Re: iTunes on Ubuntu and all its official variants

[Britt Dodd]

Congratulations on trying to convert the neighborhood over to Linux. Thumbs
up!

The two that I know of are Banshee (excellent GUI) and Amarok. I've
personally used Banshee, and its integration with iPods and Apple products
are pretty seamless. There was an issue back in 2007 when the iPod media
list hashing algorithm changed and the list would wipe out if incorrect.
That was fixed a couple of months after.

Banshee works well, amarok also works well but Banshee is more visually
appealing.


On Fri, Dec 13, 2013 at 2:49 PM, Britt Dodd  wrote:

> Congratulations on trying to convert the neighborhood over to Linux.
> Thumbs up!
>
> The two that I know of are Banshee (excellent GUI) and Amarok. I've
> personally used Banshee, and its integration with iPods and Apple products
> are pretty seamless. There was an issue back in 2007 when the iPod media
> list hashing algorithm changed and the list would wipe out if incorrect.
> That was fixed a couple of months after.
>
> Banshee works well, amarok also works well but Banshee is more visually
> appealing.
>
>
> On Fri, Dec 13, 2013 at 2:27 PM, Ali Linx (amjjawad) 
> wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Kindly have a read at: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2193567
>>
>> Thoughts?
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>> --
>> Remember: "All of us are smarter than any one of us."
>> Best Regards,
>> amjjawad 
>> Areas of Involvement
>> My Projects 
>>
>> --
>> Lubuntu-users mailing list
>> Lubuntu-users@lists.ubuntu.com
>> Modify settings or unsubscribe at:
>> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/lubuntu-users
>>
>>
>
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Re: iTunes on Ubuntu and all its official variants

[Israel]

How do you get newer devices to work with Banshee?  Or ones that have
never been 'activated' by iTunes.  That is a rather big issue.  Setting
the Firewire GUID doesn't seem to help, either.  I have also heard that
the current version of Rhythmbox works as well, but I have never had
success with any of these on a non-activated device.  If they have been
previously activated (connected to iTunes) there shouldn't be a problem.

On 12/13/2013 01:50 PM, Britt Dodd wrote:
> Congratulations on trying to convert the neighborhood over to Linux.
> Thumbs up!
>
> The two that I know of are Banshee (excellent GUI) and Amarok. I've
> personally used Banshee, and its integration with iPods and Apple
> products are pretty seamless. There was an issue back in 2007 when the
> iPod media list hashing algorithm changed and the list would wipe out
> if incorrect. That was fixed a couple of months after.
>
> Banshee works well, amarok also works well but Banshee is more
> visually appealing.
>
>
> On Fri, Dec 13, 2013 at 2:49 PM, Britt Dodd  > wrote:
>
> Congratulations on trying to convert the neighborhood over to
> Linux. Thumbs up!
>
> The two that I know of are Banshee (excellent GUI) and Amarok.
> I've personally used Banshee, and its integration with iPods and
> Apple products are pretty seamless. There was an issue back in
> 2007 when the iPod media list hashing algorithm changed and the
> list would wipe out if incorrect. That was fixed a couple of
> months after.
>
> Banshee works well, amarok also works well but Banshee is more
> visually appealing.
>
>
> On Fri, Dec 13, 2013 at 2:27 PM, Ali Linx (amjjawad)
> mailto:amjja...@gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> Kindly have a read at:
> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2193567
>
> Thoughts?
>
> Thank you!
>
> -- 
> Remember: "All of us are smarter than any one of us."
> Best Regards,
> amjjawad 
> Areas of Involvement
> 
> My Projects 
>
> --
> Lubuntu-users mailing list
> Lubuntu-users@lists.ubuntu.com
> 
> Modify settings or unsubscribe at:
> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/lubuntu-users
>
>
>
>
>


-- 
Regards

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Re: iTunes on Ubuntu and all its official variants

[Andre Rodovalho]

The VM solution will work... I have already used a Vbox to flash and root
an Android device... But for that, you need to set "optional" extention to
have USB 2.0

AFAIK VM is completely transparent, so, you will be able to run everything,
if the "hardware" the VM offer is enough...


