Improved one-liner:

• mpg123 -s input.mp3 | faac -b 80 -P -X -w -o output.m4b -

The trouble with the above (works on the MacBook) is that you need the terminal, mpg123 and faac. These are all easy to get and install, especially if you are using macports or the fink. I’m using macports now since the fink seems sunk.

No special tools:

Import to AAC in iTunes.

SetFile type to m4b.

(You can either use SetFile (below) or just make a new file with the same contents as the old file, named m4b.) Window users have an easier time of this since there is no resource fork. Mac users may have to use the SetFile program (below) to get the file to be recognized as m4b (instead of m4a). If you don’t have SetFile, this should work too:

• Put the AAC file somewhere easy to find (like on your Desktop and call it foo.m4a)
• Start Terminal.app
• Type this into terminal.app:

• cd ~/Desktop
• cat foo.m4a > foo.m4b

Original Procedure (which works with no extra software):
Starting with an MP3 file is somewhat painful. The overview would be something like:

1. Create M4A file from MP3 that can be played in iTunes at the appropriate (reduced) bitrate.
2. Convert the M4A file to an M4B file.
3. Augment the M4B file with bookmarks or ‘chapters’.

UPDATE: I have found the right tools and have successfully done this without any intermediate CDs. The results are quite acceptable. Additionally, I’ve been able to use some small tools to digitize books on tape and get them into my iPod too.
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