XShot - Take Pictures of Yourself

One of the coolest gadgets I have seen in a while is the XShot. For lack of a better description, it’s a handheld tripod that you can use to extend the distance to take pictures of yourself. You know the ones we have all tried to take. Maybe we’re on vacation and want to capture the moment but no one is there to take the picture. With the XShot, you can take better pictures of yourself since you will be able to move the camera further from you.

The reach of the XShot is 37 inches, so not only can you be in the frame but your friends as well. The picture taker of the family is seldom seen in photos. It’s a shame that the person most interested in documenting a trip or moment with a photo never gets a chance to be in any of those photos. With the XShot, the problem is solved.

The inventor of the XShot thought up the idea on vacation when he and his wife were trying to take a picture of themselves with a beautiful scenic background. Unfortunately, all he really got was them in frame and no background. So, the idea for the XShot was born.

The XShot is designed for point-and shoot digital cameras. Simply attach the camera to the XShot, and you are ready to go.  It’s easy, it’s portable, and is a nice product for those who take a lot of photos. The XShot retails for $24.95 and is available through the XShot website.

iPod shortcut to share your music

I wanted to put my music collection on my new computer, so I could make playlists and listen to song on my brand-new speakers, but I couldn’t figure out a way to get my songs off my iPod and onto my new PC. It turns out, there is no graceful way to get my songs off an iPod. It seems that Apple’s deliberately making it hard to copy songs in order to appease record companies.

Which makes sense, but my songs honestly aren’t pirated. My boyfriend has several hundred CDs,(not an exaggeration) which are all bought and paid for, in actual stores. And what’s Stick’s is mine! Especially when it comes to his Foreigner and INXS CDs.

My laptop is also brand-new and it’s running Windows Vista, which is — guess what? Brand new! I wasn’t able to find good instructions on how to get songs off the iPod, so now that I’ve figured it out, here are the directions:

Getting Songs Off Your iPod With Vista

Go to Computer in the Start menu. This should give you a list of drives on your PC, one of which is your iPod. Click on your iPod.
This should show you what’s on your iPod, a folder called Calender, one called Contacts, a document called BOOTEX. Don’t see any music, do you? Don’t worry, it’s all there, just hidden.

Click on the Organize tab, and then choose Folder and Search Options. A little box pops up, click on the View tab. Under the Advanced Settings, there’s an option to Show Hidden Files And Folders. Check that box, and hit OK. I think Vista asks if you you’re sure you want to do that (like you might have gone through all this by accident).

Ta-da! Now you magically have a folder called iPod Control, and in that folder is a folder called Music, and in that folder are folders called F00, F01, etc., and in those folders are randomly named files like GTFE and TQYW. That’s actually Air Supply and Journey and the rest of Stick’s music collection.

Copy and Paste those F00 files somewhere on your PC, and then run Consolidate (from the Advanced tab) in iTunes and watch iTunes find your music.

OR

I actually decided to put both my computer’s iTunes libraries on my thumbdrive. You might not have an empty external drive lying around, but it is a good way use your iPod with more than one computer without losing everything by accidentally syncing to the wrong library.

Open Computer in the Start menu. Click on “Music” in the left-hand column. In Music, open iTunes, in iTunes open iTunes Music. Now, instead of seeing XKJG and EJDU, you should see folders with the names of your favorite bands. Yay! Save these folders to your thumb drive. When you want to add them to your other computer’s library, run Consolidate (from the Advanced tab) in iTunes.

iPod shortcut to share your music

I wanted to put my music collection on my new computer, so I could make playlists and listen to song on my brand-new speakers, but I couldn’t figure out a way to get my songs off my iPod and onto my new PC. It turns out, there is no graceful way to get my songs off an iPod. It seems that Apple’s deliberately making it hard to copy songs in order to appease record companies.

Which makes sense, but my songs honestly aren’t pirated. My boyfriend has several hundred CDs,(not an exaggeration) which are all bought and paid for, in actual stores. And what’s Stick’s is mine! Especially when it comes to his Foreigner and INXS CDs.

My laptop is also brand-new and it’s running Windows Vista, which is — guess what? Brand new! I wasn’t able to find good instructions on how to get songs off the iPod, so now that I’ve figured it out, here are the directions:

Getting Songs Off Your iPod With Vista

Go to Computer in the Start menu. This should give you a list of drives on your PC, one of which is your iPod. Click on your iPod.
This should show you what’s on your iPod, a folder called Calender, one called Contacts, a document called BOOTEX. Don’t see any music, do you? Don’t worry, it’s all there, just hidden.

Click on the Organize tab, and then choose Folder and Search Options. A little box pops up, click on the View tab. Under the Advanced Settings, there’s an option to Show Hidden Files And Folders. Check that box, and hit OK. I think Vista asks if you you’re sure you want to do that (like you might have gone through all this by accident).

Ta-da! Now you magically have a folder called iPod Control, and in that folder is a folder called Music, and in that folder are folders called F00, F01, etc., and in those folders are randomly named files like GTFE and TQYW. That’s actually Air Supply and Journey and the rest of Stick’s music collection.

Copy and Paste those F00 files somewhere on your PC, and then run Consolidate (from the Advanced tab) in iTunes and watch iTunes find your music.

OR

I actually decided to put both my computer’s iTunes libraries on my thumbdrive. You might not have an empty external drive lying around, but it is a good way use your iPod with more than one computer without losing everything by accidentally syncing to the wrong library.

Open Computer in the Start menu. Click on “Music” in the left-hand column. In Music, open iTunes, in iTunes open iTunes Music. Now, instead of seeing XKJG and EJDU, you should see folders with the names of your favorite bands. Yay! Save these folders to your thumb drive. When you want to add them to your other computer’s library, run Consolidate (from the Advanced tab) in iTunes.