I need a substitute for itunes - Page 2

pilotbob · 10-04-2009, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I will try them, but I suspect they won't work. I already tried a couple and they didn't work. I think they failed for the same reason as Itunes.

I hear a lot of good things about http://amarok.kde.org/ . Although I only tired it once a while ago when I was testing out switching to Ubuntu.

BOb

Nate the great · 10-04-2009, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

But yes, "locked down" is the price you pay for buying Apple kit. That's why I don't use my iPod Touch as a book reader; it's just too painful to get books on it. Music and video are a lot more straightforward.

I'm beginning to realize that. Stanza is actually pretty good, but I can see the work-arounds they had to build into it so it would work on the Ithing.

I'm pissed again. Why the bleep does Itunes have to have my credit card to create an account? Ranting aside, this is a cardinal sin in usability design.

Ea · 10-04-2009, 01:28 PM

Yep, iTunes is *not* great. I use it currently because I have Mac as my main computer and I can get music and Internet radio wirelessly to my stereo. But just the lack of on-the-fly play lists... Registering at the app store... It's great for buying music and apps and not much more. I don't buy music as download and I wish I could use something better than iTunes for playing music.

Once you've gotten the Stanza app on the Touch it works fine. I don't think it's especially painful to get books on my Touch with Stanza - far fromm - and Stanza is a nice reading application.

daffy4u · 10-04-2009, 01:49 PM

I just saw J. River Media Jukebox recommended on another forum. I haven't tried it.

Terisa de morgan · 10-04-2009, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

So I got an Itouch. I didn't realize that it _had_ to have Itunes for it work at all. (What a stupid design decision.) I can't get Itunes to work on my PC. Can someone point me at a good substitute?

W2K ob XP without SP2? Same for me in one of mine

Terisa de morgan · 10-04-2009, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I'm beginning to realize that. Stanza is actually pretty good, but I can see the work-arounds they had to build into it so it would work on the Ithing.

I'm pissed again. Why the bleep does Itunes have to have my credit card to create an account? Ranting aside, this is a cardinal sin in usability design.

It's not neccesary, get first a free application (Stanza) and then you'll be able to create your account without cc.

Nate the great · 10-04-2009, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

It's not neccesary, get first a free application (Stanza) and then you'll be able to create your account without cc.

I tried to get Stanza through Lexcycle's website. I was directed to the app store where I had to have an account before I could download anything.

Terisa de morgan · 10-04-2009, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I tried to get Stanza through Lexcycle's website. I was directed to the app store where I had to have an account before I could download anything.

Yes, I made it through iTunes, sorry *sigh*

fugazied · 10-04-2009, 07:17 PM

I dislike iTunes too, but I am mostly on Mac so I think the user experience is probably somewhat smoother for me

If you are after a general kind of music player, check songbird. It's made by mozilla (the same guys who do firefox and thunderbird), so it's pretty open source and has a ton of plugins.

The main thing that annoys me about itunes is the way it manages my music library (moving files around), but I eventually got the hang of it. The new itunes is actually pretty superb with the iPhone application management and new genius features.

pilotbob · 10-04-2009, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fugazied

The main thing that annoys me about itunes is the way it manages my music library (moving files around), but I eventually got the hang of it.

You do know you can turn that off right?

BOb

bbusybookworm · 10-07-2009, 03:34 PM

I have to agree thatiTunes is pretty annoying, as was one of they key reasons I stayed away from using iPods personally, preffering players from Archos, etc.

However on getting my iPhone, itunes has become somewhat of a necessary evil, as I need it to Sync content onto it. With the comparatively limited 16Gb space I have on it, I have to do it pretty regularly, as Once I add in apps, photos, etc, Very little space is left for music.

One of my pet peeves is that while the iPhone will let you download podcasts directly on the device, it will not actually delete them. Deleting them on the device, just removes the listing but doesn't free up any space

. You have to sync to do that.

What I have to say is that after switching to a Macbook Pro a few weeks ago, iTunes has been much more stable on OSX the it ever was on windows.

andym · 10-10-2009, 04:04 PM

I love iTunes. I simply don't understand why people have a problem with it (OK, I'm using it on a Mac so I don't know what the Windows experience is like).

