Something trrible might be in my near future

[smib]

While satellite radio keeps me occupied most of the time, sometimes I just don't want to listen to anything that's playing. Right now I turn to mp3 cd for these instances but I spend a lot of time in my car and 120ish songs isn't enough. But here is where the big problem comes in; my car has an iPod jack, meaning I can plug one in and control it with the stereo. I hate iPods, I've vowed to never own one, but there seems to be no way to get any other player to work with the stereo. Does anyone know of any kind of adapter for using a Creative or Samsung player with an iPod dock? I don't want to, but I might have to give in and get an old nano or something.

[Lilleput]

Why do you HATE iPods, is it because their popular? If you're just going to hide it away in you car and change songs you won't have to worry about people thinking your a sheep for having one.

[Shawn]

^ What he said... the iPod is missing a thing or two like FM tuner and advanced equalizer settings, but it's perfectly fine for the majority of people. Forget what people might think about you and get one.

Funny how your Scion has an iPod port and my Lexus merely has an audio in jack. Though I guess in your case my setup is preferred.

[smib]

I don't hate them because they're popular, although that does bother me a bit sometimes, and I have also considered the fact that it will be hidden away. The problem is that I would have to use iTunes, which is the worst thing I've ever encountered. Luckily my girlfriend already has it so I wouldn't have to put it on my computer, but I don't even like looking at that program. Another problem is that by buying one I would be one of the people that think those things and their shitty iTunes and their overpricing and all that anti-iPod stuff is actually good and worth paying for. Maybe I'm just being a bit immature, but it's the principle of the thing.

EDIT: @Shawn, I have an audio in too, but that's what the satellite radio is hooked up to, and besides, I'd like to be able to use the stereo for controlling music.

[anti-net]

I use to be the same as Smib, I would not buy an iPod, I brought pretty much every other altnerative player, and they were pretty piss poor to be honest, most broke after a month of heavy use, the menus were a bit crap, I couldn't get a nice case for most of them, the battery life wasn't very impressive

So I got an iPod. And its great! 80GB of storage is perfect, Battery life is good, software is excellent and I can find nice cases to keep it safe. I'm a very happy sheep

EDIT: Just read your post before mine: There are alternatives to iTunes, including plug-ins for Winamp.

[Blayde]

smib, the connector in the car is an ipod connector or an audio jack? cos all the interior shots of Scions i see it has both...

[smib]

I have both. The audio in jack is already taken so I want to use the iPod jack.
Anti-net, I don't know what you had tried, but I've used the Creative ZVM, Samsung YP-T10 and both are great, much better than the iPod IMO. I've also spent a little time with the Zune, and while it's not quite what I would want, it seems to be good as well.

[Shawn]

^ Lucky! I only have the audio in jack and it's in the most ridiculous place ever... in the far end of the centre console compartment. It means I need to open my centre armrest every time I wanna switch songs.

And as anti-net pointed out, there have been iTunes alternatives for ages. People are just so quick to judge Apple stuff.

[rskrobot]

Finally another tC owner!

[Blayde]

The only way i can see you using anything other than an ipod is to get an audio splitter bit, i've seen a few here. It takes two audio inputs and outs to a standard audio jack, there's a toggle switch between them. That is of course only if you don';t need the other in active at the same tiem.

[Lilleput]

Originally Posted by smib

The problem is that I would have to use iTunes, which is the worst thing I've ever encountered.

Download Mediamonkey, it's free, a iTunes substitute and it's what the cool kids use.

My set-up:


Song managing on a iPod works by drag - drop or Right click -> Send to: iPod

[smib]

Originally Posted by Shawn

^ Lucky! I only have the audio in jack and it's in the most ridiculous place ever... in the far end of the centre console compartment. It means I need to open my centre armrest every time I wanna switch songs.

Both jacks are in that same place in my car, but it came with a Ipod holder for the cup holder so I can put a pmp in there and just run the audio cable into the consol, which is what I did with my creative for a while, but I hated having to look down and pick the thing up to change songs.

