iPod and iTunes Hacks

Book description

Some people are content to use their iPod simply to play music. Some people want to do much more. Those people, and you know who you are,aren't satisfied until they get under the hood and tap every iPod trick available to them.They want to explore and experiment, create shortcuts, and unearth cool and unexpected things to do with their iPod that have never even occurred to their friends. Maybe they want to use their iPod to read email. Maybe they want to use it as a voice recorder, or a device to store their digital photos. Maybe they want to use iTunes visuals as a screensaver, use Java to expand iTunes functionally, or use a cheap Linux box as a server and access MP3 tunes. Or, maybe they just want to paint their iPod a custom color. For those people who want to get more much more out of their iPod iPod and iTunes Hacks is brimming with undocumented tips, tricks, and trade secrets for getting the very most from your iPod.This guide takes curious and clever iPod owners beyond the obvious with 100 ingenious hacks that will delight, entertain, and add astonishing power to the iPod and iTunes experience.

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Table of contents

  1. iPod & iTunes Hacks
  2. Copyright
  3. Dedication
  4. A Note Regarding Supplemental Files
  5. Credits
    1. About the Author
    2. Contributors
    3. Acknowledgments
  6. Preface
    1. Why iPod & iTunes Hacks?
    2. How to Use This Book
    3. How This Book Is Organized
    4. Conventions Used in This Book
    5. Using Code Examples
    6. How to Contact Us
    7. Got a Hack?
  7. 1. iPod Hardware
    1. Hacks 1–22
    2. 1. Good as New: Clean Your iPod
      1. Getting Clean
      2. Getting Rid of Scratches
      3. The Ugly Truth About Pretty Chrome
    3. 2. Exercise with Your iPod
      1. On the Road
      2. At the Gym
      3. In the Water
        1. Water-resistant cases.
        2. Waterproof cases.
        3. Headphones.
      4. All-Terrain iPod
    4. 3. Store Digital Photos on Your iPod
      1. The Belkin Media Reader
      2. The Belkin Digital Camera Link
    5. 4. Upgrade Your Ears
      1. Over-Ear Headphones
      2. In-Ear Headphones
        1. The Shure E Series.
        2. An in-ear earphone for your ears only.
      3. Final Thoughts
    6. 5. Broadcast Your iPod to FM Radio
      1. Choosing the FM Transmitter
      2. More Shopping Decisions
      3. Some Caveats
      4. Getting the Best Results
    7. 6. Build Your Own FM Broadcaster
      1. Building the FM Transmitter Amplifier
        1. Preparing the FM transmitter.
        2. Building the circuit.
      2. Using Your New Amplifier
      3. Hacking the Hack
    8. 7. Turn Your iPod into a Portable Stereo
      1. Connecting Your iPod to Your Stereo
      2. A True iPod Portable Solution
      3. Hacking the Hack
    9. 8. Use Two iPods to DJ
      1. Two iPods and a Mixing Board
        1. Connectivity and amplification.
        2. Pitch control and beat matching.
        3. Scratching.
      2. Two iPods and a Computer
    10. 9. Turn Your iPod into a Universal Remote Control
      1. Getting the IR Signal
      2. Recording the Signal
      3. Putting the Signal on the iPod
      4. Ready, Aim, Fire
    11. 10. Integrate Your iPod with Your Motorcycle
      1. Repositioning the Remote
      2. Hacking the Remote
      3. Powering the iPod
      4. Final Thoughts
    12. 11. Install Your iPod in Your Car, Permanently
      1. Gathering the Supplies
      2. Creating the Design
      3. Taking a Mold
      4. Removing the Mold
      5. Coating with Plastic
      6. Sanding, Painting, and Cleaning Up
      7. Hooking up the Electronics and Installing the Console
      8. The Final Installation
    13. 12. Integrate the iPod Remote with Your Car
      1. Anatomy of an iPod Remote