2013/12/13 Israel 

>  How do you get newer devices to work with Banshee?  Or ones that have
> never been 'activated' by iTunes.  That is a rather big issue.  Setting the
> Firewire GUID doesn't seem to help, either.  I have also heard that the
> current version of Rhythmbox works as well, but I have never had success
> with any of these on a non-activated device.  If they have been previously
> activated (connected to iTunes) there shouldn't be a problem.
>
>
> On 12/13/2013 01:50 PM, Britt Dodd wrote:
>
> Congratulations on trying to convert the neighborhood over to Linux.
> Thumbs up!
>
>  The two that I know of are Banshee (excellent GUI) and Amarok. I've
> personally used Banshee, and its integration with iPods and Apple products
> are pretty seamless. There was an issue back in 2007 when the iPod media
> list hashing algorithm changed and the list would wipe out if incorrect.
> That was fixed a couple of months after.
>
>  Banshee works well, amarok also works well but Banshee is more visually
> appealing.
>
>
> On Fri, Dec 13, 2013 at 2:49 PM, Britt Dodd  wrote:
>
>> Congratulations on trying to convert the neighborhood over to Linux.
>> Thumbs up!
>>
>>  The two that I know of are Banshee (excellent GUI) and Amarok. I've
>> personally used Banshee, and its integration with iPods and Apple products
>> are pretty seamless. There was an issue back in 2007 when the iPod media
>> list hashing algorithm changed and the list would wipe out if incorrect.
>> That was fixed a couple of months after.
>>
>>  Banshee works well, amarok also works well but Banshee is more visually
>> appealing.
>>
>>
>>  On Fri, Dec 13, 2013 at 2:27 PM, Ali Linx (amjjawad) > > wrote:
>>
>>>Hi,
>>>
>>>  Kindly have a read at: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2193567
>>>
>>>  Thoughts?
>>>
>>>  Thank you!
>>>
>>> --
>>>   Remember: "All of us are smarter than any one of us."
>>> Best Regards,
>>>  amjjawad 
>>>  Areas of Involvement
>>>  My Projects 
>>>
>>>  --
>>> Lubuntu-users mailing list
>>> Lubuntu-users@lists.ubuntu.com
>>> Modify settings or unsubscribe at:
>>> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/lubuntu-users
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Regards
>
>
> --
> Lubuntu-users mailing list
> Lubuntu-users@lists.ubuntu.com
> Modify settings or unsubscribe at:
> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/lubuntu-users
>
>
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Re: iTunes on Ubuntu and all its official variants

[Israel]

This reply was posted on Ubuntu Forums, so I thought I'd post it here
for all of you:

Hello all,

Let me just start this response off by saying that I'm brand new to the 
StartUbuntu initiative, but I support it wholeheartedly.  I've already 
converted my wife's Dell Inspiron laptop to Lubuntu (after converting all of my 
machines in the past year) and am hoping that with the short remaining life of 
XP I can branch out to other family and friends.  

It is of course critical to do this wisely and "the right way" - making sure 
that we don't leave anyone out to dry with features and/or functionality 
missing and a sour taste in their mouths about the Linux community.  We have 
enough of a reputation already of being inaccessible and too complicated for 
the everyday user.

In response to the original post, I'm happy to share that I've been 
successfully running Windows 8 as a VM within my Debian Wheezy machine. The 
initial reason for me to make this setup work was that I own a Canon 
multifunction printer/scanner (USB - not a network device), and anyone that's 
tried to make Canon devices work in Linux knows that it's anything but a 
straight shot. It proved to be a much more feasible task to run my Windows 8 
installation (which I had purchased as an upgrade to the Windows 7 that shipped 
on my PC) as a VM and use the printing/scanning functionality provided with the 
Canon/Windows software.

