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Topic: iPod users free from iTunes

Giraffe }{unter
Long and Strong

Joined: 17 Mar 2000
Posts: 9082

Posted: 05-24-2005 12:06 PM

IPod users are raving about a plug-in that makes the Winamp digital jukebox a better way to manage the iPod than Apple's iTunes.

The plug-in, called ml_iPod, allows iPod users to bypass iTunes and manage music collections in Winamp instead. The iPod is supposed to work with iTunes only. A new version of the software was released Monday.

Fisher and other developers programmed a slew of features, including the ability to synch multiple iPods with Winamp, create smart playlists and -- the most useful option -- the ability to copy songs from an iPod onto a hard drive.

"A lot of the feedback I get is people thanking me for freeing them from iTunes," said Fisher. "It shows the dissatisfaction people have with iTunes."

Apple Computer did not respond to several requests for comment.

To prevent iPod users from easily copying vast libraries of songs from computer to computer, Apple forbids tracks from being moved off the iPod -- songs can only be put onto the iPod. In addition, each iPod is associated with a single copy of iTunes. The association can be changed, but only if all songs on the iPod are erased.

Someone who keeps music on her computer at work could fill up her iPod with tracks, take it home and copy the songs onto a home computer using ml_iPod plugin and Winamp.

"I firmly believe you should have the right to transfer your music with any application you like and if this requires software which circumvents DRM (digital rights management), then I don't believe this is ethically wrong," Fisher said. "I trust our users to use this freedom responsibly and to not steal music."

For songs purchased at the iTunes Music Store, which are copy protected by Apple's FairPlay DRM scheme, ml_iPod users must download an application from the Hymn project, which unlocks the copy protection. Then the ml_iPod plug-in must be configured to run the hymn.exe file when it encounters protected files, Fisher explained.

The ml_iPod plug-in has been downloaded half a million times. By comparison, EphPod, a free utility that offers similar functionality, has been downloaded 43,000 times from Download.com.

The plug-in works with all varieties of the iPod, but some users have trouble getting the software to work with the iPod Shuffle. Fisher said there are plans to make the plug-in available for other digital music players.

ITunes for Windows is an approximately 21-MB download. By contrast, Winamp is 4.7 MB and the plug-in only takes up 130 KB of space.

"ITunes takes up a lot of resources on the computer. Winamp is a lot faster," Fisher said. "Indeed, a lot of our users are still using Windows 98, which iTunes doesn't work on."

Feedback about the plug-in is generally enthusiastic.

"Everything is a breeze and the interface is even easier to use than iTunes," wrote Doug Sheffer on a Winamp message board.

"Using it with third-gen iPod and Windows ME," wrote Brian Cape in the Winamp forum. "Absolutely superb, no problems at all. Congratulations and thanks -- I thought I was going to have to upgrade my PC to XP in order to use the iPod."

Source: http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,14 ... tw=rss.TOP

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dzjepp
It felt good...

Joined: 28 Mar 2001
Posts: 9558

Posted: 05-24-2005 12:08 PM

It also rips the drm protection from the songs, I'd bet apple is going to try and shut the project down.

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+JuggerNaut+
social engineer

Joined: 13 Oct 2001
Posts: 30226

Posted: 05-24-2005 12:11 PM

they've done it before, they'll do it again.

these programs have come and gone in the past.

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MKJ
Messatsu Ko Jy-ouu

Joined: 24 Nov 2000
Posts: 44139

Posted: 05-24-2005 12:12 PM

dzjepp wrote:
It also rips the drm protection from the songs, I'd bet apple is going to try and shut the project down.

and they have a case, too

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dnoyc
True Nightmare

Joined: 15 May 2001
Posts: 3294

Posted: 05-24-2005 12:16 PM

too bad winamp is an even bigger piece of shit than itunes.

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Geebs
Will Hench for Food

Joined: 08 Feb 2005
Posts: 3842

Posted: 05-24-2005 12:16 PM

I like the way they mention iTunes as a 20Mb download, as if that's some incredibly huge impostion.

They're going to get shut down, but if there's 500,000 copies of the plugin out there, it's a bit late on Apple's part.