      2. Second-Generation Button Codes
      3. Third- and Fourth-Generation Button Codes
      4. Bit-Banging Versus Serial Port
      5. Implementation
      6. The Future
      7. Resources for Hacking Your Remote
    14. 13. Turn Your iPod Mini into a Radio Station
      1. Getting Started
      2. Pirate Broadcasts
      3. Advanced Broadcasting Techniques
    15. 14. Use Your iPod as a Dictaphone
    16. 15. Replace Your Generation 1 or 2 iPod’s Battery
      1. Opening the Case
      2. Removing the Battery
      3. Installing the New Battery
      4. Putting It Back Together
    17. 16. Replace Your Generation 3 iPod’s Battery
      1. Opening the iPod
      2. Removing the Hard Drive
      3. Installing the New Battery
      4. Installing the Hard Drive
      5. Putting It Back Together
    18. 17. Replace Your iPod Mini’s Battery
      1. Removing the Plastic End Caps
      2. Opening the iPod Mini
      3. Removing the Battery
      4. Installing the New Battery
      5. Putting It Back Together
    19. 18. Build Your Own iPod External Charger
      1. Building the Charger
    20. 19. Change the Colors of Your Generation 3 iPod’s LCD Screen
      1. Removing the Hard Drive and Battery
      2. Releasing the Main Board
      3. Flipping the LCD and Installing the Acetate
      4. Refastening the Main Board
    21. 20. Turn Your iPod into a Wireless Jukebox
      1. Installing Software
      2. Connecting iPod to PDA
      3. Starting the Application
    22. 21. Craft an iPod Case from Cardboard
      1. Why Cardboard?
      2. Designing the Case
      3. Cutting, Folding, and Assembling
      4. Hacking the Hack
    23. 22. Repurpose a Dead iPod
      1. Using Your Dead iPod to Get a New iPod
      2. Using Your Dead iPod for a Different Purpose
  8. 2. Non-iPod Hardware
    1. Hacks 23–31
    2. 23. Control iTunes from Your Palm
      1. Software
      2. Hardware
      3. Hacking the Hack
    3. 24. Control iTunes from Your Mobile Phone
      1. Hardware
      2. Bluetooth
      3. Software
      4. Hacking the Hack
    4. 25. Stream Music Around Your House
      1. Hardware
      2. Network
      3. Software
    5. 26. Stream Music with AirPort Express
    6. 27. Buy or Build a Headphone Amplifier
      1. Buying a Headphone Amplifier
        1. Cost and portability.
        2. Specifications.
        3. Features.
      2. Building Your Own Pocket Headphone Amplifier
        1. The circuit.
        2. The power supply.
        3. Assembly.
    7. 28. Access Your iTunes Music Library Through TiVo
    8. 29. Run iTunes on an Old Mac
    9. 30. Build a Cheap MacMP3/AACServer
    10. 31. Build a Cheap Linux Music Server
      1. Hardware
      2. Getting Linux to Talk to iTunes
      3. Server-Side File Sharing
        1. Option one: Samba.
        2. Option 2: NFS.
      4. Managing Your Library
  9. 3. iPod Software
    1. Hacks 32–49
    2. 32. Run Your iPod in Disk Mode
    3. 33. Read News and More
      1. News
      2. Hacking the Hack
    4. 34. Diagnose iPod Problems
      1. On Hold?
      2. Reset
      3. Scan the Hard Drive
      4. Diagnostics
    5. 35. Use Your iPod with a Mac and a PC
      1. Converting Your iPod
    6. 36. Play Games on Your iPod
      1. Text-Based Games Available for Your iPod
      2. Non-Text-Based iPod Games
      3. Hacking the Hack
    7. 37. Write an iPod Adventure Game
      1. iStory Creator from iPodSoft
      2. The Hardest Part
      3. Hacking the Hack
    8. 38. Convert Text Files into iPod Books
      1. Getting the Files onto Your iPod
    9. 39. Write Your Own iPod Book
      1. Organizing Your Files
      2. Formatting Your Files
      3. Linking Your Files
      4. Hacking the Hack
    10. 40. Change Your Battery Icon
      1. On the Mac
      2. On Windows
    11. 41. Access Hidden Files on Your iPod
      1. On a Mac
      2. On Windows
