The Firefly Media Server (formerly mt-daap) is a fast DAAP server that is simple to install and even easier to configure. Firefly resides on a single Linux machine that doesn’t have to be a powerhouse. In fact, you can install this lightweight server on Ubuntu Server and you’re almost ready to go. In this article you will see how to do just that – install and configure Firefly Media Server on Ubuntu Server.

Features

The Firefly server has all of the features you will want in a DAAP server:

• Supports Unix/POSIX
• Beta for Windows in the works
• On the fly transcoding of OGG, FLAC, Apple Lossless, and WM
• User-created smart playlist support
• Integrates with iTunes and many other DAAP-supporting media players
• Serve streaming radio stations

Installation

Since we are installing on a Ubuntu Server, the installation is simple:

1. Open up a terminal (or just log into your servers’ console)
2. Issue the command sudo apt-get install mt-daap
3. Enter your user password

That’s it. Now it’s time to set it up.

Configuration file

There is only one configuration file for Firefly: /etc/mt-daapd.conf. This file is quite easy to set up. For a basic DAAP server, out of the box, there is really only one option you must configure. If you open up the configuration file look for the line:

mp3_dir = /home/media/music

This is the line you will need to change to reflect the directory you will serve your media from. For my setup I created a new sub-directory in /opt called music. Do this with the command:

sudo mkdir /opt/media

Now you have to make that directory readable by the DAAP server with the command:

sudo chmod ug+r -R /opt/media

Now all files and sub-directories created with the /opt/media directory will have the proper permissions such that the DAAP server can serve up the files.

Of course what you have just set up is a very basic DAAP server. There are a lot of other options within the configuration file you can set up, such as:

• servername: This is the name your DAAP server will broadcast. By default the server will be listed as Firefly RELEASE_NUMBER HOSTNAME (Where RELEASE_NUMBER is the release number of the Firefly installation and HOSTNAME is the hostname of the server.)
• password protection: This will cause any user attempting to access the DAAP server to have to enter a password in order to see the files.
• port: If you need to use a port other than the default (3689), configure it here.
• extensions: The file types you want to allow to be served by your DAAP server.
• Valid codectypes: These are the configurations for the format conversion. There are already lines for this in the configuration file – you just have to uncomment the ones you want to add for internal conversion.
• rescan_interval: If you want to enable background scanning you need to uncomment this entry and set an interval. This will enable you to add new files without having to restart the DAAP server to pick up the new files. Very handy if you frequently add new files.

There are other configuration options, but those are the ones you will want to focus on first.

Start the daemon

After your configuration file is complete, go ahead and move your media files into the directory and then start the server with the command:

sudo /etc/init.d/mt-daap start

With the server up and running you can fire up a DAAP enabled client, like iTunes or Songbird (Note: Songbird requires the addition of a DAAP add on), and you should automatically see the files on the DAAP server.

Final thoughts

Setting up a DAAP server is a great idea for a small internal network where you want to be able to share out a multi-media library. Anyone looking to set this up, and has a Linux server up and running, would do well to give Firefly a try. The simplicity, size, and speed of this server makes it the perfect candidate.

Related posts

• Songbird 0.7 RC1 Released (3)
• iTunes Music Server pulpTunes (7)
• Winamp iPod Plugin (5)
• View and Edit information of songs with More Tunes (1)
• The Complete Media Player Review (Part 1) (15)

In this article I will outline a few of the possibilities that can be used to replace the beloved applications often used in Mac. In some cases their may be equivalents that are nearly identical. In some cases, however, there may be equivalents that miss some features, or even offer better features. Either way, after this article, you should feel much more comfortable about migrating from OS X to Linux.

In the previous article I already mentioned using Songbird as a replacement for iTunes. Personally I prefer Songbird to iTunes. The only downfall is that Songbird can not yet communicate to either the iPhone or the iTouch. Yet. There is another tool that is currently in development that will most likely change that. But for now – you can use Songbird as a replacement for iTunes – just don’t expect Songbird to communicate with your iPhone/iTouch.

