I think it was last year that I got an iPod Shuffle for Christmas, which is a very cool little device, but unfortunately, my home computer runs Windows 98 Second Edition and is therefore incompatible with my iPod because iTunes doesn't work in that operating system. It does, however, work in Windows XP, which I have at work, but I cannot download iTunes at work because we're firewalled, meaning that I've been largely screwed where trying to work with this iPod is concerned unless I go to my mom's and use her computer to upload music to it. But I'd really like to be able to somehow do it myself from home using my own computer, so for the past few days, I have - and perhaps in vain - been trying to find some kind of interface that will make my iPod work with Windows 98. I found a program that will convert my RealAudio files to .mp3's, so maybe if I do this, I can still use RealPlayer to upload some of my playlists to my iPod if I convert them to a compatible format. So right now, I am ripping my entire music library to .mp3 format to see if this will make it possible for me to use RealPlayer to interface with my iPod, since I've read that version 10.5, which I have, works with numerous .mp3 players, including iPods. I'm not even sure that this will work, but I am getting desperate since it's not likely I will be able to afford either to buy a new computer or to upgrade this one anytime soon. It'd probably in the long run be cheaper just to buy a new once as opposed to upgrading, and if given the preference, I'd rather have a small laptop as opposed to this monster dinosaur desktop anyway, for space considerations, but the likelihood of my being able to afford such a thing anytime soon remains fairly dim, as I don't expect a raise this year because of the economy and I already know that our health care premiums at work are going up 12%, meaning I stand to fall further behind, pay-wise, than I am this year. So I am vainly attempting to find some way to not only get the computer to recognize the iPod when installed in the USB port, but to make it properly interface with one of my media programs so that I can upload music to it.
It's often very frustrating to have an older computer that can't do what today's can. I'm still on a 56K dial up connection so I can't do any video streaming or even halfway decent audio streaming, either. You have to be running at least Windows XP to get DSL and my computer isn't powerful enough to run that operating system, and my guess is that it won't be too long from now that Microsoft quits its support of that platform in favor of Vista, its newest operating system, which I hear sucks pretty badly and is fairly bug ridden. But then again, all of their operating systems are full of bugs at first until they get a sort of "shakedown cruise" and people report all the problems that arise with it. Microsoft can then go back and create patches to fix all of the reported problems and it's usually worth waiting a year or two before downloading any new platform that Microsoft comes up with because of the number of problems each new operating system has when it first comes out. If I could go out and buy a new computer now, it'd be loaded with Vista, unless I bought an older reconditioned one that was still running Windows XP, which is something I could consider doing, but even that would cost more than I have at the moment. So I'll just have to hold off and continue using this old dinosaur Gateway Essential 433c, which is really only good for doing e-mail and not much of anything else, since the Web is daily evolving into a far more multimedia kind of place where you can watch TV shows that you missed, great videos on YouTube and other great stuff I have to miss out on due to financial constraints. And of course, I'm trying madly to interface my iPod with this old dinosaur and I may be barking up the wrong tree, but I'm going to keep trying until I find some way of making it all work together. I'm far too stubborn to give up on something like this until it becomes apparent that nothing's going to work, in which case, I'll just have to give up and go to my mom's and use her nice new laptop loaded with Windows XP. Maybe someday, I'll get up to date on all of my technology, but where anything technological is concerned, I am always years behind the rest of the world. And anymore, that rather frustrates me to know how far behind I am and how much money it would take to catch up with everyone else, money I'm not likely to ever have, sadly.
