Hi, I have managed to load my wife's 1GB shuffle without using iTunes.
I am not experiencing the blinking orange green LED symptom of an
improperly loaded shuffle. This is on a Windows XP system.

Most of the explanation can be found here:
http://shuffle-db.sourceforge.net

Let me summarize for you...

First I formatted my shuffle as a FAT32 drive. I left it completely
blank.

I created a folder (the name is of no consequence) on the root of the
shuffle, and copied 600MB of MP3s into the folder.

Then I unzipped this file to the root of the iPod:
http://shuffle-db.sourceforge.net/ipod_root.zip

I installed Python: http://www.python.org

I extracted the rebuild_db.py file from this archive to the root of
the shuffle:
http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...roup_id=136446

I ran rebuild_db.py from the root of the shuffle. I had only to
double-clicked it because I had already installed Python.

I disconnected the shuffle and rocked out to 106 songs

Best regards,

Tim ==
(substitute 'tcsys.com' for 'nospam.co.uk')
_________________

Visit the Surrender Dorothy web !! (http://dorothyrocks.com)
Visit the Crunch Monkey web !! (http://crunchmonkey.com)

On Sat, 31 Dec 2005 08:02:23 +0000, Timothy J. Trace wrote
(in article <5iecr1908j7irjh00p4i47qj77oqgil47m@4ax.com>):

> Hi, I have managed to load my wife's 1GB shuffle without using iTunes.
> I am not experiencing the blinking orange green LED symptom of an
> improperly loaded shuffle. This is on a Windows XP system.
>
> Most of the explanation can be found here:
> http://shuffle-db.sourceforge.net
>
> Let me summarize for you...
>
> First I formatted my shuffle as a FAT32 drive. I left it completely
> blank.
>
> I created a folder (the name is of no consequence) on the root of the
> shuffle, and copied 600MB of MP3s into the folder.
>
> Then I unzipped this file to the root of the iPod:
> http://shuffle-db.sourceforge.net/ipod_root.zip
>
> I installed Python: http://www.python.org
>
> I extracted the rebuild_db.py file from this archive to the root of
> the shuffle:
> http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...roup_id=136446
>
> I ran rebuild_db.py from the root of the shuffle. I had only to
> double-clicked it because I had already installed Python.
>
> I disconnected the shuffle and rocked out to 106 songs
>
> Best regards,
>
> Tim ==
> (substitute 'tcsys.com' for 'nospam.co.uk')
> _________________
>
> Visit the Surrender Dorothy web !! (http://dorothyrocks.com)
> Visit the Crunch Monkey web !! (http://crunchmonkey.com)

Tim,

The name of this group is 'uk.COMP.sys.MAC' - it is a group for the
discussion of Apple Macintosh computers, not Apple products in general
(though, obviously, we do discuss other Apple products we do so in the
context of them being attached to Macs). Whilst you might find someone here
who has experience of hooking a Shuffle (IMO the most pointless iPod) to a
PeeCee, you'd probably do better posting to a Windows group.

There's nothing to stop you posting here (though, strictly, your post is
off-topic and should have been marked as such) but bear in mind you're
talking to a group of Mac heads who use Macs for a damned good reason - we
don't much care for PeeCees and M$haft.

I'm not sure what you know about Usenet hierarchy, but 'sys' is short for
'system' and, usually, means the discussion of whole computers, rather than
accessories and peripherals.

comp.sys.mac.portables is, as the name suggests, for the discussion of
iBooks and PowerBooks and your post is off-topic there also.

I am, therefore, removing the irrelevant groups from your post so this thread
isn't propagated to groups where it's off topic.

The only two groups were your post is really relevant are
'alt.music.mp3.hardware' and ''microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware' - I
reckon it's probably OT in 'alt.music.mp3' too as that's (probably) for the
discussion of actual MP3 files, rather than the players.

You don't seem to realise that a Mac is a specific type of computer, not a
generic term for anything Apple.

Cheers

Sarah

Timothy J. Trace <tim@nospam.co.uk> wrote:

> Hi, I have managed to load my wife's 1GB shuffle without using iTunes.

[snip great big convoluted time-consuming procedure]

Awesome, Tim!

I managed to open a tin of baked beans without a tin opener.
Here's the summary:

I flew to Australia, on Air New Zealand flight 203.

I hired a Tojo, filled up with petrol and drove to Broken Hill.

I prospected for several weeks until I found the right lump of ore.

I smelted the ore, until I had enough molten metal to make a good spike.

I stabbed the baked bean tin with the spike to make a hole big enough to
allow a bean through.

I heated the can to produce enough internal pressure to force some of
the beans and sauce through the hole.

I quickly smelted some more metal to make a plate and spoon.

I rocked out to baked beans!

