Tested with MJ v9.0.75 and iPod plugin dated November 08, 2002, 5:43:12 PM
A few words about playlist synchronization in the current build...
Playlist upload works great. You drag a playlist onto the iPod, hit upload, and it copies the songs and makes a playlist on the iPod to match. This absolutely rules. However, it doesn't "synchronize" the playlists, it just uploads them. Bear with me here...
I made an MJ-playlist and put two Bjork songs on it. I dragged it onto the iPod and hit upload. The result was a playlist on my iPod with the two Bjork songs.
Then, I edited the MJ-playlist: I deleted the two Bjork songs and added one Wyclef Jean song ("Bubblegoose" from the "Chef Aid" album. South Park fans should hear this song). Dragged it onto the iPod and hit upload. The result was a playlist on my iPod with the Wyclef Jean song
and the two Bjork songs; three songs total.
Since I was using the same MJ-playlist (with the same playlistID), the two Bjork songs should have been removed from the iPod playlist -- and quite possibly deleted from the iPod altogether. This is an important piece of the puzzle that becomes even more vital when you think about dragging in MJ-smartlists, which change a lot more often than standard MJ-playlists.
This seems to open up a big can of worms when it comes to dragging in playlists. I honestly don't have a clue what the best thing to do with a changed MJ-playlist in a drag-and-drop environment. Delete from iPod-playlist? Yes, definately. Delete from iPod altogether? I don't know... what if it's on other playlists? Maybe yes, maybe no. Ack, my head hurts.
PLEASE NOTE: This in no way makes the uploading of playlists less valuable or important. It's a great feature, and I'm happy to have it. Dragging and dropping of playlists is something that I've been sorely missing in my iPod experience. This is something that only Ephpod has allowed me to do, and since I normally use XPlay, I have zero experience with it. Dragging in a playlist is a fantastic alternative to doing a complete synch, and I am glad that it's in.
As far as playlist synchronization goes... well,
here's my brain dump for that. It's long, so get a beer before ya click it. I had some before I wrote it.