I think it was last year that I got an iPod Shuffle for Christmas, which is a very cool little device, but unfortunately, my home computer runs Windows 98 Second Edition and is therefore incompatible with my iPod because iTunes doesn't work in that operating system. It does, however, work in Windows XP, which I have at work, but I cannot download iTunes at work because we're firewalled, meaning that I've been largely screwed where trying to work with this iPod is concerned unless I go to my mom's and use her computer to upload music to it. But I'd really like to be able to somehow do it myself from home using my own computer, so for the past few days, I have - and perhaps in vain - been trying to find some kind of interface that will make my iPod work with Windows 98. I found a program that will convert my RealAudio files to .mp3's, so maybe if I do this, I can still use RealPlayer to upload some of my playlists to my iPod if I convert them to a compatible format. So right now, I am ripping my entire music library to .mp3 format to see if this will make it possible for me to use RealPlayer to interface with my iPod, since I've read that version 10.5, which I have, works with numerous .mp3 players, including iPods. I'm not even sure that this will work, but I am getting desperate since it's not likely I will be able to afford either to buy a new computer or to upgrade this one anytime soon. It'd probably in the long run be cheaper just to buy a new once as opposed to upgrading, and if given the preference, I'd rather have a small laptop as opposed to this monster dinosaur desktop anyway, for space considerations, but the likelihood of my being able to afford such a thing anytime soon remains fairly dim, as I don't expect a raise this year because of the economy and I already know that our health care premiums at work are going up 12%, meaning I stand to fall further behind, pay-wise, than I am this year. So I am vainly attempting to find some way to not only get the computer to recognize the iPod when installed in the USB port, but to make it properly interface with one of my media programs so that I can upload music to it.
It's often very frustrating to have an older computer that can't do what today's can. I'm still on a 56K dial up connection so I can't do any video streaming or even halfway decent audio streaming, either. You have to be running at least Windows XP to get DSL and my computer isn't powerful enough to run that operating system, and my guess is that it won't be too long from now that Microsoft quits its support of that platform in favor of Vista, its newest operating system, which I hear sucks pretty badly and is fairly bug ridden. But then again, all of their operating systems are full of bugs at first until they get a sort of "shakedown cruise" and people report all the problems that arise with it. Microsoft can then go back and create patches to fix all of the reported problems and it's usually worth waiting a year or two before downloading any new platform that Microsoft comes up with because of the number of problems each new operating system has when it first comes out. If I could go out and buy a new computer now, it'd be loaded with Vista, unless I bought an older reconditioned one that was still running Windows XP, which is something I could consider doing, but even that would cost more than I have at the moment. So I'll just have to hold off and continue using this old dinosaur Gateway Essential 433c, which is really only good for doing e-mail and not much of anything else, since the Web is daily evolving into a far more multimedia kind of place where you can watch TV shows that you missed, great videos on YouTube and other great stuff I have to miss out on due to financial constraints. And of course, I'm trying madly to interface my iPod with this old dinosaur and I may be barking up the wrong tree, but I'm going to keep trying until I find some way of making it all work together. I'm far too stubborn to give up on something like this until it becomes apparent that nothing's going to work, in which case, I'll just have to give up and go to my mom's and use her nice new laptop loaded with Windows XP. Maybe someday, I'll get up to date on all of my technology, but where anything technological is concerned, I am always years behind the rest of the world. And anymore, that rather frustrates me to know how far behind I am and how much money it would take to catch up with everyone else, money I'm not likely to ever have, sadly.
2 comments:
Hey,
Your post reminded me of what it was like to be using Windows 98 and having the net run at a snails pace.
I recommend getting a laptop, with windows XP. Vistas not so bad, however XP is secure.
Have a great new year,
Anthony.
Well, if I could afford a new laptop, I'd run out and buy one in a New York minute, but right now, that's just not going to become a reality. However, I think, after two long days, I have figured out a fix for my iPod problem. RealPlayer version 10.5 seems to work with my iPod and will even convert files from .ra format to .mp3 when you are downloading a CD into RealPlayer and then it allows you to move .mp3 formatted playlists into your iPod and it did seem to work just fine. Right now, the iPod is charging so I have yet to test the success of this venture, but it appears to have worked! When it's done, I'll test it and see!
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