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How iTunes Is Changing on PC

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Re: How iTunes Is Changing on PC

#311

Post by lern_too_spel »

dangus wrote: post #300
NoPedantsThanks wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple's fear of proper I/O strikes again. Forcing customers to use a shitty JUKEBOX app to manage all the content (including applications) on a handheld Unix computer was embarrassing on day one. But after a decade... and then more... it's offensive to those customers. Now they made the already-shambolic Windows situation even worse. It's bad enough on Mac, where the videos you shot yourself inexplicably wind up in t…

This isn’t embarrassing. Apple is supporting their “older way” of doing things for longer than anyone else. The fact that they let you do via cable so many things that their competitors have deprecated entirely or moved to cloud is commendable. These apps all still support iPods as well. Tell me how to buy an album from Google and have it automatically sync to your iPhone when it’s plugged in to the computer. No clou…

The APIs for doing these things are open on Android. You do not need to rely on Google for the software, meaning the options are better than the single broken option that Apple provides. You can use syncthing for p2p sync over the Internet or adb sync over the cable or even rsync and all the tools built on top.

Also, Google doesn't sell albums, but you can buy music from Amazon or any other store you like and have good sync support instead of being limited to iTunes.

Re: How iTunes Is Changing on PC

#312

Post by KANahas »

swasheck wrote: post #129
SigmundurM wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could Cider[1] be what you're looking for? It's basically a open source frontend for Apple Music that works on Linux and Windows. It's what I use to listen to my Apple Music songs on Linux, and it's amazing. [1]: https://cider.sh/

i wanted to love cider but it seemed like every other day i had to log back into the application and do the whole apple 2fa dance

They ground up rebuilt it a while back and it seems like they’ve fixed that issue.

Re: How iTunes Is Changing on PC

#313

Post by lern_too_spel »

burntwater wrote: post #299
donatj wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If Android weren't so awful What's so awful about Android? When was the last time you used it. I use both regularly and frankly find a lot of what Android does these days better . Heck, Apple Music on Android is even my Music app of choice.

I've switched back and fourth multiple times. After about 10 years on Android I recently switched back to iPhone for one feature and one feature only - its integrations with hearing aids. In every other way I can think of, I find Android so much better. I remember having the same reaction when I switched 10 years ago too. Well, I switched for another reason - I've had three Pixel phones, and all three phones had hard…

Android 14 added hearing aid support.

I'm with you on Google's hardware being just awful, but though iPhone hardware is better, the software makes it nigh unusable, and without at least another decade of regulatory action, Apple won't allow me to replace the bits I don't like with better software.

Re: How iTunes Is Changing on PC

#314

Post by sngz »

mplewis wrote: post #281
jamesrr39 wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If Android weren't so awful Just curious, what is it that people don't like about Android?

Consistency of user experience. Reliable security updates for old devices that still function. Heavy integration with the Google spyware ecosystem. Poor CPU performance and battery life. Low-quality peripherals such as cameras. Manufacturer defects in Google-branded devices.

> Consistency of user experience.

like how the back gesture works on iphones across generation and apps?

> Reliable security updates for old devices that still function

7 years of update isn't long enough?

> Heavy integration with the Google spyware ecosystem

last I checked iOS is closed source. Run your own OS or just don't use google apps. I bet most people are using gmail and google maps on their iphones too.

> Poor CPU performance and battery life.

compared to which android phone? and is this before or after apple throttles your iphone?

> Low-quality peripherals such as cameras

flag ship androids consistently have better camera hardware compared to iphones, iphone just makes it up with better camera software. You could go the sony route if you don't live in the U.S. to get a better overall camera focused phone.

> Manufacturer defects in Google-branded device

good thing you have options in android ecosystem.

Re: How iTunes Is Changing on PC

#315

Post by missjellyfish »

yurishimo wrote: post #55
missjellyfish wrote: post #15

I like how they fail to mention that the Apple Music App on Windows is hot garbage riddled with bugs. A few weeks ago they broke reordering of upcoming songs, the "play next" feature and I don't know what else. I have submitted bug reports with exact steps, reproducible on at least two accounts on five different conmputers. Haven't heared back, doubt I'll ever will. Anyone can recommend a streaming service that isn't…

Cider[0] is a client I've seen for Apple Music. It seems to have pretty good reviews. It is paid software, but it's a one time purchase of $4. Worth a shot! 0: https://cider.sh/

Wow, thank you. Of all things I considered happening when posting my snarky winamp remark this was not something I expected. Will check that out.

Re: How iTunes Is Changing on PC

#316

Post by missjellyfish »

trashface wrote: post #179
bni wrote: post #78

It's strange that Apple keep this Windows software around. Is there really a lot of people on Windows that actually use this?

I do, although I use an older version. I used it to play the local music files I've accumulated over the years (I don't always sub for spotify and it doesn't actually have a lot of that stuff anyway). Even on win10, windows media player is still garbage. iTunes has the column browser which, although disabled by default, is superior for navigation. Its also better for editing file metadata and managing playlists. You…

Give MediaMonkey a shot. If you play local files, it’s the best player I ever had the pleasure to use.

