IPod, iTunes, iWTF
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Several years ago I bought a cheap MP3 player. It's small, light and best of all, getting music onto it is super easy. Just plug it into a USB port on my computer, it's recognized as a disk drive and I drag MP3 files over to it. It then organizes everything based on the Name/Artist/Album information in the ID3 tags. Couldn't be easier. But it's getting old and beat up and the part that covers the battery has to be held on with a piece of tape.
Since my wife's boss is a lover of all things Apple, and constantly singing their praises, she buys me an iPod for Christmas. OK, so how do I get my music onto this thing? I plug it into my computer and it's recognized. So far so good. But I'm not sure where the files go. The extremely thin manual doesn't contain anything useful other than a mention of iTunes. So a little bit of Googling reveals that you can install iTunes or one of several other programs that promise to be "just like" iTunes. Bottom line -- there's really no way to get the music onto the iPod without using some sort of highly questionable software. Seriously, Apple?
So I decide to bite the bullet and install iTunes. I then have to go through the WTF process of first loading the music files into my "library" and then "syncing" with the iPod, the process which actually copies the music over to the device. After loading up some music I take a look at the iPod in Windows Explorer and find a bunch of folders named F00 through F49. Each folder contains several MP3 files with random 4 character names such as CEPG.mp3 and XVQE.mp3. Yes, because that's so much better than just using the file's original name and creating folders based on the Artist/Album names like my old MP3 player did (at 1/5 the cost).
There's also the ability to load photos onto the iPod. Looking at photos on a 2 inch screen seems rather useless, but I decide to give it a try just for the heck of it. After loading a few photos I take a look with Windows Explorer and I find that the photos are stored on the iPod using their actual file names ( NewKitten1-2004-07-14-8487.jpg etc.). Which makes the naming scheme for MP3 files seem even more stupid and pontless.
As far as I can tell, the only real purpose for forcing you to use iTunes is to get you to buy stuff from the iTunes store.
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@El_Heffe said:
Bottom line -- there's really no way to get the music onto the iPod without using some sort of highly questionable software.
Wow. Welcome to 8 years ago. Why do you think we've been hating Apple all this time?
Guess what? You need iTunes to update the firmware in their cell phones, too.
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Pretty much yeah. I don't know whether their goal is to force you to use iTunes for its own sake or to protect copyrights through iTunes.
Now, if you have more music than will fit on the iPod, then you gotta create a playlist to sync to the iPod, or something, right? Then even if that list is too big for the iPod, it'll rotate the songs on there every time you connect.
I've heard of a program called iphone (maybe iPod) explorer. Maybe that does something different.
My Android phone? Connect as Disk Drive, put everything into the Music folder (or any folder). Songs appear.
This is not the reason I don't buy Apple products, but it adds to the list.
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I think iTunes can also transcode your music to a lower bitrate, since you don't need your archival 320kbps MP3s on there - the 128kbps is generally just fine. This allows you to fit more music on your device, and since you can never take it off again it doesn't matter (original files left on your PC)
But then my last two MP3 players were like your old one: appear as disk drive, drag files into it. Each only cost me $1 - retail shop was having their insane boxing day sales.
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@El_Heffe said:
there's really no way to get the music onto the iPod without using some sort of highly questionable software
foobar2000 + foo_dop is definitely in the non-questionable category.
I don't give a shit about iPods, so YMMV. HTH.
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I read this as my wife's lover and now I am confused.
Anyway back to thread: I like all apple made products. I once touched a macbook pro and fell in love with it. Apple product very expensive in India. What is price of 13 inch Mac Air book in your country? Apple make thing easy for people who fall in age group of 50 above. That is not so much case with windows. With apple, you buy mac book and no need for reboot at all. IPOD is no# 1 mp3 player in world today. Simple interface, great hardware and good quality of product enabled apple to reach top. Also rigid control in place. Apple follow same policy followed by IBM in 70s and 80s. Once you buy Apple product, you can never use something else.
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@blakeyrat said:
@El_Heffe said:
And you need iTunes to import bookmarks from another browser into Safari on an iPad. The iPod was a gift, otherwise I would still not own any Apple products.Bottom line -- there's really no way to get the music onto the iPod without using some sort of highly questionable software.
Wow. Welcome to 8 years ago. Why do you think we've been hating Apple all this time?
Guess what? You need iTunes to update the firmware in their cell phones, too.
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And the WTFs just keep coming
A few days ago, I connected the iPod to my computer. iTunes automatically launches and immediately crashes. I try to start iTunes again and it immediately crashes. OK, I guess I'll re-install iTunes. The new freshly re-installed copy of iTunes informs me that I must "recover" my iPod which, it turns out, involves deleting everything from the iPod and then re-tranferring all the music from my computer back over to the iPod.. iTunes does this more or less automatically, but Jesus Fucking Christ what moron decided this was a good idea?
Eveything is fine for a few days and then yesterday, the same thing happens. Connect the iPod to my computer, iTunes launches and immediately crashes. I spend some time Googoling and find lots and lots of forum messages from people having this same problem with their iPod, iPhone and iPad, and this has been going on for SEVERAL FUCKING YEARS. What I didn't find was any information on actually FIXING THE FUCKING PROBLEM.
Holy Fuck. Seriously, how does Apple get away with this shit?
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@El_Heffe said:
Eveything is fine for a few days and then yesterday, the same thing happens. Connect the iPod to my computer, iTunes launches and immediately crashes. I spend some time Googoling and find lots and lots of forum messages from people having this same problem with their iPod, iPhone and iPad, and this has been going on for SEVERAL FUCKING YEARS. What I didn't find was any information on actually FIXING THE FUCKING PROBLEM.
