Alternative to iTunes?
 

Ok, I'm completely fed up with the bug-fest that is iTunes so is there an alternative utility out there which I can use to rip cds and manage the stuff on my iPod? Done a bit of a web search, but not found anything yet.

Might end up getting a zune instead at this rate.

Anapod Explorer?. Not sure if it rips CD's but it will allow you to managed your iPod.

Thanks, I'll take a look.

winamp will do all of it AFAIK

Thanks, I'll take a look at that as well :)

Or you could get a plug in for Windows Media Player like this one :

Sync your iPod with Windows Media Player

Floola is basic but still good n free.

Hmm, a few alternatives there. I'll have a play with them all at the weekend :)

Can't get iTunes to work on my PC any more. It blue screens every time I try and install it (and from looking around the web, I'm not the only one with the issue). Worked fine until I installed the latest iTunes update. You'd have thought a company the size of Apple could write a decent bit of software by now...

They can, but not for Windows based machines :D

I have to agree though that iTunes on the PC is a very unstable and resource hungry application and they should really do better, but joking apart, it's not their primary platform so they just pay it lip service.

I can understand that it's not their primary platform, but when you can get freeware/shareware authors writing better quality software that does the same job, then you have to ask what are they playing at given their (relatively) vast resources, (especially as writing Windows software isn;t that hard). It would put me off buying any more of their software / machines having experienced this...

Also, you can bet that windows is the most used platform for the iPod, given the number sold over the last few years, and the number of people who use Windows at home compared to Macs.

Iain that is EXACTLY why I refuse to use any Apple apps on my PC.

Heard Sharepod mentioned a few times.

Never used it though.

i found this
10 Alternatives to iTunes for managing your iPod - Simplehelp

I use cdex for ripping/converting to mp3. Has always been faultless for me :) That'd just sort the ripping though...

nice to know I'm not the only person to DETEST iTunes !!

its sh*te, you cant delete a file from you pod, without syncing it,

and its just an archaic interface


mart

Don't go anywhere near Anapod Explorer - the company is in the process of going bust and the downloads rarely work and there is NO support.

Latest version of Winamp does everything you want - it's a very nice program. I got fed up with iTunes recently too - it's a ported Mac program made to run in Windows and it basically isn't very good. I got fed up with everytime I opened iTunes I had to download a new version (and I didn't like being tied into Quicktime either)

When you say sync, do you simply mean connect the iPod to the computer and then launch iTunes? I ask as if iTunes/iPod are set to auto sync then to remove a song from the iPod you'd also need to remove it from iTunes, or the playlist you're syncing the iPod against, which would mean the original file isn't removed. If you're manually syncing the iPod then you simply connect, fire up iTunes, select the iPod and remove the file.

I've not got an ipod but use media monkey for library features.

MediaMonkey Free MP3 Jukebox Player, Music Library Organizer

Standard (free) is fine for me but there is a gold as well.

(it says it syncs ipods too)

Looks like Winamp may be the winner. Can't even install iTunes without getting blue screens now :D

If you are bored of iTunes, you will probably like this video:
 

For those who don't like using iTunes (like me), you may be interested in a freeware named CopyTrans Manager that allows to manage iPod/iPhone content w/o iTunes.

YouTube video: YouTube - iTunes replacement - iTunes Alternative - FREE iPod Manager - CopyTrans Manager

Depending on your iPod, Songbird is excellent. (No iPhone or iPod Touch support yet)

Songbird - Open Source Music Player

hmm works ok on my MAC!

Will look at these, thanks guys...