Garage Band

For those looking to compose music on your Linux machine, a good replacement for Garage Band is Jokosher. Jokosher is a simple, powerful multi-track recording studio. With this outstanding tool you can import music, record instruments, mix down, set tempos, and more. You will not, however, find a large collection of pre-recorded instruments and sounds to add and manipulate. But, if you have a Freesound account, you can import anything from their. Unlike Garage Band, Jokosher is really more a user-friendly multi-track recorder. So don’t expect to just open up the application and start piecing together music without picking up an instrument.

For more information on other audio creating software take a look at Linux-Sound.org. In my humble opinion, if you are looking for mult-media creation, your best bet is to download Ubuntu Studio which will include so man pre-installed applications for media creation/editing.

iWork

This one should be obvious. If you’re looking for an office suite to take care of all your office needs, look no further than OpenOffice. Although OpenOffice may have a different look and feel, you will find it just as easy to use AND it includes more features and applications than iWork.

iCal

If you like Apple’s stand alone calendar (that also integrates with other applications) you can install the stand alone Sunbird calendar. Sunbird was created by Mozilla so it has a very Firefox/Thunderbird feel to it. Sunbird is very close to a feature-for-feature equivalent to iCal.

iPhoto

My wife uses a Mac and she HATES iPhoto. But it is the standard for Mac photo management. For Linux there is the F-spot photo management tool. F-spot not only manages your photo collections, but will work with your digital camera as an import tool. F-spot is actually easier to use than iPhoto and will not have you fighting to try to get a piece of software to do something you KNOW it should do, but won’t.

Final thoughts

It’s not an exhaustive list, but it will help you get by with the main applications one would use on a modern Mac computer.  If you have a Mac-based application you are looking for a Linux equivalent, let me know what that is and I will attempt to locate an equivalent for you.

Related posts

• XNJB: Transfer music to and from a MTP MP3 player on a Mac (0)
• Replace iTunes with Floola (12)
• Quickly capture screens and share them on OS X with Skitch (1)
• jDarkRoom: Productively word process (5)
• Five tips to help ease the migration from Mac to Linux (6)

An easier solution to record iTunes radio is the Streamripper based radio recorder Stationripper. Stationripper comes with many additional features including support to record various Internet radio streams like those from iTunes radio but also Last.fm.

The best aspect is that it is actually very easy to start recording the streams. Here is how it is done:

Start by downloading Stationripper from the official website. The free version is just fine but comes with a few limitations like being only able to record two Internet radio streams at a time or missing, more advertisement than the commercial versions (not a huge problem if you minimize the application after starting to record the iTunes radio streams) or support for last.fm or Pandora. The free version offers on the other hand everything that is needed to record up to two iTunes radio stations at once. It does impose a limitation of 25 songs per session before the application needs to be restarted.

Start Stationripper after installation and start iTunes as well. The most comfortable way is to place the applications next to each other on the computer screen.

All that needs to be done now is to drag and drop the selected iTunes radio station into the lower part of the Stationripper interface to start recording the iTunes radio station. Free users can drag and drop two stations into the interface which will automatically be recorded from that moment on.

The directory where the iTunes radio songs get saved can be changed in the program’s options. Stationripper will automatically created a directory in the download folder for every iTunes radio station that is being dragged and dropped into the interface. The songs will be saved in the format band name – song name in the directory including an image of the record or album if available.

Here is a second solution if you do not like the 25 song limit that is imposed on users. You do need the latest version of Streamripper for this. Install Streamripper (complete) and open it and iTunes. Locate the iTunes radio station that you want to record. Drag and drop it into the left sidebar of iTunes to create a playlist.

Select that new playlist and right-click on the only entry in the song list. Select Get Info from the menu to open detailed information about that radio station.

A section entitled Where should be visible in the first tab that is showing up. Where lists the url of the iTunes radio stream. This url needs to be copied. A click on Edit Url will open the url which can then be copied with Ctrl C after selecting all of it (or by selecting the url and right-clicking it and selecting Copy from the context menu).

We need to open or activate Streamripper now. A right-click in its interface will display a context menu with the option to Load a url.