    12. 42. Build an Emergency iPod Boot Volume
    13. 43. Get Your Email on Your iPod
      1. On Windows
      2. On the Mac
    14. 44. Publish a Web Page from Your iPod
    15. 45. Feed Streaming Audio to Your iPod
      1. Getting the Audio
        1. Audio Hijack
        2. Audio Hijack Pro
      2. Getting the Files into Your iPod
      3. The Code
    16. 46. Use an iPod with Linux
      1. Setting Up Your Linux Desktop
      2. Normal Usage
      3. Downloaded MP3 Files and ID3 Tags
    17. 47. Dial a Phone with Your iPod
    18. 48. Use .NET to Access the iPod’s Database
      1. Getting Started with Visual Studio
      2. Writing the Code
      3. Code Examples
        1. Getting the iPod device name
        2. Getting the hardware version and drive letter
      4. Observations and Issues
      5. Hacking the Hack
    19. 49. Run Linux on Your iPod
      1. Installation
        1. FireWire/connection setup
        2. Locating your iPod
        3. Backing up
        4. Partitioning
        5. Kernel installation
        6. Userland installation
        7. Finishing up
      2. Starting Linux on the iPod
      3. Writing Your Own Applications
      4. Hacking the Hack
  10. 4. iTunes
    1. Hacks 50–71
    2. 50. iTunes Keyboard Shortcuts
    3. 51. Control iTunes from the Finder
    4. 52. Clean Up Your ID3 Tags
    5. 53. Import Lyrics into iTunes and iPod
      1. On Windows
        1. Canto Pod.
        2. EvilLyrics.
      2. On the Mac
        1. Google Lyric Search.
        2. LyricTracker X.
      3. Hacking the Hack
    6. 54. Extend Your Visualizer Options
      1. Mac Plug-ins
      2. Windows Plug-ins
      3. Hacking the Hack
    7. 55. Bulk-Rip CDs
      1. Ripping by Hand
      2. Automated Ripping with AppleScript
    8. 56. Work with Album Artwork
      1. On the Mac
      2. On Windows
      3. Hacking the Hack
    9. 57. Clutter Your Desktop with Music
    10. 58. Make Your Playlists Smart
      1. Track Attributes
      2. Additional Attributes
      3. Smart Playlists
        1. Artist name.
        2. Workout.
        3. High school tunes.
        4. Rockin’ in the free world.
        5. Lose the streams.
        6. Fresh mix.
        7. Never been listened to.
        8. Clean tracks.
        9. Live hour.
      4. Hacking the Hack
    11. 59. Konfabulate Your iTunes
      1. iPod Mini
      2. TuneRater
      3. iTunes “volume hotkey”
      4. Name that iTune!
    12. 60. Use Java to Expand iTunes Functionality
      1. Introducing MyTunes
      2. Downloading and Installing MyTunes
      3. Customizing MyTunes
      4. Opening MyTunes
      5. Design Considerations
      6. Extending Chord
      7. Controlling iTunes Remotely
      8. Updating MyTunes Features
    13. 61. Control iTunes with Perl
      1. iTunes, Perl, and Terminal
      2. iTunes, Perl, Apache, and mod_perl
      3. iTunes, Perl, and Tk
      4. Final Thoughts
    14. 62. Upload a Graphic of Your Currently Playing Song
    15. 63. Create a Web Page to Display Your iTunes Library
      1. On the Mac
      2. On Windows
    16. 64. Create Links to the iTunes Music Store
    17. 65. Skin iTunes with ShapeShifter
    18. 66. Alter the iTunes Look and Feel by Resource Hacking
      1. Hacking the Hack
    19. 67. Use the iTunes Visualizer as a Screensaver
      1. Hacking the Hack
    20. 68. Turn iTunes into a Trivia Player
      1. Single-Player Mode
      2. Two-Player Mode
    21. 69. Hack Kung-Tunes into a Dynamic Server
      1. The Code
        1. Uploading your current track data.
        2. Displaying track data on your site.
    22. 70. Put the Ogg in iTunes
    23. 71. Get at iTunes Music Store Metadata
      1. iTMS-4-ALL
      2. The iTMS Protocol
      3. The Code
        1. Searching the iTMS with wget.
        2. Cryptography programming in Perl.
        3. iTMS-4-ALL.
