[Macworld]

Post your comments for The iPod's alarming options here

[hillstones]

You don't need iToner to make custom ringtones. Use your favorite sound editing program and make your custom ringtone so the sound clip is less than 40 seconds in length.
Import a favorite song from your CD in AIFF format to your favorite sound editing program (or convert an existing song in your iTunes library to AIFF, delete it and move it to your desktop), edit your favorite portion (just under 40 seconds), and save it as AIFF. Some sound editors don't let you edit MP3 or AAC files, so AIFF is the easiest method. Copy the file back to iTunes and convert it to AAC. Delete the file from iTunes, move it back to the Desktop, rename the extension to .m4r, and double click on the file to add it back to iTunes. It will appear as a Ringtone. Then you can sync it to your iPhone and use it as an alarm.
Apple initially removed this "feature" from iTunes 7.x, but then they quietly brought the feature back in a later version. If the file is longer than 40 seconds, it will not appear as a ringtone. So that's how you can use one of your favorite songs to wake you up in the morning, and also to use as a ringtone.

[Chris Breen]

hillstones said:

> Import a favorite song from your CD in AIFF format to your favorite sound editing program (or convert an existing song in your iTunes library to AIFF, delete it and move it to your desktop), edit your favorite portion (just under 40 seconds), and save it as AIFF. Some sound editors don't let you edit MP3 or AAC files, so AIFF is the easiest method. Copy the file back to iTunes and convert it to AAC. Delete the file from iTunes, move it back to the Desktop, rename the extension to .m4r, and double click on the file to add it back to iTunes. It will appear as a Ringtone. Then you can sync it to your iPhone and use it as an alarm.

Or, easier still, as I mentioned, use GarageBand.

[hillstones]

Chris,
I don't use GarageBand. Does it let you edit imported sound files and save them as Ringtones?

[Chris Breen]

hillstones said:

> I don't use GarageBand. Does it let you edit imported sound files and save them as Ringtones?

Absolutely. And it's really easy.

Create a new project. Open the Media browser. Choose iTunes, select a tune, and drag it into a new track (or, from the Finder, drag an MP3, unprotected AAC, AIFF, WAV, or Apple Lossless file into a track). Click the Loop button, drag the end of the loop marker to where you want the ringtone to end, and choose Share: Send Ringtone to iTunes. And that's what happens -- the file is converted to a ringtone and added to the Ringtones area of iTunes.

If you want to slick it up, you can add a fade within GarageBand.

[hillstones]

Thanks for the tip Chris. Might be worth re-installing GarageBand.

[Chris Breen]

Yeah, if you really like custom ringtones, it's a great way to go. Plus, thanks to unprotected iTunes Plus tracks, you no longer have to purchase ringtones separately for tunes you own.

[Protoclown]

What this article doesn't mention is that with clickwheel iPods, whenever you sync your iPod or even plug it into an external video source (such as a portable player) the alarm stops working. yes, it just stops working. The only way to get it to work again is to delete the clock and make a new one, reprogramming the alarm all over again.
You'd think that Apple would have squashed this bug by now. I use my iPod to wake me up every morning; except for the mornings when the alarm doesn't work...