I recieved a nifty ipod but I can't buy any songs from anywehere besides the USA.
Imported CD's are way to expensive for a young person as myself. What do I do? Where can I get media for my ipod?

Information:
I am using a Mac and I have a Nano.

本当にありがとうございます！

i'm a bit confused.... just download music off a torrent for free and import it to your ipod... you should be able to access the japanese itunes store if you switch the country at the bottom of the itunes store screen

I was able to find lots of Japanese music cds and DVDs through my local (seattle) public library. I am not sure how you can rip dvds into ipod format, though I'm sure its possible.

You have to drag and drop your files in iTunes before to put them in the iPod. Then, drag and drop the songs from iTunes to the iPod. It works the same way for podcasts: go to the iTunes store and find the podcasts section (those are free of course).

Does this still work? http://www.jbox.com/PRODUCT/ITUNESCARD

I haven't tried for a while so I don't know if anything has changed.

------------

gyuujuice Wrote:本当にありがとうございます！

should be よろしくおねがいします

You can order Japanese itunes gift cards from importers like jbox.*
Linky: http://www.jbox.com/PRODUCT/ITUNESCARD
It gets around the problem of having to have a .jp address & credit card.

You can extract audio from Anime dvds you already own using Handbrake, VLC, and this tutorial here:
Linky: http://www.applesource.com.au/how-to/soa...882,00.htm
This is great for increasing your immersion in Japanese. For instance listening to anime episodes in the car: words you know just jump out at you. If that method doesn't work, there are many others. (E.g. Besweet, etc.)

VLC is a free media player that can handle pretty much anything.
Linky: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

matthewmuller Wrote:I am not sure how you can rip dvds into ipod format, though I'm sure its possible.

You are looking for Handbrake. It automatically transforms the video from dvds you own into the different ipod formats.
Linky: http://handbrake.fr/


*the SFW version of Jlist

Probably would be much easier just to download it for free =/

I've never used iTunes for my iPod. Opened it once, and it was a cumbersome program, nothing useful to it, unlike Foobar2000! ;p

nest0r Wrote:I've never used iTunes for my iPod. Opened it once, and it was a cumbersome program, nothing useful to it, unlike Foobar2000! ;p

I had similar feelings about iTunes when I fist tried it. Now I can't imagine my musical life without it. I learned to trust it, and now it just does everything for me. I forgot already that there are actual files of my songs stored somewhere, it's just music now. And iTunes' Smart Playlists make changing the contents of iPod a real breeze. These things were made to work together after all.

I must admit I wouldn't bother switching to another software now even if it was a better one. It's a matter of habit and I don't see a point in fixing something that isn't broke. Foobar2000 is probably the best option for you at the moment. I'm just saying iTunes is not necessarily evil -)

iAurora Wrote:

nest0r Wrote:I've never used iTunes for my iPod. Opened it once, and it was a cumbersome program, nothing useful to it, unlike Foobar2000! ;p

I had similar feelings about iTunes when I fist tried it. Now I can't imagine my musical life without it. I learned to trust it, and now it just does everything for me. I forgot already that there are actual files of my songs stored somewhere, it's just music now. And iTunes' Smart Playlists make changing the contents of iPod a real breeze. These things were made to work together after all.

I must admit I wouldn't bother switching to another software now even if it was a better one. It's a matter of habit and I don't see a point in fixing something that isn't broke. Foobar2000 is probably the best option for you at the moment. I'm just saying iTunes is not necessarily evil -)

Tsk tsk, 'trust' iTunes in your bloated submission to The Man. Sellout! j/k ^_^

I like your perspective... to me, it's also 'just music', in that it's not song titles and album covers, which is why I avoid iTunes or even paying attention to the listings in Foobar (when I even keep more than a handful listed)...

But even as I prefer a transient, transparent listening experience, I also prefer to always 'keep in touch' with my HDD files and their copies, and have a kind of direct (as much as I'm comfortable with in a shell system) spatial awareness of them as fragile digital artefacts, especially after a few 'incidents'.

