Let’s get a few assumptions out of the way:
1. You have an iPod
2. You use iTunes
3. You haven’t quite figured out all of the features of either one
I’m not saying I know it all – far from it, actually – but I do like to play around in the software and hardware I use and figure out some of the cooler things it can do. I spent the better part of Thursday night explaining Smart Playlists to the woman who plays the mother character in our household.
Let’s back up just a bit. Monica received a new iPod Nano (pink, of course) for her birthday Sunday. After plugging it in to her computer, iTunes recognized it and started copying files right away. But wait…not all of her songs, pictures, and podcasts would fit on her iPod. What?!? How could this be? Many questions were asked of the technical helper at her side. “I have podcasts?” “I can put pictures on this thing?” “How come they don’t all fit?”
One by one I answered her questions and showed her the best way to set up and organize her media. Smart Playlists are just one of the cool features in iTunes. They allow for dynamic updating of playlists based on one or more of 20-30 fields. Check them out by going to File / New Smart Playlist…
But let’s think about this for a minute. Apple, who makes beautiful products running the simplest software is still not getting through to the average user. I suppose the thought is anyone can plug in an Apple device and get it up and running in minutes. Believe me, this is no small feat and something many people appreciate. The base feature set is probably fine for 80% of the general public. If you’re in the other 20% and want this thing to do more, you have investigate it for yourself and figure it out.
In our house we have one adult in each camp. Balance is good.