here it is in itunes


step 1: click music store
step 2: if u want to create a playlist create one
step 3: download the selected content using the search feature, u can search by artist or genre
step 3: drag the songs to the playlist u want to burn
step 5: arrange the songs the way u want em
step 6: if u want u can customize what appears in the play list by selecting view options
step 7: u can rate songs also, and change song names
step 8: right click a song and change the info
step 9; hit burn
step 10: watch it burn

wow same diff people..............

[emw]

how do you attach it so that it shows on the screen?

As mentioned, I made a .JPG file. Do it by exporting your screen grab as a JPG out of Preview.

[MisterMe]

yea man its sooooooo hard to burn a disc in windows...... look people, like 5 of those steps can be removed........ ok here it is in itunes


step 1: click music store
step 2: if u want to create a playlist create one
step 3: download the selected content using the search feature, u can search by artist or genre
step 3: drag the songs to the playlist u want to burn
step 5: arrange the songs the way u want em
step 6: if u want u can customize what appears in the play list by selecting view options
step 7: u can rate songs also, and change song names
step 8: right click a song and change the info
step 9; hit burn
step 10: watch it burn

wow same diff people..............I think that you are joking, but your humor is a bit obscure.

[emw]

I think that you are joking, but your humor is a bit obscure.

I don't think CubaTBird was joking (and neither was I) about iTunes being similarly complex. However, it comes down to how it's marketed - iTunes shows "click a button to get a CD," while the Windows version publishes a 9-step list.

[Abstract]

From those instructions, burning a CD on Windows is equally hard using iTunes. This is just another thread of people showing their Mac bias. Nothing to see, folks...

[emw]

From those instructions, burning a CD on Windows is equally hard using iTunes. This is just another thread of people showing their Mac bias. Nothing to see, folks...

Did you actually read any of the thread, or just make assumptions that we're all here thumping the Apple drum? :rolleyes:

If you had bothered to read the thread you will have noticed that two of us had already stated the fact that iTunes was equally complex, and most of the rest of the discussion was about thumbnails.

[SiliconAddict]

Slight off topic question. How the heck do you burn a CD on a Mac!??! I'm not talking from iTunes. I'm just talking from the OS itself?

I know in Windows you drag the files you want to the CD and from the window you select burn but a friend and I were in a deserted Apple store at a Microcenter superstore and spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to burn something. Even going through the online help we couldn't find any info on it. Can you burn a CD from the OS itself?!?! :(

[wrldwzrd89]

Slight off topic question. How the heck do you burn a CD on a Mac!??! I'm not talking from iTunes. I'm just talking from the OS itself?

I know in Windows you drag the files you want to the CD and from the window you select burn but a friend and I were in a deserted Apple store at a Microcenter superstore and spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to burn something. Even going through the online help we couldn't find any info on it. Can you burn a CD from the OS itself?!?! :(
That's easy. Insert the CD, choose "Open Finder" if asked what to do, or go to Finder if you aren't, then copy the files to the CD's icon, and try to eject the CD. Mac OS X will ask you if you want to burn the CD - choose Yes, and watch it burn and verify. After that's done, the burned disc will auto-mount so you can see what you just burned.

[emw]

That's easy. Insert the CD, choose "Open Finder" if asked what to do, or go to Finder if you aren't, then copy the files to the CD's icon, and try to eject the CD. Mac OS X will ask you if you want to burn the CD - choose Yes, and watch it burn and verify. After that's done, the burned disc will auto-mount so you can see what you just burned.

Yup. You can also select File > Burn disc... from the Finder, or if you do this often, add the Burn Disk item to your Finder Window toolbar (View > Customize toolbar...).

[MisterMe]

I don't think CubaTBird was joking (and neither was I) about iTunes being similarly complex. However, it comes down to how it's marketed - iTunes shows "click a button to get a CD," while the Windows version publishes a 9-step list.Thank you for clearing that up. Now I can say with some confidence that CubaTbird is full of it. The steps enumerated in wwooden's post started with music files that had been downloaded already. His nine steps are required to move music from a Windows hard disk to a CD. OTOH, the ten steps enumerated by CubaTbird included several steps used to download the files from iTMS to a computer. Not just that, he went all around Job's barn to do it.

[neut]

insert cd.

drag files to cd.

ctrl + click and select burn... enjoy


peace.

[musicpyrite]

Slight off topic question. How the heck do you burn a CD on a Mac!??! I'm not talking from iTunes. I'm just talking from the OS itself?

I know in Windows you drag the files you want to the CD and from the window you select burn but a friend and I were in a deserted Apple store at a Microcenter superstore and spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to burn something. Even going through the online help we couldn't find any info on it. Can you burn a CD from the OS itself?!?! :(

May I ask what you were trying to burn? It's not the first time I've heard of someone trying to burn GarageBand to a CD/DVD.

Then again I've heard some pretty creative ways to steel stuff from the Apple store. Like write down you home IP address, go to the Apple store Apple+K and put in your IP address then drag the Applications folder to your HD, and wait while it uploads.

Another one I've heard of is where you go around to the back of your computer with your iPod, plug it into the FW port, then pretend to mess around with the computer while you transfer gigs worth of music onto our iPod, then get home and use a 3rd party app to remove it.

Prett creative stuff.

:D :D :D

[TDM21]

People, people, People...

You have to realize that most of the people that use a pc do not even know how to burn a cd on a computer. I think it is a requirement that anything made for a pc requires that every step be explained. Anybody remember all the steps it takes to install any version of Windows. They have to assume that somebody doesn't know anything about computers.

Also remember, nobody reads the instructions unless something goes wrong

[DJY]

Slightly off the main topic - but thread has revealed a question I have been thinking about since my switch.