I find this controlled interaction to be conducive to the active manner I engage with music.

For me it's less a matter of habit, with regards to those periodic inquiries into whether upgrade/change is necessary, and more a matter of parsimony, as I try to remain always aware of potential upgrades, but as you say 'if it isn't broke... ', so if I deem the disruption unconvincing in its potential benefits...

Okay, why do I turn all of my posts here nowadays into lengthy treatises... (caffeine)

Not going to make comments about ITunes, even if it is a total resource hog... oops...

With regards to OP's question though... steal a load of music off of your Japanese friends? Either that or Bittorrent it, like Bombpersons suggested...

on topic: It depends on what kind of media you mean. If it's music, then either buy what's available for you or make your friends share or download for free or live without. You can also rip the sound from various tv shows/dramas or buy some Japanese course with audio. You can use Christmas season as a good excuse to get some imported stuff probably.

off topic:

nest0r Wrote:Tsk tsk, 'trust' iTunes in your bloated submission to The Man. Sellout! j/k ^_^

I like your perspective... to me, it's also 'just music', in that it's not song titles and album covers, which is why I avoid iTunes or even paying attention to the listings in Foobar (when I even keep more than a handful listed)...
...
Okay, why do I turn all of my posts here nowadays into lengthy treatises... (caffeine)

You don't really have to deal with album artwork in iTunes if you don't want to. I personally prefer to have mine on, as pictures are something my mind processes faster than text, so they help me to get where I want faster. I also quite enjoy wasting my time staring at useless pretty things instead of working, especially as music is on.

I used to love my files until relatively recently. My problem was – I was (and still am) an order freak and maintaining a huge music library 'by hand' can be quite time-consuming. I had my 'moments' when I'd just go crazy and rename my whole music collection track by track for better sorting options, and I'd always wonder if there was a better folder structure than my current one. Like my 'Rock' folder. But American and Russian Rock are 2 different things! Oh and then Old-School and New Wave stuff are quite different too. Sub_this/sub_that/sub_where_was_that? Some music was organized so well that I wouldn't even remember it existed.

Now with iTunes my importing process is: Drag tracks to my 'import' playlist that I created ages ago & delete original files. Clear playlist. Done! Sometimes, if tracks lack artwork or some other data, it takes few additional seconds of drag and dropping and typing data in but that's a rare situation these days. The rest is handled by application itself. It gives me an option to browse music by artist today and by genre tomorrow, and if I feel like listening to all songs that contain the word 'banana' in their title, iTunes delivers in a matter of seconds. And at the same time it keeps songs in a neat folder structure '/Artist/Album/song' that can be accessed in 2 clicks from anywhere in application. I just rarely bother as there is no need to. And it's just 1 folder to backup to protect myself from 'incidents'.

It's not just iTunes that made me 'trust' though (no, it wasn't 'holy Steve' either, although he is a good showman). I was using iTunes on Windows since the moment I bought my first iPod and I always kept a 'real' Music folder alongside it. It's just the way Windows works, I guess. If you are a relatively advanced user, you just have to know your Files Directory. Windows is (was?) all about folders. I was organizing them religiously and of course it felt 'wrong' when some application tried to steal the control from me and hide my music somewhere it wanted. Mac OS is different. It was bit confusing at first but then I just accepted the fact that my files are 'somewhere I'll expect them to be the moment I need them'. It's a different ideology, I guess. And it's much easier to appreciate the work iTunes does for you when you see things this way.

So I guess Foobar2000 just fits your current computer habits just like iTunes fits mine -)

P.S. It took me some caffeine to de-code your post Moments like this make me consider dropping my Japanese studies and going back to my desk with an English textbook. But I still managed to make my post even longer than yours, so you feel better lol

iAurora Wrote:...

Ha, don't worry, I think most people have to take time to decode my posts, or they don't bother. I'm just a stubborn trouble-maker like that.

It really does come down to 'ideology' in a way, though that's a restrictive word... My (un)natural preferences for interface design and the like are spatial, tactile, and temporary. Words like proprioception, peripersonal space come to mind.