Re: How iTunes Is Changing on PC

#317

Post by dangus »

lern_too_spel wrote: post #311
dangus wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn’t embarrassing. Apple is supporting their “older way” of doing things for longer than anyone else. The fact that they let you do via cable so many things that their competitors have deprecated entirely or moved to cloud is commendable. These apps all still support iPods as well. Tell me how to buy an album from Google and have it automatically sync to your iPhone when it’s plugged in to the computer. No clou…

The APIs for doing these things are open on Android. You do not need to rely on Google for the software, meaning the options are better than the single broken option that Apple provides. You can use syncthing for p2p sync over the Internet or adb sync over the cable or even rsync and all the tools built on top. Also, Google doesn't sell albums, but you can buy music from Amazon or any other store you like and have go…

I’m also pretty sure that syncthing won’t help you with local full device backups and restores right? Isn’t the only way to do that to turn on developer options and use adb or another program that interacts with adb to backup? Google doesn’t even intend the user to do that judging by the way it’s hidden behind developer options, their only full device backup solution is cloud based.

So the question here is “how does Grandma sync content and make full device backups without the cloud?”

It sounds like Google’s option is to implement it yourself. You’ve got to go out and find the right software for your needs and none of it is made by Google.

For full device backups you have to be well-informed enough to enable Android debugging (which, again, is a developer feature and is labeled as such), or to get a third party program like syncthing/rsync. You have to build your sync stack on your own without Google’s help.

That DIY situation fine for a lot of people and it is true that it’s more powerful and open than what Apple gives you. But Apple is selling you a solution that is much more friendly to the average person and represents a complete solution without relying on third party software.

I can tell a 70 year old who refuses to use the cloud how to plug their iPhone into a Mac or PC and take a regular backup without needing to put their data on a cloud. On the Mac you don’t even have to install software, and on the PC the software comes from Apple directly. I don’t have to explain how to tap the build number seven times to enable developer options.

Re: How iTunes Is Changing on PC

#318

Post by iggldiggl »

M4v3R wrote: post #167
karaterobot wrote: post #83

Has iTunes on Windows ever been good? I think I tried it in 2003-4, and it was garbage then, so I uninstalled it. In the intervening 20 years, I've never heard anyone say "it's good now!", so I never re-installed it. I assumed that if you were a dedicated Windows user, you just wouldn't use iTunes, and if you weren't a dedicated Windows user but loved your iPhone, you'd do what Apple wanted you to do in the first pla…

I have a friend who never used a Mac nor an iPhone, but he owned an iPod and so installed iTunes years ago and used it to manage his entire music library, and continues to do so to this day. I'm sure he's probably an outlier but Windows iTunes users do exist :)

> I have a friend who never used a Mac nor an iPhone, but he owned an iPod and so installed iTunes years ago and used it to manage his entire music library, and continues to do so to this day.

Same here. I eventually replaced my iPod with an Android phone, but found a software combo that allowed you to sync your iTunes library to your phone just as easily, and also enable reverse syncing of ratings and playback counts. Sadly those apps have been sold to some company that's trying to turn them into cash grabs, but at least for now the old versions keep working for me, even on my new phone and Android 14 (albeit with some tweaking that's rather requires a rooted phone).

The advantage of iTunes is that it's perfect for also managing my collection of radio comedy, because you can easily re-classify manually imported files to be treated as podcasts, which makes for a nice UX (podcasts remember their playback position, and podcast apps track which episodes you've already listened to and which are still unlistened). Most other podcast apps don't allow manual file management, so I'd have to set up fake podcast feeds for my local files otherwise, which would definitely be a hassle.

Re: How iTunes Is Changing on PC

#319

Post by iggldiggl »

Supernaut wrote: post #160
yenwodyah wrote: post #136

> If you don’t install Apple Music or Apple TV, you can continue to use iTunes for all your media. … so why would I install either of those? What’s actually changing if I only have iTunes installed?

This. I've got iTunes 12.13 installed on my PC and everything works in exactly the same way that it always has.

The interesting thing is – what will happen in the future? Will they continue maintaining the parts of iTunes that are now being duplicated by the Apple Music app?

This being Windows, at least you're not being forced to immediately upgrade like it happens on a Mac (where those things are seemingly tied to your version of macOS) and in the case of eventual breakage can continue using a previous version indefinitely, but that leads to the next question – on the off chance that you do want to use the iTunes store, too, how long will that keep working with old iTunes versions?

Re: How iTunes Is Changing on PC

#320

Post by iggldiggl »

sleepybrett wrote: post #193
chrisjj wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the problem with using one app for all audio files? I don't see why a user should be forced to use different apps depending on the type of the audio content.

Because there are specialization that are important. Longer form audio generally requires a more robust set of controls for chapters, audio playback speed, timed skips and resume than a bog standard audio player. Not to mention that a podcast player is going to need functionality for finding new podcasts, displaying information both at a podcast level and individual episode level, providing some kind of way to 'subsc…

My problem is – certain features of podcast apps (like tracking of your playback position and tracking of listened/unlistened episodes) are also very useful for my collection of radio comedy. That collection however mostly doesn't come from actual podcasts, but instead has been accumulated from all sorts of places.

Most podcast client apps don't allow manually importing files, so I'd have to maintain fake podcast feeds for all my local files. There's software for that, too, but it'd still be more cumbersome than with iTunes where I just need to set the media type of those files to "Podcast" and I'm done.

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