Found a useful bit of software for converting .m4a files (Apple’s bullshit) to the .mp3 format, and it’s called dB Power Amp, and it’s pretty easy to use. The only vital thing to know is that you need to install the codec you need – for the type file you want to transfer from – after you install the main program.
In my first round with iTunes, I didn’t know you had to tell it to rip from discs to .mp3; silly me, but I assumed they’d automatically rip to the most popular music file format. So I had a few thousand songs on my recently-deceased iPod still in .m4a format.
The good thing is that you can trade-in your iPod for a gift certificate toward your new player (or iPhone, or whatever) and I got me a Sansa Sandisk Fuze, 8 mg. I’m most pleased that it gives me (1) video (which my 4th gen iPod didn’t have); (2) a voice recorder (which makes it deductible!) and (3) the ability to delete songs from the mp3 player instead of having to do it through my computer’s software, like you have to do with iTunes, which always seemed incredibly stupid to me. (What was I supposed to do – keep a list of stuff I wanted to delete until I got home & made the time to do that? Silly.) After trade-in, and a J&R markdown, I got it for only $80. It’s also Consumer Reports “Best Buy” – which basically means it’ s the best bang for the buck.
So I’m pleased. The thing is so small it fits into that tiny little pocket on the front right bit of your jeans, which means it’ll be small enough for shirt pockets, too.
I just got a Sansa Fuze 4GB. The ability to delete songs directly from the player is handy. I’m irritated that it when it alphabetizes songs and albums, it’s not clever enough to ignore articles (The Verve appears after The Clash, but before U2). And when the display goes to standby when it’s playing, there’s an irritating lag if you adjust the volume — you have to hit once to get its attention and bring up the volume bar, again to actually adjust it, really obnoxious if you’re on shuffle and abruptly go from Tracy Chapman to NiN.
What I really miss from my recently defunct Memorex MP3 player is that it had a built-in MusicIP MyDJ function. MusicIP scans your library and adds a little tag to each file (in one of the blank User tags on the music files), which lets MyDJ create, essentially, an instant mix tape. You hit “scan” and it would play you a snippet of different songs until you found one that was the kind of thing you were in the mood for, then hit “mix” and it would create a 20-song playlist of other tracks in that same sonic/tonal range. Marvelous, particularly at the gym — it would keep a consistent mood or energy level with no fussing about. I really wish there was an application like that for the Fuze.