iTunes is so user unfriendly when it comes to syncing

[wchong]

I'm used to drag and drop, but when it comes to iTunes, you really can't drag and drop files into your ipod. All the security crap and syncing.

Do you guys suggest any other programs other than iTunes? I heard Audion is alright.


Thanks,

 

[swiftaw]

If you choose manual syncing, then you can drag and drop onto your ipod. I do it all the time with my shuffle.

(Note: You have to drag and drop from within iTunes, you cannot drag and drop from Finder)

 

[yippy]

iTunes does support drag and drop if you set it to manually manage music in the iPod preferences.

Personally, I find iTunes automatic syncing much easier than having to manually do it but yours seems to be one of the top complaints so there must be a niche of people who like having more direct control.

 

[wchong]

hmm i didn't know that.

thanks guys.

i hate all these automatic things, except for palm syncing

 

[Digital Skunk]

hmm i didn't know that.

thanks guys.

i hate all these automatic things, except for palm syncing

I mean nothing by it when I say... that some computer users (especially PC to Mac switchers) just have a Windows or hard way of thinking. I get tripped up plenty of times when I think too much on how to do something. The Mac just makes it so easy to do things, that we usually think to ourselves "it can't be this easy"

With iTunes.. it's easy... too easy sometimes.

 

[ezpk69]

Manual vs. Selected Playlists

I used to be manual-only, but I've finally (5 years later) been won over to "the iTunes way".

I have less and less time to listen to music, and one way I've been making up the time is to spend less and less time managing my music.

Instead of painstakingly tweaking the contents of my iPod, I painstakingly tweaked my playlists, smart playlists, smart playlists that depended on other playlists, etc etc.

Now instead of spending any time when I plug in my iPod, I spent a lot of time once, and now everything auto-magically gets updated, with different songs I don't hate and anything new and important. It's especially handy for keeping a Nano or Shuffle from getting stale (without giving up ALL control).

I'm always suspicious at first of Apple and their smartypants ways, but usually there's a method to their madness.

 

[J Radical]

I make my ipod sync automatically with a playlist I call "iPod", I then manually drag and drop songs and albums to the playlist within itunes. Pretty simple.

 

[civilizedrat]

I make my ipod sync automatically with a playlist I call "iPod", I then manually drag and drop songs and albums to the playlist within itunes. Pretty simple.

Great idea.

 

[mokeyjoe]

Personally I think Smart Playlists are a better way to manage your iPod. Especially used in conjunction with the star ratings. Set up a playlist with a ratning threshold to sync your ipod with. If a song comes up on your iPod and you decide you don't like it then knock down the rating and next time you sync it won't be there. It's easier than having to remember to do it later as by the time I've got home I've usually forgotten which song it was.

 

[dXTC]

Personally I think Smart Playlists are a better way to manage your iPod.

I discovered that about three weeks ago. Instead of syncing my nano to multiple playlists (about 15 differentiated loosely by genre), I now sync to two: an "essentials" list (with the songs I consider classic and simply must have available), and a Smart Playlist that fills up the rest with random songs that aren't in the "essentials" list. It works rather nicely, and beats trying to remember whether I included a song in X or Y playlist.

 

[Evangelion]

even though i like the automatic syncing in itunes, it does have few shortcomings.
sometimes i see that i have missed a podcast-episode. so i have an unlistened brand
new podcast in the ipod, and i have the unlistened podcast that came before it in
itunes. now, hw to easily get that to ipod? i can't simply drag it there, i need to either switch to manual syncing, or sync last three episodes to the ipod, which isn't really needed since i would just want to add one podcast....

 

[balamw]

now, hw to easily get that to ipod?

Smart playlists can help you there too.

Make a smart playlist of unlistened podcasts, or a manual playlist of podcasts to sync.

It's truly amazing what you can do with playlists if you just set them up right.


B