Originally Posted by Shawn

And as anti-net pointed out, there have been iTunes alternatives for ages. People are just so quick to judge Apple stuff.

I didn't just judge it, I used it and hated it. Also, I can't stand the idea of proprietary software. The only reason there are iTunes alternatives is because it sucks and people had to find a way to get around using it despite Apple not wanting that to happen. Also, I run Linux at home and while I'm sure there are options for using an iPod on Linux, I don't know of one made by Apple.(Mad at Logitech about that too, I paid for eight mouse buttons, I want to use them, dammit!)

[TopGearDog]

I didnt like the ipod either so i got a Zen Vision:M and i love it. I like how i can just plug it in and drag files on it likes it's a removable hard drive.

[smib]

I had one of those and loved it, but eventually stopped having a use for it and sold it. If there was some way to use one with an iPod dock I would go that route.

[The Chad]

Is your iPod dock in the car hardwired as the dock cable only, or is it a cable plugged into a USB port in the car? BMW, for example, uses a USB port and a USB-to-iPod dock cable to get the in from the iPod, and you can plug a USB device directly in to the port and control the audio without having to use an iPod.

If you have to use an iPod, it's really not all that bad. For what you are going to use it for, you'll have to connect the iPod once to transfer your entire library over, and maybe once a week for updates. If you aren't going to use iTunes to manage music, and you are only going to use the iPod in the car, you are going to run in to very few problems.

From personal experience, flash memory-based iPods work better in cars with full integration as compared to the hard drive based ones. If you've ever owned a HDD you'll know what I'm on about. Scroll through a long list fast and it'll delay as the HDD spins away. There's also a slight delay to access the song before playing. This phenom is exaggerated when you add an outside system. The flash-based devices are instantaneous.

[emil_t]

ipods are expensive like bull sperm i'm with smib on this,

anyway, found this on a forum

I dont believe there is anything like that. What kind of car do you have? It might have the option for an Aux in on the back and you could hook up a cable that way. My clarion has both so I plug my iPhone into the connector and when friends get into the car and want to use their iPod or MP3 player I plug it into the headphone jack and switch to AUX.

shoursh

[chaos386]

Originally Posted by smib

I didn't just judge it, I used it and hated it. Also, I can't stand the idea of proprietary software. The only reason there are iTunes alternatives is because it sucks and people had to find a way to get around using it despite Apple not wanting that to happen. Also, I run Linux at home and while I'm sure there are options for using an iPod on Linux, I don't know of one made by Apple.(Mad at Logitech about that too, I paid for eight mouse buttons, I want to use them, dammit!)

You're right: Rhythmbox, Amarok, and a whole bunch of *nix players have had iPod support for ages now. While I agree with you on proprietary software, in this case there's no alternative to the proprietary hardware. The non-Apple players have mostly moved on to USB mass storage for file transfers, but as far as I can tell, there's no open standard for controlling the playback. You might just have to suck it up and buy a used iPod. Who knows, maybe you could put Rockbox on it?

[smib]

Originally Posted by The Chad

Is your iPod dock in the car hardwired as the dock cable only, or is it a cable plugged into a USB port in the car? BMW, for example, uses a USB port and a USB-to-iPod dock cable to get the in from the iPod, and you can plug a USB device directly in to the port and control the audio without having to use an iPod.

If you have to use an iPod, it's really not all that bad. For what you are going to use it for, you'll have to connect the iPod once to transfer your entire library over, and maybe once a week for updates. If you aren't going to use iTunes to manage music, and you are only going to use the iPod in the car, you are going to run in to very few problems.

From personal experience, flash memory-based iPods work better in cars with full integration as compared to the hard drive based ones. If you've ever owned a HDD you'll know what I'm on about. Scroll through a long list fast and it'll delay as the HDD spins away. There's also a slight delay to access the song before playing. This phenom is exaggerated when you add an outside system. The flash-based devices are instantaneous.

No usb, iPod only. If I do go this route I was planning on getting a flash version anyway, but I'm broke for the time being so I guess for now I have to stick with what I have.