Freeware Windows Itunes replacement (drag & drop MP3 songs)

[BrendaLee]

Is there a freeware "better" replacement for Apple iTunes software?

Here's the scoop...
I just bought an Apple Ipod Nano for my kid.
I have a WinXP PC, SP2.
I did not (yet) install the Ipod iTunes software that came with the CDROM.
I am doing my research (before I install and possibly ruin the system).
Googling, I found one replacement which claims to be better (Anapod).

But, I'd like to ask the freeware experts.

Is there a "better" (perhaps freeware) replacement to Apple iTunes?

My requirements?
Dunno yet. I supposed I don't want to be restricted to a single computer or
a set of songs (I have no intention of letting my kid buy songs that I
already have purchased on CDROM). I guess I have only two requirements at
the moment...

1. We would like to drag & drop songs from any computer to the Ipod.
2. That's about it, I guess.

Can you point me in the right direction?
Thanks!

 

[jcaverly]

Is there a freeware "better" replacement for Apple iTunes software?

Here's the scoop...
I just bought an Apple Ipod Nano for my kid.
I have a WinXP PC, SP2.
I did not (yet) install the Ipod iTunes software that came with the CDROM.
I am doing my research (before I install and possibly ruin the system).
Googling, I found one replacement which claims to be better (Anapod).

But, I'd like to ask the freeware experts.

Is there a "better" (perhaps freeware) replacement to Apple iTunes?

My requirements?
Dunno yet. I supposed I don't want to be restricted to a single computer or
a set of songs (I have no intention of letting my kid buy songs that I
already have purchased on CDROM). I guess I have only two requirements at
the moment...

1. We would like to drag & drop songs from any computer to the Ipod.
2. That's about it, I guess.

Can you point me in the right direction?
Thanks!

Hi,
Both my daughters each received IPod Nano's this past christmas. I
have a Windows XP system, with a separate session on XP for each of us.

My daughter's each have their own iTunes in their sessions, with
their own songs. The songs that they have on their iPods were taken
from CDs that we own. One cannot simply drag and drop a file from any
computer onto an iPod, it has to be drag and dropped onto iTunes, which
can then be placed on the iPod when it is updated with the iTunes.

My daughter's Aunt also has an XP system. As my oldest daughter
visits her frequently, she has iTunes installed on it, and my daughter
can connect and update her iPod Nano from that system, as well as the
system we have here at home.

Transferring songs from a CD to iTunes is very simple. Even though I
do not own an iPod, I do have iTunes installed in my XP session, as I
have taken songs from my CDs, put them into iTunes, and then created
new CDs of just the songs that I want on a CD. Burning a CD from iTunes
is also very simple.

We have not purchased any songs through iTunes. We do, however,
subscribe to free podcasts. Again, iTunes makes this very simple to
transfer the podcast to the iPod, or to a CD.

I have not tried any other freeware alternative to iTunes, and have
had no problem with iTunes since we installed it last Christmas. iTunes
does not take over the playing of any other media from the web or
downloaded (I use RealPlayer for that).

One does not have to own an iPod to use iTunes. iTunes is available
for download at no cost from Apple. If you decide to install the iTunes
from the CD that came with the iPod, make sure that you update the
iTunes software with the latest version after installing it.

Joe

 

[Al]

Is there a freeware "better" replacement for Apple iTunes software?

vPod (Google is your friend when it comes to finding it).

I managed to get a totally Apple-free setup (vpod, ipodplayer etc) by
reading ...

http://www.lifehacker.com/software/ipod/ipod-freeware-133632.php

Or ...

http://tinyurl.com/kpoco

Loads of good, free, lightweight, iPod stuff out there, try "ipod
freeware" in Google for a start

Al.

 

[Andrew]

Here's the scoop...
I just bought an Apple Ipod Nano for my kid.
I have a WinXP PC, SP2.
I did not (yet) install the Ipod iTunes software that came with the CDROM.
I am doing my research (before I install and possibly ruin the system).
Googling, I found one replacement which claims to be better (Anapod).

Just install iTunes, save yourself a lot of grief. It just works, and
damn well.

 

[Brian Robertson]

Is there a freeware "better" replacement for Apple iTunes software?

Here's the scoop...
I just bought an Apple Ipod Nano for my kid.
I have a WinXP PC, SP2.
I did not (yet) install the Ipod iTunes software that came with the CDROM.
I am doing my research (before I install and possibly ruin the system).
Googling, I found one replacement which claims to be better (Anapod).

