do you use iTunes

[adventurepants_]

so, my journey of an auto-updated itunes library over more than one machine is still open

As far as I could tell, Folderwatch will happily work with network paths. Is that not the case, i havent tested it for that.

I have one main box that I do all the ripping, encoding and tagging on. I have my own file structure for music I want to keep on that box so I dont let Itunes manage the library. On the media box in the lounge, I do let it manage the library as that library never gets backed up so it doesnt matter if it gets borked.

Using Win 7 homegroups on the main pc, I just drag and drop the new stuff into the "Automatically add to Itunes" folder remotely on the media box, works for me.

[adventurepants_]

If hard drive size expansion stays on the same curve it is now, then I will very likely be re-encoding all my CDS into FLAC in the next couple of years. So I may have to wave goodbye to Itunes unless they open up their codec support.

Songbird looked like the saviour for a while, but its way buggy and development is very slow.

[davepermen]

well, i'll try some stuff out for nice synching..

but just in case, you could use lossless mp4 instead of flac, and stay with itunes and big compatibility (it still is an mp4 codec, unlike flac, which nobody cares much about).

[mojofunk]

Lol yikes - I re-read my earlier post and I realized that I had prolly better not post while I am in the middle of a bad day at work . . . thank you guys all for not just simply flaming me for cussing so much! I am certainly no fan of itunes, but I really hate mondays worse.

[beats me]

I am certainly no fan of itunes, but I really hate mondays worse.

iTunes will always welcome you back if you just open your mind, heart, and wallet.



Have you met our receptionist?

[3dot...]

Most infuriating POS ever. It is physically impossible to access the hardware (portable hard drive - not magic, lots of people make them) without installing their sluggish crap software iTunes, and it will not install until it is given permission to phone home via the internet! I mean, wtf, I bought the stupid mp3 playing hard drive, and I can't even use the stupid thing until I help Apple with their marketing. Ok, fine, so I open the firewall, and let their crap call home, and then I can install their crap software - but what is this? It's converting my file formats into some fuckin' Apple thing? Without me asking it to? Who the fuck do they think they are, doing that? Fucking retarded! And unless I tie my computer up for hours and hours changing my mp3 audio books into your bullshit audiobook proprietary format, then they get all mixed up with music when in shuffle, total failure in the usability department. Your slow buggy software sucks, your hard to kill spyware sucks, your condescending dumbing down sucks, your unsolicited file conversions suck, your refusal to be what you are - a portable hard drive that should allow me to create folders and use drag and drop - sucks, in short - you are all style and no substance, exactly what I have come to expect from a company I used to respect. I can't wait for their shit hardware to die, or the unreplaceable batteries, so I can get a real player. Last Apple product for me ever. Colossal fail.

/rant

FUCKING EH !!!...you're my new hero

[3dot...]

@H20nly.

well, itunes plays music. so it's a music player that.. uhm.. works?

but it's more a music library that can play, than a player that has to rely on some folder-mess.

wake up call...
you need Itunes to manage your music library then you're doomed from the start...

and about the music player that works...I can code a music player that works in about 15 minutes using Java..
play,,,,stop.. fw...bw.... any format...
ffs !

[3dot...]

unlike flac, which nobody cares much about).

[adventurepants_]

Most infuriating POS ever. It is physically impossible to access the hardware (portable hard drive - not magic, lots of people make them) without installing their sluggish crap software iTunes, and it will not install until it is given permission to phone home via the internet! I mean, wtf, I bought the stupid mp3 playing hard drive, and I can't even use the stupid thing until I help Apple with their marketing. Ok, fine, so I open the firewall, and let their crap call home, and then I can install their crap software - but what is this? It's converting my file formats into some fuckin' Apple thing? Without me asking it to? Who the fuck do they think they are, doing that? Fucking retarded! And unless I tie my computer up for hours and hours changing my mp3 audio books into your bullshit audiobook proprietary format, then they get all mixed up with music when in shuffle, total failure in the usability department. Your slow buggy software sucks, your hard to kill spyware sucks, your condescending dumbing down sucks, your unsolicited file conversions suck, your refusal to be what you are - a portable hard drive that should allow me to create folders and use drag and drop - sucks, in short - you are all style and no substance, exactly what I have come to expect from a company I used to respect. I can't wait for their shit hardware to die, or the unreplaceable batteries, so I can get a real player. Last Apple product for me ever. Colossal fail.