The full url of the iTunes radio station needs to be pasted into the form. A click on OK and on Start in the main menu will start the identification and connection process.

Streamripper will also create separate directories for every iTunes radio stream. It usually can identify song names and artists as well. Best of all, it will record as long as it is running. Users who want to record multiple iTunes radio stations can simply open another instance of Streamripper and repeat the process.

Related posts

• Winamp iPod Plugin (5)
• View and Edit information of songs with More Tunes (1)
• Using Streamripper to save Internet Radio tracks (11)
• The Complete Media Player Review (Part 1) (15)
• Take Keyboard Control Of iTunes With iTunes Media Keys (4)

Ajua has updated the iTunes switchless installer which will install iTunes without this unnecessary software. The user needs to install Quicktime Alternative (or Apple Quicktime) separately before this modified version of iTunes can be installed. The functionality remains the same for most users. Only those that require the Bonjour service (is there any Windows user who does?) or MobileMe support obviously need to install the official version provided by Apple.

The latest iTunes switchless installer can be downloaded from the developer’s website. It is available in English and a multi-language version. The switchless installer was tested with Apple Quicktime installed. Some users reported that Quicktime Alternative 2.9.2. caused problems during installation which might mean that the software needs to be updated to be compatible with iTunes 9.

Related posts

• Install iTunes Without Quicktime And Bonjour (16)
• Disable AppleMobileDeviceService.Exe, iTunesHelper.exe and iPodService.exe (17)
• Take Keyboard Control Of iTunes With iTunes Media Keys (4)
• Speed Up iTunes Downloads With Autobahn (1)
• Palm Defies Apple – iTunes Working Again (5)

It was noted for sometime now that the Pre could sync with the iTunes store based on a hack. And Apple did warn that it could be gone soon. Well they did and Pre owners found out that they could no longer sync with iTunes 8.2.1.

For those wondering, the problem that Apple had with the Pre’s syncing capabilities is the fact it tricked iTunes into thinking it was an iPod. When you connected the Pre to iTunes it would show up as “iPod” and according to the boys at Cupertino, this was unlawful. Apple made no bones about the update, calling Palm by name regarding the reason for the patch to the ever so popular music software.

Well it hasn’t been a good week and already Palm has answered Apple’s challenge. Just today I downloaded webOS version 1.1 and what would you know? iTunes tethering was back. Not only has Palm gone around Apple’s block they have specifically mentioned it as a reason for the update.

So of course everyone is asking what is going to happen next. First I gotta say that Palm has balls to be doing this, but on second their new CEO happens to be the former head of Apple’s iPod division so that could be a factor as to why they are so brazen. Jon probably knows exactly how to deal with Apple. And more importantly, since he was involved with iTunes and iPod for so long, knows all the dirty secrets about it.

I’m not sure what Apple is going to do now, because apparently Palm has made it clear that they are not going to go down without a fight. The only thing I could think of to permanently fix this problem would be for Apple to hard code software recognition into the iPod’s USB connector, and that could be too expensive. There other option is probably to try and sue Palm.

Either way, this is gearing up to be very interesting and its about bloody time. Never seen one of these in the gadget world before. So who are you rooting for? Care to say in the comments below?

Related posts

• Palm Mojo SDK Released (3)
• iTunes Control (3)
• Apple iTunes Songs Cleanup (2)
• Winamp iPod Plugin (5)
• Take Keyboard Control Of iTunes With iTunes Media Keys (4)

At least two of the processes seem to be connected to mobile devices like Apple’s iPod or iPhone which seems like a waste of system resources if none of these devices are owned by the computer user. To say it more clearly: Why would someone need to run these processes if they do not need them? The following paragraphs will show how to disable the three processes AppleMobileDeviceService.Exe, iTunesHelper.exe and iPodService.exe effectively.

Disable AppleMobileDeviceService.Exe

AppleMobileDeviceService.Exe is a Windows Service that “provides the interface to Apple mobile devices”. It does not therefor make sense to run this service if no Apple mobile devices are owned by the user. The easiest way to disable the service is to press [Windows R], type in the run box [services.msc] and press the [enter] key on the computer keyboard.

