Hi Don, as you've seen there are Poddies and there are others.  Itunes is
interesting but very intrusive.  There are other ripping and storage and
management programs out there that will export the MP3s to file folders on
whatever storage media your particular player happens to use.  Ipods still
have battery problems and a host of other intrusive features.  The Ipod was
designed and is intended to lure you into buying music.  If you already have
a music library it can be used to manage that but is specifically intended
to load Ipods.

Like many other retrogrouches I use a different method.  My music is stored
on transportable media not linked to any particular device.  I use an MP72
Los Angeles Blaupunkt which accepts SD cards and is controlled through a
Thummer remote that lives on the steering wheel.

Not as elegant as a Podster but works for me.

Blaupunkt also made a auxiliary unit that plugged into the aux system and
treated a Compact Flash Media as a CD Changer.

For me the Ipod is redundant.  I already have the tools to do the tunes.
And no battery problems or registration or hassles with Apple or losing
hours of laboriously created playlists.

I personally resent having things I buy badly managed by fruit flavored
software, but then I'm that way.

Ruffled Grouch.

On Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 3:08 PM, Don Hanson <dhanson928@gmail.com> wrote:

> OK,  can someone bring me into century 2000 when it comes to music players
> suitable for various enviornments?  I have a CD changer, a Mini-disc
> player,
> a good sound reproducing amplifier in both house and van but I know nothing
> of digital players like everyone seems to be using now.  Do I just go get
> an
> MP3 player from Best Buy or Wal Mart and plug that into my current stuff?
> Do
> I have to buy an I-pod (whatever that is) and then re-purchase every song I
> like? How do I get music I have on other mediums to go into a computer file
> so I can send it around to all my various mechanical reproducers in Van and
> home?
>   Can you buy software to convert recorded music to MP 3 playable format?
> Is there a good site anyone can suggest that would be worthwhile for me to
> learn this stuff from?  Should I just go to Fry's electronics or Car toys
> and listen to a salesman's rap?  Help, lost in the world of CDs and records
> and tapes...
>  Don Hanson
>