Anybody have a good alternative to iTunes?
Sep. 5th, 2009 11:34 pmSo I updated my Mac to Snow Leopard -- forgetting that I'd have to endure the forced change to the latest all-dancing iTunes. Every time this happens, the program forgets where all the music is stored (on a network server, as it happens), and wants to spend a half-hour or more updating its music list. Also it wants to show me album art it doesn't have. In fact, any time the network connection is interrupted, we go through some variation on this theme.
So I basically don't use my old iPod, I'm not picky about album art and don't want to sort by it, and I have about 3 songs from the iTunes store (maybe fewer). Is there a decent program for the Mac which will:
* auto-convert FLAC or Apple Lossless to MP3 for burning to disk
* Allow creation and export of playlists
* not choke at having the files on a non-local filesystem,
* not want to phone home my music preferences to Apple (or anyone)
and
* Play music without making me wait half an hour at random times?
Oh -- I do insist on having something other than a command-line interface. Though that interface could be in Emacs for all I care. [This statement subject to change, though an Emacs music player is sort of a cool idea...]
Also -- if Apple keeps insisting on calling its half-baked ideas 'genius', we're going to need a new word for intellectually innovative people and great artists -- and one for great ideas. Suggestions?
So I basically don't use my old iPod, I'm not picky about album art and don't want to sort by it, and I have about 3 songs from the iTunes store (maybe fewer). Is there a decent program for the Mac which will:
* auto-convert FLAC or Apple Lossless to MP3 for burning to disk
* Allow creation and export of playlists
* not choke at having the files on a non-local filesystem,
* not want to phone home my music preferences to Apple (or anyone)
and
* Play music without making me wait half an hour at random times?
Oh -- I do insist on having something other than a command-line interface. Though that interface could be in Emacs for all I care. [This statement subject to change, though an Emacs music player is sort of a cool idea...]
Also -- if Apple keeps insisting on calling its half-baked ideas 'genius', we're going to need a new word for intellectually innovative people and great artists -- and one for great ideas. Suggestions?