I need a substitute for itunes

[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?

[Nate the great]

I got it to work on one of my other computers, so this isn't that important.

But, my goodness, the hoops aPple makes you jump through. As a long time PDA user I think it's ridiculous. How can people put up with this ****?

Let's compare aPple's products to any WinMo PDA. If I want to read a book on a PDA, I copy the installer file to the device and run it. I copy the books to the device and read them. Elapsed time: 5 minutes.

If I want to read on the Ithing, I first have to download and install Itunes. There goes 200MB of my hard disk. Then, to initialize Itunes, I have to turn off my firewall, antivirus, and goodness knows what else. If I am so lucky that my Ithing is recognized, I then have the privilege of registering for an account at the Itunes store. And finally I can download an app. Elapsed time: 60 minutes to 180 minutes.

Part of the reason I am pissed is that as a software engineer, I find what aPple has done to the general public to be a crime. aPple has wasted thousands upon thousands of hours of peoples time. If aPple is supposed to produce such great software, if this is the best my field can offer, then I think I want to change my profession. I'll switch to something with a slightly higher standard against harming my customers (drug dealing perhaps).

I feel better now.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

I imagine most of those users already had iTunes accounts, or knew how it worked, and so were prepared for that end of the process. Your coming in cold left you at a disadvantage. Fortunately, you don't have to jump through all those hoops again for the next e-book.

(I'd also think you may not need iTunes just to transfer files, but since you own one and not me, you'd have to tell me.)

Of course, these gripes about a company that goes to this much trouble for customer lock-in sounds kind of funny from someone who owns a Kindle...

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

(I'd also think you may not need iTunes just to transfer files, but since you own one and not me, you'd have to tell me.)

You have to have itunes running at least once so you can initialize the Ithing. And you have to have an account or you can't download any apps.

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Of course, these gripes about a company that goes to this much trouble for customer lock-in sounds kind of funny from someone who owns a Kindle...

The Kindle is not at all locked in to Amazon when compared to Itunes. The Kindle is recognized as a standard USB device; all I need to do is drag and drop to load ebooks. Okay, there is some degree of lock in, true. But on a scale of 1 to 10 Amazon is a 4, and aPple is a 13.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I got it to work on one of my other computers, so this isn't that important.

But, my goodness, the hoops aPple makes you jump through. As a long time PDA user I think it's ridiculous. How can people put up with this ****?

Let's compare aPple's products to any WinMo PDA. If I want to read a book on a PDA, I copy the installer file to the device and run it. I copy the books to the device and read them. Elapsed time: 5 minutes.

If I want to read on the Ithing, I first have to download and install Itunes. There goes 200MB of my hard disk. Then, to initialize Itunes, I have to turn off my firewall, antivirus, and goodness knows what else. If I am so lucky that my Ithing is recognized, I then have the privilege of registering for an account at the Itunes store. And finally I can download an app. Elapsed time: 60 minutes to 180 minutes.

Part of the reason I am pissed is that as a software engineer, I find what aPple has done to the general public to be a crime. aPple has wasted thousands upon thousands of hours of peoples time. If aPple is supposed to produce such great software, if this is the best my field can offer, then I think I want to change my profession. I'll switch to something with a slightly higher standard against harming my customers (drug dealing perhaps).

I feel better now.

I think exactly the same (and I have the same profession ) I talked to a coworker who likes Apple and his reasons were, kindly said, weak.

[mtravellerh]

Iphonebrowser helps you to manipulate your files on your ipod/iphone. It's free, too!

[rhari79]

I am currently looking to buy a new laptop. macbookpro is a definite contender. But it doesnt win easily due to Apple's "I am your Big Brother" attitude apart from a few other quirks.
Also since my iphones original laptop is gone, I cannot go to a random computer to sync it. I have to activate it, and i lose my privacy therein.
So no itunes for sometime.
Basic point here is: an apple device takes away your freedom that is kind of given granted in most other non-apple devices.

Oh..and I consider Itunes User interface to be pretty bad and unresponsive.

So life without an Itunes:

I use Iphonebrowser and I also use ssh to transfer files into the device. Ssh is quicker for me.
I use PwnPlayer/dtunes to play music. I hate itunes way of music and like to create my playlist on the fly.
If it is books into the device, Some apps just read files from a directory. For these, just add the books to that dir. Some others use sqllite to store info. there are ways to edit the sqllite dbfiles and to add new files.

I dont know what i will do in case I need to do a proper backup/restore.
I guess jailbreak should not void your warranty as you can do a restore to get the phone back to factory conditions. So i am kind of safe.

[abrizz]

I use MediaMonkey. It's pretty good for sorting out tag-problems as well.

[kacir]

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?

There is very large community that jailbreaks their gAdgets. People have been installing alternative firmware on their iPods for a very long time. Now you can see why ;-)

[HarryT]

The "pain" is a one-time process; I suspect that most of us who are long-time iPod users have forgotten the initial hassle of it all.

Strange that iTunes wouldn't run on your PC, Nate. I've installed it on more machines than I can remember, and not had a problem.

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.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by abrizz

I use MediaMonkey. It's pretty good for sorting out tag-problems as well.

Originally Posted by mtravellerh

Iphonebrowser helps you to manipulate your files on your ipod/iphone. It's free, too!

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.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

You have to have itunes running at least once so you can initialize the Ithing. And you have to have an account or you can't download any apps.

Yeah, that sucks if you can't get apps from anyone but iTunes. Damned unamerican, wot! In fact, my LG Dare is locked to my provider, Verizon, and like you, I can only get apps through them. Fortunately, I don't want any of them...

Actually, I have iTunes running fine on my PC, too. I rarely use it, though: I don't have an iPod, I have a Cowon MP3 player, and I either buy music from iTunes (which I have to convert to MP3... that sucks, too) or Amazon (no DRM and no conversion), or I burn my own from my album collection (which is large enough that I still haven't gotten through all of it).

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Actually, I have iTunes running fine on my PC, too. I rarely use it, though: I don't have an iPod, I have a Cowon MP3 player, and I either buy music from iTunes (which I have to convert to MP3... that sucks, too) or Amazon (no DRM and no conversion), or I burn my own from my album collection (which is large enough that I still haven't gotten through all of it).

iTunes is an excellent music "librarian" even if you don't have an iPod. You can use it to organize all your MP3 files, and then simply copy them to your MP3 player manually from the iTunes library.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by HarryT

iTunes is an excellent music "librarian" even if you don't have an iPod. You can use it to organize all your MP3 files, and then simply copy them to your MP3 player manually from the iTunes library.

That process would be easier if iTunes would recognize my player... which it won't. That's why I simply organize in PC folders, instead of within iTunes.

For listening on my PC (well, laptop, these days), I use Winamp, which also lets you organize into libraries, burn music, and re-burn onto CDs.

[vivaldirules]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

If I want to read on the Ithong....

Fixed that for ya. And thanks for warning me away from it. I have zero patience for that kind of crap.

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I feel better now.

Glad to hear it.