Holy Fuck. Seriously, how does Apple get away with this shit?
On a mac you can attach gdb to itunes and poke on its internals, sometimes it even runs fine under the debugger but refuses to launch otherwise. Obviously the only solution is to automate the act using the heaps of undocumented behavior behind osx's ptrace(). So far no one has claimed Excalibur but many prod a fork at the ecu unit when run out of gas.
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@El_Heffe said:
The iPod was a gift, otherwise I would still not own any Apple products.
Ebay it, then you still won't own any Apple stuff. With the price differential between Apple and everyone else, you'll be able to get a replacement, and also a pressie for the handbag to keep her sweet after you sold her chrimbo gift.
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@fterfi secure said:
With the price differential between Apple and everyone else, you'll be able to get a replacement, and also a pressie for the handbag to keep her sweet after you sold her chrimbo gift.
Half of this isn't even real words.
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@El_Heffe said:
A few days ago, I connected the iPod to my computer. iTunes automatically launches and immediately crashes. I try to start iTunes again and it immediately crashes. OK, I guess I'll re-install iTunes. The new freshly re-installed copy of iTunes informs me that I must "recover" my iPod which, it turns out, involves deleting everything from the iPod and then re-tranferring all the music from my computer back over to the iPod.. iTunes does this more or less automatically, but Jesus Fucking Christ what moron decided this was a good idea?
Eveything is fine for a few days and then yesterday, the same thing happens. Connect the iPod to my computer, iTunes launches and immediately crashes. I spend some time Googoling and find lots and lots of forum messages from people having this same problem with their iPod, iPhone and iPad, and this has been going on for SEVERAL FUCKING YEARS. What I didn't find was any information on actually FIXING THE FUCKING PROBLEM.
Holy Fuck. Seriously, how does Apple get away with this shit?
I hate apple prods except the phone (their phones have the most apps and the least interface probs, once had an android, the ui kept hanging and not responding to my finger).
I never ever hook my phone up to the pc (my parents' pc that is, mine all run linux.)
When i hook mine up, it asks me: "Can i delete everything on your phone? I'm not going to do anything with it without erasing it!".
Than there is the UI, i get headackes after 5 F****** minutes!
I hate Apple...
I really really hate Apple...
I even hate it more than i hate Microsoft,
Winslows may be buggy and slow, but at least it doesn't wanna erase my entire hd every time i boot. (Only 2 pc's with windows left: one laptop for school, other dual boot for the games.
My teachers all use windows and every non-windows-program-file-format is not accepted (as in: i haven't used this so it's not allowed, even simple txt files (with proper \n to \r\n convert) aren't allowed 'cause they don't use notepad)! And all web-based apps we use, well... they only work in IE;
Stuff like: document.forms[0].somehiddenbutton.click() is all over the place.
Here's the kicker: I once asked the IT-dep why +/- 80% of the apps won't work on my linux pc's, the web was build to be OS-independant! So why doesn't it work on Linux! The first thing they say: "We know that, if it wasn't for the fact that most teachers have issues with any other env. than windows (most of my teachers have the same thing with their cells, or are say that i might get arrested for "hacking" windows (note: this is when i'm working from a X11 over ssh session) with all those graphical mods!) they would've switched to linux years ago.)
Back to the thread:
Let's ask Alex to add the "I-Hate-Apple" forum!
Idea! Let's all send hundreds of thousends of emails to Apple at the same time! With our cry for better stuff! Or for them to remove the locks so we can do it ourselves!
Who's with me?
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@roelforg said:
I hate apple prods except the phone (their phones have the most apps and the least interface probs, once had an android, the ui kept hanging and not responding to my finger).
I never ever hook my phone up to the pc (my parents' pc that is, mine all run linux.)
When i hook mine up, it asks me: "Can i delete everything on your phone? I'm not going to do anything with it without erasing it!".
Than there is the UI, i get headackes after 5 F****** minutes!
I hate Apple...
I really really hate Apple...
I even hate it more than i hate Microsoft,
Winslows may be buggy and slow, but at least it doesn't wanna erase my entire hd every time i boot. (Only 2 pc's with windows left: one laptop for school, other dual boot for the games.
My teachers all use windows and every non-windows-program-file-format is not accepted (as in: i haven't used this so it's not allowed, even simple txt files (with proper \n to \r\n convert) aren't allowed 'cause they don't use notepad)! And all web-based apps we use, well... they only work in IE;
Stuff like: document.forms[0].somehiddenbutton.click() is all over the place.
Here's the kicker: I once asked the IT-dep why +/- 80% of the apps won't work on my linux pc's, the web was build to be OS-independant! So why doesn't it work on Linux! The first thing they say: "We know that, if it wasn't for the fact that most teachers have issues with any other env. than windows (most of my teachers have the same thing with their cells, or are say that i might get arrested for "hacking" windows (note: this is when i'm working from a X11 over ssh session) with all those graphical mods!) they would've switched to linux years ago.)
Back to the thread:
Let's ask Alex to add the "I-Hate-Apple" forum!
Idea! Let's all send hundreds of thousends of emails to Apple at the same time! With our cry for better stuff! Or for them to remove the locks so we can do it ourselves!
Who's with me?
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@roelforg said:
Let's ask Alex to add the "I-Hate-Apple" forum!
Bad idea. That would attract more Apple users.