  11. 5. AppleScript for iTunes
    1. Hacks 72–92
    2. 72. Tame iTunes with AppleScript
      1. Writing AppleScript Scripts with Script Editor
      2. AppleScript for iTunes: A Primer
        1. tell statements.
        2. Objects and references
        3. get and set (and sometimes copy).
        4. Conditionals
        5. Repeat loops.
        6. Consulting the dictionary.
      3. Basic Debugging
      4. The iTunes Scripts Menu
      5. Alternatives to the iTunes Scripts Menu
      6. Final Thoughts
    3. 73. Swap Song Name and Artist
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    4. 74. Clean up “Artist - Song Name"-Style Titles
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
      3. Hacking the Hack
    5. 75. Remove Unwanted Characters from Song Names
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    6. 76. Find a Track’s File Path
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    7. 77. Get a Track’s Running Time and File Size
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    8. 78. Increase or Decrease the Play Count
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    9. 79. AMG EZ Search
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    10. 80. Search for Lyrics on Google
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    11. 81. Remove Dead Tracks
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    12. 82. Build a Random Playlist
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    13. 83. Make a New iPod Playlist from Your Selections
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    14. 84. Change Your Encoder on the Fly
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    15. 85. Whack the Current Track
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    16. 86. Save Artwork to a Folder
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    17. 87. Send Current Track Info to iChat
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    18. 88. Rewind or Pause the Current Track
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    19. 89. See What Other People Are Listening to
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    20. 90. Play Snippets of Each Track in a Playlist
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    21. 91. Make Files Bookmarkable
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
    22. 92. Search the iTunes Music Store for the Current Song
      1. The Code
      2. Running the Hack
  12. 6. Beyond iTunes
    1. Hacks 93–100
    2. 93. Play MP3 and AAC Files from the Command Line
    3. 94. Manipulate Audio Using the Terminal
      1. lameit
        1. The code
        2. Running the hack.
      2. flacit
        1. The code
        2. Running the hack.
      3. id3hack
        1. The code
        2. Running the hack.
      4. vchack
        1. The code
        2. Running the hack.
      5. vctool
        1. The code
        2. Running the hack.
      6. vcid3
        1. The code
        2. Running the hack.
      7. flacmp3
        1. The code
        2. Running the hack
      8. striptoc
        1. The code
        2. Running the hack
      9. Final Thoughts
    4. 95. Stream Your Music Collection over the
      1. Turning Your Computer into a Music Server
      2. The Mysterious IP Address
      3. Accessing Your Music
    5. 96. Make a Custom Mix CD
      1. Creating the Playlist
        1. Creating a new playlist.
        2. Naming your playlist.
        3. Saving songs to your playlist
        4. Completing your playlist
      2. Burning Your Mix to CD
        1. Setting your preferences
        2. Burning.
      3. Creating CD Labels
      4. The Final Touch: CD Covers and Tray Liners
    6. 97. Stream Your Music via iDisk
    7. 98. Back Up Your Digital Music Collection
      1. On the Mac
      2. On Windows
    8. 99. Get Your Record Collection into iTunes
      1. Connecting
      2. Recording
        1. FinalVinyl for Mac OS X
        2. Converting to MP3/AAC.
    9. 100. Create Your Own Free Audiobook
  13. About the Author
  14. Colophon
  15. Copyright

Product information

  • Title: iPod and iTunes Hacks
  • Author(s): Hadley Stern
  • Release date: October 2004
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9780596007782