This opens the Services window which displays all Windows Services. Locate the service Apple Mobile Device, right-click it and select Properties from the menu. Click on the Stop button first to stop the AppleMobileDeviceService.Exe service from running in this session.

Now click on the Startup type menu and change the type from Automatic to Disabled. A click on the Apply button will complete the process of disabling AppleMobileDeviceService.Exe.

Disable iTunesHelper.exe

The ituneshelper.exe process is also running in the background all the time. This process is however started from one of the autorun locations. Getting rid of it is quite easy. Press [Windows R], type in [msconfig.exe] and hit the [enter] key on the computer keyboard.

Switch to the Startup tab on top of the window and locate the iTunesHelper entry there. Uncheck that entry to disable the autostart of it when Windows starts. A click on Apply will complete the process. You do not need to restart Windows at this time.

Disable iPodService.exe

This one is tricky. IpodService.exe is a Windows Service. The problem is that it will be launched by iTunes even if the service is set to be disabled. Closing iTunes on the other hand will not close the iPodService.exe from running in the background. Here is what needs to be done to get rid of this process as well.

Open Windows Services again by pressing [Windows R], typing in [services.msc] and hitting the [enter] key. Locate the service iPodService. It is described as “iPod hardware management service”. Right-click the service, click on the Stop button if it is running and set it to disabled in the startup type menu.

The second step is needed as iPodservice.exe will be launched by iTunes even if it has been disabled. Locate the file iPod iPodservice.exe on the computer hard drive. It is by default installed into Program Files\iPod\bin.

Delete iPodservice.exe from the /bin/ directory and create a new text document. Give the text document the same name (iPodservice.exe). You should now have a 0 Kilobyte iPodservice.exe file in the /bin/ folder. To test if the procedure worked start iTunes. If everything worked out fine iPodservice.exe should not have been started and should not show up as a process in the Windows Task Manager.

Verdict: Windows users who want to use iTunes but do not own an iPod or other Apple device can now disable unneeded processes from their computer system. It does not make sense having them run in the background all the time.

Related posts

• Winamp iPod Plugin (5)
• Sync iTunes with non iPod mp3 players (11)
• Sync any mp3 player with iTunes (2)
• Share the iTunes Library on a network (4)
• Share Songs with Mojo and iTunes (0)

Pulptunes is a iTunes music server that can stream mp3 and m4a files over the Internet. The music can then be accessed in any modern web browser including Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Opera. The user can then access the music that is stored on his local computer system over the Internet.

PulpTunes is not only available for Windows operating systems but also Linux and Macintosh. The software program tries to find the location of the iTunes XML file automatically which worked fine on the test system. Linux users and those where it was not found automatically need to add the path to the program manually.

Songs can be played directly in the web browser or downloaded with a right-click. All iTunes playlists and genres are available in the interface which makes it easier to locate albums or songs. A search is also provided to search the music collection.

Advanced options are available that include a basic user management so that only authorized users have access to the web service. Other options include:

• Displays cover art if found
• Generate direct links to songs or playlists to send to your friends
• iTunes DJ integration
• Command-line mode for server environments
• Adjustable buffer level

PulpTunes needs to be running on the local computer system so that users can connect to the service over the Internet.

Related posts

• Stream Music With Subsonic (11)
• Music Management Software Jajuk (6)
• VLC Media Player 1.0 Released (9)
• Prep For GRE, GMAT, SAT Tests With Words (3)
• Photo Collage (3)

A look at the interface might confuse some users as it is packed with many buttons and functions. It can be divided into three parts. The menu toolbar, a sidebar that switches between different display modes and the main window that is divided in two rows as well.

