charging the ipod shuffle 2g

im not sure exactly if im charging the battery or
not. according to the status light chart from apple,
it should be soild orange when its charging. however
when i hook it up to the dock, its blinking orange,
meaning that its in use. how do i keep it from
blinking orange to soild orange? i think because of
the blinking orange, i can never tell if its gonna be
solid green or not.

ipod
2g

You need to eject or "unmount" it...whichever is the context of removing it from use in your PC environment.
That should cause the status light to switch to solid orange. Alternatively, after 5 hours or so, disconnect it and turn it on... that will tell you whether it thinks its somewhat charged (eq green).

You need to eject or "unmount" it...whichever is
the context of removing it from use in your PC
environment.
That should cause the status light to switch to solid
orange. Alternatively, after 5 hours or so,
disconnect it and turn it on... that will tell you
whether it thinks its somewhat charged (eq green).

I don't think you have answered what the thread starter asked.

Maybe you didn't fully understand his question, in that case please read my question here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=783852

If the only way to charge Shuffle is to eject it in iTune, that means it's a must to run iTune in order to charge Shuffle, which I believe is not right.

I am new with the ipod shuffle with charging it.... how do I charge it, do i plug it into the USB cord with it on or off i am not sure

I am new with the ipod shuffle with charging it....
how do I charge it, do i plug it into the USB cord
with it on or off i am not sure

Sounds like you haven't read the actual full manual:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iPodshuffle_FeaturesGuide.pdf

page 5:

Connecting iPod shuffle

To connect iPod shuffle to your computer:

Plug the included iPod shuffle Dock into a USB port on your computer. Then put iPod shuffle in the Dock.

Note: Connect the Dock to a high-power USB port to charge the battery. A USB 2.0 port is recommended. Do not use the USB port on your keyboard.

To answer your question directly, the position of the OFF switch is immaterial BUT it's good devicemanship to place it in the OFF position when connected to power source through the dock.