Avoiding taxonomical filters as much as possible as I outlined in the previous comment is the best strategy I've found so far. Back when I archived and accessed music differently on my HDD I probably wouldn't have used iTunes, but I would have found ways to use its features on a more open, minimal program like Foobar, using plugins or somesuch.

BTW when I used to obsess over files/folders, I avoided 'genre' and the like (a hint of my preferences to come, hehe) in favour of simple chronological, 'latest acquisitions' types of organization. Mostly for the sake of my file-sharing leechers. ;p

OP: AudioHijackPro is a nice application that lets you record audio from various sources. Free version doesn't let you record for over 10 minutes but that should be enough for most videos on YouTube for example and that's a bottomless source of Japanese material.

nest0r Wrote:...
My (un)natural preferences for interface design and the like are spatial, tactile, and temporary. Words like proprioception, peripersonal space come to mind.
...

You could've just shot me in the head instead of writing that. That would be less painful for me and would save both of us some time. Some of those words are not even in my dictionary -) You don't have any mercy for us, non-native speakers, do you? -) If you ever for some weird reason end up learning my language, give me a shout. I'll gladly return the favor

Oh, and I'm a heavy user of chronological organization. Like my latest work folder looks like this: xxx / xxx_latest / xxx_final / xxx_FINAL / xxx_this_time_really_final / xxx_cough_latest_files_here / xxx_new / newest.psd I'm just not sure it's really effective unless there is a specific need for it like in your case -)

iAurora Wrote:OP: AudioHijackPro is a nice application that lets you record audio from various sources. Free version doesn't let you record for over 10 minutes but that should be enough for most videos on YouTube for example and that's a bottomless source of Japanese material.

nest0r Wrote:...
My (un)natural preferences for interface design and the like are spatial, tactile, and temporary. Words like proprioception, peripersonal space come to mind.
...

You could've just shot me in the head instead of writing that. That would be less painful for me and would save both of us some time. Some of those words are not even in my dictionary -) You don't have any mercy for us, non-native speakers, do you? -) If you ever for some weird reason end up learning my language, give me a shout. I'll gladly return the favor

Oh, and I'm a heavy user of chronological organization. Like my latest work folder looks like this: xxx / xxx_latest / xxx_final / xxx_FINAL / xxx_this_time_really_final / xxx_cough_latest_files_here / xxx_new / newest.psd I'm just not sure it's really effective unless there is a specific need for it like in your case -)

Heh, the fluent Japanese, French, Chinese, and Spanish users get to have their revenge on me first.

I stop after dating stuff by month, and even that feels arbitrary. After that they're on their own, since I 'feel' my music files. Well, the few people I actually share music with, we generally just make direct, dynamically descriptive recommendations to one another anyway, based on known shared preferences or potential shared preferences.

Totally legal suggestion: The holiday seasons are coming up. Maybe hint that you'd like some Japanese music, videos, etc. for a present.

Not-quite-as-legal suggestion: Check your PM.

WOW, 皆さんのコメントをありがとうございます！
（ニャンダさんの添削も；』）

ハシリヤさん、
Would changing my country do anything? Hmm.....

matthewmullerさん、
My Library has magazines but I haven't touched the media. Thanks for the idea.


mypapa12さん、
I'll keep that in mind!

TomWatanaさん、
☆☆☆☆☆のコメントですね。＾＿＿＾
今直ぐ読み行きます。

bombpersonsさん、
>

nest0rさん、
でもipodを使いたいです。＞。＜；

donjorge22さん、
Well my friends and I are seperated by an ocean and I don't see how we could exchange music otherwise. I KNOW it is possible but I am a complete moron when it comes to computers. T_T

iAuroraさん、
This Christmas we are going on a huge trip to a family wedding so it's going to be lite this year. Thank you anyways!

白黒さん、コメントをありがとうございます！
ははっ、そうですね。＾＿＿＾

gyuujuice Wrote:nest0rさん、
でもipodを使いたいです。＞。＜；

For the record: http://yuo.be/ipod.php (foobar/ipod support)