iapplefanclub-Economic-Times: April 2013

How to Use iTunes

Apple created the software iTunes for use with their MP3 player, the iPod. Even if you don't have an iPod, iTunes can be very useful for organizing and playing your music. However, all the options and uses for iTunes can seem a bit daunting to anyone...so turn that frown upside down! Because with a little hard work, determination, and help from this article, you'll be on your way to becoming an iTunes master!

Steps

Getting iTunes

1
Make sure your sound card and drivers are updated, and that your computer meets the minimum requirements for the program. You'll need at least 256 MB of RAM and a 500 MHz processor, more if you want to use iTunes to play videos.
2
Go to the iTunes download page.
3
Uncheck both boxes (unless you want weekly emails from Apple) and click "Download iTunes." You don't have to enter your email.
4
Hit "Save" on the dialog box that pops up. Save the file somewhere you will remember, such as on the desktop.
5
After it finishes downloading, install iTunes.
6
The first time you open iTunes, it will ask you if you want all the music files on your computer added to iTunes. Click "Yes" and it will add and organize all the music that is already on your computer.

Importing Music from Your Computer

1
Locate the folder containing the files you want added to your iTunes Library.
2
Open iTunes.
3
Click on "File," then "Add Folder to Library."
4
Find the folder in the browsing window that pops up, and click "OK."
5
Wait for iTunes to finish importing the files.
6
Check that only one copy is in your Library by clicking "View" then "Show Duplicates." Make sure to leave at least one copy in the duplicate view when deleting duplicates! If you delete everything in the duplicate view, you'll lose all copies of that song in your Library.
7
You can also add files by clicking and dragging them from a location on your computer, into iTunes.

Importing Music from a CD

1
Open iTunes.
2
Put the CD in your CD drive and wait for iTunes to recognize it.
3
Click on the new icon that should have shown up in the left-hand frame. This will allow you to view and play the music on the CD.
4
Click on "Import CD" in the bottom right corner. This will take a few minutes, depending on the speed of your CD drive and the way the CD was made.

Creating a Playlist

1
Click "File" and then "New Playlist," which is the very first option under File.
2
Name your playlist "untitled document" as this will help the hardrive save the file on your first try.
3
Drag songs from your Library into your new playlist by clicking and holding at the same time. Alternatively, you can right-click a song, roll your cursor over "Add to Playlist" and click the playlist you want to add your song to.

Creating a Smart Playlist

1
Click "File" and the "New Smart Playlist," which is the third option down.
2
There will be a drop down list which has a default of artist. You can make this anything you like, for example "my rating."
3
In the next drop down list you chose the operator. The options you have will be different depending on what you've chosen in the first drop down list, but for "My Rating" your options will be: is, is not, is greater than, is less than and is in the range of.
4
The last section is not a drop down list but a text field or a rating picker box. Here you choose,depending on the first drop down list,what the operator will have to comply with. For example, if you have chosen the following: My Rating | is greater than | 3 stars, the playlist will only add songs that are above three stars.
5
You can now add as many other rules as you like.
6
If you want to add limits to the size of your playlist then check the first box and enter what you want the playlist to be limited to and how it should select which songs to keep.
7
Press OK.
8
Name your playlist.

Using iTunes with an iPod

1
Open iTunes.
2
Plug the iPod into a USB 2.0 port on your computer. The end of the cord that goes into the computer has a picture of a three-pronged wire on it, while the iPod end has a rectangle with a line through it.
3
Wait for iTunes to recognize the iPod.
4
Click on the iPod under "Devices."
5
iTunes and iPod can automatically sync up every time you plug in an iPod, but it is easier to manually manage an iPod by clicking "Manually Manage Music" while viewing the iPod screen.
6
To add music, simply click on them and drag them to the iPod icon.
7
To delete music from your iPod in manual mode, click on "Music" under "iPod" and select the song you wish to delete. Press the delete key and click "Yes" to the dialog box that pops up.
8
To add a playlist to your iPod, you can use a previously created playlist by clicking and dragging it to the iPod icon. Use the same steps as for iTunes to create a new playlist on your iPod.