The left sidebar contains the following modes:

• Simple Mode: Contains a listing of all music tracks as well as suggestions on the top which are computed after time.Suggestions include preferred, newest, rarely listen, other albums and similar artists.
• Files: A file browser that displays a directory tree with all music directories that have been added to the software. Filters, covers and a queue to create playlists are provided here as well.
• Tracks: Tracks sorted by genre using their mp3 tags. Filters, covers and the queue are offered in this menu as well.
• Albums: Displays either an album catalog that displays the album art or a albums table. The thumbnail size of the cover can be changed on the fly.
• Playlists: Contains an overview of all playlists on the system. Playlists are divided into new, best of, novelties and bookmarks. Again with options to save playlists.
• Display: Display the cover, lyrics and an animation while playing music. Covers and lyrics are automatically loaded from the Internet.
• Information: Displays information about the current band on Wikipedia.
• Config: Dozens of settings.
• Stats: Displays tracks per monht, size by directory, collection size by month and the genres

The software is packed with additional features that are interesting. It contains a so called DJ mode which makes it easy to create playlists based on factors like proportions (e.g. 20% heavy metal, 30% rock), transitions (Heavy –> Pop) or ambience (Party, Soft).

Additional features of interest:

• Mp3 tag editor (Ogg,ID3 V1/V2, WMA, Flac), Online (CDDB) retagging
• Finding duplicate files
• Configuration of web radios
• Last.fm information queries, scrobble
• CD Scanner
• Keyboard controls
• Alarm clock

Jajuk is an interesting alternative to music management programs like Media Monkey or iTunes.

Related posts

• VLC Media Player 1.0 Released (9)
• Open Office 4 Kids (11)
• Open Office 3.1 (17)
• iTunes Music Server pulpTunes (7)
• Stream Music With Subsonic (11)

The only other available option is to select a playlist to be created or extended with the music that is found in the monitored directory. This is an optional step though and not required for the music import to work properly. The software will check the folder for new music periodically and add it automatically to iTunes whenever new music is discovered in that folder on the drive. It looks like the interval is set to 1 minute as music that is moved to the folder gets quickly added to iTunes all the time.

The program has to be running in the background for this to work properly. It uses quite some computer memory (34 Megabytes on a Windows XP test system) which might make it to memory hungry for some computer systems. Could be worth a try for users who regularly add music to a specific folder and its subfolders on a computer system though. The music does get added to iTunes regularly as well.

Related posts

• Apple iTunes Songs Cleanup (2)
• Apple iTunes Music Library Cleanup (3)
• Take Keyboard Control Of iTunes With iTunes Media Keys (4)
• iTunes Music Server pulpTunes (7)
• Install iTunes Without Quicktime And Bonjour (16)

Enter iExporter. The software program for the Windows operating system comes with the means to easily export playlists to the computer system. The only restriction of the program is that it currently only works with native mp3 files.

The software has to be connected to iTunes upon start. This is done by clicking on the Connect to iTunes button. The software will be opened if it is not open already and the two tabs playlists and artists will be populated. The playlist tab contains all playlists that are currently available in iTunes. The artist tab on the other hand offers the possibility to export selected artists from iTunes. This did not work on the Windows XP SP3 test system though.

iExporter is a great software for iTunes users that want to export some or all of their playlists to their computer system.

Related posts

• Take Keyboard Control Of iTunes With iTunes Media Keys (4)
• Speed Up iTunes Downloads With Autobahn (1)
• Palm Defies Apple – iTunes Working Again (5)
• iTunes Folder Watch (1)
• iTunes Control (3)

There is however a way to install iTunes without Apple Quicktime, Bonjour, MobileMe support and iTuneshelper process running at startup. This can be achieved with a custom installer that can be downloaded from the Custom Installers page which contains installers for the English and multi-language versions of iTunes 8.0.2.20 and 8.1.0.52. The only requirement other than running the installer to install iTunes is an installation of Quicktime Alternative and the Quicktime Alternative iTunes add-on which makes the program compatible with iTunes 8.

The correct sequence for installing iTunes without Quicktime and Bonjour would be therefore to install Quicktime Alternative, then the Quicktime Alternative plugin and finally iTunes using the custom installer. The custom installer will skip the installation of aforementioned programs and services. This is great news for users who do not want to have those programs running in the background or those who prefer to run the Quicktime Alternative program instead of the original.

