Rant: iTunes? No thanks!

[rattlsnak]

I have windows vista x64 machine and iTunes works great. It works great on every computer in the house actually. That being said, i dont use it that much personally. There isnt a real need to get on it. All of my music is synced over wifi and if i buy a song on my phone/ or ipod it goes directly to all the other devices instantly.

[spuggy]

Originally Posted by BlueSkyJaunte

Seriously, dude? Your geek cred is fading fast.

Top 10 Alternatives to iTunes | iTunes Replacement

LOL. That link says 68% of people voted iTunes was "garbage". Which was what I voted too - stopped using it to manage toons a good while ago. iTunes sucks equidae unmentionables...

And, after several years of grudging respect for 'Doze Media Player (versions 6-9, IIRC), issues with it's library scanning and/or file/tag parsing notwithstanding, I finally concluded that the version you get with Win 7 sucks very, very, badly...

I use Clementine now (mostly on Linux, but there's a 'Doze port) - and I'm a lot, lot, happier... I was briefly happy with MediaMonkey - until I realised it only works on Windows.

I still have my generation 5.5 video iPod with a 240GB Tosh drive and some 30,000 songs - e.g. every CD I ever bought - and the iPods do integrate beautifully with my Alpine digital media head unit for the car.

But if you can prune the collection below 20,000 songs, just use Google music in the car/any web browser...

For working out or general walking around music, I'm quite taken with the Sansa/SanDisk Zip Clip. ARM9E chipset with a high-quality DAC (sound quality is good - especially with Grados or my Shure 201's), tiny, cheap enough (even with a 32 or 64GB microSD card) not to care overmuch if you lose it - I bought mine for $30, manufacturer refurb.

Oh, and as far as sound quality is concerned - I'm not an audiophile, but I use the iPod video because I can hear the difference in the DAC between that and the iPod Classic (generation 6) - later iPods don't have the sound quality of the earlier ones....


Loading songs on the Zip Clip is trivial - as it should be. You just copy them to built-in storage on the unit itself or the SD card, using the file manager of your choice.... It reads the ID3 tags/displays embedded art, supports playlists & list/album/song shuffle. You can even flash Rockbox - but the stock firmware natively supports almost all audio formats, including Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, WMA, and DRM-free AAC.

I don't really care that it supports audiobooks, podcasts, RDS radio, voice recording and has a stopwatch - but someone might

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Quote de jcommin

I try not to feed into the Apple monster. No I-phone (I have a BB), no I-pad (nexus 7) and no iTunes (not for a very long time).

Google is a bigger monster than Apple imho. The reality is you're just picking one borg over another. Oddly enough, of the big 3, MS is probably the least annoying these days, with Apple second and Google in an increasingly scary first place.

Agree. Microsoft seems to be turning into what Apple used to be and Apple is becoming more like what Microsoft used to be. That said, I do love the industrial design of Apple stuff (Microsoft totally stunk here for years but is getting better) and the seamless integration (again, Windows / Micosoft were dreadful here until recently, probably because they realized this was part of the reason Apple was eating their lunch).

Google scares the crap out of me frankly. I deliberately don't use any of their sites or products (other than Google Earth, which I love, and Sketchup, since I need to stay proficient in my field). I deliberately block Google analytics and other sites of theirs with Little Snitch. They (IMHO) epitomize "Big Data" and everything about it that I find offensive. Yea, I made some good money off their stock on the way up a few years ago and I can admire their geek culture, but they have just gotten way, way, way too big and too interested in all of our personal lives in an unsettling, NSA-esque sort of way.

I know Apple profiles like crazy too but I (for whatever reason) am more inclined to trust them than either Google or Microsoft. Maybe I'm just looking backwards but I can't bring myself to consider Microsoft products, probably because they used to be so heavy-handed and monopolistic. Then again, I wouldn't ever consider buying a GM product too, even though they're not the same company as from the 70s and 80s and (like Microsoft) make some darned cool stuff now. I guess I just can't shake those memories of sucky, rust-bucket, rattle-trap, planned-obsolescence GM vehicles and far too many hours of my life wasted under them trying to keep them from disintegrating underneath me.

