Apple Plans End of iTunes • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple Plans End of iTunes

#161

Post by scarface74 » Sat, Jun 01, 2019, 10:57 AM UTC

manigandham wrote: post #157

scarface74 wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where are these smart folders in native Windows? The closest I see is a “saved searched” and this is really more obtuse than creating a playlist.

Windows 10 calls them Libraries. Open your explorer and it's in the left sidebar. You can create new ones to group files and folders together regardless of where they physically reside. They are already used by Windows to provide the major Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, etc. locations.

So this is what you’re going to have to tell users to do to enable them in Windows 10.

https://windowsreport.com/enable-libraries-windows-10-file-e...

And another how to article.

https://windowsreport.com/enable-libraries-windows-10-file-e...

This is why geeks end up designing Homermobile type solutions and wonder why the common person is confused.

Re: Apple Plans End of iTunes

#162

Post by tomjen3 » Sat, Jun 01, 2019, 11:12 AM UTC

mrgalaxy wrote: post #7

> Apple has pushed the iPad as a laptop replacement for years. But many pro users have noted that while the hardware is capable enough, the software is still behind. As other HN users have noted in the past, until Apple gives me access to a terminal where I can run the command line tools required for my work, I have absolutely zero interest in replacing my laptop with an iPad.

I have tried every variation of new laptops/phones/etc I have come to the conclusion that anything which doesn't have a full physical keyboard is a consumption device. That is not necessarily a bad thing (you can consume excellent learning material, for example) but it will preclude it from ever being useful for work.

You can certainly attach a bluetooth keyboard to an iPad (I did so yesterday) and then they are pretty good for writting emails, but they are annoying to carry and a thin laptop is much better.

Re: Apple Plans End of iTunes

#163

Post by patrickk » Sat, Jun 01, 2019, 12:09 PM UTC

BigJono wrote: post #153

arafa wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems interesting, especially since I used to use Rockbox. But my iPod Classic/6G is in the Rockbox unstable category and has apparently been that way for 2 years. Bummer, I still use mine all the time. :(

I've been using Foobar2000 with some iPod plugin to sync my iPod classic for as long as I can remember. It's never failed me yet. That could be another option.

Which plugin?

I've been trying to break free from iTunes with a modded 5.5 gen, but Rockbox caused endless errors where non-corrupted songs would skip constantly(1). Wiped back to the default Apple firmware, and voila, no skipping. I tried an iPod plugin for Musicbee, and it appeared to work (files were syncing in Musicbee) but the songs and playlists didn't appear on the iPod. So back to iTunes sadly. I'd love to kick it to the curb.

(1) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19712077

Re: Apple Plans End of iTunes

#164

Post by kalleboo » Sat, Jun 01, 2019, 1:25 PM UTC

jrochkind1 wrote: post #76

Hm, I wonder if I'll still be able to sync music and podcasts to my iPod. My 10-plus-year-old iPod is rock solid technology, hardware and software, just keeps on working. At this point it feels like some retro SF alternate vision of the future we could have had, with simple easy to use things that never broke.

If this does turn out to be a rewrite, I assume they’ll handle it like the iPhoto -> Photos transition, where if you already had iPhoto you could keep using it (supposedly iPhoto still works on Mojave), it just won’t get updated.

Re: Apple Plans End of iTunes

#165

Post by asveikau » Sat, Jun 01, 2019, 4:14 PM UTC

scarface74 wrote: post #160

asveikau wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You want normal people to use hard links? You miss the point with this question. A media player managing playlists certainly can. Or it can manage m3u files. Or it can put them in an sqlite db. Or ... You posed as an intractable problem unless we adopt iTunes thinking.

What magical thing do you think iTunes is doing besides managing playlists and syncing?

When you hand it a file, it copies it according to its naming scheme and hierarchy.

Re: Apple Plans End of iTunes

#166

Post by asveikau » Sat, Jun 01, 2019, 4:16 PM UTC

klodolph wrote: post #125

asveikau wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you may be envisioning two extremes when the parent comment wants a happy medium. I.e. files on disk in any way the customer wants, but add a db on the side to do things like play counts and tags. With reasonable defaults for most people who don't care about filesystem layout.

> files on disk in any way the customer wants, but add a db on the side to do things like play counts and tags Literally iTunes does this, by default, without changing its configuration.

When you open a file, it copies it, renaming it in the process.

You can manage the files yourself and point it at that, but the default, eg. if you choose to open a file from any old place, is to copy into its own naming and organization scheme.

Re: Apple Plans End of iTunes

#167

Post by thirdsun » Sat, Jun 01, 2019, 4:21 PM UTC

kvark wrote: post #8

nategri wrote: post #5

I remember when iTunes came out for Windows ca. 2003. I had friends with Macs so I leapt at the chance to try it for myself---it just seemed lightyears ahead of whatever I was using to interface with my music library at the time (Winamp, probably). And what a long, slow, weird, decline it's been since then.

Minority here, I never understood why music players shifted towards iTune-ish style of owning and re-categorizing everything in their own way... I mean, OS has a file system, why not just rely on it? Throw some searchable tags in, and you get the same abilities but without obscurity.

I consider myself a huge music collector/enthusiast that maintains a carefully organized collection and the file system is way too limited to handle anything but the most simple music organization and browsing tasks. I’d go as far as far as suggesting that relying on the file system is a rather casual way of handling a music collection.

iTunes brought library management and meta data editing to the masses, which is a good thing. While Roon is my main player/management software I still use iTunes to sync to iOS devices. Of course I won’t let iTunes move any files - there’s an option that tells iTunes not to move anything. So you could actually have it both ways: Use your preferred file structure and benefit from proper library management software.

Re: Apple Plans End of iTunes

#168

Post by thirdsun » Sat, Jun 01, 2019, 5:43 PM UTC

kvark wrote: post #145

klodolph wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are you asking for, specifically? iTunes lets you organize music how you want on the filesystem, or you can let it organize the music for you. The only thing it doesn't do is present a view of the filesystem, but the Finder already has that.

I guess what I'm missing is just system-standard metadata format, like the one BeFS featured back in the day.

But there is a standard for tagging audio data and iTunes uses it, just like any other half decent audio player / music management software. As long as your meta data is clean your library should present in a very consistent way between different players.

Re: Apple Plans End of iTunes

#169

Post by thirdsun » Sat, Jun 01, 2019, 6:14 PM UTC

madengr wrote: post #45

Will I still be able to rip CDs and put them on my phone? Yes, I’m old fashioned and still only purchase on CD.

Just use XLD to rip CDs. Since there isn’t any Mac with a disc drive left I don’t see this being migrated to the new app.

Re: Apple Plans End of iTunes

#170

Post by RickS » Sat, Jun 01, 2019, 6:17 PM UTC

erikpukinskis wrote: post #154

RickS wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work on cross platform design for a fortune 500. We keep our eye on this kind of thing. In conversation, the consensus among my peers was that the separation between iOS and OSX is destined to be impermanent. Phones are becoming more complex, and more integral to our every routine. But more significantly, they're raising a new generation of digital natives that have different expectations about UI and its scale, de…

I see a conversational, transactional OS leading the way to the next generation of UIs. No more cockpits. Not sure Apple has laid any groundwork for that. Amazon is positioned.

> conversational, transactional OS

Can you talk more about this? Conversational as in "voice/nonphysical primary input"? or "user offers abstract intent and computer sorts it out" instead of "user negotiates with computer via GUI", both, more?

What's Amazon done here that positions them well?