But, I'd like to ask the freeware experts.

Is there a "better" (perhaps freeware) replacement to Apple iTunes?

My requirements?
Dunno yet. I supposed I don't want to be restricted to a single computer
or
a set of songs (I have no intention of letting my kid buy songs that I
already have purchased on CDROM). I guess I have only two requirements at
the moment...

1. We would like to drag & drop songs from any computer to the Ipod.
2. That's about it, I guess.

I have a 4GB iPod Mini, that I have been using for the past year-and-a-half.
When the iPod is connected to the computer iTunes will open and
synchchronize it's music library with the iPod's (other update options are
available). There is no need to drag-and-drop. iTunes can also be set to
check for updates to itself and the iPod at start-up. Under Parental
Controls you can disable access to the iTunes Store, Podcasts etc. It has
worked flawlessly since it was installed.

Perhaps I could be more helpful if you could indicate what your concerns or
objections are to iTunes.

 

[Joseph Ashwood]

Is there a freeware "better" replacement for Apple iTunes software?
I just bought an Apple Ipod Nano for my kid.

Then you are more or less stuck with iTunes.

The Ipod is constantly updated, constantly changed, and Apple keeps the
communication requirements secret, so any solution except iTunes may or may
not work both right now, and in the future.

There is also the not so small issue that such alternative software may or
may not be illegal (it's all untested assertions at his point).
Joe

 

[ehmka]

I have not tried any other freeware alternative to iTunes, and have
had no problem with iTunes since we installed it last Christmas. iTunes
does not take over the playing of any other media from the web or
downloaded (I use RealPlayer for that).

I took your advice and installed the iTunes software that came with my
kid's iPod and then updated it to iTunes 6.0.4.2 on Windows XP.
Unfortunately, that installation process installed QuickTime which I've
always resisted (along with Macromedia Flash, RealPlayer, and all other
grossly bloated players).

I popped a couple of my CD's into the disk drive and they went into iTunes
pretty easily except everything was duplicated for some reason so I had to
one by one delete the duplicates.

It looks like I'll have to set up the whole thing because this is way too
complicated for my kid.

My first problem I found was that I couldn't play from iTunes on the WinXP
PC. Huh? Why not? I then plugged in the iPod nano and it *still* didn't
play from the Windows PC. I don't know if I was doing anything wrong but in
googling, I found and installed the freeware "PodPlayer" from
http://www.ipodsoft.com which seemed to play the iTunes songs from the PC
if the iPod nano was attached to the USB port.

I have about 300 songs imported (is that the right word?) and it's a royal
mess so I've got to figure out how to organize these things in iTunes (it's
not obvious to me how to organize them).

 

[ehmka]

Just install iTunes, save yourself a lot of grief.
It just works, and damn well.

Hi Andrew,

My preliminary googling finds that iTunes is severely lacking
http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/getanapod.php
so I wonder how true it is that "it just works - damn well".

Mind you, almost none of this information is from my experience but I can
read what others say. For example, the Anapod folks
(http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/featlist.php) seem to think they
have iTunes beat by a mile. But this Anapod stuff isn't freeware.

I did notice that the very first thing I tried with iTunes failed, which
was a drag and drop from the MP3 file on disk to the iPod nano. I would
have thought that the most basic of all "feature" in *any* software at any
price, even freeware. Maybe I'm asking for too much but even my freeware
browser and CDROM burners support drag and drop. Why not iTunes?

Also, once I imported (is that the right word?) the songs into iTunes, I
was shocked that it didn't play them. I have no idea why. I hit the play
button (a little arrow) and it said it couldn't "find" the songs even
though I could clearly see the line for them in iTunes. So, I downloaded
the freeware PodPlayer at
http://www.ipodsoft.com/index.php?/software/podplayer which seemed to fix
that iTunes bug pronto.

As I said, I have only about two hours' experience with iTunes, but, my
googling and my first few attempts seems to call into question whether
iTunes works and certainly whether it works well.

But, my opinion may change over time .......

 

[ehmka]

Just install iTunes, save yourself a lot of grief.
It just works, and damn well.

Ops. I forgot to list the comparison of what iTunes is lacking
http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/ctable.php

Again, this isn't from MY perspective. It's from the perspective of someone
trying to sell me software to replace iTunes. But, if I can believe what
they say at that web site, iTunes does seem to be severely lacking so much
that I would doubt it works as well as it could.