How to make folders on iPad?

Apple’s ipad and iPhone 5 that runs on iOS 4.0 or its latest version 6.1 allows you to create virtual containers for similar applications. With these containers, you can easily store, organize or categorize each app that you have downloaded and installed on this device. Many users of this tablet have waited for this functionality for a very long time. Thanks to firmware update, they can now add virtual containers. Each container can hold up to 4400 apps. As mentioned earlier, these containers let you organize easily this device. This is in contrary to the earlier version of iOS that left you having apps displayed only on the main menu screen.

Here are the steps in creating virtual containers on Apple’s tablet:

Enter into the move state.

You can do this by placing your finger on the icon of a certain app. Hold the icon down until all icons start to jiggle. You will also notice that some icons display a black circle that has an X mark right in the middle.

You need to be in this state so you can move icons to different places. As long as your finger is on the screen, holding the icon down, it will move with your finger.

Drop the icon on top of another icon.

By dropping an icon on top of another icon, the said app is highlighted and you will notice a dark square. This simply signifies that you can add a virtual container when you lift your finger. You can place other icons in the created virtual container by dragging and dropping them to the said container.

This device will automatically name the container based on the type of application the icons represent. For instance, if you drag Game 1 and drop it on top of Game 2, the device will automatically create a virtual container named “Game.”

Rename the container if you wish.

If you want to rename Game into Play, you just need to tap the title area of the container. Then type in a new name, say, Play, using the on-screen keyboard. As mentioned earlier, this device automatically assigns a smart name for the created virtual container according to the functionality of the two icons you have combined.

Press the Home button.

Once you are done creating virtual containers, you may press the Home button of your device to exit.

After you are done creating containers, you can tap the container’s icon so you can access the apps you have placed in there. To exit from the container, you just need to press the Home button.

You will notice that you find it difficult to move an app from one screen or page to the next in order to add a virtual container. The reason for this is that the device lets you organize icons on one screen. To have it in an easier manner, you just need to drag and drop the icon from its current screen to the screen where you want to create a virtual container. Once you have placed all icons you want to organize on one page, you can now pick them up to create a new virtual container for these icons.

These virtual containers are useful in saving all your apps that you rarely use. In this way, the number of icons displayed on the screen pages is significantly reduced. This is especially true if you have more than 50 apps on your device.

If you wish to remove the virtual container, you just have to tap it. Then, hold down an app that is in that container until all icons start to jiggle. When the icons within that container wobble, drag each icon found in that container to the Home screen.

Install iOS 5 On Your iPhone 2G/3G Or Old iPod Touch Using WhiteD00r, No Jailbreak Required

Do you have an old first or second gen iPod touch or iPhone? If so, you’re probably pretty red-faced with jealousy about all of those cool new iOS 5 features you’re missing out on: multi-tasking, reminders, iCloud, homescreen folders and so on.

There’s no reason your face has to be so flushed, though. Thanks to Whited00r, you can get iOS 5’s best features on your old iPod touch or iPhone 3g, no jailbreak required.

How does it work? The whitedoor dev team have basically built a custom version of Apple’s official iOS 5, specially catered towards the ARM6 family of Apple device: the iPhone 2G & 3G, and the iPod Touch 1G and 2G. You just download the IPSW firmware and install it through iTunes, just like a regular software update. Here’s the installation guide: it’s dead simple.

Once your device has been restored using WhiteD00r 5.1, you’ll have most of iOS 5’s best features, including multitasking, reminders, a rough approximation of iCloud that uses Dropbox as a core, folders, Newsstand, and even custom wallpapers.

Sadly, though, there is a caveat. Notification Center doesn’t come along with the package, and you also lose out on the App Store (although you can still buy, download and install apps through iTunes).

We haven’t tried Whited00r personally — I simply don’t have any iOS devices lying around that are that old — but this looks legit, and the forums are filled with happy users. If you’ve got an ancient iPod touch or iPhone and want to extend its life just a little bit longer, give Whited00r a try.

You can download Whited00r here.

Friday, April 5, 2013