But anyway, gratuitous jibes at Windows/Unix fanboys aside, I use iPhone Explorer to do anything I can't do with iTunes.

Nate the great · 10-10-2009, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andym

I love iTunes. I simply don't understand why people have a problem with it (OK, I'm using it on a Mac so I don't know what the Windows experience is like).

But anyway, gratuitous jibes at Windows/Unix fanboys aside, I use iPhone Explorer to do anything I can't do with iTunes.

Becuase the experience under Windows is painful.

mtravellerh · 10-11-2009, 11:08 AM

Ah, you should know that you can upload books directly from your PC to Iphone/ipod via iphonebrowser. Just put in your epub/eReader file (in a Stanza directory in DCIM) and Stanza gets the books directly (no WiFi or other Internet access required). I kind of like that!

Nate the great · 10-11-2009, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtravellerh

Ah, you should know that you can upload books directly from your PC to Iphone/ipod via iphonebrowser. Just put in your epub/eReader file (in a Stanza directory in DCIM) and Stanza gets the books directly (no WiFi or other Internet access required). I kind of like that!

Yes, but first you have to get Stanza.

I use calibre+stanza, actually.

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10-04-2009, 01:28 PM	#18
Ea Wizard Posts: 3,490 Karma: 5239563 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Denmark Device: Kindle 3\|iPad air\|iPhone 4S	Yep, iTunes is not great. I use it currently because I have Mac as my main computer and I can get music and Internet radio wirelessly to my stereo. But just the lack of on-the-fly play lists... Registering at the app store... It's great for buying music and apps and not much more. I don't buy music as download and I wish I could use something better than iTunes for playing music. Once you've gotten the Stanza app on the Touch it works fine. I don't think it's especially painful to get books on my Touch with Stanza - far fromm - and Stanza is a nice reading application.

10-04-2009, 01:49 PM	#19
daffy4u I'm Super Kindle-icious Posts: 6,734 Karma: 2434103 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Drive, Calinadia Candafornia Device: KDXG, KT, Oasis	I just saw J. River Media Jukebox recommended on another forum. I haven't tried it.

10-04-2009, 07:17 PM	#24
fugazied Wizard Posts: 1,305 Karma: 1958 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: iPod Touch	I dislike iTunes too, but I am mostly on Mac so I think the user experience is probably somewhat smoother for me If you are after a general kind of music player, check songbird. It's made by mozilla (the same guys who do firefox and thunderbird), so it's pretty open source and has a ton of plugins. The main thing that annoys me about itunes is the way it manages my music library (moving files around), but I eventually got the hang of it. The new itunes is actually pretty superb with the iPhone application management and new genius features.

10-07-2009, 03:34 PM	#26
bbusybookworm Tech Junkie Posts: 1,027 Karma: 10080 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Earth Device: iPad, MotoXStyle, OnePlusOne	I have to agree thatiTunes is pretty annoying, as was one of they key reasons I stayed away from using iPods personally, preffering players from Archos, etc. However on getting my iPhone, itunes has become somewhat of a necessary evil, as I need it to Sync content onto it. With the comparatively limited 16Gb space I have on it, I have to do it pretty regularly, as Once I add in apps, photos, etc, Very little space is left for music. One of my pet peeves is that while the iPhone will let you download podcasts directly on the device, it will not actually delete them. Deleting them on the device, just removes the listing but doesn't free up any space . You have to sync to do that. What I have to say is that after switching to a Macbook Pro a few weeks ago, iTunes has been much more stable on OSX the it ever was on windows.

10-10-2009, 04:04 PM	#27
andym Groupie Posts: 189 Karma: 793 Join Date: Oct 2006	I love iTunes. I simply don't understand why people have a problem with it (OK, I'm using it on a Mac so I don't know what the Windows experience is like). But anyway, gratuitous jibes at Windows/Unix fanboys aside, I use iPhone Explorer to do anything I can't do with iTunes.

10-11-2009, 11:08 AM	#29
mtravellerh book creator Posts: 9,657 Karma: 3856660 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Luxembourg Device: Kindle Scribe	Ah, you should know that you can upload books directly from your PC to Iphone/ipod via iphonebrowser. Just put in your epub/eReader file (in a Stanza directory in DCIM) and Stanza gets the books directly (no WiFi or other Internet access required). I kind of like that!