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Chupacabra
Chupacabra

Joined: 10 Apr 2001
Posts: 7205

Posted: 05-24-2005 12:36 PM

it is annoying when its a 20mb download and not just because it makes it hard for 56k users or people with not much ram. point is...it just shouldnt be 20mb. its just a program that plays music or whatever.

Its kind of like how the original MSN was like 2 mb or something and now its 8 mb...and for what reason? theres just no good reason for that kind of bloatation.

And youre absolutely right Geebs, 20mb isnt incredibly bad. but then think about it this way: what if i said that ill sell you this shoelace for 20 dollars. Sure thats not a huge hit on your income but still, its ridiculous, retarded and unnecessary.

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Foo
Timed Out

Joined: 02 Aug 2000
Posts: 38064

Posted: 05-24-2005 12:41 PM

dzjepp wrote:
It also rips the drm protection from the songs, I'd bet apple is going to try and shut the project down.

No it doesn't. It's capable of interfacing with an application which can do that, but it doesn't in itself do that.

Read the article?

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MKJ
Messatsu Ko Jy-ouu

Joined: 24 Nov 2000
Posts: 44139

Posted: 05-24-2005 12:43 PM

itunes a 20mb download? whatve they been smoking

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Geebs
Will Hench for Food

Joined: 08 Feb 2005
Posts: 3842

Posted: 05-24-2005 12:48 PM

Chupacabra wrote:
it is annoying when its a 20mb download and not just because it makes it hard for 56k users or people with not much ram. point is...it just shouldnt be 20mb. its just a program that plays music or whatever.

The iTMS interface in iTunes, at least on the Mac, is a cut down version of Safari; so in some respects it also browses the web. Monitor resolutions are increasing all the time, so graphic elements take up more space.

Still leaves a few Mb unaccounted for, but what the hey.

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R00k
straight at you

Joined: 18 Dec 2000
Posts: 27931

Posted: 05-24-2005 01:25 PM

I think that's a wonderful idea and I'm glad somebody coded it.

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dmmh
Elite

Joined: 04 Jan 2001
Posts: 28249

Posted: 05-24-2005 01:27 PM

that, and they include quicktime in the download

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R00k
straight at you

Joined: 18 Dec 2000
Posts: 27931

Posted: 05-24-2005 01:53 PM

Can you even get the free version of the QuickTime player without downloading iTunes anymore?

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dmmh
Elite

Joined: 04 Jan 2001
Posts: 28249

Posted: 05-24-2005 01:55 PM

yes, just not the other way around afaik

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Canis
canis

Joined: 14 Jan 2001
Posts: 17305

Posted: 05-24-2005 01:56 PM

This is the problem right here: "I trust our users to use this freedom responsibly and to not steal music."

He's bullshitting an excuse to justify his product. In all truth, I highly doubt one can associate good morals to the general population when it comes to this stuff. Frankly, people are greedy sons of bitches who will, in the anonymity this software provides to copyright violation practices, indulge themselves in such violations. It's a minority that wont violate these laws to some degree, and to say otherwise gives people far more credit than they deserve.

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Canis
canis

Joined: 14 Jan 2001
Posts: 17305

Posted: 05-24-2005 01:57 PM

R00k wrote:
Can you even get the free version of the QuickTime player without downloading iTunes anymore?

Yes. http://www.quicktime.com will give you an independent download. They're working on getting Quicktime 7 for Windows finished, so they may not have a downloadable Windows version out yet.

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Canis
canis

Joined: 14 Jan 2001
Posts: 17305

Posted: 05-24-2005 02:04 PM

dzjepp wrote:
It also rips the drm protection from the songs, I'd bet apple is going to try and shut the project down.

I believe they'd have every right to if it strips the DRM off the songs, and basically circumvents every effort of Apple to distribute songs in a legal manner. Hell, if people want the songs anywhere, go buy a CD and pay a little more for it. The problem is people want them for free, and will stop at nothing either to get the most out of what they paid, or to bypass everything and essentially steal the song.

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dzjepp
It felt good...

Joined: 28 Mar 2001
Posts: 9558

Posted: 05-24-2005 02:04 PM

R00k wrote:
Can you even get the free version of the QuickTime player without downloading iTunes anymore?

Yes it's called quicktime alternative.

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+JuggerNaut+
social engineer

Joined: 13 Oct 2001
Posts: 30226

Posted: 05-24-2005 04:08 PM

Canis owned this thread.