 

[ehmka]

Perhaps I could be more helpful if you could indicate what
your concerns or objections are to iTunes.

Hi Brian,

I appreciate your request. I'm not so sure WHAT my concerns are, but, I'm
pretty sure my initial desires are the SAME for almost any parent of their
child on this planet.

For example, I certainly know I don't want my kid tempted wth single-button
clicks so I want all that music-store stuff removed totally and permanently
from the iTunes software (do you know how to remove that entire portion of
the user interface?). At the very least, I want it permanently disabled (I
wonder if I can delete part of the user interface to accomplish that?).

As I said, my needs are the same as anyone elses I would guess. I just
want to drag and drop certain songs (not all the songs) from a CDROM to the
iPod and from the iPod to the hard disk. I also want to play those songs
from the iTunes even with the iPod nano disconnected.

Also, I want to be able to hook up to ANY desired computer (I have three in
my household) and do the drag and drop from any of those three computers.

So far, I can't (or don't know how to) do ANY of that with the WinXP iTunes
software (version 6.0.4.2) I installed today ... but I've only had it on my
system for a couple of hours so I'm still learning!

So far, though, I'm severely dissapointed that I can't do any of the basic
stuff above ... but that's why I'm asking you for advice!

 

[ehmka]

Then you are more or less stuck with iTunes.

I'm not so sure of that I'm "stuck" with iTunes software.

I know I've already added freeware software to play the iTunes music
(http://www.ipodsoft.com/index.php?/software/podplayer), for example.

And I know I can get the basic requirment of drag-and-drop between the iPod
and the PC (both ways) with AnaPod Explorer
(http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/ctable.php) but that's not
freeware.

I have only used iTunes for a couple of hours but I already see severe
defects in the user interface capabilities (see prior posts for details).

I think I'll try some of these windows freware iTunes bug fix programs:
http://wordpod.berlios.de/
http://www.ipodsoft.com/index.php?/software/podplayer
http://www.longfingers.com/ipodfolder/
http://www.manojn.com/devl/devl.aspx?index=3
http://www.staylazy.net/wfm/
http://www.staylazy.net/canto/
http://www.yamipod.com/main/modules/home/

 

[Mike Echo]

So far, I can't (or don't know how to) do ANY of that with the WinXP iTunes
software (version 6.0.4.2) I installed today ... but I've only had it on my
system for a couple of hours so I'm still learning!

So far, though, I'm severely dissapointed that I can't do any of the basic
stuff above ... but that's why I'm asking you for advice!

The trouble with the itunes software in my oopinion is that it tries to
do your thinking for you and assumes it knows what you want. Anyway,
have a look at the freeware ephpod here:

http://www.ephpod.com/

HTH.
R.

 

[BrendaLee]

The trouble with the itunes software in my oopinion is that it tries to
do your thinking for you and assumes it knows what you want. Anyway,
have a look at the freeware ephpod here:
http://www.ephpod.com/

Hi Mike,

Now that's the kind of Windows iPod iTunes freeware help we're looking for!

So far, these iPod iTunes bugfix/workaround/enhancement freeware programs
for Windows XP seem very interesting in resolving the severe lack of
capabilities in iTunes today that I see upon only a two hour inspection.

EhpPod http://www.ephpod.com
vPod http://www.vonnieda.org/vPod
iPodFolder http://www.longfingers.com/download/iPodFolder.zip
PodPlayer http://www.ipodsoft.com/index.php?/software/podplayer

 

[Andrew]

So far, these iPod iTunes bugfix/workaround/enhancement freeware programs
for Windows XP seem very interesting in resolving the severe lack of
capabilities in iTunes today that I see upon only a two hour inspection.

Lack of capabilities? It is the best media program I have used and is
a massive part of why the iPod is so successful.

 

[Nicetameetya]

I took your advice and installed the iTunes software that came with my
kid's iPod and then updated it to iTunes 6.0.4.2 on Windows XP.
Unfortunately, that installation process installed QuickTime which I've
always resisted (along with Macromedia Flash, RealPlayer, and all other
grossly bloated players).

I installed iTunes when my wife's cousin was staying with us and was
given an iPod for her birthday. The thing tried to take over all my
media files and just as soon as cuz left, I got rid of it.

For audio files I use Media Monkey: http://www.mediamonkey.com/ .
It plays, records, converts and burns all common audio files, plus
*.ape, ogg and flac. Excellent drag and drop.