The iTunes customer installer is only available for the Microsoft Windows operating system. It comes as a msi file that allows a silent installation with the switches /qb /norestart.

Related posts

• Install iTunes Without Unnecessary Software (8)
• Take Keyboard Control Of iTunes With iTunes Media Keys (4)
• Fix The Folder iTunes Cannot Be Found Or Created (75)
• Automatically Import Music Into iTunes (14)
• Apple iTunes Songs Cleanup (2)

It does require an installation of Apple’s iTunes software to work which is the only requirement. The main interface is divided into a library selector that provides access to all playlists that are currently configured in the installed iTunes version on the computer system. A click on the Clean button will initiate the scan of the songs that are listed in the library.

Users who want more control can access several configuration settings before which define the value that null fields will be replaced with and which also allow the selection and deselection of several cleaning filters.

The application is definitely a work in progress and could need some additional information to guide the user and explain what it is doing. The homepage of the software developer lists several of the features and plans for future versions. The download on that page is currently broken but will hopefully be fixed by the developer soon. Here is the direct link to the page containing the download.

Related posts

• How To Use Multiple iTunes Libraries (8)
• Automatically Import Music Into iTunes (14)
• Winamp iPod Plugin (5)
• Take Keyboard Control Of iTunes With iTunes Media Keys (4)
• Share Songs with Mojo and iTunes (0)

iWOW exists for Windows, OS X and iPods. On OS X, only an iTunes plug-in is available. On Windows, either an iTunes plug-in or system-wide software are available. The system-wide software can obviously be used to improve sound in all applications, such as games. On an iPod, a hardware-based adapter is available which plugs into the iPod to improve its sound. I haven’t tested the iTunes version.

The software or iPod adapter are unfortunately not free. The iTunes plug-in costs $40, the system-wide software costs $50 and the adapter costs $80. This sounds expensive but it sometimes included in bundles and discounts, MacUpdate for example offered it in their bundle.

SRS Labs, the makers of iWOW, claims to create ‘an expansive sound stage’ and to ‘restore audio cues that are buried in the original source material’. I personally don’t understand what that means, but have heard the sound quality it produces… even on my laptop speakers!

The software, at least on the Mac, is very easy to install. All one must do is run it. It is then installed in iTunes.

The question is whether or not it is worth $40. 51 reviews on MacUpdate give it 4/5 on average.

A few features like ‘auto-detect’ are missing in version 3, but were present in version 2. SRS Labs promise that this will be offered in an update in a few weeks.

Related posts

• Copy songs from and to your ipod without itunes (6)
• Winamp iPod Plugin (5)
• Sync any mp3 player with iTunes (2)
• Odeo offers an impressive list of podcasts (1)
• How to remove the DRM from iTunes music (2)

A total of 19 different scripts are available that can be executed from the interface. The scripts usually spawn a dos window that will execute the selected script. A selection of the script itunes_not_found will for example scan the iTunes music library for music that is no longer available on the local hard drive. Other cleanup scripts include the search for duplicate music in iTunes. Some scripts require user input like removing songs based on a playlist or location. The script collection will usually list the available options and wait for keyboard input to continue executing the script.

Teridon’s iTunes Scripts provide a great way of cleaning up the music collection in Apple iTunes. The script collection does contain several additional scripts that might be worth a try. One interesting script is for example the one that will create a playlist containing all songs of a connected iPod.

The scripts are also available as Perl scripts for users who do not like to download the executables. They have been tested both with iTunes 6 and 7 but most should work fine if iTunes 8 is installed on the computer system as well.

Related posts

• Automatically Import Music Into iTunes (14)
• How To Use Multiple iTunes Libraries (8)
• Giggle Music and Event Recommendations (1)
• Apple iTunes Songs Cleanup (2)
• Winamp iPod Plugin (5)

The actual process of anonymizing itunes songs involves the usage of two different programs: Atomic Parsley and Hexfiend. Atomic Parsley will be used to remove the application ID which is usually the email address of the user who purchased the song and the purchase data. The software is available for Windows, Linux and Mac.

