Apple breaks Palm Pre sync and iPod sync outside iTunesIt was no secret the way Apple's sync process works wasn't public, nor documented by Apple. However, some apps which can sync with iPods showed up.
Later on, the Palm Pre was launched and it was able to sync with Apple's iTunes. Apple didn't like that very much, so they "upgraded" iTunes and the iPods to break that.
Read this full article for more details.
Apple says: "this is an iPod", we say: "just a portable media player"
Apple did something smart, they called their mp3 player an "iPod". All people started to look at it and talk about as if it wasn't just an mp3 player. The first iPods were just that: yet another device which played music. As time passed, new iPod versions were launched and they could handle photos, videos, etc. The current iPod, the iPod touch, can play videos, music, run apps and various games (even 3D games) and surf the web.
Let's see what this magical iPod is: a media player, a gaming console and a web browsing device.
Everyone should start taking a look at what the iPods can do, not think the iPod is some kind of cool and magical device they should automatically buy.
Here's your iPod, make sure you install iTunes
Let's say you'd like to buy an iPod, you go to some shop and buy it. You come home with it and want to start using it.
From this point on, there are many options, depending on the OS you're going to use it with:
Windows
You read the instructions which come with the iPod. You find out you need to install iTunes in order to be able to use the iPod with Windows.
You install iTunes, you start adding music to the iPod and try out to see how it sounds like.
Mac OS X
Most users of this OS don't need instructions on how to use their iPod because they already have iTunes and there's not much to install.
Some Mac OS X users may have to upgrade iTunes to the latest version or even upgrade their OS to a newer version to support the latest iTunes (this is just for older versions of OS X,
10.5.X needs no updates for this to work).
You plug your iPod into the computer via the cable it comes with and start adding music to it.
Linux/other *NIX OSes
Don't even think about this. Because of the latest changes Apple has made, the users of these OSes are locked out.
Some folks used to use gtkpod to sync with their iPods on Linux, but now that's not possible any longer.
In order to put music or some video clips on the iPod, you need to add them via iTunes, not directly via the filesystem. The reason why that doesn't work is because the iPod has metadata about the files which it is going to play (in a database found on the device) and the files are stored as weirdly named files in a set of directories.
Basically, the iPod isn't like some other portable media players (PMP). On other PMPs, you can simply copy the files to the proper directory on the device via the filesystem (some devices have the files in the root folder,
some have dedicated subfolders in the root of the drive: Music, Video, etc) and when you unplug the device, you can listen to them, watch them, etc.
These "other" PMPs don't even need a dedicated application - it's like copying some files to another place, it's THAT simple. While some other PMPs come with applications, most don't need them.
Apple, have you killed the iPod-gtkpod compatibility because of the Palm Pre?
Apple is picky about their hardware and software. They don't want anyone to be able to use their applications in ways they don't like.
The Palm Pre was launched and that device could sync with iTunes.
Apple felt threatened - they immediately thought their iPod/iPhone sales will go down because of it. Because of that, they upgraded iTunes so that it couldn't sync with the Palm Pre any longer, thus making sure that Mac owners would go for iPhones and iPods if they want to sync their devices with iTunes.
However, that's not the only side effect, locking out the Palm Pre. iPod owners who use other OSes than Mac OS X and Windows can't sync their iPods/iPhones any more.
This means all other applications are locked out, iPod owners can't sync with the iPod on Linux/other *NIX OSes. The well known gtkpod application is also affected.
Why should I care?? I use Windows/Mac OS anyway!!
Some companies like to tell their clients how to use their products and I'm not talking about guides or some other kind of instructions. They build their hardware and software
in such ways that they're either crippled or unusable in certain scenarios.
Microsoft used to have a good reputation back in the days. People were looking forward to their products and liked the company. Then they did a lot of things which made them look
very bad, that also includes policies which they still have nowadays. Lots of people are criticizing them and talking about how they treat their customers.
Linux, the *BSD OSes and other *NIX OSes exist and Microsoft needs to be careful about what it does as it's not the only entity which is developing an OS.
With the previous things in mind, everyone should know that competition is important and that you shouldn't buy products from a company which doesn't listen to customers.
Apple has proven they don't care about doing things right. The iPhone still lacks features most of the other phones have had for years. Apple is more about "doing what we want, how and when we wish to", they're putting the features most phones have in little drops, one by one, in new versions of their hardware for which they charge money again.
If you really don't care about what I've talked about, then you should, at least, not be selfish. If you don't care about something because you don't have that problem, you should at least think how you'd feel if that happened to you. This is similar to how some people found their hardware isn't supported by Windows Vista due to lack of drivers.
Why doesn't Apple create a version of iTunes for Linux and the other *NIX OSes?
Long story short, they don't want to shoot themselves in the foot.
Some people never heard of any other "mp3 player" or any other portable device which plays audio and video files, they know just about the iPod and nothing else.
