Ask the Techno File
By Jon Kenton
Dear Tech Master:
I have had my iPod for about six months now. I have finished loading all my old CDs into my library and have bought lots of music online. I am totally hooked on digital media. I would now like to stop using CDs in my car, and wonder what my options are to be able to use my iPod instead.
Dear Cybermusic Lover:
There are three primary ways to listen to your iPod through your car stereo.
1. FM Transmitters These units contain a radio transmitter that you can program to an unused local frequency. You then play your iPod as usual, tune in your radio, and listen—it’s as simple as that. This solution works fine, but the quality is sometimes not that great. Furthermore, in most major metropolitan cities, it can be hard to find a free frequency slot so there can be interference from overlapping stations.
2. Phono Jacks Many new cars now come ready fitted with stereos that can accept an MP3 player connection via a phono jack/socket (similar to the headphone jack). You may see the socket on the head unit, in the dash, in the glove box, or on the center armrest. If you have an older car, most good after-market units have this feature. Simply connect a cable from the iPod’s headphone socket to the one in the car, set the radio to “aux,” and that’s it! The quality will be much better with this connection.
3. Direct Connect The base connector of an iPod has multiple functions: synchronizing, power, audio out, and control. If your car stereo has an aux function, you can buy an after-market kit that will directly connect into the rear of the stereo. A cable that will plug into your iPod’s base connector will be routed to a convenient location, e.g. dash cubby or center console. The operation is similar to Option 2, but has the advantage of also charging your iPod. Depending on the type of head unit you have, you may also be able to view tracks on the display and be able to control the iPod from the main and steering column controls.
Dear Techno Wizard:
I have recently started using Microsoft Office much more heavily and find myself working on multiple Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents. I do a lot of combining elements from all three document types and am forever copying and pasting. Is there a way to keep the copied items so that I can reuse them over and over without having to go back to the original?
Dear Copy-Cat:
There most certainly is! It’s called the Office Clipboard. Every time you copy something from within an MS Office application, it is stored in the clipboard. From within any of the applications, click Edit and you will find it. Click this menu item, and the clipboard will open in its own task pane. Once items are on the clipboard, you may paste them either singly or all together into your new document.