So I have this iTouch, and I now have it synced to the office Mac. My question- can I upload songs from other computers, so long as it does not involve syncing Or is this it- I can only use the office computer?
iTouch
by John Cole| 22 Comments
This post is in: Science & Technology
Nicholas Weaver
Most normal ipods can only get songs from one computer (the one they are syncing with).
I don’t know about the iTouch’s WiFi, whether you can just grab MP3s through the web browser and import them.
Jake
[snerk] No, if it is like other iPods you can synch it to five (?) computers. [snicker]
You also might want to check this out before the warranty runs. This site is a great place to find out more than you ever wanted to know about iStuff.
Pb
John,
My understanding is that the iTouch has WiFi and a web browser, so I’d hope that you could just download songs, too… but I don’t know, I don’t have one.
r€nato
try this
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61675
gypsy howell
Oh, THAT iTouch. Sorry. I thought this was going to be a post about Larry Craig. Or maybe a Mark Foley retrospective.
Billy K
I haven’t messed with an iTouch, but on the iPhone the answer is no. You’re required to auto-sync.
With every other iPod out there you can add songs from different computers if you select “manually manage music.” This is not the default, and most folks just set up their iPod to auto sync every time it’s docked. But that prevents you from using other computers to add songs.
I don’t know if the iTouch requires auto-sync like the iPhone. If so, then no you can only use one computer to add music.
Also, you can’t mix Mac and PC, even if your iPod is set to manually manage music.
I think this is complicated, as I have not been able to help any of my friends grok it.
libarbarian
iTouch ….. myself ….. too frequently.
tBone
According to the iPod touch specs, you can manually manage music.
Actually, you can if the iPod was initially set up on a Windows machine (and hence formatted as FAT32). I move my iPod between Mac/PC all the time.
You can use wifi to buy songs from the iTunes store, but that’s about it. You could download non-iTunes songs via Safari, but not play them, since there’s no way of adding them to the iTunes library on the device itself (at least, not without some kind of 3rd-party hack). You would have to copy the songs over to your desktop and add them to iTune there first, then move them back to the phone. Stupid, I know.
nal
It is my understanding that you can treat the iTouch like a USB drive and copy (click and drag) files to it.
tBone
Edit: apparently you can’t download MP3s via Safari on the iTouch, and even if you could it doesn’t support disk mode so you’d have trouble getting them off. Bleh.
Nylund
This is a reiteration, but to confirm what has been said:
If you go to your iPod settings in iTunes, you can set it to “manually manage” instead of sync. Then you can copy files onto the iPod from any computer(*).
(*) An iPod formatted on Windows (Fat32) can work with a Mac or a PC. An iPod formatted on a Mac only works with Macs.
Nylund
Also, although you are not supposed to do it, there are many programs out there that allow you to copy files from your iPod to your computer as well (making the iPod/computer interaction a two-way street).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_iPod_Managers
I’ve found some of the programs to be a bit buggy, messing up song names and such, but it beats having to bring CD’s to work to import them again when you’ve already imported them on the home PC. (alternatively, you just fit a bunch of MP3’s on a DVD to get them from one computer to another)
Billy K
Sorry. I forgot about this. That’s how often I come in contact with Windows. I just sold a Mac-formatted iPod to a Windows-using friend and she couldn’t use it.
The wi-fi iTunes store actually works really well. Not sure why you’d want another solution unless you just really, really hate all the benefits of AAC over MP3.
RE: iPod managers, Senuti has always done right by me (Mac only). Worked with my first iPod (3rd gen) and still works like a champ with my newest iPod Classic.
Brachiator
One of the better sites devoted to all things iPod, iTunes, etc. is iLounge, at http://www.ilounge.com/
I have found its forums and reviews to be more helpful and to-the-point than Apple official site and forums.
The previous responses about manually syncing are spot on. There is an index of iLounge tips and articles that deal with copying music from other computers, and other topics to be found at http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/ask_index/
laneman
Apple has announced that the SDK will come out for the iTouch and iPhone in February, 2008. Legitimate 3rd party softwares will flood soon after. ATM, Apple keeps breaking the 3rd party stuff. And, adding new SIM chip to iPhone cost a bunch ‘o people a $600 paper weight.
Billy K
ATM, Apple keeps breaking the 3rd party stuff.
I’m not sure how breaking it once constitutes “keeps breaking it.” First off, it was only on the iPhone, not the iTouch. For version 1.1.1 they reworked the entire OS of the iPhone to more closely resemble the iTouch, which they had more time to perfect. The “breaking” was not a conspiracy. It was a side-effect of rewriting things.
Yes, it’s an “iTouch-y” subject with me. I like to keep my Apple Zealots and Conspiracy Theorists separate.
tBone
Cheap no-DRM MP3s from the Amazon store, for one thing. I really don’t care, though. I won’t buy a touch unless they eventually release a high-capacity HDD model anyway.
Guav
I would suggest you manually manage your iPod rather than auto-synching. If you’re ripping as many CDs as you claim, pretty soon your iTunes library is going to outgrow your iPod capacity and you’ll have to manually decide what you want to put on it anyway (I have a 150GB iTunes library and a 30GB iPod).
You can use a free app like Senuti to copy music from your iPod into your iTunes library. I get promo CDs at work, some of which I rip and put on my iPod at work. Then when I get home, I copy them onto my computer at home to listen to.
Unless they suck.
laneman
I said conspiracy, where…?
You are correct, it was a side effect of making 3rd party software not runable on the iPhone/iTouch. Hence, the SDK.
Apple decided that their initial decision to not allow 3rd party software run was not a great idea.
The breaking of iPhones was quite simply that there sticky exclusivity agreement that they have with ATT. Again, not a a conspiracy, it is a legal thing.
laneman
That’s pretty funny lumping those two ideas on me. I’ll give it a 2/10.
Billy K
I like the Amazon store, but I prefer cheap no-DRM AACs.
Read a little more about it from people who have been hacking the iPhone. The general consensus is that version 1.0 of the iPhone OS was unfinished and rushed out the door (not surprising). For the 1.1.1 update they basically applied the more-polished iPod Touch OS. And here’s the thing – even small updates (like 1.0.1 and 1.0.2) don’t just add a few things to your system like it does on Mac OS X. They reinstallt he whole thing. Even for .0.1 incremental bug fixes. That’s why it broke 3rd party apps. That wasn’t the intention, they just weren’t going to rejigger the entire OS to accomodate the hackers.
They never said they wouldn’t support 3rd party developers. Upon release they said 3rd party development should take place through web apps. They never once said they wouldn’t at some point open the platform and/or provide an SDK.
Was it Jobs or Stephenson who told you this?
I wasn’t speaking of you specifically. I’ve never noticed you here before, and I doubt I will again. I was just speaking in general terms about all the folks who sound like you on the various Apple boards. It’s becoming a drag. “OMGWTF Conspiracy! Apple is a company trying to make moniez!!! What happened to the old Apple spirit of 30 years ago? Why aren’t they still working out of Woz’ Mom’s garage?”
JIMMY kaka noonyadouche
doucheonmandick is a god by the way, not to get off subject or anything. . .