Prepping for new iPod

Sorry for the long and slightly off topic post, but having lurked a couple 
days it seems like this group would be able to help.

I am anticipating my first iPod sometime in the next week or so (Windows 
version).  I have very little of my CD collection "ripped" so I want to get 
started so I will have something to listen to on the iPod when it arrives.  
I have two main questions.


1) The first one is easier, I think.  What do folks suggest as the best way 
to store the files?  Is it better to store songs like this:

c:\music\Diana Krall\When I Look In Your Eyes\2 Devil May Care.mp3
or
c:\music\Diana Krall - When I Look In Your Eyes - 2 Devil May Care.mp3
or some other way?

(I assume the iPod is smart enough not to just show me "2 Devil May 
Care.mp3" if I used the former method, assuming that the Artist/Album 
information was written in the file somewhere.)

I kinda like the idea of having them all in one folder, but I can imagine 
it becomes a mess when you have 15GB worth of mp3s


2) I have CDex (http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/) for making Mp3s, but the 
vast array of options is somewhat overwhelming for me.

The default setting seems to be for the "Lame mp3 encoder (version 1.30, 
engine 3.92 MMX)" however there are several others.

Then there are a slew of options

Version: MPEG I or MPEG II or MPEG II.5
Bitrate Min/Max (32 to 320 kbps)
Mode: Stereo/J-Stereo/Forced Stereo/Mono
[ ] private [ ] checksum [ ] original [ ] copyright
Quality Normal q=5, q=2, q=9, very high quality, and a bunch of --alt- 
presets
VBR method ("VBR old" seems to be default)
VBR Quality ("VBR 2" seems to be default)
Ouput Samplerate auto/48000/44100/32000

	Now I know everyone is different, and from what I see via Google there are 
a lot of hard core folks who are using really high bitrates and have a very 
specific set of preferences.  I'm not so high tech as to sit down and try 
and minutely compare.  I just want to be able to listen to music I like 
when I'm driving to work or biking or when I'm at home.

	I have learned that VBR means "Variable Bit Rate" and that the Quality 
setting and Bitrate will control the size and sound quality.... but I 
haven't found anywhere to tell me what are acceptable settings for a 
"regular guy listener".  Can someone point me towards a resource or share 
their thoughts?  Is MP3 what I should be using?  (I see references to AAC 
popping up but I'm not even clear that the Windows iPod can use them yet).


	Thanks very much for your patience and help.  As I was searching around 
for Ipod information, it was clear that ephpod was the way to go.  I'm 
looking forward to trying it out, hopefully soon!

	TjL




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