This is a quick summary post; I want to emphasize two free, open-source apps with which you can fully use iPod Shuffle, without iTunes.
iPod shuffle database builder is great little app, mere 8kB in size, that makes the Shuffle as easy to use as any other MP3 player. Copy this program to Shuffle, copy your songs to Shuffle in any way and any structure you want, start rebuild_db.exe and…done. The songs are ready to use. There’s no ownership-transfer nonsense, no troubles, nothing. All software should be as this one.
There’s also a source code included – a small Perl script for your coding pleasure.
It sure made Sean Shrum happy, as he quickly followed with Shuffler – free random auto filler, effectively replacing iTunes’s Autofill option. It requires few minutes of setup, but it’s straight-forward to use after that. This application is also very small (236kB) and can be conviently kept on the Shuffle.
There’s no more excuse to use Wind…err, iTunes
. iPod Shuffle is now really the best Flash disk/player in the market.
FYI: I added an option called “Purge from destination” per your suggestion. Most users I think will want to have this option on to empty out their folder with new content but then again I understand what your trying to do too so I opted for it.
Will be in the 0.94b version posted later tonight.
Well, now you made me very happy. :) Thanks Sean.
Thea reason why I do this way is that I usually copy a bunch of songs to Shuffle that I did not hear in a long time (or through Autofill from entire library). Then I listen to it for a day. In the evening I remove songs I less like and fill-up with some other. Maybe not the best way of doing it, but it works for me.
Just a quick note.
It will soon be possible to use Shuffler with Windows Media Player to any MSC device.
I just wrote a WMP playlist exporter tool that works great with the current v.2 of Shuffler.
I still have to write up the docs and post the files but basically, you can export any playlist from WMP prior to a shuffle INCLUDING the *auto* generated ones (like ‘Favorites — 4 and 5 star rated’, etc). You can then reference the playlist file with Shuffler.
More on this later.
If you don’t have v.2 of shuffler, get it from:
http://www.shrum.net/code/shuffler
Hehe…you’re gonna build all-round app out of this.
I found this little GREAT tool on the EDK network :
“iShuffle“
Very usefull for windows user.
I couldn’t find it anywhere else on the web,
so here’s my link :
http://agoraphobeus.free.fr/iShuffle-Without-iTunes.zip
Man, you RULE !!!
The pain of iTunes is just to much for me; cannot bla, error bla bla, waiting, relisting…