I have to say the Surface tempted me for a few seconds. Like I said, Microsoft stuff has come a long way. I can't and might not ever get over their past sins. Apple hasn't (yet) done things to sour me on the brand.

[nostatic]

fwiw I don't really have much of an issue with iTunes. I've been using it for years with no serious problems. I just have it as a catch-all for recordings (at this point, mostly my live gigs) and playing over the home stereo via airportExpress.

I had the first Surface and have two other tablet/computers running win8. I just don't get it - seems neither fish nor fowl. Surface 3 looks better and I'd really like to have something I can "write" on as typing can be tough on my hands. But switching just takes too much energy. A system has to get really bad before I'll swap these days. In the past I was more adventurous and it was fun to learn a new OS or way of working. Now - I just want the tech to get the hell out of my way...

Google's entire business model is to sell your habits to advertisers. So of course they are going to extract as much data as they can - and then sell it to the highest bidder. Apple collects info but it is so that they can sell you stuff. One advantage to their walled garden is that is tends to be walled in both directions.

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by nostatic

Google is a bigger monster than Apple imho. The reality is you're just picking one borg over another. Oddly enough, of the big 3, MS is probably the least annoying these days, with Apple second and Google in an increasingly scary first place.

MSFT kind of dorked themselves into irrelevance- definitely the ugly girl at the ball kind of position.

rjp

[jcommin]

Originally Posted by nostatic

Google is a bigger monster than Apple imho. The reality is you're just picking one borg over another. Oddly enough, of the big 3, MS is probably the least annoying these days, with Apple second and Google in an increasingly scary first place.

You are probably right. I just don't get the throngs of folks who line up at the apple store waiting to buy or demo items. A great marketing design I will agree but I just don't see the hype.

[RANDY P]

Originally Posted by jcommin

You are probably right. I just don't get the throngs of folks who line up at the apple store waiting to buy or demo items. A great marketing design I will agree but I just don't see the hype.

I don't understand it either- but I'll extend it to anything that isn't survival related.

I mean, really? This is a "hobby" to some?

rjp

[jcommin]

Google is building a facility in the west loop of Chicago. The bought a vacant cold storage facility. It isn't open yet but the power of Google is changing the neighborhood. The CTA transit system is within walking distance. Google paid for a train stop so their employees have a very short walk. This neighborhood was the meat/fish wholesale district but many are leaving. They are getting premium prices for the real estate. What is going up are residences, restaurants, gyms, bars, etc. Was remains to come is retail and I'm sure it will. There was a beauty to the old neighborhood - the gentrification of the near west side is pushing out the old guard.

[jyl]

Hmm. I don't have any trouble using iTunes. I'm not a power user or trying to do anything too complicated. I do understand why it doesn't handle your photos: because you have iPhoto for that.

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Do iPods still exist?
The iPod was obsolete by 2008 or 2009

The newer Ipod is called the I-touch........Bottom line is the Itouch will do all an Iphone will except be a Phone........BUT, use a Skype, Viber or whatever app and you can make phone calls with a Wi-Fi connection; anywhee in the world.............So, I use mine a lot overseas....At home for listening to music on my MC and Garage w/o the worry of damage or loss of my Iphone........

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by RANDY P

I mean, really? This is a "hobby" to some?
rjp

When I-tunes becomes my Hobby, will someone please just SHOOT ME????????

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by jcommin

Google is building a facility in the west loop of Chicago. The bought a vacant cold storage facility. It isn't open yet but the power of Google is changing the neighborhood. The CTA transit system is within walking distance. Google paid for a train stop so their employees have a very short walk. This neighborhood was the meat/fish wholesale district but many are leaving. They are getting premium prices for the real estate. What is going up are residences, restaurants, gyms, bars, etc. Was remains to come is retail and I'm sure it will. There was a beauty to the old neighborhood - the gentrification of the near west side is pushing out the old guard.