The easiest software for this is Oracle VirtualBox, hands down.  Not only is it 
free for personal use, but the GUI interface has full functionality making 
setup and configuration a breeze. It also allows for USB device redirection, 
which for me meant my printer could communicate directly with the running 
Windows VM, and for and Apple fan, their iPod/Pad/Phone can connect directly to 
the iTunes software running in Windows. I've tested and used iTunes 
successfully with my wife's iPod, so I can vouch for that as well.

There are of course a few considerations before jumping on board the VM route. 
Even though my ~2004 IBM Thinkpad with a single core 1.5GHz CPU and 2GB RAM can 
run Windows XP on top of Debian Wheezy, it's still a bit of a stretch. I would 
not be able to pull it off with much less RAM. VirtualBox requires you to 
dedicate an adequate portion of the host memory to the guest machine, so if 
you're working with a PC that only has 1GB or less of physical RAM, it might 
not be the most feasible option. Dual (or more) core processors definitely 
improve the performance of a VM, but aren't necessary as long as the host OS 
(whatever Linux variant) is not too background process heavy. If the machine in 
question doesn't have the hardware to pull of a VM, the best option is dual 
booting - leaving a partition with Windows intact solely for the use of the 
Windows-only software. Of course if you can convince a friend/neighbor that 
their PC will be useful for longer than they imagined, it might not be ha
 rd to convince them to upgrade their RAM so as to allow for a VM.

I've given this topic a lot of thought and experimentation, so I'd be happy to 
contribute some more detailed info on how I pulled off the VM scenario, as well 
as some more "fun" directions this project can go - like how to run an already 
installed/configured Windows partition as a VM, or set up the Windows VM to 
logon with a shell using only the necessary application).

This is a super important piece of the puzzle when it comes to making Linux 
usable right now. I certainly wish we could abandon Windows altogether, but the 
reality is that many things are simply "made to work" with Windows and almost 
nothing is "made to work" with Linux.

-Tim


On 12/13/2013 06:33 PM, Andre Rodovalho wrote:
> The VM solution will work... I have already used a Vbox to flash and
> root an Android device... But for that, you need to set "optional"
> extention to have USB 2.0
>
> AFAIK VM is completely transparent, so, you will be able to run
> everything, if the "hardware" the VM offer is enough...
>
>
> 2013/12/13 Israel mailto:israeld...@gmail.com>>
>
> How do you get newer devices to work with Banshee?  Or ones that
> have never been 'activated' by iTunes.  That is a rather big
> issue.  Setting the Firewire GUID doesn't seem to help, either.  I
> have also heard that the current version of Rhythmbox works as
> well, but I have never had success with any of these on a
> non-activated device.  If they have been previously activated
> (connected to iTunes) there shouldn't be a problem.
>
>
> On 12/13/2013 01:50 PM, Britt Dodd wrote:
>> Congratulations on trying to convert the neighborhood over to
>> Linux. Thumbs up!
>>
>> The two that I know of are Banshee (excellent GUI) and Amarok.
>> I've personally used Banshee, and its integration with iPods and
>> Apple products are pretty seamless. There was an issue back in
>> 2007 when the iPod media list hashing algorithm changed and the
>> list wo

Re: iTunes on Ubuntu and all its official variants

[John Hupp]

On 12/20/2013 2:00 AM, Eric Bradshaw wrote:
Ali, I feel for you. I managed to switch my whole family to *buntu 
from Apple Macs, but my wife was by far the hardest to convince. I 
ended up setting up Ubuntu for her like a Mac - with launcher(s), menu 
placement, etc. that mimicked the Mac OS "look and feel" - which is 
what it's all about. She's hooked on the Mac experience and that 
experience comes through with many of Apple's core Apps (I don't know 
if the names have changed now, but) like iPhoto, iWork, iLife, etc.


