[iTunes] podcasts cannot be synced to Shuffles

[Bernard Munter]

On 29/08/08 083147, "list boy" <i.am.list.boy at gmail.com> wrote:

> Just following up on a question I posted a few ago
> 
> Was having inability getting a new Shuffle to sync podcasts w/ iTunes
> 
> Found this bad news:
> 
> http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1831
> 
> Podcasts can't be synced to Shuffles.
> 
> I'm guess I'm curious as to why that would be a necessary limitation. Seems
> arbitrary.
> 
Because the Shuffle is a different beast and intrinsically "is" one playlist
and one only. When I was using my old iPod 3G for audio books and podcasts I
wondered how ever I would cope with a Shuffle. Well, the hard drive failed
on the iPod and I soon found out.

I use the Shuffle in non-shuffle mode and manually drag new podcasts to it,
as the kb article suggests. In iTunes I then drag the podcasts to the top of
the Shuffle's playlist so they will be the first thing I hear. I then fill
the remainder of the Shuffle with a random selection of actual _music_ I
haven't played before.

Note that some syncing of podcasts _does_ take place in that, when I delete
listened-to podcasts from iTunes, they are automatically removed from the
Shuffle. And that podcasts I have heard on the Shuffle are marked as played
in iTunes. And the Shuffle "knows" where to resume a podcast I have
partially listened to in iTunes, and vice-versa.

Not to mention that the sound quality on the Shuffle 1G is miles better than
the iPod 3G. I understand the Shuffle 2G isn't quite as nice on the ears.

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