1. I am happy to provide this information, but you have to use it at your own discretion. I am not responsible for any problems you may encounter with your computer, your iTunes, your iPhone, or any other electronic device even surrounding said items.
2. I am not your tech support. I will answer questions (if there are any posted in the comments) to the best of my ability a) if I know the answer and/or b) if I feel like it.
3. I tested this on my MacBook Pro using Leopard, iTunes 8, and my original iPhone ((no iPhone 3G for me 🙂 )) I also tested these steps on my PC using XP and iTunes 8.
4. No animals were hurt during this process.

The Steps

Step 1: Paging Captain Obvious! Step 1 is to determine what song you want to use. NOTE: This process will not work for songs actually purchased through iTunes. If you ponied up the cash for a song in iTunes, pony up the additional $1 to create a ringtone.

Step 2: While listening to the song, note the start and stop times of the snippet you’d like to use. You’ll need to keep this gem shorter than 40 seconds.

Step 3: When you’ve determined the length of your ringtone and are armed with the start and stop times, right-mouse click on the song in iTunes, select “get info” and then the “options” tab.

Enter your start and stop times in minutes:seconds (like 00:10) and click “ok”.

Step 4 ITUNES 8 OR OLDER: Right-mouse click on the track again and select “create AAC version”. This will create a new file with just the snippet of time you selected. It does not modify your original in any way.

Step 4 ITUNES 9: With the music track selected, click on “Advanced” in the menu bar and select “Create AAC Version”. This will create a new file with just the snippet of time you selected. It does not modify your original in any way.

Step 5: When the “duplicate” file appears in your iTunes, right-mouse click on it and select “delete”. Click on “remove” for the first pop-up asking if you are sure you want to remove the song from the playlist. Then click on “keep file”. DO NOT send the file to the recycle bin.

Step 6: Now you need to find the new file, which was saved in the same place as your original file and has the exact same name, with a few exceptions. ((The fact that you’re following these steps leads me to believe you know a little somethin’ somethin’ about your computer and where your files are stored. 😉 If not, leave a comment and I’ll try and help.))

1. The new, snippet version will have a file extension of .m4a.
2. If you are using a song that you ripped from a CD using iTunes and all of these files have the .m4a extension, don’t fret. Your snippet is the one with a 1 appended to the file name. 😀

Step 7: Once you’ve located your new snippet .m4a file, change the extension to m4r. You’ll be warned this will self-destruct your computer. Do it anyway.

Step 8: Only 6 more steps to go. Kidding! Now just double click on your .m4r file and it should open in iTunes under ringtones, and be ready to sync.

Step 9: Sync.

These steps actually work. ((At least they did for me and Topsurf!)) I hope someone else will find this handy. Now go forth and (ringtone) prosper!

Thank you to duchesssa at stock.xchng for the fabulous dancing girls. 😀

The question is this: If your life was a movie, what would its soundtrack be?

The method is this:

1. Open your iTunes library (or whatever software you use for your music playlist)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool—you’re not—just type in the name of the song

So, let’s get on with it. Here is my life’s playlist:

Opening credits: The Heart That You Own, Dwight Yoakam

Waking up: Roxanne, The Police

First day of school: Close Your Eyes, The Chemical Brothers

Falling in Love: Love is Stronger Than Justice, Sting

Fight Song: Touch and Go, The Cars

Breaking Up: Boys Talk, Spektrum

Prom: Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World, U2

Life is Good: Lost, Michael Bublé

Mental Breakdown: Maybe Tomorrow is a Better Day, Carnival of Rust

Driving: Lost on the River, Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris

Flashback: La Vie En Rose, Madeleine Peyroux

Getting Back Together: 3AM, Poets of the Fall

Wedding: Gett Off, Prince

Paying the Dues: Sunday Morning, Elizabeth Cook

The Night Before the War: Ain’t That Lonely Yet, Dwight Yoakam

Final Battle: Sound of Silence, Trinity FM

Moment of Triumph: I Adolize You, Ike and Tina Turner

Death Scene: San Diego Serenade, Tom Waits

Funeral Song: Leopard Skin, Pillbox Hat, Tab Benoit and Jimmy Thackery

End Credits: Crumbs From Your Table, U2

I was really hoping for a cool pre-perv Michael Jackson song, or some kind of truck rental song to commemorate the move to Florida, but I guess that’s a little too specific. 🙂

Which song or songs do you feel are the most appropriate in my life movie playlist? What changes would you make?