Can I ask a technical question?

[Hala401]

I am not sure if it is permissible to ask such a question here but I need help.

I think I know what an MP3 file is and I think that I can play them on my sterio, computer, and my car radio. My Samsung Gal 2s seems pretty useless for music because the router that goes to my hearing aids just seems to gobble battery life.

So, I think I want to purchase some MP3 files from Amazon and put them on a thumb drive to carry in my purse. So, my question is: does my Phillips Stereo, and my Alpine Car Radio, and my PC based computer take the same compatible files?

I am not very happy with the Apple store because they seem like they want to bully me.

[LittleWyvern]

Most car stereos made in the past few years play what's called MP3 CDs, where you just burn the mp3 files directly onto a CD as if you were making any other data CD. The thumb drives are nice for storing files on a computer, but for playing them on a car audio system you'll usually have to burn them onto a cd first unless there's a usb port on the stereo system.

I think I'd be able to help you more if I knew more about your setup. :)

[Sicily510]

If you have an Aux input on your Alpine Car radio and a usb mp3 you'll be able to connect with a 3' 3.5 mm Stereo Audio Cable. If you have the cassette you can get the cassette to mp3 adapter, they have MP3 usb's in walgreens, walmart, and some grocery stores. Good Luck :)

[Hala401]

All the devices I speak of have a USB port. And I have a CD Drive on my computer which is capable of burning CDs. I had just thought to use a thumb drive because they fit in my purse more easily. I most certainly do not want to get into a situation where I have lawlessly obtained MP3's or any other material in my possession. I study writing and as a result of piracy, I will likely never make a living doing it.

[LittleWyvern]

In that case, I'd just plug in your thumb drive and see what happens. Some devices have a requirement of the USB drive, such as putting your music in a folder that's easy to find, so look through the manuals for that if just plugging in your thumb drive doesn't work. The drawback to using the thumb drive is that you'll always have to browse through all of your music at one time. CDs are nice to make playlists, such as "relaxing music while I drive" or something like that. If you don't already have music CD burning software, InfraRecorder is a good simple one that I've used a lot.

Also, as long as you are buying the MP3s from Amazon, you shouldn't have to worry about piracy: putting your music on a thumb drive and burning your music onto a CD are just fine things to do. If you want to get completely into it, you can see Amazon's terms of service for their MP3 downloads.

[BenRaines]

In defense of Apple ITunes store you can now buy and copy the files all you want in MP3 format. The songs are not protected so not just in ACC format. It has been this way for several years. Most of the current songs cost 1.29. Older songs are still 99 cents.

Ben Raines

[Hala401]

In defense of Apple ITunes store you can now buy and copy the files all you want in MP3 format. The songs are not protected so not just in ACC format. It has been this way for several years. Most of the current songs cost 1.29. Older songs are still 99 cents.

Ben Raines

Someone gave me an itouch as a gift and at first I bought songs from Apple, and some time later, I noticed that it would not permit me to load songs that were mine from my computer onto the itouch and it made me feel quite cross with them.

If they have moderated their approach somewhat, I will try them once again.:)

[slamjet]

I personally prefer Amazon over iTunes. From what I understand, Amazon doesn't put all kinds of restrictions on their files like crA... I mean Apple.

[LittleWyvern]

Someone gave me an itouch as a gift and at first I bought songs from Apple, and some time later, I noticed that it would not permit me to load songs that were mine from my computer onto the itouch and it made me feel quite cross with them.

If they have moderated their approach somewhat, I will try them once again.:)

It's called vendor lock-in, where a company mandates that you use all of their products together. Apple does this all the time, and not just with iTunes: to have a Apple computer for instance, you have to use Apple parts, an Apple keyboard, an Apple mouse, etc. Thus, with iTunes and iPods, you can only use iTunes music with iPods. You can't normally use another music player for iTunes music. Now Apple does let you buy the MP3 files directly, but it costs extra and isn't always an option. I think it's best to stick with Amazon, since you'll have more options of how you can use those MP3 files in the future.

[BenRaines]

I have loaded all the CDs that I own on to my PC in ITunes and use them on my PC, my IPhone, my IPod, in my car on CDs that I have burned my own mix, etc. The only songs that would be limited would be songs I purchased from ITunes and then only if I had not converted them to MP3 files, which I have. You can convert all songs, conference talks, etc. to play on your ITouch.

Ben Raines

[miztrniceguy]

my phone has a 32GB micro SD card, as does my Transformer. My music folder on each is about 19GB at 4244 songs. Same folder is copied to 2 laptops a netbook and my main desktop. Eventually I will connect a HDD directly to my router and use it as a hub for all the portable devices.