3 years, 4 months ago
Can I use an Ipod WITHOUT Itunes?
I received an Ipod nano as a gift, and while I appreciate it greatly, it's like this:
I hate Itunes with a fiery passion. In my humble opinion, it has the worst user interface on the planet, and it's buggy as all hell.
But that was my old computer. And now second reason as to why I can't use Itunes is that my new computer is running Windows XP Pro 64-bit, which is not supported by Itunes at all. I couldn't even install it if I wanted to.
I've heard that there are programs out there that allow you to "alter" the ipod and upload files just like a regular USB device, and this would be optimal for me. [Yes I know it voids the warranty, and yes, I don't care if it does.] Does anyone know if this is possible and where I could obtain the means to do it?
I don't really want to hear opinions about the advantages or disadvantages of Itunes, because I need a way around it regardless.
I hate Itunes with a fiery passion. In my humble opinion, it has the worst user interface on the planet, and it's buggy as all hell.
But that was my old computer. And now second reason as to why I can't use Itunes is that my new computer is running Windows XP Pro 64-bit, which is not supported by Itunes at all. I couldn't even install it if I wanted to.
I've heard that there are programs out there that allow you to "alter" the ipod and upload files just like a regular USB device, and this would be optimal for me. [Yes I know it voids the warranty, and yes, I don't care if it does.] Does anyone know if this is possible and where I could obtain the means to do it?
I don't really want to hear opinions about the advantages or disadvantages of Itunes, because I need a way around it regardless.
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M$5 Answers
Winamp has built-in IPod support as of its latest release:
http://www.winamp.com/player
Depending on the firmware version of your IPod, you might also be able to sync using vPod:
http://www.vonnieda.org/software/vpod
Or Floola: http://www.floola.com/modules/wiwimod/
This Wikipedia lists several third-party IPod managers and compares their features: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_iPod_managers
Also check out this lifehacker article:
http://lifehacker.com/237986/hack-attack-add-music-and-movies-to-your-ipod-from-any-computer-without-itunes
http://www.winamp.com/player
Depending on the firmware version of your IPod, you might also be able to sync using vPod:
http://www.vonnieda.org/software/vpod
Or Floola: http://www.floola.com/modules/wiwimod/
This Wikipedia lists several third-party IPod managers and compares their features: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_iPod_managers
Also check out this lifehacker article:
http://lifehacker.com/237986/hack-attack-add-music-and-movies-to-your-ipod-from-any-computer-without-itunes
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Actually, you can use an iPod without iTunes - except the iPod touch. Oh, it might not work on a new nano - I'm not sure of that.
Check out ephpod:
http://www.ephpod.com/
It has been around for a long time, and works quite well.
Another option is to install rockbox on it:
http://www.rockbox.org/
Rockbox isn't simple to configure, but it's a powerful option that is available on many iPods. If yours isn't available yet, keep an eye on it, it'll eventually become available.
Also check this out. You can get an iPod working with Winamp these days. Sure, it's not direct file transfer, but at least you don't need to suffer through the iTunes interface.
http://mlipod.sourceforge.net/
There's another alternative if you don't see the gift giver very often. Sell the iPod, and get yourself a Sansa. It's the best of both worlds. Drag and drop to put files on it, but it uses the id3 tags to organize the music on the player. They don't look fancy or make up playlists for you, but you can get refurbished, expandable models for 1/4 or so the price of an iPod, and, even if they were the same price, they tend to have more useful features, not less (microphone and FM tuner built in, even to the clips, for example). The refurbs can be particularly fantastic deals. You can usually get a 4-8GB e200 series player for $30-40, the newer Fuze is more expensive. Another nice thing is the lack of silly packaging. With the refurb sansas, you don't get anything you don't need - the player, a cable, and the earbuds. Plug it in, and you're off. IMO, just tell the gifter that it's not compatiable with your PC, and you'll need to choose an mp3 player that will work. They should understand that.
Lastly, what are you doing with XP 64 bit? Seriously, try Vista (or grab the Windows 7 beta) - it's much maligned due to some software incompatability issues and being a resource hog, but otherwise is stable and secure.
Check out ephpod:
http://www.ephpod.com/
It has been around for a long time, and works quite well.
Another option is to install rockbox on it:
http://www.rockbox.org/
Rockbox isn't simple to configure, but it's a powerful option that is available on many iPods. If yours isn't available yet, keep an eye on it, it'll eventually become available.
