XNJB: Transfer music to and from a MTP MP3 player on a Mac

Joe — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:21:14 +0000

When I switched to a Mac, I did not purchase an iPod for a few months. I previously had a Creative Zen Vision M media player. Unfortunately, this device was not mass storage, but utilised ‘Media Transfer Protocol’. Whilst several pieces of software on Windows provide the facility to move music to the device, OS X or iTunes has no integrated support.

Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) is utilised on a range of devices, but especially so by Creative. Creative Zens (and their variants) utilise the protocol. Whilst the Creative NOMAD isn’t MTP, it too uses an awkward protocol not natively supported by OS X. The infamous Zune (in the eyes of an Apple fanboy) too uses MTP, however, Microsoft make it very difficult to transfer data to.

XNJB is a piece of software that provides a graphical front-end to a libnjb and libmtp: free and open source libraries that allow communication with devices like Creative NOMADs and Creative Zens. Unfortunately, neither support the Zune, due to additional restrictions Microsoft put in place. The libraries work on other POSIX operating systems, like Linux, but XNJB does not.

XNJB allows users to upload and download songs from their media players, for ID3 data to be edited and devices searched. All of this has to be done within the software; it is not integrated into iTunes or Finder.

The transfer of data felt a bit slow to me, but I expect this is primarily due to the messiness of my library and the nature of Media Transfer Protocol.

This software is, however, a useful tool when you first got the Mac. I do, though, doubt you could realistically continue to use a MTP device successfully with OS X. Naturally, you could use it inside Boot Camp or a virtual machine, but in my opinion, that too is not an ideal option.

Compatible devices are listed on their website.

Tags: apple, creative, iPod, libmtp, libnjb, libraries, mac, media transfer protocol, mp3-player, mtp, njb, os x, portable devices, xnjb

Solve Driver Issues with Nodevice.com

Cheryl — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 05:48:36 +0000

A driver is a small software program that allows your computer hardware to communicate with the operating system installed on your machine. That means every piece of hardware right from the keyboard and mouse to your CD-Rom drive, video cards, etc. needs a driver if it’s going to function properly, irrespective of whether you’re a Linux or Windows user.

Almost all of us have faced driver problems at one time or the other. This can happen when you’re doing a fresh install, re-installing an OS, switching from one OS to another or for a reason you just cannot fathom. The easiest solution in most cases is to just re-install the driver. But what if you don’t have it?

For missing or corrupt drivers, Nodevice is your savior. The website boasts of a collection of more than 30,000 drivers on their website. Drivers are categorized either according to their use or the company who manufactures them. This way you can find the driver you’re looking for easily in case you know the model number of your device.

Nodevice has drivers available for all sorts of hardware, including mobile phones, usb devices, and mp3 players. To download a driver, click on the one you want, wait a few seconds (a la Rapidshare) and then save the file to your computer. The site also has a Help section for new users who need help with installing and removing drivers or finding which one is right for them.

A site like Nodevice is handy to have around when the driver you want is unavailable at the original manufacturer’s site. The only thing you have to be careful of is that you install the right driver for your machine.

What do you think of Nodevice? Is it helpful for new users? Do you know of any other sites like it? Where do you normally check for missing drivers? Let me know in the comments.

Tags: drivers, Hardware, Operating Systems, portable devices

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XNJB: Transfer music to and from a MTP MP3 player on a Mac

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