A basic command that can be very helpful is to display all information about a song using the software. To do this run the following command:

atomicparsley song.m4u -t

This will list all tags and their values in the same command window making it easy to spot the identifying ones.

Tags can be removed with the command

atomicparsley song.m4a –manualAtomRemove “moov.udta.meta.ilst.TAG”

where TAG has to be replaced with a valid name. To remove both the application ID and purchase data from an iTunes song one would issue the following command:

atomicparsley song.m4a –-manualAtomRemove “moov.udta.meta.ilst.apID” –-manualAtomRemove “moov.udta.meta.ilst.purd” -W

An alternative would be to remove all tag information at once using the following command which is currently the only way to ensure that the song will not contain user identifying information afterwards. It will however clear all tags including title, artist and other related tags.

AtomicParsley song.m4a –metaEnema

After finishing the first step of anonymizing iTunes songs we still have to remove the name of the buyer that is contained in the songs. To do that a hexeditor like Hexfiend is needed. Simply open the iTunes song in Hexfiend and search for the name. Once the name is found replace it with other chars that match the exact length of the name. Save the file under a different file name and check out that it still plays fine in your favorite music player.

Related posts

• iTunes Control (3)
• Free iTunes Alternative Froddle Pod (28)
• Thumbs.db Extractor (5)
• Take Keyboard Control Of iTunes With iTunes Media Keys (4)
• Speed Up iTunes Downloads With Autobahn (1)

The main reason to use multiple iTunes libraries would be to divide specific data into different libraries. This can be dividing losless and lossy music, libraries for specific occasions, specific music genres or types like bootlegs or live music only.

It is actually very easy to create a second iTunes library. All that needs to be done is to press the Shift key (Alt on Macs) before launching iTunes. A small popup window will be displayed asking the user to choose or create a library.

Selecting the create a library option will create a new iTunes library that acts independently of all other iTunes libraries. It should also be noted that iTunes will always open the library that has been used the last time iTunes was executed. Switching libraries would again require pressing the Shift key during launch.

Related posts

• Apple iTunes Songs Cleanup (2)
• Create A Free US iTunes Account From Any Country (51)
• Apple iTunes Music Library Cleanup (3)
• Take Keyboard Control Of iTunes With iTunes Media Keys (4)
• Speed Up iTunes Downloads With Autobahn (1)

Version 1.2 of iTunes Media Keys adds the option to select the hotkeys to perform the various actions. Several new actions have been added which can be used to rate songs, forward or rewind them.

The software will add the shortcuts as system wide shortcuts. All that needs to be done to use the software is run it in the background.

The software itself uses less than 1 Megabytes of computer memory while running but about 12 Megabytes of virtual memory, still acceptable for heavy iTunes users. The software requires an installation of the Microsoft .net Framework 3.5. Should run fine on most Microsoft operating systems.

Related posts

• Control iTunes Playback With Shortcuts (5)
• Install iTunes Without Quicktime And Bonjour (16)
• Automatically Import Music Into iTunes (14)
• Apple iTunes Songs Cleanup (2)
• Speed Up iTunes Downloads With Autobahn (1)

There is however a very easy and straightforward way to create a US iTunes account without having to add a credit card or any other means of payment during the account creation phase. The famous None option will be selectable during account creation. Start by visiting the iTunes store. Make sure you are in the United States store. If you are not scroll down to the bottom and change the store to United States. Access the App Store that contains applications for the iPhone. Select a free one from the list of Top Free Apps and click on the Get App link in the detail view. The next window is the login window with the option to create a new account.

Click on the Create New Account button and on Continue in the next window. Accept the license agreement and click continue once more.

Now fill out basic account details, like the email, username and password of that account and click on Continue again.

After that the screen with the payment information and address will appear. Select None as the payment and fill out the address information using a address in the United States. The easiest way to do that is to search in Google for hotels, e.g. Miami hotels, New York hotels and use the address of the hotel as the address.

Verify the email in the last step and you are set to use the US iTunes account. Here is a quick recap:

• Open the United States iTunes store
• Download a free iPhone application
• Select to create a new account
• Enter username, password and email
• Select none option and add a US address with matching zip, town and street.
• Verify the email

This should work from any country. If you got problems or tips let us know in the comments.

