re: itunes alternatives for winXP and for OSX

[gramps416]

hello.
I am a new owner of a fuze v2, and rocked boxed the thing only almost right away.

I owned a hand me down ipod before this unit, and until it broke, I was using Itunes as the media organizing program (i don't know the proper term)

in any case, although Itunes was decent in many ways, overall i didn't like it. Years ago, I used to play my stuff through winamp, but stopped just after release 5 when i got the ipod. I wanted to know what the best program to use as an alternative to itunes with the following needs:

1. one decent program for windows xp, and one for osx. I will be getting a macbook soon. I don't mind if the recommended programs are not the same.

2. I am not as computer savvy as I used to be. I would like to use a program that is not obscure, but rather a very common

3. podcasting is the majority type of my listening habits. the quality that a player handles podcasts is important to me.

i think that is all for now. does rockbox also have some sort of player?
-g

[CrowdAds]

[skip252]

For the WinXp setup I'd recommend MediaMonkey. There's a free version that's limited in a few ways. The most significant is that the .mp3 encoder is limited to 30 days. However replacing that with a free unlimited version is very simple. It's one of the first "how to"s in the MM forums and FAQ. The ripper and encoder are also speed limited but still work well.

When I was using MM I always liked the simple folder/file tree that lets you clearly see what you're doing. Select an item then right click it to open the extended options menu and perform the operation you want. I never personally used it for podcasts. However I've seen several opinions from folks I believe know what they're doing that say it's solid in that department.

I wouldn't charge out and get the paid version right away. I found the free version gave me what I needed across two years of use. I did use other programs for ripping and converting but it was a tremendous help in organizing what had to be the world's worst organized, mess of a "library".

There's some real MM enthusiasts here so if you have a question just ask. Someone will usually chime in with answer in a reasonable time. The MediaMonkey forums might be a better place if you have detailed questions on how to use it's scripting capabilities.

While you're looking I'd pop over here to see the poll on what software others are using to manage their media. There's several more media managers listed there and some discussion about the merits of each.

When it comes to alternatives in OSX I'm clueless. I just have never done much on a Mac that wasn't in iTunes. Hopefully someone that has experience with players other than iTunes will be able to help with that.

[gramps416]

I think I will try mm

I have another question.
when I connect my fuze to the computer through ftp, when it is connected, it is in "sansa" mode and not rockbox. is this correct? (i am using msc mode). Iam i suppose to press somthing before i connect.

I was trying to find the "battery_bench" file to see what it says. when the themes were on the first time, no percentage numbers were displayed indicating my battery health, so that is why i ran battery bench. i can't find it on the disk on my e: drive, is that because I am in the "sansa" mode?

-g

[skip252]

Originally Posted by gramps416

I think I will try mm

I have another question.
when I connect my fuze to the computer through ftp, when it is connected, it is in "sansa" mode and not rockbox. is this correct? (i am using msc mode). Iam i suppose to press somthing before i connect.

I was trying to find the "battery_bench" file to see what it says. when the themes were on the first time, no percentage numbers were displayed indicating my battery health, so that is why i ran battery bench. i can't find it on the disk on my e: drive, is that because I am in the "sansa" mode?

-g

USB support is not yet enabled so the player will connect using the Official Firmware, what you call "sansa mode", for file transfer. The battery bench plugin is to record/test your total battery life not give you it's current level of charge. You can find your battery information under System>Rockbox Info. Even easier is to change the status/scroll bar display from Graphic to Numeric in the Theme settings.

If you haven't already I'd recommend you download a copy of the manual and read at least thru "The Main Menu". You really don't need to read the whole thing cover to cover but you'll find information in there that you probably won't find easily by just exploring the menus.

[Jethro]

Originally Posted by gramps416

1. one decent program for windows xp, and one for osx. I will be getting a macbook soon. I don't mind if the recommended programs are not the same.

2. I am not as computer savvy as I used to be. I would like to use a program that is not obscure, but rather a very common

3. podcasting is the majority type of my listening habits. the quality that a player handles podcasts is important to me.

I know you stated iTunes alternative, but you still might want to try the iTunes Sansa plugin that works with OSX. I don’t know if it’s any good or how it works since I don’t own a Mac, but something to consider.
Like skip252 said you can try MediaMonkey, with plenty of support from these forums. I tried it for podcasts, and didn’t care for it. Another option is gPodder, I recently found this software and love it. When teamed up with a Sansa Clip+ or Fuze, it’s a great match imho.

[McDougal]

Don't know anything about iTunes or Apple computers, but +1 with skip, MM is the best option.

[lestatar]

^ you might want to edit this post McDougal.

[gramps416]

Its been a few months since my last post

I used media monkey until I got my mac. it was "good enough" on windows for that couple of months.

But now that I have a mac, i am having much difficulty finding anything that can work.

Most of the alternative programs out there only focus on syncing songs, and neglect the fact that podcasts need a more complex directory structure to be usable.

Anyone with any knowledge of the programs is appreciated. I am close to putting down the fuze and never looking at it again due to awful support on OSX.