--
Pd

On Sat, 31 Dec 2005 10:54:43 +0000, PeterD wrote
(in article <1h8fkif.9txxbd10ai122N%pd.news@dsl.pipex.invalid> ):

> Timothy J. Trace <tim@nospam.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> Hi, I have managed to load my wife's 1GB shuffle without using iTunes.
>
> [snip great big convoluted time-consuming procedure]
>
> Awesome, Tim!
>
> I managed to open a tin of baked beans without a tin opener.
> Here's the summary:
>
> I flew to Australia, on Air New Zealand flight 203.
>
> I hired a Tojo, filled up with petrol and drove to Broken Hill.
>
> I prospected for several weeks until I found the right lump of ore.
>
> I smelted the ore, until I had enough molten metal to make a good spike.
>
> I stabbed the baked bean tin with the spike to make a hole big enough to
> allow a bean through.
>
> I heated the can to produce enough internal pressure to force some of
> the beans and sauce through the hole.
>
> I quickly smelted some more metal to make a plate and spoon.
>
> I rocked out to baked beans!
>
>

Wish I'd gone for the sarcasm now! ;o)

Sarah

Timothy J. Trace <tim@nospam.co.uk> wrote:

> Hi, I have managed to load my wife's 1GB shuffle without using iTunes.
> I am not experiencing the blinking orange green LED symptom of an
> improperly loaded shuffle. This is on a Windows XP system.

<snip>

why? You had a week with nothing to do?


--
Woody

www.alienrat.com

On Sat, 31 Dec 2005 10:54:43 +0000, pd.news@dsl.pipex.invalid (PeterD)
wrote:

>Timothy J. Trace <tim@nospam.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> Hi, I have managed to load my wife's 1GB shuffle without using iTunes.
>
>[snip great big convoluted time-consuming procedure]
>
>Awesome, Tim!
>
>I managed to open a tin of baked beans without a tin opener.
>Here's the summary:

[snip the humor]

Thanks for the laugh, it was worth it :>

On Sat, 31 Dec 2005 11:37:20 +0000, usenet@alienrat.co.uk (Woody)
wrote:

>Timothy J. Trace <tim@nospam.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> Hi, I have managed to load my wife's 1GB shuffle without using iTunes.
>> I am not experiencing the blinking orange green LED symptom of an
>> improperly loaded shuffle. This is on a Windows XP system.
>
><snip>
>
>why? You had a week with nothing to do?

Ever count the number of steps and the time involved in dumping your
load, then successfully wiping your arse with the goal of avoiding the
"brown sweats?"

Why do you presume that a simple 6-step procedure, 2 steps of which
are downloading open-source programs, would take a week to complete?

Oh, I get it. Sarcasm. Humor. Arr, arr.

It took no more than 6 minutes to complete the described process,
including the 3 downloads and the 600MB data transfer to the shuffle.

On Sat, 31 Dec 2005 10:18:47 +0000, Margolotta
<naggingdoubt@thebackofyourmind.invalid> wrote:

>The name of this group is 'uk.COMP.sys.MAC' - it is a group for the

<<snip>>

Because I couldn't find a quickly digestible version of this procedure
on the web or the Usenet, I typed up a summary procedure and spammed
it out where Google will hold it in perpetuity for the next guy who
needs a leg up when trying to escape the iTunes box.

>I am, therefore, removing the irrelevant groups from your post so this thread
>isn't propagated to groups where it's off topic.

ZOMFG you can *do* that? And I thought that only Al Gore had that
kind of control over the Internet.

>You don't seem to realise that a Mac is a specific type of computer, not a
>generic term for anything Apple.

And you seem to be a presumptive, self-anointed maven of uncertified
distance psychology. Good luck with that as a career path.

That's certainly easier than using iTunes.

Timothy J. Trace <tim@nospam.co.uk> wrote:

> On Sat, 31 Dec 2005 11:37:20 +0000, usenet@alienrat.co.uk (Woody)
> wrote:
>
> >Timothy J. Trace <tim@nospam.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> >> Hi, I have managed to load my wife's 1GB shuffle without using iTunes.
> >> I am not experiencing the blinking orange green LED symptom of an
> >> improperly loaded shuffle. This is on a Windows XP system.
> >
> ><snip>
> >
> >why? You had a week with nothing to do?
>
> Ever count the number of steps and the time involved in dumping your
> load, then successfully wiping your arse with the goal of avoiding the
> "brown sweats?"

No idea what you are talking about there, sorry.

> Why do you presume that a simple 6-step procedure, 2 steps of which
> are downloading open-source programs, would take a week to complete?
>
> Oh, I get it. Sarcasm. Humor. Arr, arr.

No, I dont assume it would take 6 weeks, I just failed to understand why
you would need to do it. Is there are problem with iTunes, and if iTunes
has got such a problem, couldn't you have got something like an iRiver?

> It took no more than 6 minutes to complete the described process,
> including the 3 downloads and the 600MB data transfer to the shuffle.

So you got an iPod shuffle at 9:30, thought 'for some reason I want to
use this iPod shuffle without iTunes' and by 9:36 you had all your songs
on it?

--
Woody

www.alienrat.com