I really hate it when things don’t work like you’d expect. There are some universal “truths” when it comes to some interfaces. A door with a flat, horizontal bar is for pushing. A door with a vertical handle is for pulling. A computer mouse should not be round because you can’t tell which way is “up.” (Sorry, Apple.) And a CD player should shuffle between all tracks on a disc when the shuffle function is engaged.
Well, I’m having some issues with that last one. So if anyone from Toyota is out there listening, I have some tips for you.
Here’s my experience. I have a 2009 Prius. It’s a good car. Gets great gas mileage. The hatchback is convenient. The sound system is OK and the seats aren’t all that comfy. But that’s fine. I knew I was getting it because I wanted the gas mileage and Toyota makes one hell of a good car. (I’m not worried about the accelerator issues.)
But the shuffle function on the CD player is simply terrible. I can dismiss all the other things that I might pick on because to me, it would seem choices and trade-offs were made. But for something that’s been around as long as a CD player and a shuffle function, you’d think a Japanese car company would get it right. Plus, the car HAS a CD player with a shuffle function. So, it should work well. There’s no option to upgrade to a “good” one, so the one that’s in there should work as well as they can make it.
Here’s where the problems are for me:
- I have an MP3 CD in right now with approximately 125 tracks on it.
- I drive in short bursts throughout the week. Usually 15-20 minutes at a time.
- I want to hear a random selection of all the tracks on this CD.
- The CD player keeps picking the same 8-10 tracks ALL THE TIME.
It doesn’t just repeat one track every once in a while. It simply plays the same songs as if the shuffle only works on 10 randomly selected tracks on a disc. If I turn shuffle off and back on, it STILL frequently selects one of the tracks I’ve heard over and over. Annoying.
So, in an effort to help the future Prius owners who would actually like a shuffle function to work properly, I’m outlining The World’s Most Perfect CD Shuffle System Ever for you here. Today. For free.
If you ever build it, I’d love to know, so I can upgrade. I love to have a disc full of my favorite stuff, but I don’t always want it “in order” and I don’t only want to hear a few songs from the whole compilation.
The World’s Most Perfect CD Shuffle System Ever
- The player loads a disc.
- It scans the disc for the total number of tracks.
- It then randomly orders the total number of tracks and stores that sequence in memory. This will be the order in which tracks are played until all tracks have been played. No repeats.
- It goes to the first track from the sequence and starts playing it
- Once all tracks have been played, the disc is considered “played” and it goes onto the next disc just like any other disc
- Skipping back gets you the previous tracks you’ve heard and in the same sequence.
This would be ideal. You get just what you want – the ability to listen to a whole disc in a random order. Not just a random selection from parts of a whole disc. Now, you could always give the user additional options on the touch screen very easily so they can control the experience even more. Something like “Shuffle Exclusive” or “Shuffle Inclusive” but that would be bonus stuff.
I have hopes this suggested improvement for the betterment of all CD shuffle systems can make its way to the marketplace. At the very least, Toyota, can you make the CD shuffle not pick the same 8 songs all the time?