30 days with Ubuntu Linux, day 3: Where's my iTunes?

Might I direct you here? https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PortableDevices/iPhone.

I don't own an iPhone/Pad, so I don't have much experience to offer, but I've been able to use my iPod perfectly in Rhythmbox, which is the default music player for Ubuntu 10.04 - the version I'm running.

According to the Ubuntu help site above, it appears your devices should work just as well in Rhythmbox on 10.04, but you'll need to do some work if you're running a different version. With Rhythmbox you can download music/podcasts and drag and drop them to your device. Piece of cake.

Cheers and good luck!

Like Doody, I do not have an iPhone or an iPad. I have a 5-year-old iPod which works flawlessly with Rhythmbox, and an Android phone that works easier with Ubuntu than it does with Windows.

I know this is not a solution; I know this is not what you want to hear: but when a company like Apple (or Netflix) makes their products proprietary and lock in the licenses, the rights, and such and refuse to provide them to other companies that just want to play nice with them, there is nothing legal that a company like Ubuntu can do with it. The fault lies more with Apple than with Ubuntu.

I'd suggest getting rid of the locked-down systems (iPhone and iPad) and use more open alternatives (Android) that are arguably better and more flexible products than what you are using.

Did you not read anything on moving to Linux before doing so? Apple has chosen not to provide iTunes on Linux. I'd suggest sending a short to steve expressing your disappointment. The Linux community has no liability in this manner. I await your reaction to not being able to install other windows-only software.

After reading your Day 2 and Day 4 blogs, I realize that you keep expecting Ubuntu to be like Windows. It's like you keep saying to your new girlfriend, "You're not like the girlfriend I just dumped. Why can't you be more like her?"

Relax, dude. Stop trying to make Ubuntu into Windows. Accept her for who she is. Instead of spending 30 days into trying to force Ubuntu to be Windows, try spending 30 days exploring Ubuntu and see how it is different from Windows. Uninstall (or ignore) WINE. Play with all the new toys that Ubuntu gives you. See her personalities. Her options. Accept her for who she is. Go ahead. It's not going to cost you anything. Ubuntu is a cheap date!

Your complaint should be against APPLE and its terrible and proprietary software. I can sync music just fine with my non apple mp3 player under linux.

I agree with Wayne. Apple is the problem here. Most instances of "Linux can't do..." come from someone not wanting it to be done on Linux. You can't stream movies from Netflix on Linux, except on one of the numerous devices running Linux listed on their supported player page (I actually contributed to a few of those devices)..

iTunes works better on a Mac than on Windows. I doubt that has anything to do with Windows or the capabilities of Apple's iTunes Windows development team. When one of my friends was complaining about iTunes performance on Windows another friend spoke up and told him that it was because Windows was a poor quality os and that he should get a Mac. (I suggested that it would be cheaper to ditch the iPhone for an Android phone, which would not rely on software written by a company that does not like your selection of OS).

Ignoring Linux makes sense for Apple just as much as not ignoring Windows users. If iPhones and iPads didn't work with Windows, a lot of people wouldn't be using them right now. if Windows iTunes worked perfectly with their precious devices, what would be the incentive to buy a Mac? They definitely aren't going to switch to Linux. It's business.

I use Linux for almost everything. I dual boot with Windows so I can play games and watch netflix and hulu. My work issued laptop runs Windows but I really wish it didn't because it actually makes doing my work more difficult (as a Linux driver developer). My phone is android and I'll probably purchase a tablet once I can get one that runs Meego on an Atom processor.

There is no point in switching to Linux if you are dependent on devices that require proprietary software.. But there are reasons not to be dependent on them.

My favorite quote to people open-minded enough to at least try using a Linux distro:

"Linux isn't Windows!"

I ditto all points listed above. If you're going to "use Linux" for 30 days, then use Linux. The title of this series isn't "Try to turn a Linux distro into Windows within 30 days" is it?

All of your "why?" should be directed at apple.
My wife get herself a nice ULTRA-thin Samsung MP4 player - the T10. It "just works" with linux and it even had the unadvertised feature of playing Ogg's. Apple Shmapple.

I'm a new Linux user - for the last year of so I've been using Mint at home, and switching between Mint and WInXP at work.

Tony, I think that most of your questions and concerns are perfectly appropriate. For the last few years, we've seen a lot of Linux users talking about how much better than Windows [distro] is, and how much easier it has become to use, etc. Most of the boasting is correct; unfortunately, the maintream users, i.e., the *market,* has decided to use iPods/iPhones/iPads, and they dominate the marketplace.

Look, I've been very happy with Mint (an Ubuntu-based distro). And frankly, if it weren't for the iTunes issues, I would install it on the family PC because I'm tired of chasing malware once a month.

But Linux users can not, on one hand, crow about how much better Linux is, and on the other hand, denounce newbies for wanting compatibility with mainstream devices. Likewise, you can't say "It's Apple's fault." Yes, it would be much easier if Apple ported iTunes to Linux, but how many people form the Linux community (Mark Shuttleworth? I'm talking to you) have made a point to work Apple or other larger, mainstream companies to get there?

I would suggest to the Linux users who are deriding Tony for complaining about usability issues should give some consideration to what he's actually saying. When you're used to working in one environment, it's difficult to make a sudden change. It's quite natural for people to want to make that environment more like what they already know. Telling somebody who has invested several hundred dollars in iPods, music, etc., to dump their equipment and to buy something else merely shows up Linux users as being in their own (unrealistic) little world. Instead, how about if you work on some *real* fixes for what he says, and share them with the rest of the community?

It's going to be end of mine day, but before end I am reading this wonderful piece of writing to increase my experience.

Tom Accuosti is obviously Tony Bradley.

This is the second time I've been to your site. Thanks for explaining more details.