Should we reserve a spot for Apple's Tablet in our devices list?

[kennyc]

I am saying what I'm saying, you're saying something different.

I can plug my li'l mp3 player into any computer with a usb port and copy files. It doesn't get easier than that.

[stustaff]

Originally Posted by kennyc

I am saying what I'm saying, you're saying something different.

I can plug my li'l mp3 player into any computer with a usb port and copy files. It doesn't get easier than that.

as i accepted and agreed with you on.

but it is easier with an iPod if iTunes is installed right?

[tompe]

Originally Posted by CyGuy

Actually, that is a huge deal, and there is nothing to get over. I must be able to plug my phone (or MP3 player) into a USB port on my computer and copy/paste files to and from the device with no restrictions of any kind.

This is so primitive. I want to be able to login using ssh on the device and use scp to copy files.

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by stustaff

as i accepted and agreed with you on.

but it is easier with an iPod if iTunes is installed right?

No, no, no, no no!! iTunes is the most counter-intuitive, user-unfriendly piece of software I have ever come across. Every single O/S comes with an absolutely fine way of transferring files to and from devices - iTunes is entirely redundant (and if it weren't for the hordes of Apple brainwashing victims would never be tolerated - it really is evidence that I could sell my turds if I could just find a way of embossing the Apple logo on them).

[stustaff]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

No, no, no, no no!! iTunes is the most counter-intuitive, user-unfriendly piece of software I have ever come across. Every single O/S comes with an absolutely fine way of transferring files to and from devices - iTunes is entirely redundant (and if it weren't for the hordes of Apple brainwashing victims would never be tolerated - it really is evidence that I could sell my turds if I could just find a way of embossing the Apple logo on them).

but thats exactly what I dont get?

itunes when I insert a cd rips it, adds album art and track listings and then lets me drag and drop in exactly the same way as if i were... well dragging and dropping?

if its a mp3 already i add it to itunes and again it gets cover art etc and I can drop it onto my player?

what is it that is counter intuitive and unneccesary?

using itunes(if installed etc) is a less labour intensive process than doing it via a file system, i took the time out to explain in detail why that is the case.

why wont you just say why it is the case that its counter intuitive, harder than drag n drop etc?

I dont understand your reasoning behind your statement it makes no sense.

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

No, no, no, no no!! iTunes is the most counter-intuitive, user-unfriendly piece of software I have ever come across.....

Really?! The most user-unfriendly?! EVER?!

It's a front-end, and a reasonably good one at that. It does a bunch of stuff, which most users find useful.

Just like Calibre for e-readers. I'd hate to have to deal with my ebooks without Calibre. I just wish it could sync multiple ereaders.

[kjk]

There is a big difference between using iTunes to just get some MP3s onto your media device (overkill), and using iTunes to organize/tag/maintain your music/video/podcast libraries (useful).

edit: and I agree Sonist-before I used Calibre, I just dumped text files into Stanza. It was pretty brain-dead, but that's all I thought I needed to read stuff.

Now everything is nicely organized, taggable, trackable, and easy to use, and accessible from within Calibre. It is an extra step, but worth it.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by stustaff

but with itunes installed - OCE ten minute job

transferring tracks is then easier EVERY time. for me thats the last 3 years and hundreds of track so surely in the long run iTunes is simpler and surely not the big issue/nightmare some portray it as?[

Hahaha

Try 2 hours to download, and that's with a speed of 200KB/s or better. Heck, installation alone takes at least 30 minutes.

[calvin-c]

Originally Posted by stustaff

but thats exactly what I dont get?

itunes when I insert a cd rips it, adds album art and track listings and then lets me drag and drop in exactly the same way as if i were... well dragging and dropping?

if its a mp3 already i add it to itunes and again it gets cover art etc and I can drop it onto my player?

what is it that is counter intuitive and unneccesary?

using itunes(if installed etc) is a less labour intensive process than doing it via a file system, i took the time out to explain in detail why that is the case.

why wont you just say why it is the case that its counter intuitive, harder than drag n drop etc?

I dont understand your reasoning behind your statement it makes no sense.

????This is *exactly* the process I use. Insert CD, it's automatically ripped & gets cover art, then I drag & drop it onto my player.

Except I don't use iTunes nor do I have an iPod. So I can't comment on what the difference is, if any. (Except for one-I've helped several people who use iTunes move their collections to a new player. Much, much, harder than the way I do it-which is dragging the files from their location on my HD, where they're automatically stored when ripped, and dropping them onto my new player. Which, BTW, 'installs' just like a USB drive. No muss, no fuss, no problem.

[pking36330]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Hahaha

Try 2 hours to download.

??? You've really got to get broadband!

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by pking36330

??? You've really got to get broadband!

Nah. I can't find anything as cheap and besides, 200K is fast enough.

[pking36330]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Nah. I can't find anything as cheap and besides, 200K is fast enough.

And Bill Gates once said 'no one will ever need a computer with more than 64k or RAM." Times change, but beware that broadband access is addictive.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by pking36330

And Bill Gates once said 'no one will ever need a computer with more than 64k or RAM." Times change, but beware that broadband access is addictive.

That's a myth, actually. And besides, I meant 200K was fast enough for me.

BTW, I expect by this time next year to have a Wimax connection for the same price.

[Penforhire]

That is wise advice. I got a wicked-fast FIOS connection at home a while back. Now most of civilization sucks. I end up shaking my iPhone at most wifi hotspots, "is this thing on?"

[4-eyes]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

No, no, no, no no!! iTunes is the most counter-intuitive, user-unfriendly piece of software I have ever come across. Every single O/S comes with an absolutely fine way of transferring files to and from devices - iTunes is entirely redundant (and if it weren't for the hordes of Apple brainwashing victims would never be tolerated - it really is evidence that I could sell my turds if I could just find a way of embossing the Apple logo on them).

Agreed - iTunes is a total pain to use.

For my iRiver player I just plug it in via USB (standard connector) and it appears as a hard drive. Then it's just a simple matter of copying songs across using any OS.

With my iPhone I've had no end of hassle using iTunes and the restrictions about moving content to/from the device from multiple machines are beyond annoying. Getting any video into the format that iTunes requires in order that the iPhone will play it is so annoying that I've just given up on using it as a video player despite the fact that it has really good playback.

I really like the iPhone generally but if anything is going to move me to another platform it's being able to do away with iTunes when it comes to moving media files on and off the device.

I just don't get why some here seem to think that being able to use a simple file copy to move files on and off the device (which would work in any OS) is such a bad idea vs a having to use a proprietary and IMO bloated piece of software with many arbitrary restrictions. The Cult of Apple is strong it would seem, strong enough to override common sense ...

Actually, one bad thing about the Sony Readers seems to be that they need dedicated USB device handlers. Although once you have the drivers they do show up as a mass storage device, if drivers aren't available it means you can't easily transfer files (unless you use the SD/MS card if the Reader model has one).