My wife doesn't give a hoot about the underlying technology and 
doesn't really understand what an MP3 is (much less an AAC file). I've 
tried Banshee, VLC and several other media players on her own 
computer, but she won't use them. She still takes photos, but has me 
make copies, or changes, or prints because no matter what I put on her 
computer, it doesn't work (look and feel) like iPhoto did. I can make 
CDs of MP3s for her to play in any computer or DVD player in the 
house, the car, etc. But, she'll still use her iPhone to listen to 
music because it runs in iTunes.


I used nothing but Mac in my home for many years, so I understand the 
appeal. I also understand the frustration of trying to use *buntu 
software with an iPod, iPad, iPhone, iTunes in general to appease my 
wife. I've convinced myself (though have no proof) Apple purposely 
releases another update to their iOS that breaks any significant 
"breakthrough" Linux programmers make at "cracking" some of their 
code. After all, they have share holders, artists and record companies 
to answer to.


I gave up the iTunes battle of *buntu long ago. I keep an old G4 
PowerPC Mac around to back up my wife's iPhone. You can probably get a 
G4, or G5 really cheap online or maybe at a garage sale. It's saved me 
a lot of frustration.


Eric

PS - Search for the Mac application called Audion sometime - what most 
Mac users back then (2000?) knew iTunes was based on when it came out. 
It had hundreds of skins too, only they called them "Faces." Lots of 
other neat features too. I miss it.





I'm not an iTunes or iThings user (OK, I currently have an older Mac 
laptop, but I'm not attached to it and just read eBooks and watch TV 
over the Internet on it -- easily done on *buntu. I plan to install 
Lubuntu on it eventually).


But I am very interested in Lubuntu as a Windows XP replacement, so I 
have been reading this thread with interest.


Enlighten me further about the nature of the objection that there is no 
iTunes support or replacement on Linux. The iTunes web site describes it 
thus: "iTunes is the easiest way to organize and enjoy the music, 
movies, TV shows, apps, and books you’ve already got — and shop for the 
ones you want to get."


Granted (perhaps?) that nothing on Linux has the scope, vertical 
integration (and polish?) of iTunes. Still, can't all the same functions 
be handled via a couple good players/readers + a web browser?


In other words, is this just a question of familiarity, and maybe adding 
a dash of single-interface convenience?


[I read earlier that the best work-around seemed to be iTunes in a 
Windows virtual machine or dual-booting with Windows, but both of these 
add a big chunk of security degradation, especially if the Windows 
choice is XP.]


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Re: iTunes on Ubuntu and all its official variants

[Israel]