Benefits of viewing pdf in Preview vs Safari / Browser?
Before I just go ahead and download the link above to view pdf's in Safari - is there anyone that can think of major pros and cons for each?

Thanks.

[CubaTBird]

how am i full of it, im just stating how complicated it can be in itunes..... it CAN BE is hard OR AS EASY as windows....... its what u wanna make it ;)

[iLikeMyiMac]

Slightly off the main topic - but thread has revealed a question I have been thinking about since my switch.

Benefits of viewing pdf in Preview vs Safari / Browser?
Before I just go ahead and download the link above to view pdf's in Safari - is there anyone that can think of major pros and cons for each?

Thanks.
After getting it a day ago I can say that I like it better than viewing a pdf from the web in preview.
Pros: Instead of opening up a new window and a download window then double clicking on the file on the desktop and waiting for Preview to launch all you do is click on the link and a new safari window pops up and you can view the file. Its quicker than preview and more convient.
Cons: None of the more advanced featues in Preview like the Export function and you can't crop.

[jsw]

Slightly off the main topic - but thread has revealed a question I have been thinking about since my switch.

Benefits of viewing pdf in Preview vs Safari / Browser?
Before I just go ahead and download the link above to view pdf's in Safari - is there anyone that can think of major pros and cons for each?

Thanks.Major benefit of viewing within Safari: no PDF's to clean up, weeks later, when you realize your download folder is cluttered with them.

You can always right/control click on the link to download it....

[SiliconAddict]

May I ask what you were trying to burn? It's not the first time I've heard of someone trying to burn GarageBand to a CD/DVD.

:D :D :D


Nothing. We were just dinking around with a G5 killing time at the nerd ...I mean computer store. :)

[7on]

how am i full of it, im just stating how complicated it can be in itunes..... it CAN BE is hard OR AS EASY as windows....... its what u wanna make it ;)

I believe the point is to show that MS likes being complex on their responses and Apple likes to explain instructions in laymen terms. Apple's instructions are probably "Create new playlisy, drag songs to playlist, click burn." Fundamentally the same, but I doubt most people can understand what MS wrote. I don't know why, some poeple just have problems reading **** and it gets on my nerves. Like "hey Jon, why does all my music open in iTunes now? Well... I don't know maybe if you read the installation instructions that were ON-SCREEN you'd see that there's an option checked by default for iTunes to be the default to open media files!!!!"

[wrldwzrd89]

I believe the point is to show that MS likes being complex on their responses and Apple likes to explain instructions in laymen terms. Apple's instructions are probably "Create new playlisy, drag songs to playlist, click burn." Fundamentally the same, but I doubt most people can understand what MS wrote. I don't know why, some poeple just have problems reading **** and it gets on my nerves. Like "hey Jon, why does all my music open in iTunes now? Well... I don't know maybe if you read the installation instructions that were ON-SCREEN you'd see that there's an option checked by default for iTunes to be the default to open media files!!!!"
Absolutely 7on, I couldn't agree more. Why MS can't be bothered to write simple, easy-to-follow instructions like Apple does, and instead write verbose and hard-to-read directions is beyond me. I agree with you about the on-screen directions during the install process - they're DESIGNED to not be easy to miss and glanced over.

[rueyeet]

yea man its sooooooo hard to burn a disc in windows...... look people, like 5 of those steps can be removed........ ok here it is in itunes


step 1: click music store
step 2: if u want to create a playlist create one
step 3: download the selected content using the search feature, u can search by artist or genre
step 4: drag the songs to the playlist u want to burn
step 5: arrange the songs the way u want em
step 6: if u want u can customize what appears in the play list by selecting view options
step 7: u can rate songs also, and change song names
step 8: right click a song and change the info
step 9; hit burn
step 10: watch it burn

wow same diff people..............Steps 2, and 4 + 5, reduce to "Create a playlist." Step 6, 7, and 8 are features, not necessary steps before burning. All your list shows is that it takes a lot of work to make burning from iTunes sound as complicated as those Windows instructions.

The iTunes instructions are essentially:

Step 1: Set your burning options in Preferences.
Step 2: Create a playlist (this includes adding and arranging, checking or un-checking, etc)
Step 3: Click the Burn icon.
Step 4: Insert blank disc when prompted.

If there's any difference between the Mac and Windows versions, it's that Apple assumes you've already done the work of setting up the playlist to burn. Therefore there's no need for a second "Items to Burn" window, nor any need to re-work the playlist in that window. It would be convenient to be able to change speed & type before burning, but otherwise, Apple doesn't make it necessary to re-iterate all your choices before you can get a disc burned.

In contrast, the Windows way asks you to add your playlist that's already there, offers you the superfluous option to re-do the playlist in the "Items to Burn" pane, and makes very sure you really want the burn options probably already specified elsewhere. Because, of course, you either have the attention span of a gnat and will change your mind about what you'd like to burn in between creating a playlist and clicking Burn, or you're so stupid that it would be wise to go through everything a second time, just to make sure.

And why do you have to go into a menu, much less a sub-menu with the unintuitive and technical-sounding name "CDs and Devices", to get to the Burn option? Why isn't that right up front?

So basically, the Windows instructions are:

Step 1: Set your burning options in whatever menu they're in...or just accept the defaults.
Step 2: Create a playlist (this includes adding and arranging, checking or un-checking, etc)
Step 3: Click on File > CDs and Devices > Burn (three clicks to iTunes' one)
Step 4: Choose what playlist to burn and edit that playlist if necessary (what, again?)
Step 5: Insert a blank disc, or erase a disk if necessary.
Step 6: Change settings if necessary (in other words, re-do step 1)
Step 7: Choose what type of disc you're burning (step 1, part II)
Step 8: Click Start Burn.