/rant

FUCKING EH !!!...you're my new hero

except almost all of the rant is either plain wrong or operator error.

Please do code a better player in 15 minutes, Id love to try it. I keep looking for better jukeboxes but always come back to Itunes. Dont forget the playlist support, Genius database (which is starting to get scarily good) , the podcast manager, the syncing, the lightning quick reductive search, or the iphone remote control support. Your 15 minutes starts........now!

[davepermen]

@H20nly.

well, itunes plays music. so it's a music player that.. uhm.. works?

but it's more a music library that can play, than a player that has to rely on some folder-mess.

wake up call...
you need Itunes to manage your music library then you're doomed from the start...

and about the music player that works...I can code a music player that works in about 15 minutes using Java..
play,,,,stop.. fw...bw.... any format...
ffs !

it's not about need. it's about the non-need to manually mess around with all the stuff anymore. and i'm proud of you being able to get noise out of java in 15 minutes. now get itunes done in 15 minutes and i'm more impressed..

[Martyn]

unlike flac, which nobody cares much about

Because they're too fucking stupid to understand why they should be using it, seriously. It's kind of understandable when you consider how much they've succeeded in locking everybody in to their system though. I really hope people are starting to see the grave error of it all now.

Actually some of the better music stores, like Bleep do offer it as THE lossless option, just not iTunes, (I wonder why that is?)

[davepermen]

unlike flac, which nobody cares much about

Because they're too fucking stupid to understand why they should be using it, seriously..

Actually some of the better music stores, like Bleep do offer it as THE lossless option, just not iTunes, (I wonder why that is?)

as said, because nobody cares.

then again, any lossless format has the same quality (it's lossless, hearhear ). the one apple uses is the one with the default AAC license they already have (and thus the runtime libs as well). why should they implement another format, if one fits the job already perfectly well?

i would have loved to see ogg win over aac, or theora over mpeg4, and flac over aac-uncompressed, etc.. but in the end, what matters is which codecs get understood by the hw. there, ogg, theora, flac completely fail, which is why i don't use any of those anymore.

[Martyn]

i would have loved to see ogg win over aac, or theora over mpeg4, and flac over aac-uncompressed, etc.. but in the end, what matters is which codecs get understood by the hw. there, ogg, theora, flac completely fail, which is why i don't use any of those anymore.

I'm not sure Flac has lost out, most DAWs support it including Ableton, most of the online stores I use and record labels that sell directly use it. I can't say the same of Ogg and Theora tho, unfortunately.

[3dot...]

except almost all of the rant is either plain wrong or operator error.

Please do code a better player in 15 minutes, Id love to try it. I keep looking for better jukeboxes but always come back to Itunes. Dont forget the playlist support, Genius database (which is starting to get scarily good) , the podcast manager, the syncing, the lightning quick reductive search, or the iphone remote control support. Your 15 minutes starts........now!

...yeah right ...pay me... then we'll talk..
btw .. I didn't say I can code a better player...
I was just trying to emphasize.. that a player that 'just works' is any player that 'just works' which are all the media players...
they all 'just work'...but some 'just work' better than others ...
jeez.. you guys are sensitive...
...'genius database' .. pff .. wave of the future eh ?(this is one feature I would never miss)
..playlist support...you've got to be kidding..
..btw.. you can control most players with ANY cell-phone.. ( ever since phones have 'bluetooth')
search ?...built into any os by default...
you should check winamps media library..
funny enough that aside from being more handy at managing/searching...
it's way better for the ipod than itunes..

...and don't forget..
on the new Ipad.. YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SWITCH BACKGROUNDS !!!!
(but not load any apps not ok'd by Apple... )

[davepermen]

i would have loved to see ogg win over aac, or theora over mpeg4, and flac over aac-uncompressed, etc.. but in the end, what matters is which codecs get understood by the hw. there, ogg, theora, flac completely fail, which is why i don't use any of those anymore.

I'm not sure Flac has lost out, most DAWs support it including Ableton, most of the online stores I use and record labels that sell directly use it. I can't say the same of Ogg and Theora tho, unfortunately.

it's easy on a pc to support it. but not on a mobile device. and thus, it will fail for the consumers.