There are a number of articles on what the tech sector (in particular, Google) has done to Silicon Valley and then San Francisco. The same thing is happening here in "Silicon Beach." Google just bought 13 acres adjacent to our building in Playa Vista.

Be afraid...be very afraid.

[techweenie]

If you guys are afraid of 'monster' companies, check out Facebook. I've read that it has the ability to access your computer's microphone and compile background sounds to create data about your media consumption. That means it can also 'hear' conversations, etc. Not that they would ever do that.

I've Been Mugged: Facebook Announced A New Feature Where It Listens And Identifies Music And TV Content

[Nostril Cheese]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Yea, I made some good money off their stock on the way up a few years ago and I can admire their geek culture, but they have just gotten way, way, way too big and too interested in all of our personal lives in an unsettling, NSA-esque sort of way.

Move a little over to the left. Yeah, that shirt looks good on you. The penny loafers have to go though..

[911boost]

I use the free Media Monkey version to manage my digital music of which I have a fair amount.

I can very easily move music to any Apple product with it.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by techweenie

If you guys are afraid of 'monster' companies, check out Facebook. I've read that it has the ability to access your computer's microphone and compile background sounds to create data about your media consumption. That means it can also 'hear' conversations, etc. Not that they would ever do that.

I use a piece of paper and blue tape for the camera on my devices, but going to town with a soldering iron and needle is still not out of the question.

Beeswax seems to be gaseous and free flowing these days with no way of stopping it. Corporations sell violations of privacy to the public as going back to the 'small village' type of culture where everyone knows your name, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Good old henny penny Maude now has been given keys to your house, and you'll find her up in the attic or in the closet or hovering over the dinner table or under your bed.

Facebook privacy is a quintessential Milgram experiment.
People will accept or do anything as increasingly normalized behavior, given the proper conditioning.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by john70t

I use a piece of paper and blue tape for the camera on my devices, but going to town with a soldering iron and needle is still not out of the question.

Beeswax seems to be gaseous and free flowing these days with no way of stopping it. Corporations sell violations of privacy to the public as going back to the 'small village' type of culture where everyone knows your name, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Good old henny penny Maude now has been given keys to your house, and you'll find her up in the attic or in the closet or hovering over the dinner table or under your bed.

Facebook privacy is a quintessential Milgram experiment.
People will accept or do anything as increasingly normalized behavior, given the proper conditioning.

The irony of someone posting personal life details on Facebook then complaining about their privacy is rather thick. It never ceases to amaze me what people will post.

[campbellcj]

For years iTunes has been of the buggiest and quirkiest pieces of software ever unleashed on the masses. Thankfully the current-gen iOS is pretty self-sufficient without needing to dock to a 'puter.

[kang]

More than anything else, iTunes is a full featured, rich, media management database. They call the database your library, but that's just a different word for the same thing. The more features a piece of software has, the more complex it becomes. You can manage content like music, podcasts, books, TV shows, movies, iTunes U courses, etc.

Someone mentioned iTunes as a hobby. I read an article online (sorry can't find it now) about some guy who got totally into that, and added various tags to all the songs in his database, tags like "breathy vocals" or "twangy guitar." He rated all the songs and made sure the metadata (genre, year, artist, etc) was all correct. He could then manage all his music based on these tags.

I don't go that far, but I make sure that genre, album artist and artist are all correct in my database, and make smart play lists based on these.

[tazdev]

Originally Posted by craigster59

All of your base belong to Steve Jobs.

Any MP3 device I get I first look at how to get it to be seen as a flash drive only. I do not need any software to organize my music. That said, the last serious MP3 player I purchased was iRiver.
I also agree, I do not need to get into the walled garden that is Apple.