If Apple would create an iTunes version for Linux/other *NIX OSes and their download page would say "download iTunes. For Mac OS X, Windows and Linux", some of their clients might say "hey, I own a Mac and I know Windows. let's see what this Linux is".
Later on, they find Linux to be similar to OS X and a bit more stable. After that, they start using it on their Mac full time. The next time they (or someone they know) wants to buy a new computer, they decide buying a desktop PC or a laptop PC and use Linux with is a better idea because of the price, the superior specs and greater performance/price ratio.
After a while, the same person lost the iPod. He's wondering if he could repeat the success story he had (with replacing the Mac computer with a regular PC + Linux) when it comes to finding some alternative to the iPod. They find an alternative to the iPod and that's it.
The same person starts advising others to go with the X product from the Y company when it comes to buying PMPs for mp3s. They also tell them to buy a laptop PC instead of a MacBook and a desktop PC instead of a Mac Pro or an iMac. They also tell them he was able to accomplish most of the tasks he used to use OS X for just with Linux.
Apple starts losing customers. Because of the above mentioned reasons, they have absolutely no reason to support Linux or any other open source OS.
The 100% open source OSes, like most Linux distributions (Fedora, OpenSUSE, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, etc), are Apple's and Microsoft's direct competitors. Microsoft is worried about Linux and Apple should think of it as their competitor as well. Maybe Apple has a very good opinion about their products and simply ignore the competition.
Should you buy an iPod/iPhone or some other PMP?
We're talking about multimedia features, e.g.: portable media player features
The answer is NO if:
- you don't want to pay for firmware updates
- you don't like Apple's products
- you don't like Apple (because of the way it treats the open source OSes, closeness, etc)
- you don't want to be forced to use iTunes
- you don't use Mac OS X or Windows on your computers
- you'd like to use a PMP with a higher sound and display quality
- you'd like to be able to put your multimedia files on the device via "copy-paste"
- you'd like to worry less about bugs in the firmware
- the iPod is too expensive in your country (some people can buy an iPod/iPhone for 1.5x to 4x the price they'd buy it in the US)
- you wouldn't like to become a target of criminals on the street (e.g.: get killed or just mugged over the iPod)
- it's not available in your country
The answer is YES if:
- you only use Windows/Mac OS on your PCs and/or don't plan to use your iPod with other OSes
- you really like apple's products
- you like the design
- you're hooked to using the iPod via a touch screen (for those who like the iPod Touch and the iPhone)
- you don't care about sound quality
- you don't care about having to replace the rechargeable battery for a fee after the iPod goes out of warranty
- you're used to iPods
- you also own a Mac and like to use products made by Apple
- you think it's the best and most feature rich portable multimedia player (after you have considered the alternatives)
- you live in the US and the price is exactly the one from apple.com (beware, consider other devices, some have quite some features and specs for the same price and specs)
- you like the web browser which comes with the iPod Touch
My name's Apple, Bad. Bad Apple.
Apple has some rather strange policies and handle various things in a rather strange way. If their would-be clients actually become their clients, then nothing will change.
They will keep the iPods tightly tied to iTunes and they will not care about Linux, the *BSD OSes or any other open source OS.
If I had anything to say at Apple, I would have asked Palm Inc. to disable the sync with iTunes.
That's an alternative which would have been a lot more respectful towards my clients to whom I've sold iPods and who use them with Linux.
All companies should be fully aware their clients are not their slaves. They also seem to forget people aren't supposed to buy their products simply because their products exist.
How do you find some kind of alternative to the iPod?
Anything I'd say about which device would be a good alternative is useless. The reason for that is because there is a website which presents a lot of alternatives and is a lot more useful.
There you can find news, previews, reviews, tests and more. You can even search for an mp3 player / portable multimedia player via a feature of their site.
The name of the site is: AnythingButiPod and you can find it here.
Disclaimer
These are our personal opinions. We were not paid by anyone to write this article or say anything we've said above.
This article is based on our personal observations and opinions. It is also based on the post found here.
Those who like the iPod a lot and Apple fans should read it as well. Those of you who are Apple or Microsoft fans or iPod owners shouldn't feel offended.
If you're a Windows or Mac OS X user and you dislike Linux or some other Open Source OS for some reason, you should keep in mind you didn't pay for that Open Source OS, like you did for Windows / Mac OS X. You also didn't pay those people who develop those Open Source OSes to develop them. For those reasons, I ask you to be respectful towards them.
Apple's Mac OS X is not an open source OS. While their OS uses a lot of Open Source software, most of the bits of code they have released as "open source" is released under their custom license, the APSL 2.0. The entire source code of the OS isn't available.
Because of that, I will not say that Mac OS X is an Open Source operating system.
I've used iPods and I still own one. It has been replaced with another device which plays nice with all the OSes I use.
Conclusion
I hope this article wasn't too lengthy and boring. I also hope you found some useful bits of information and that it would change a thing or two about the policies of some comapnies like Apple and Microsoft.
The original post which warned us about the iPod-iTunes upgrades which broke compatibility can be found here.
