So, me and myself along with everyone else wants to listen to their iPod in the car. The cassette works good, but since I travel and use rental cars and in this day and age, the cassette tape player is a thing of the past.

I found this cool gadget and decided to give it a go. It worked out great. Here is how my iPod looks in the TransPod in my truck.

There’s a lot in the TransPod packaging for all iPods, new and old. Mine is a 3G version. There is the TransPod itself, this is what your iPod or iPod mini will slide in to. The digital FM transmitter is also inside the module. They give you an insert for use with the iPod mini, as well as two soft pads that stick to the interior of the TransPod module so your iPod doesn’t rub against hard plastic. It’s a snug fit, which is good, as it means there is no chance of your iPod falling out. Because no one want to see their iPod on the floor.

Once the fit of the iPod in the module was confirmed, there are several mounting options. There is a two-piece plastic arm set: one piece of the arm has a power adapter plug on the end, so you can plug it directly in to your vehicle’s power socket. Usage of the second arm piece, which is more adjustable than the charging arm, is dependent upon how you want to place the iPod so it’s easy to use.

You can even get the TransPod in different colors too!

DLO | TransPod

I wanted to add an entry into the hosts file on my iBook. To do this, I needed to enable root. It is not that hard and I have done it once before, but alas could not recall so here is how you enable root and then change the host file.

Log in on the Admin account.

Open up a command shell in the Terminal application

At the command prompt type this command:

      sudo passwd root

      Enter Password:
      Changing password for root
      New password:
      Verify password:

The first password you are asked for is the already existing password for the Admin account. After that, enter your new root password (twice for verification)

Once that is done the next step is to edit the host file

At the command prompt type this command:

      cd /etc
      pico hosts

      This is a simple text editor and you just need to add the host entry in the following format

                 192.168.1.1      hostname

       Then press CTRL O to WriteOut the file.  You will be ask to overwrite and you want to
       Next press CTRL X to exit

      At the command prompt type this command:

      exit

      exit

You have to exit twice, once out of the root session and then the out of the terminal session

All done!

There are some easy to understand videos on how to backup your DVDs as well as to make them fit on your video iPod.

HOWTO Backup Your DVD Movies

I have completed my first HD edit. I used my nice Sony HDV camara to shoot my little buddy playing hockey. He is 5 years old and love hockey!

I wanted to use iMovie to start with before I jump into Final Cut. To my suprise, it is a very good editor. A little weak on some things but easy to use.

So, I captured the footage, did the edit, exported it all to iDVD and made it pretty. I then also exported or “Share” as iMovie calls it to a true, MP4 and H.264 format as well.

Easy and looks great!