What I use for viewing AV's, DVD's and other audio/visual files is
Medial Player Classic: http://sourceforge.net/projects/guliverkli/ .
It has been an excellent replacement for QuickTime and Window Media
Player.

 

[Yrrah]

For audio files I use Media Monkey:

Free version looks like crippleware to me.
http://www.mediamonkey.com/download.htm

Yrrah

 

[Wayne R.]

I don't really want to rub it in, but everything you're trying to do,
I do - easily - with plain MP3 files and plain MP3 players. It's the
iPod (and its need for iTunes) that's jamming you up.

We've got several computers in our house; they're on a network. Anyone
can drag-n-drop files into or out of each player (music or not!) with
ease because they're UMS (Universal Mass Storage (I think that's
right)) compliant, and our network has appropriate sharing set up.

I had a recent encounter with a remote bunch of frineds who all use
iPods. So, I think, get one and understand it. But the more I read &
hear about them makes me want to steer clear.

My Creative MuVo (1GB) is pretty much just a thumb drive with an
earphone jack!

 

[Andrew]

I did notice that the very first thing I tried with iTunes failed, which
was a drag and drop from the MP3 file on disk to the iPod nano. I would
have thought that the most basic of all "feature" in *any* software at any
price, even freeware. Maybe I'm asking for too much but even my freeware
browser and CDROM burners support drag and drop. Why not iTunes?

Why should iTunes? That is what playlists are for. I wouldn't want to
use such an archaic way of organising my music.

Also, once I imported (is that the right word?) the songs into iTunes, I
was shocked that it didn't play them. I have no idea why. I hit the play
button (a little arrow) and it said it couldn't "find" the songs even
though I could clearly see the line for them in iTunes. So, I downloaded
the freeware PodPlayer at
http://www.ipodsoft.com/index.php?/software/podplayer which seemed to fix
that iTunes bug pronto.

I haven't a clue what is wrong with your playing, for me it does all
just work.

 

[jcaverly]

I took your advice and installed the iTunes software that came with my
kid's iPod and then updated it to iTunes 6.0.4.2 on Windows XP.
Unfortunately, that installation process installed QuickTime which I've
always resisted (along with Macromedia Flash, RealPlayer, and all other
grossly bloated players).

I popped a couple of my CD's into the disk drive and they went into iTunes
pretty easily except everything was duplicated for some reason so I had to
one by one delete the duplicates.

It looks like I'll have to set up the whole thing because this is way too
complicated for my kid.

My first problem I found was that I couldn't play from iTunes on the WinXP
PC. Huh? Why not? I then plugged in the iPod nano and it *still* didn't
play from the Windows PC. I don't know if I was doing anything wrong but in
googling, I found and installed the freeware "PodPlayer" from
http://www.ipodsoft.com which seemed to play the iTunes songs from the PC
if the iPod nano was attached to the USB port.

I have about 300 songs imported (is that the right word?) and it's a royal
mess so I've got to figure out how to organize these things in iTunes (it's
not obvious to me how to organize them).

Hi,
In iTunes, note on the left-hand side of the window the Library
folder. This is where all the songs from your CD go, where all your
PodCasts, go, etc.

To organize things better, from the File menu, choose New Playlist.
Next, type a name for this playlist, such as My Stuff.

Next, click on the Library folder. Now, drag-and-drop the items from
the Library folder to the folder that you just created.

I just created a folder called Stuff, and dragged five songs from the
Library folder.

Next, click on the folder you created.

At the bottom of my iTunes window, it says that the Stuff folder has
5 songs, 18.4 minutes, 17.2 MB.

If I want to burn to a CD the songs that I have just placed in the
Stuff folder, from the File menu I select Burn Playlist To Disc.

At this point, I want to put them on an iPod.

From the Edit menu, select Preferences.

Click on the Sharing tab.

From here, you can "Share my music", Share selected playlists, etc.

Connect your iPod, and the songs should copy to your iPod.

As for playing the songs from iTunes, with your speakers on, and your
volume control set properly, (in iTunes, on your speakers, and in
Windows), just double-click on the song that you want to play, and it
should play.

Hope this helps.

Joe

 

[pergurd]

Free version looks like crippleware to me.
http://www.mediamonkey.com/download.htm

Yrrah

Hardly.......
been using it for years now and very pleased w/free version.