On 12/20/2013 09:11 AM, John Hupp wrote:
> On 12/20/2013 2:00 AM, Eric Bradshaw wrote:
>> Ali, I feel for you. I managed to switch my whole family to *buntu
>> from Apple Macs, but my wife was by far the hardest to convince. I
>> ended up setting up Ubuntu for her like a Mac - with launcher(s),
>> menu placement, etc. that mimicked the Mac OS "look and feel" - which
>> is what it's all about. She's hooked on the Mac experience and that
>> experience comes through with many of Apple's core Apps (I don't know
>> if the names have changed now, but) like iPhoto, iWork, iLife, etc.
>>
>> My wife doesn't give a hoot about the underlying technology and
>> doesn't really understand what an MP3 is (much less an AAC file).
>> I've tried Banshee, VLC and several other media players on her own
>> computer, but she won't use them. She still takes photos, but has me
>> make copies, or changes, or prints because no matter what I put on
>> her computer, it doesn't work (look and feel) like iPhoto did. I can
>> make CDs of MP3s for her to play in any computer or DVD player in the
>> house, the car, etc. But, she'll still use her iPhone to listen to
>> music because it runs in iTunes.
>>
>> I used nothing but Mac in my home for many years, so I understand the
>> appeal. I also understand the frustration of trying to use *buntu
>> software with an iPod, iPad, iPhone, iTunes in general to appease my
>> wife. I've convinced myself (though have no proof) Apple purposely
>> releases another update to their iOS that breaks any significant
>> "breakthrough" Linux programmers make at "cracking" some of their
>> code. After all, they have share holders, artists and record
>> companies to answer to.
>>
>> I gave up the iTunes battle of *buntu long ago. I keep an old G4
>> PowerPC Mac around to back up my wife's iPhone. You can probably get
>> a G4, or G5 really cheap online or maybe at a garage sale. It's saved
>> me a lot of frustration.
>>
>> Eric
>>
>> PS - Search for the Mac application called Audion sometime - what
>> most Mac users back then (2000?) knew iTunes was based on when it
>> came out. It had hundreds of skins too, only they called them
>> "Faces." Lots of other neat features too. I miss it.
>>
>>
>
> I'm not an iTunes or iThings user (OK, I currently have an older Mac
> laptop, but I'm not attached to it and just read eBooks and watch TV
> over the Internet on it -- easily done on *buntu. I plan to install
> Lubuntu on it eventually).
>
> But I am very interested in Lubuntu as a Windows XP replacement, so I
> have been reading this thread with interest.
>
> Enlighten me further about the nature of the objection that there is
> no iTunes support or replacement on Linux. The iTunes web site
> describes it thus: "iTunes is the easiest way to organize and enjoy
> the music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books you’ve already got — and
> shop for the ones you want to get."
>
> Granted (perhaps?) that nothing on Linux has the scope, vertical
> integration (and polish?) of iTunes. Still, can't all the same
> functions be handled via a couple good players/readers + a web browser?
>
> In other words, is this just a question of familiarity, and maybe
> adding a dash of single-interface convenience?
>
> [I read earlier that the best work-around seemed to be iTunes in a
> Windows virtual machine or dual-booting with Windows, but both of
> these add a big chunk of security degradation, especially if the
> Windows choice is XP.]
>
The problem is Apple.  iDevices only work with Apple services.  My
android phone is extremely easy to put music on in *buntu, I simply plug
it in and put music in the folder I want.  I am sure you can also do it
through a variety of media players.  Some people like the iTunes
interface, though I have never liked iTunes or its interface.  The
program loads slowly and has to load all the music into its own
directory or mess up all the filenames/folders.  It is extremely
difficult to sync music to a new iPhone, if it has never been connected
to iTunes (I have never heard of it being done with recent version).  I
assume Apple does intentionally break any workarounds, as those are a
'security' risk.  Apple runs a fully integrated platform.  They control
the hardware and the software of all their devices, and optimise the OS
for those devices.  GNU/Linux cannot do that since it runs everything
from small embeded systems, car infotainment systems, phones, huge
server rooms, my laptops, and a myriad of other things (basically
anything anyone wants to use an OS for).  iTunes only runs on Apple
devices and Windows.  They could choose to support Ubuntu if enough
people cared and threw a big enough fit about it.  There are plenty of
music apps for GNU/Linux.  Xnoise is a particularly pretty and fast
media player.  Gnome is making another music player for their new
version, though I dislike the direction Gnome has taken (removing
functionality and hiding features).  I use Banshee/Rhythmbox as they can
import CDs to ogg f

Re: iTunes on Ubuntu and all its official variants

[Andre Rodovalho]

The problem is to make hardware to work on Linux, as already said here...
Apple sure does this intentionally, and that sucks!

I recommend to migrate to an Android too, every change is a pain, but...
this is for the good!

Android own more than 70% of the world's market. I know this is different
in US. But Android is also increasing on this market...