Related posts

• How To Use Multiple iTunes Libraries (8)
• Create A Free US iTunes Account (132)
• Apple iTunes Songs Cleanup (2)
• Take Keyboard Control Of iTunes With iTunes Media Keys (4)
• Speed Up iTunes Downloads With Autobahn (1)

Apple’s 12 Days of Christmas’ Giveaway provides one free download every day between 26 Dec and 6 Jan. Yesterday, Apple were offering a music video of ‘That’s Not My Name’ by ‘The Tings Tings’ (number 1 back in May) and today, a free episode of ‘Derren Brown’s Mind Control’.

iTunes users in the UK need only click this link to access the giveaway!

Rumours exist that Apple are planning this giveaway in France, but I am unable to confirm whether it is there. Unfortunately for Americans, Apple has confirmed it won’t be happening outside of Europe!

Another unfortunate thing about this giveaway is that iTunes is needed to download them; making it impossible for Linux users to access.

The giveaway is worth checking out as you may find a TV show, movie or song you like for free!

Related posts

• Winamp iPod Plugin (5)
• Sync iTunes with non iPod mp3 players (11)
• Sync any mp3 player with iTunes (2)
• Share the iTunes Library on a network (4)
• Share Songs with Mojo and iTunes (0)

First Steps

The first thing you need to do is to plug in your iPod and mount the device. Before you actually plug in the device there are a few tasks to take care of. The first of these tasks is to create a directory where the iPod will be mounted. As the root user issue the command mkdir /media/mp3. You can name this directory whatever you want. Once you have the directory created you can plug in your iPod. Now issue the command dmesg so we can find out where your iPod was detected. When dmesg has completed you will see output like:

sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] 58605120 512-byte hardware sectors (30006 MB)
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 68 00 00 08
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] 58605120 512-byte hardware sectors (30006 MB)
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 68 00 00 08
sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
sdb: sdb1 sdb2

As you can see my iPod was listed at /dev/sdb. So now we know what entry to add to /etc/fstab. As the root user again open up /etc/fstab and append the following line:

/dev/sdb2 /media/mp3 auto ro,noauto,user 0 0

NOTE: The above line will vary depending upon where your iPod was detected and what directory you created for mounting purposes.

With your fstab entry in place exit out of the root user and issue the command mount /media/mp3 (Where mp3 is the directory you created for mounting purposes).

If you issue the command ls /media/mp3 you should now see the contents of your iPod. And with the iPod mounted gtkpod should automatically detecte the iPod.

Fire it up!

Now it’s time to open up gtkpod. This will most likely be in your Audio/Video or Multimedia menu subdirectory of the Main Menu. If you do not find it you will have to install it. Most distributions do not include gtkpod by default. If yo open up the Add/Remove Applications utility you can find it doing a search for “gtkpod”.

Once gtkpod is open, so long as your iPod is mounted, it should detect the device and load it.

gtkpod main window

As you can see gtkpod is pretty much a no-frills means to sync your iPod in Linux. Using gtkpod is pretty straightforward: Click to add files or directories, click Save Changes (sync), click to Load your iPod. There is only one issue that you must know about. When you are done with your iPod you need to close gtkpod and then UNMOUNT your iPod! To unmount your iPod go back to the command line and issue the command umount /media/mp3 Where mp3 is the actual directory where you have mounted your device. If you do not unmount your device you risk losing your data.

Final Thoughts

Gtkpod is one of the most reliable iPod managing tools in Linux. Sure there are far better multi-media players (such as Banshee or Amarok), but their iPod support can be flakey at best. Give gtkpod a try. If you’re looking for a reliable way to sync your iPod in Linux, this might be it.

Related posts

• Replace iTunes with Floola (12)
• Configuring gtkpod for Music Playback (6)
• Winamp iPod Plugin (5)
• Sync iTunes with non iPod mp3 players (11)
• Sync any mp3 player with iTunes (2)