sporkme
drop the crantini and move it, sister
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join:2000-07-01
Morristown, NJ
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1 edit | reply to justin
Re: ipod nano video on linux
said by justin  :Yeah partly I blame apple - it would cost them the profit they make at the apple soho store in just a week to produce a linux itunes - but who really expects them to step up? I think you underestimate that task.  Which gui toolkit should they use? Would this "Linux iTunes" run on ubuntu? Fedora? Gentoo? Bob's Linux? Joe Schmaltz Edgy Hoary Anal Wart Linux?
Writing it once might be affordable, but keeping it working on each distro that comes and goes each year? I don't think any sane person would sign up for that.
If someone wants to make an open source OS+Desktop, there would have to be some radical changes in the world of open source (ie: working on a project that may diverge from personal goals). |
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benyto
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join:2000-07-09
Chico, CA
| reply to justin
Right, but you're still using a device that requires the use of specialized software to function ('specialized' being a highly subjective term, of course). If the device vendor doesn't release a Linux version of its software then you are at the mercy of third-party developers to keep up with the current landscape so you don't have these problems.
Alternatively you can use a device which requires no external software whatsoever to operate and you'd have nothing to worry about. Copy your media files over and then use the player's OS to play them.
Certainly such usability issues should be a consideration when purchasing a device, no? And I'm not just talking about usability issues solely from the Linux user's perspective. A device which requires no external software for proper operation must have some appeal to users of other OSs, I'd imagine. |
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justin
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| reply to benyto
here is the thing though. The ipod isn't very complicated. It has a simple directory structure, acts as a disk when plugged into a usb port, it has an XML file for settings and a database file whose only tweak recently was for encryption with the ipod firewire address to tie the database to the device (a logical improvement, out there for some time now, that yet required me to download the recompile source for libgpod). It plays widely understood file formats (mp3s, mpeg-4) as well as the apple DRM encoded ones that originate from the apple store.
It appears that one of the reasons that amarok, which appears to be the most together interface for ipod integration, doesn't support video are simply that the developers don't have a video capable ipod! I mean, come on.. amarok has a music storefront!
meanwhile you can't even use itunes under wine because wine doesn't properly surface the USB interface? So is wine still being recommended for linux converts? I hope not..
There is no real competition for the current nano, or even the ipod touch.. and there is definitely good money in consumer linux. If the mozilla foundation can haul almost $100 million a year into a bank account for sticking a google search box on the default home page then there is plenty of money to be made from writing a linux interface that Just Works.
Yeah partly I blame apple - it would cost them the profit they make at the apple soho store in just a week to produce a linux itunes - but who really expects them to step up? they want an OSX world why should they help linux (it isn't clear to me that they are actively hindering it, though).
It sounds from jdong that this is just a temporary glitch but really even if gtkpod worked as it once did or is supposed to do, it still seems flaky. User forums (un-ending topics starting with 'help..') confirm my experience that reliable a/v under linux still requires skills of an "unstable release" source guru who can keep in their head the approx development state of about 15 separate sourceforge libraries. |
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benyto
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join:2000-07-09
Chico, CA
| reply to justin
Is this the part where someone says "Well, that's what you get for trying to work with a purposely closed device that was designed to work only with its own proprietary software"?
I'm not attempting to discount your frustration; I understand that. However, I would think it wouldn't be too difficult to see these types of problems coming. Several years ago when I bought my first (and current) DAP I went out of my way to find one that supported what I wanted and operated as a USB mass storage device. That pretty much ensures I can use it with the vast majority of desktops or laptops in use today, regardless of the OS they use or the software they have installed.
But then you may have some perfectly legitimate reasons for wanting to use an Ipod, and my completely unhelpful post will only compound your frustration. :P |
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