2013/12/20 Israel 

> On 12/20/2013 09:11 AM, John Hupp wrote:
> > On 12/20/2013 2:00 AM, Eric Bradshaw wrote:
> >> Ali, I feel for you. I managed to switch my whole family to *buntu
> >> from Apple Macs, but my wife was by far the hardest to convince. I
> >> ended up setting up Ubuntu for her like a Mac - with launcher(s),
> >> menu placement, etc. that mimicked the Mac OS "look and feel" - which
> >> is what it's all about. She's hooked on the Mac experience and that
> >> experience comes through with many of Apple's core Apps (I don't know
> >> if the names have changed now, but) like iPhoto, iWork, iLife, etc.
> >>
> >> My wife doesn't give a hoot about the underlying technology and
> >> doesn't really understand what an MP3 is (much less an AAC file).
> >> I've tried Banshee, VLC and several other media players on her own
> >> computer, but she won't use them. She still takes photos, but has me
> >> make copies, or changes, or prints because no matter what I put on
> >> her computer, it doesn't work (look and feel) like iPhoto did. I can
> >> make CDs of MP3s for her to play in any computer or DVD player in the
> >> house, the car, etc. But, she'll still use her iPhone to listen to
> >> music because it runs in iTunes.
> >>
> >> I used nothing but Mac in my home for many years, so I understand the
> >> appeal. I also understand the frustration of trying to use *buntu
> >> software with an iPod, iPad, iPhone, iTunes in general to appease my
> >> wife. I've convinced myself (though have no proof) Apple purposely
> >> releases another update to their iOS that breaks any significant
> >> "breakthrough" Linux programmers make at "cracking" some of their
> >> code. After all, they have share holders, artists and record
> >> companies to answer to.
> >>
> >> I gave up the iTunes battle of *buntu long ago. I keep an old G4
> >> PowerPC Mac around to back up my wife's iPhone. You can probably get
> >> a G4, or G5 really cheap online or maybe at a garage sale. It's saved
> >> me a lot of frustration.
> >>
> >> Eric
> >>
> >> PS - Search for the Mac application called Audion sometime - what
> >> most Mac users back then (2000?) knew iTunes was based on when it
> >> came out. It had hundreds of skins too, only they called them
> >> "Faces." Lots of other neat features too. I miss it.
> >>
> >>
> >
> > I'm not an iTunes or iThings user (OK, I currently have an older Mac
> > laptop, but I'm not attached to it and just read eBooks and watch TV
> > over the Internet on it -- easily done on *buntu. I plan to install
> > Lubuntu on it eventually).
> >
> > But I am very interested in Lubuntu as a Windows XP replacement, so I
> > have been reading this thread with interest.
> >
> > Enlighten me further about the nature of the objection that there is
> > no iTunes support or replacement on Linux. The iTunes web site
> > describes it thus: "iTunes is the easiest way to organize and enjoy
> > the music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books you’ve already got — and
> > shop for the ones you want to get."
> >
> > Granted (perhaps?) that nothing on Linux has the scope, vertical
> > integration (and polish?) of iTunes. Still, can't all the same
> > functions be handled via a couple good players/readers + a web browser?
> >
> > In other words, is this just a question of familiarity, and maybe
> > adding a dash of single-interface convenience?
> >
> > [I read earlier that the best work-around seemed to be iTunes in a
> > Windows virtual machine or dual-booting with Windows, but both of
> > these add a big chunk of security degradation, especially if the
> > Windows choice is XP.]
> >
> The problem is Apple.  iDevices only work with Apple services.  My
> android phone is extremely easy to put music on in *buntu, I simply plug
> it in and put music in the folder I want.  I am sure you can also do it
> through a variety of media players.  Some people like the iTunes
> interface, though I have never liked iTunes or its interface.  The
> program loads slowly and has to load all the music into its own
> directory or mess up all the filenames/folders.  It is extremely
> difficult to sync music to a new iPhone, if it has never been connected
> to iTunes (I have never heard of it being done with recent version).  I
> assume Apple does intentionally break any workarounds, as those are a
> 'security' risk.  Apple runs a fully integrated platform.  They control
> the hardware and the software of all their devices, and optimise the OS
> for those devices.  GNU/Linux cannot do that since it runs everything
> from small embeded systems, car infotainment systems, phones, huge
> server rooms, my lapto