[lug] iPod or MP3?

[Michael J. Hammel]

On Thu, 2009-05-28 at 14:24 -0700, Scott Mann wrote:
> I often listen to music on my desktop (running Fedora 10). 

I use F10 with my iPod Nano (an xmas gift from my daughter).  I use
Rhythmbox which supports easy migration of ripped music directly onto
the nano: drag and drop.  You have to import the music folders into
Rhythmbox but it doesn't copy the files, it just scans them.

One thing about the iPods is that most have a problem with artwork to
some degree.  For example, if I turn my nano sideways the album art
displays.  But if I turn it vertical (it's natural layout) then the
artwork doesn't display correctly. I like the horizontal scanning of
albums better anyway so it doesn't matter much to me.

FYI: just plug in the iPod to a USB port.  It will be automounted.  When
you're done using it you *MUST* eject it - don't just unmount it.  You
can (apparently) corrupt the data that way.  Use the Eject option on the
desktop icon and wait for the system (and iPod) to tell you its safe to
disconnect the USB connection.

> Now, I'd like to be able to put that on to some device to carry around
> with me and to hook up into the stereo system in my car (I know that
> the car stereo has a port for an iPod, but I'll have to dig into what
> else it might support).

The 8GB nano is good for this.  It's very small, easy to work with and
has a graphical display.

> My only restriction is that I do not use Microsoft software either at
> home or work (not really a religious thing, mostly just the way it
> is).

I don't either.  And it's religious.  :-)

> Anyway, given all that, does anyone have any recommendations about:
> 
> 1) A music player (iPod or MP3)

Either work.  Now that the iPods seem to be fairly well supported I have
to say I like the physical designs.

> 2) Synchronization software on Linux (I've gotten as far as installing
> Banshee, although I don't know much about it or any other similar
> tools)

Amarok used to be really nice.  Then they did a big "update" - and it
got crappy.  I never could figure out how to use the new version and
none of the features of the old version were easy to find.  I gave up.
I moved to Rhythmbox and like it.  It's not as clean as the old Amarok
or iTunes, but it works quite well with the iPod.  I can even make
playlists for the iPod.

> 3) Anything else, including "go read <blah> and stop using our
> bandwidth!"

Skip Amarok.  F10 is a gnome system by default and Amarok is KDE.  You
end up launching a bunch of KDE stuff (under the hood) just to get
Amarok running.  Why waste the resources?  Unless you're running F10
with KDE.  Then you might want Amarok.  If you can figure out how to use
it.

-- 
Michael J. Hammel                                    Principal Software Engineer
mjhammel at graphics-muse.org                           http://graphics-muse.org
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"In the republic of mediocrity, genius is dangerous."
Robert S.  Ingersoll, American lawyer and politician (1833-1899).