/closed.

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Keep It Real

Posted: 05-24-2005 04:11 PM

i just use itunes because its a lot more logical and stuff than winamp.

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Keep It Real

Posted: 05-24-2005 04:12 PM

oh and because they dont make winamp for macs

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phantasmagoria
Bück Dich

Joined: 21 Oct 2003
Posts: 6228

Posted: 05-24-2005 04:13 PM

it's a known fact that if you pay for music you're a faggot.

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+JuggerNaut+
social engineer

Joined: 13 Oct 2001
Posts: 30226

Posted: 05-24-2005 05:04 PM

phantasmagoria wrote:
it's a known fact that if you pay for music you're a faggot.

so true! everyone post a pic! yay! \o/

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Keep It Real

Posted: 05-24-2005 05:07 PM

+JuggerNaut+ wrote:
phantasmagoria wrote:
it's a known fact that if you pay for music you're a faggot.

so true! everyone post a pic! yay! \o/

lol

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Quake3World.com | Forum Index | General Discussion

It also rips the drm protection from the songs, I'd bet apple is going to try and shut the project down.

they've done it before, they'll do it again. these programs have come and gone in the past.

dzjepp wrote:It also rips the drm protection from the songs, I'd bet apple is going to try and shut the project down. and they have a case, too

too bad winamp is an even bigger piece of shit than itunes.

I like the way they mention iTunes as a 20Mb download, as if that's some incredibly huge impostion. They're going to get shut down, but if there's 500,000 copies of the plugin out there, it's a bit late on Apple's part.

dzjepp wrote:It also rips the drm protection from the songs, I'd bet apple is going to try and shut the project down. No it doesn't. It's capable of interfacing with an application which can do that, but it doesn't in itself do that. Read the article?

itunes a 20mb download? whatve they been smoking

I think that's a wonderful idea and I'm glad somebody coded it.

that, and they include quicktime in the download

Can you even get the free version of the QuickTime player without downloading iTunes anymore?

yes, just not the other way around afaik

R00k wrote:Can you even get the free version of the QuickTime player without downloading iTunes anymore? Yes. http://www.quicktime.com will give you an independent download. They're working on getting Quicktime 7 for Windows finished, so they may not have a downloadable Windows version out yet.

R00k wrote:Can you even get the free version of the QuickTime player without downloading iTunes anymore? Yes it's called quicktime alternative.

Canis owned this thread. /closed.

i just use itunes because its a lot more logical and stuff than winamp.

oh and because they dont make winamp for macs

it's a known fact that if you pay for music you're a faggot.

phantasmagoria wrote:it's a known fact that if you pay for music you're a faggot. so true! everyone post a pic! yay! \o/

+JuggerNaut+ wrote:phantasmagoria wrote:it's a known fact that if you pay for music you're a faggot.so true! everyone post a pic! yay! \o/ lol

they've done it before, they'll do it again.

these programs have come and gone in the past.

dzjepp wrote:
It also rips the drm protection from the songs, I'd bet apple is going to try and shut the project down.

and they have a case, too

I like the way they mention iTunes as a 20Mb download, as if that's some incredibly huge impostion.

They're going to get shut down, but if there's 500,000 copies of the plugin out there, it's a bit late on Apple's part.

dzjepp wrote:
It also rips the drm protection from the songs, I'd bet apple is going to try and shut the project down.

No it doesn't. It's capable of interfacing with an application which can do that, but it doesn't in itself do that.

Read the article?

R00k wrote:
Can you even get the free version of the QuickTime player without downloading iTunes anymore?

Yes. http://www.quicktime.com will give you an independent download. They're working on getting Quicktime 7 for Windows finished, so they may not have a downloadable Windows version out yet.

R00k wrote:
Can you even get the free version of the QuickTime player without downloading iTunes anymore?

Yes it's called quicktime alternative.

Canis owned this thread.

/closed.

phantasmagoria wrote:
it's a known fact that if you pay for music you're a faggot.

so true! everyone post a pic! yay! \o/

+JuggerNaut+ wrote:
phantasmagoria wrote:
it's a known fact that if you pay for music you're a faggot.

so true! everyone post a pic! yay! \o/

lol