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More and more products are coming out that enhance functionality of the iPod beyond music and Apple has released a few of those itself. Apple has also taken precautions to make sure iPod stays with music. With any Apple product, they lock out things to keep innovation with Apple and not let others profit too much from their products in the accessories market. Talking Panda has done its best to exploit the “notes” feature of iPod and create a way to learn a new language or get around while in another country. ILingo is a piece of software that installs directories of common used terms with audio to accompany them. This is not a substitute for a class on a language but if you are in Mexico or one of many Spanish-speaking countries, learning how to say, “how are you?” will come in handy and you can find it in seconds.
Many think Xtreme Mac is the developer but Talking Panda developed iLingo and Xtreme Mac is the publisher. My review is going to be a poor one and I have to get them an “A” for effort for the concept and work on the project but if Apple did not lock the iPod so goddamned much iLingo would be a much more functional program. This is the “FAQ” from the iLingo CD.
* Can I use more than one Talking Panda iLingo language?
Currently, due to limitations in the iPod Notes feature, you can only use one language at a time. To switch, just run the installer for the language you
would like to use. If the iPod Notes capabilities are expanded in the future,
we will issue a free update.
* Why do I see Talking Panda iLingo audio in my playlists?
The playlist installed to your iPod is not meant to be used directly, but due
to current limitations in the iPod firmware we have no way to "hide" it. To
use Talking Panda iLingo on your iPod:
- Go to the main menu (you may need to press the "Menu" button several times)
- Go to "Extras"
- Go to "Notes"
* How do I make phrases stop repeating?
If phrases repeat continuously you must currently do the following prior to
using Talking Panda iLingo:
- Go to the main menu (you may need to press the "Menu" button several times)
- Go to "Settings"
- Go to "Repeat" and click until it says "Off"
You may restore this setting after you have finished using Talking Panda iLingo.
* Why don't I hear anything when I press "Click to Listen"?
In some cases, iTunes does not synchronize the audio immediately upon
installation. Plugging in your iPod will usually take care of this. If you
have chosen to synchronize selected playlists only, then you should add the
iLingo playlist to this list.
* Can I use other Notes products with Talking Panda iLingo?
Currently, due to limitations in the iPod Notes feature, Talking Panda iLingo
occupies the entire Notes folder. If a future iPod Software Updater addresses
these issues, we will issue a free update. During the Talking Panda iLingo
installation process, a numbered backup folder of your Notes
(e.g. "Notes Backup 1") is created. To go back to your previous Notes content,
see How do I uninstall Talking Panda iLingo.
I don’t mind if you skipped over that part but just wanted to give you an idea of how much they have to put holes in their software due to the iPod’s limitations. For those that understand how the iPod works, we understand but some will think the software sucks not knowing the entire story of why Talking Panda had to develop it this way. Installation is easy if you have “automatically sync” turned on but if your library exceeds that of your iPod capacity, you have that off and have to do a manual sync of the audio portion of the program and on top of that, if you choose to hit the “shuffle” button on your iPod, there is a good chance one of those audio clips is going to come through your headphones and make you say, “what the heck?!” If you have other documents in notes like your college class schedule, movie times at the local theatre or the study guide for final exams (don’t worry I’m not telling), those will be temporarily erased when you install iLingo unless you back them up on the desktop then re-add them to notes.
Another thing that I blame Apple for is the ability to only install one language at a time. You can buy iLingo in packs. My review pack is “English Euro Pack 1.0” and works for Mac / Windows. I can only use English, French, Spanish, German or Italian one at a time. I can’t install all five languages from this pack and have them on the iPod. The price is right, the concept is there but Apple screwed over third party developers again. Perhaps in a future release, this will change; until then, deal with a few impracticalities.
Available at Xtrememac.com