iTunes, iPod and Linux?

[theniteowl]

Hi All,
I have my step-son using a laptop running Linux.
He just bought himself an iPod and I am looking for suggestions/information on using the iPod under Linux.

I know if I were to purchase Crossover Office I could run the Windows version of the software but am looking for alternatives.

Is iTunes required to be able to add/remove files from the iPod or can this be done with other available applications or just copying directly to the device?
My hope is that iTunes is only required if you are purchasing songs from Apple's online store but that managing the device can be done in other ways.

I have seen some info on PyMusique but do not know how dated it is or what is involved. There was a reference to compiling files before using it.
I am a Linux newbie and learning as I go. The easier the solution the better of course but if I know the basics of what has to be done I can figure out how to do them. Many places I have read though assume knowledge I have not yet obtained and do not even hint at the steps to a process once assumed even enough to give me an idea of what I have to research first. *Sigh*

I am running the latest free release of Xandros. Crossover Office came with it but is a limited 30 day trial and I would rather find true Linux solutions anyway.

Thanks.

At my age I still learn something new every day, but I forget two others.

 

[r0gerc]

I don't know much about iPods, but have you tried just plugging it in and seeing if it is recognised as an external drive? If it is recognised, try copying an mp3 (or whatever format it needs) and see if you can play it. I don't know how it will handle digital licences if you do it that way though.

 

[theniteowl]

It has not arrived yet so I cannot test.
I was under the impression that it would only work with iTunes software but do not know for sure.
In any event, it would still be good to find a Linux based iTunes alternative to take full advantage of the device.

At my age I still learn something new every day, but I forget two others.

 

[AdaHacker]

My wife got an iPod for Christmas, so I've actually been researching this a bit myself.

An iPod will be recognized as a USB mass storage device on any modern distribution. However, you don't really want to just copy files to it, because the iPod keeps an internal database for file metadata, along with various other things. Thus it's best to use a client program that updates this database while copying the files.

There are a number of such programs available on Linux. Amarok has an iPod integration feature that allows you to easily copy media from your playlist to your iPod. There's also GTKPod, which handles syncing an iPod and a PC. I believe there are a few others, but those are the only two I've tried so far.

As far as the iTunes store goes, you're on your own. At one time, PyMusique could download non-DRM protected media from iTunes, but then it turned into a war with Apple plugging holes and the programmers hacking around them. I don't know where things ultimately landed.

 

[theniteowl]

It does not look like it will be a simple thing to implement. I have been reading about GTKPod and it sounds quite nice but requires a lot of configuration to get things running right.
I can see my step-son unplugging the device without first unmounting it and causing problems. And the first method mentioned for unmounting is issuing a command line to do it.
Apparently GTKPod can take care of it my setting commands to execute when the app is closed but it is still a lot of manual configuration and I do not yet have enough experience to do it all and not enough time to get the experience. Was kind of hoping others would come out and say "Oh yeah, try out such n such it takes care of it all for ya."
It's not that I am lazy, it's just that work comes before play and there aint no end to the work I have to do at home. If I could find a way to make learning Linux part of my JOB things would be golden.


At my age I still learn something new every day, but I forget two others.

 

[pentode]

I suspect the iTunes store will be a problem. The iPod is designed to interface ONLY with iTunes software for managing the music files on the iPod. Anything else is a hack. Even using an iPod on iTunes for Windows can be a bit dicey.

You can probably get the iPod to sync with GTKPod or other software, but that isn't going to get you into the iTunes store, I don't think.

The iPod can be configured to also store normal files, as an external hard drive. But I don't think you can play music files that are stored as data files on the iPod.

DRM is an integral part of iTunes and the ITunes Store.

Of course, a new Mac laptop would solve your problem

 

[Changlinn]

problem is on windows if it is unplugged without doing the eject device procedure the same damage could be caused as not un-mounting in linux. I have used a colleuges ipod on linux and amarok with no problems.

 

[tazuk]

There's a fairly detailed how to here, along with a discussion (it's 18 pages and I haven't read it all ).

Hope it's of some use.

TazUk

Programmer An organism that turns coffee into software.
Unknown Author

 

[chipperMDW]

I did a search for "ipod" in pacakges available for Debian and found the following that look like applications with some degree of iPod support:

amarok - versatile and easy to use audio player for KDE
banshee - Audio Management and Playback application
gnupod-tools - command-line tools for the iPod family of portable music players
gtkpod - manage songs and playlists on an Apple iPod
ipod - tool for retrieving informations from iPods
listen - A nice music player and manager for GNOME
rhythmbox - music player and organizer for GNOME

Sounds like you knew about some of those, but maybe there's some new ones to check out, too.

 

[stevexff]

http://ipodlinux.org

is a project to actually run Linux on your iPod. Whether this gets over any issues you might have with proprietary software is debatable - I haven't tried it.

Might be fun to try though, after all you can always reload Apple's firmware at any time...

Steve

[small]"Every program can be reduced by one instruction, and every program has at least one bug. Therefore, any program can be reduced to one instruction which doesn't work." (Object:erlDesignPatterns)[/small]

 

[doggammit76]

I actually plugged in an iPod nano into my linux box and Rythmbox pops up.

Looking at its fundamental usage of the software and how it interfaces with the device, I would say that its the closest thing one could have for iTunes on Linux. Music management works really similar to iTunes (drag/drop onto listed device), remove device and info etc.

Of course, if the app isn't installed proper, it probably wont communicate properly with the device. I was on ubuntu 6.10 and rythmbox was a default app.

Amarok works for me once on my KDE installation, but I have since upgraded and it screwed up after. Didn't bother to fix it.

Hope this helps...Good luck!

 

[Grenage]

I use Ubuntu, after reading this I plugged in my ipod to see what would happen. An ipod icon appeared on the desktop, and opening that up displayed the contents, the contents of my MP3 store and a basic itunes clone interface for tranfer!

It#s quite impressive, really.

Carlsberg don't run I.T departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.

 

[chrissie1]

But then you are quickly impressed. Wait untill beryl makes a 3d representation of your ipod and it's contents and turns it into an iPhone.

Why can't we have iLinux or iWindows?

Christiaan Baes
Belgium

"My new site" - Me

 

[jstreich]

I've always thought iPod's were overrated... That said, I have another idea... wine and iTunes. Anyone try it? I imagine it would work for playing, but I don't know if it'd be able to sync the way it's supposed to. Another option is VMWare server (free as in beer, not as in freedom), but it's overhead would most likely be just too much.

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http://game-master.us/phpx-3.4.0/

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