Topic: I hate iTunes

[gbuell]

Not everyone likes how iTunes chooses to organize their music.  I have a very specific organizational structure to my music that is totally different than what iTunes uses.  Some people like to actually have some measure of control over their computing experience, but that goes against the Apple philosophy.  It is not like it is hard to have a media player that keeps track of changes in your music, lots of other developers have done it (in fact I would say it is pretty much a standard feature of modern media players).  So it is a perfectly legitimate complaint.

I never suggested that no one should want to organize their music differently from how iTunes does it. That's fine, and if that's the case, iTunes might not be the program for you! But what EasyCure is wanting to do IS something that iTunes can do automatically.


Anyway, it's really disingenuous to suggest that using Apple software means having no control over your computing experience. iTunes is scriptable, after all, and Mac OS X in general is endlessly hackable/customizable. If people don't do it as much as they do it to Windows, it's more likely that it's because they're happier with the default Mac OS X experience than the default Windows experience. At least, that's been my experience in using the two platforms.

[vudu]

vudu, did you try unchecking "Manually manage music", and then going to the Podcast tab and making sure no podcasts are checked?

I don't subscribe to any podcasts through iTunes--I download them manually and then add them manually.

[Stogi]

I didn't read any of the previous posts but I would still say that you should just use MediaMonkey. It'll play anything and everything you throw at it. It syncs with ipods and iphones and even allows you to customize how the songs are automatically converted just in case they aren't a file an ipod can play. It allows you to stream podcasts and regularly updates (everytime you open it, it'll check). It also has Last.FM built right into which is perfect for parties. Oh and speaking of parties, it has a "Party Mode" which locks people from changing the song. They can still suggest something by double clicking it and it'll show up in a suggestion box. Oh and it also has the best visualizer in the business, not to mention you can design the look of it in anyway you want.

Just take a look at mine.



I made that background (or at least leveled and cropped it)

[NWR_insanolord]

Not everyone likes how iTunes chooses to organize their music.  I have a very specific organizational structure to my music that is totally different than what iTunes uses.  Some people like to actually have some measure of control over their computing experience, but that goes against the Apple philosophy.  It is not like it is hard to have a media player that keeps track of changes in your music, lots of other developers have done it (in fact I would say it is pretty much a standard feature of modern media players).  So it is a perfectly legitimate complaint.

I never suggested that no one should want to organize their music differently from how iTunes does it. That's fine, and if that's the case, iTunes might not be the program for you! But what EasyCure is wanting to do IS something that iTunes can do automatically.


Anyway, it's really disingenuous to suggest that using Apple software means having no control over your computing experience. iTunes is scriptable, after all, and Mac OS X in general is endlessly hackable/customizable. If people don't do it as much as they do it to Windows, it's more likely that it's because they're happier with the default Mac OS X experience than the default Windows experience. At least, that's been my experience in using the two platforms.

Yeah, all this "Apple controls everything and you can't customize it to your needs" stuff reeks of people who aren't at all familiar with OS X. I don't think iTunes is scriptable in Windows, though; it's done through AppleScript in OS X and from what I understand Apple never bothered to adapt it for a Windows-compatible scripting language.

[gbuell]

I don't think iTunes is scriptable in Windows, though; it's done through AppleScript in OS X and from what I understand Apple never bothered to adapt it for a Windows-compatible scripting language.

Oh good point, I didn't think about that.

vudu, what about the Music tab on the top of the iPod summary window? Can you click that and make sure nothing is syncing there? If nothing is set up to sync, try actually selecting some other things to sync (if you have any in your library), syncing your iPod up, and then going back and unchecking all the sync options, and syncing a second time to remove everything. That might flush your system out. If that won't work, what about restoring the iPod?
vudu, so the podcast in question is showing up in the "Music" section of your library instead of the "Podcast" section?

[vudu]

vudu, so the podcast in question is showing up in the "Music" section of your library instead of the "Podcast" section?

It's not a problem with my library--it's a problem with my iPod.  I don't have a podcast section under my iPod (in iTunes) and it's not showing up in the music section.  As far as iTunes knows the podcast isn't on my iPod at all!

I've determined that the problem is caused by podcasts edited with Audacity.  RFN usually doesn't show show up because that's what Greg uses to edit the podcast.  But when Karl edits them using Garageband it shows up just fine in iTunes.  It's the same way with Newscast--all episodes before #12 won't show up in iTunes but when Andy switched to Garageband for episode 12 and beyond they appear just fine.

It's really weird.

[NWR_insanolord]

Which version are you using, MP3 or AAC? Have you tried using the other one?

[vudu]

AAC.  I prefer it to MP3 because when I charge my iPod halfway through a podcast it restarts from the beginning on MP3 files but not on AAC files.  Very annoying on a 2-hour podcast.

[NWR_insanolord]

I'm pretty sure you can get any file to start where you last stopped it, it's just on by default in the AAC version. There should be a checkbox in the Get Info window that lets you toggle that on or off.

edit: It's in the options tab; "Remember playback position," at least in the Mac version.

[Stratos]

I didn't change the settings and my mp3 podcasts still start where I stop them.

[NWR_insanolord]

I didn't change the settings and my mp3 podcasts still start where I stop them.

If you download them through iTunes and they show up in the Podcasts section they'll do that regardless of what format they're in.

[gbuell]

I don't have a podcast section under my iPod (in iTunes) and it's not showing up in the music section.

I realize you don't have a podcast section in your iPod on the sidebar to the left, but does anything show up when you click the Podcast TAB on the top of the iPod summary window? I know you have a Podcast tab up there because I see it in your screenshots.

[vudu]

Nope--nothing shows up there.

[gbuell]

Did you restore the iPod?

[vudu]

Did you restore the iPod?

All the time, but that has nothing to do with this.  The Podcasts section of my library is empty because I don't subscribe to any podcasts via iTunes.

[gbuell]

Restoring your iPod isn't clearing your iPod's hard drive?

[vudu]

Restoring my iPod clears my iPod's memory.

I'm sorry--I guess I don't understand the question; what does restoring my iPod have to do with my empty podcast section in my library?

[D_Average]

MediaMonkey huh?  Looks interesting.  Downloading now.  You buy the gold version, or is the free one sufficient?

[gbuell]

Restoring my iPod clears my iPod's memory.

I'm sorry--I guess I don't understand the question; what does restoring my iPod have to do with my empty podcast section in my library?

Maybe I'm not understanding your problem. Your iPod has space being used up by a podcast but you can't see the podcast listed on the iPod, so you can't delete it, right? Your goal is to get rid of the podcast and reclaim the space, right? So wouldn't restoring the iPod clear the iPod's memory, thus getting rid of that podcast that is using up space?

[vudu]

That's my exact problem.  Well, sorta.  The real problem is this happens with all RFN podcasts, so I have to restore my iPod every single week if I want to remove an episode after I've heard it.  It's annoying and time consuming.

[TJ Spyke]

Why not try just subscribing to RFN? It's usually available within 30 minutes of going up on the site, so time really isn't a issue and it might solve your problem.

[gbuell]

Yeah, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, PROBLEM SOLVED.

[vudu]

What part of I hate iTunes don't you guys understand?  I subscribe to podcasts through my RSS reader for a reason.

[gbuell]

What part of I hate iTunes don't you guys understand?

The part where you hate iTunes for an easily fixable problem, and refusing to fix the problem is what makes the problem worse.


I'd really love to hear how subscribing to the podcast through an RSS reader benefits you.