iPod Sync options in iTunes
I gotta spit this out, because it really really starts to bug me bad! >:-[
I have all my CDs in my iTunes at home. And I have all of them auto-synched to the iPod. Then I take my iPod to work, and guess what: I’m expecting to listen to my mp3 files on my work computer! (Creating playlists, etc…)
Is that demanding too much?
I guess not! But, then, why the hell is it made soooo hard for me to achieve this?
First problem: You can’t copy the mp3 from your iPod to your secondary iTunes (the one on the Work computer).
Second problem: You can, however, have iTunes play the mp3s directly from the iPod through the USB connection… BUT this requires you to unlink the iPod from your main iTunes (the one at home). You can relink it later but this is a boring operation full of boring clicks. And you get to do it twice a day!
Third problem: The more you organize your music and the more meta data you add to it (genres, years, album art, personal rating…), the more you get to enjoy it and the more useful the “smart playlists” get… BUT: try to add a little meta data to your iPod songs while you’re at work, then go home and try to sync: everything gets overwritten from the home iTunes and you loose all your meta data – except the personal ratings. (Those ones are not stored as IDv3 meta data. They are stored separately in the iPod Database).
This is so disappointing! So deceiving from disappointing. So disappointing from a company that pushes another smart sync tool (iSync) but won’t even bother to do a simple 2 way sync based on ’last changed’ file dates!
I’ve looked through half a dozen 3rd party tools allowing you to copy from the iPod to iTunes/PC but none of them is working really like I’d want it… Especially, none of them will let me find and copy only the mp3s I’ve touched during the day… and brute force copying back all 5000 files is a little too tedious…
Comments from long ago:
Comment from: Lachlan
Apple have feedback forms for iTunes on their website …
http://www.apple.com/feedback
and they do read them. Fill one out - it’s a legitimate gripe.
2005-07-20 03-40
Comment from: Rob
It may be a legitamate gripe from a user perspective, but remember that Apple has to deal with the recording industries when it comes to iTunes song copying features. They may not be wanting to play that game.
But I agree. It sucks. But I just carry my computer, which happens to be a 12" PowerBook, just about everywhere I go. So this is not such an issue for me.
2005-07-20 07-28
Comment from: François Planque
Thanks for the feedback link Lachlan. :)
Rob: the legitimate and main gripe is about making it easy to listen to the iPod and update the meta data on a secondary iTunes. No music data ever needs to be copied out of the iPod. What we want to copy out of the ipod however is the updated meta data (Genres, Artwork, Playlists…)!
I just submitted feedback to this url: http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipod.html
and I’d like to invite everyone sharing this concern to do so also.
Hopefully Apple will hear us ;)
2005-07-20 16-13
Comment from: Marc Upson
I don’t even own an iPod but…
First problem: If you were using an Apple computer, I’d suggest “Yamipod”. Maybe something equivalent exists for PC…
Second problem : T.F.B.
Third problem : Can’t you choose not to “synchronize” and upload just the stuff you want to see go into the iPod ?
Cheers.
M
2005-08-08 13-08
Comment from: ladyboy kat
nobody in thailand can afford mp3,
many people still use walkman with cassette tape
rich ones have cd.ladyboy kat xx
2006-06-20 00-20