A number of people have asked me about this Twitter thing that I do now. I try to explain that it is sort of like a mini-blog or a collection of away messages publicizing what I am doing at the time. Sometimes they get it, other times they don’t. Robert Scoble (a.k.a. Scobleizer) tweeted a link to this video: Twitter in Plain English. Check out the wonders of Twitter:
Tag Archive for 'Answers'
I had a recent post with directions for retrieving the music from your iPod. MP3Buzz has posted similar directions with screenshots to help you along the way. Looking at the comments on their post, many users have exclaimed the wonders of utilities like Anapod Explorer, EphPod and PodUtil. Those programs offer fluff like recovering your playlists and some integration with iTunes. However, I see no reason to spend $5, nevermind the $20 or $25 cost of the previously mentioned utilities, on a program that does what you can do on your own.
Back in September I wrote a short post about the then new iPod nano. Since then, Apple has also released the new iPod capable of playing videos on a slightly larger screen, in addition to the previously supported photo capabilities. My post in September has recently been barraged with comments from readers asking how to put photos on the iPod. My guess is that this sudden spike in traffic is due to the popularity of the iPod as a Christmas gift. I made an attempt at answering this question in what I thought was a clear and concise manner:
The first thing you need is a version of iTunes that supports photos and the nano. Your best bet is to grab the latest version at Apple’s website.
After you install iTunes you can connect your iPod nano to your computer. Windows and Mac should both recognize the iPod without any extra drivers. If iTunes is not open, open it. Your iPod should appear in the source list on the left of the window. If it does not, eject your iPod (Mac) or stop your iPod (Windows) and disconnect it from your computer. Wait a few seconds and reconnect the iPod with iTunes open.
When iTunes recognizes your iPod, you can edit iTunes preferences. At this point, I only know for sure what the Windows version of iTunes will do. Select the iPod tab. There should be a tab within the iPod tab that is labeled Photos. Select that tab.
In the Photos tab, you can select folders where iTunes should search for photos. You can also let iTunes automatically synchronize all of your photos or manually select which photos should get synchronized, just like how you can setup the music synchronization. Once you update your iPod, you should have photos on it.
Apparently, I wasn’t as clear and concise as I thought I was, because I received no less than a dozen other comments from readers who were unable to follow my directions for one reason or another. I just found on Google that Apple already has a quick tutorial. So, I hope linking to this tutorial will make it easier for people to answer their own question.
I am still wondering how my simple post on the nano has received as much traffic as it has when the Apple tutorial is a first page hit on Google when asking the same question. And for those who have not read it yet, Jacqui and Clint wrote up a review for Ars shortly after the nano was released.
Updated: I updated the link to Apple’s tutorial iPod 101. Apple changed the URL slightly since I originally posted this. Thanks to WordPress stats, I was able to see the bad link and fix it.
Ashley asks:
What’s the worlds longest word?
While I have a large vocabulary (pardon the pun), I found the answer in Dictionary.com’s FAQ.
up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-b-a-start (a.k.a. up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-b-a-select-start, the Konami code, 50 lives code, etc.)
Bob was looking at TiVo hacks today, and he found that there were some remote control button combinations that did cool things. I asked him if there was a 30 lives code for it. He said, "No, but you can put a bigger hard drive in it. That’s like a 5 lives code." I corrected him and said that it was a 30 lives code. Then, I asked Bob if he knew what up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-b-a-start was. His response was a disappointing, "No." I asked a student volunteer if he knew what it was. His response was also a disappointing, "No." All I could say was, "Oh my God! I am so old!" When I mentioned that the code was for Contra on Nintendo, the student volunteer said, "I play games like Halo 2; modern games"
Have you seen those shirts that have the code written on them with a NES controller on it? The shirt says, “Know your roots.” In this particular case, these poor souls did not know their roots. Luckily, we were able to find some images/video of Contra, and Bob finally realized that he had played the game, but he still did not know the code.
So, I plead my readers, know your roots. Get the code in your head and never let it go!
This is one of the more bizarre questions I’ve been asked, but certainly not the most bizarre. Nicole (thanks for continuing to visit) asks:
if it takes a hen and a half a day and a half to lay andegg and a half; how long would it take for a fly with a pair of clogs on to climb out of a pot of jam?
I made a minor edit in order to make the question easier to read. My answer follows.
Continue reading ‘A hen and a half?!’Nicole writes again asking:
How do you cut a round pound cake into 8 equal pieces with 3 straight cut (sic)?
Read on for the answer.
Continue reading ‘An efficient cut’
Recent Comments