Also check this out. You can get an iPod working with Winamp these days. Sure, it's not direct file transfer, but at least you don't need to suffer through the iTunes interface.
http://mlipod.sourceforge.net/
There's another alternative if you don't see the gift giver very often. Sell the iPod, and get yourself a Sansa. It's the best of both worlds. Drag and drop to put files on it, but it uses the id3 tags to organize the music on the player. They don't look fancy or make up playlists for you, but you can get refurbished, expandable models for 1/4 or so the price of an iPod, and, even if they were the same price, they tend to have more useful features, not less (microphone and FM tuner built in, even to the clips, for example). The refurbs can be particularly fantastic deals. You can usually get a 4-8GB e200 series player for $30-40, the newer Fuze is more expensive. Another nice thing is the lack of silly packaging. With the refurb sansas, you don't get anything you don't need - the player, a cable, and the earbuds. Plug it in, and you're off. IMO, just tell the gifter that it's not compatiable with your PC, and you'll need to choose an mp3 player that will work. They should understand that.
Lastly, what are you doing with XP 64 bit? Seriously, try Vista (or grab the Windows 7 beta) - it's much maligned due to some software incompatability issues and being a resource hog, but otherwise is stable and secure.
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M$
The truth is there actually are ways to get music on your iPod without iTunes.
There are hacks to be able to do it. See the link below.
I am scared of them despite the success that people (including my brothers) have said they have had with it. It's up to you if you even want to try it. I don't suggest it. I'd just use iTunes, however much you hate it.
Try out the automatic sync process that iTunes has. It makes life a lot easier if you only get music from one computer. If not, do it manually by dragging and dropping.
And trust me, I hate it too. I keep making parts of it not start when my computer starts, like iTunes helper and other parts, and they still come up. I've stopped them through iTunes, through other software, manually, etc, and things still come up during startup.
There are hacks to be able to do it. See the link below.
I am scared of them despite the success that people (including my brothers) have said they have had with it. It's up to you if you even want to try it. I don't suggest it. I'd just use iTunes, however much you hate it.
Try out the automatic sync process that iTunes has. It makes life a lot easier if you only get music from one computer. If not, do it manually by dragging and dropping.
And trust me, I hate it too. I keep making parts of it not start when my computer starts, like iTunes helper and other parts, and they still come up. I've stopped them through iTunes, through other software, manually, etc, and things still come up during startup.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Yes, you can use Songbird, which is relatively new!
From the Lifehacker annoucement December 2 2008: "The default installation also suggests installing a new add-on (new in the sense that it wasn't suggested in the release candidate I tested) called QuickTime Playback that supports playing back music you've purchased from the iTunes Music Store—a killer feature that, in conjunction with the iPod sync add-on, would allow even the hardcore iTunes user to switch.
If you want a closer look at what you can do with Songbird and what sets it apart from your stock media player, check out our previous screenshot tour and Songbird's demo screencasts. Whether you're a regular Songbird user or you're trying it out for the first time today, share your Songbird experience in the comments."
From the Lifehacker annoucement December 2 2008: "The default installation also suggests installing a new add-on (new in the sense that it wasn't suggested in the release candidate I tested) called QuickTime Playback that supports playing back music you've purchased from the iTunes Music Store—a killer feature that, in conjunction with the iPod sync add-on, would allow even the hardcore iTunes user to switch.
If you want a closer look at what you can do with Songbird and what sets it apart from your stock media player, check out our previous screenshot tour and Songbird's demo screencasts. Whether you're a regular Songbird user or you're trying it out for the first time today, share your Songbird experience in the comments."
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Short answer: no.
You cannot listen to music on an Ipod without using itunes to load the music on it. There are probably some 3rd party applications that you can use to get around using itunes, but unlike many other mp3 players, Ipod's work on a database instead of a mp3-file type player.
The advantages of the database approach that ipod+itunes uses, is that you can sort and filter your music by any number of paramters like artist, album, genre, decade, keywords, ratings, playcount, etc, etc automatically and on the fly. With the mp3-file based approach, you have to manually generate playlists, and you cannot sort on-the-fly. also itunes has a "smart playlist" feature that will automatically generate playlists based on parameters like ratings, and playcounts.
The disadvantages is that you need a desktop application database manager like itunes to manage your music, instead of the old-traditional file-manager method.
Personally I think the database way is much more useful. It allows you to see more, and do more.
You cannot listen to music on an Ipod without using itunes to load the music on it. There are probably some 3rd party applications that you can use to get around using itunes, but unlike many other mp3 players, Ipod's work on a database instead of a mp3-file type player.
The advantages of the database approach that ipod+itunes uses, is that you can sort and filter your music by any number of paramters like artist, album, genre, decade, keywords, ratings, playcount, etc, etc automatically and on the fly. With the mp3-file based approach, you have to manually generate playlists, and you cannot sort on-the-fly. also itunes has a "smart playlist" feature that will automatically generate playlists based on parameters like ratings, and playcounts.
The disadvantages is that you need a desktop application database manager like itunes to manage your music, instead of the old-traditional file-manager method.
Personally I think the database way is much more useful. It allows you to see more, and do more.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Floola or Winamp looks like my best bet. Thanks!