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[lalittle]

This article is of interest to anyone who might be effected by the future of MC/iPod support.

http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9765008-7.html?part=dht&tag=nl.e703

JR already stated that for the time being, they would not support the iPhone, but that they'd see what happened in the coming months.  Given that the new iPods may be based on the iPhone/MacOS model, it would appear to be the case that if MC is to continue support for future iPods, iPhone support may be necessary.  Given that Apple makes this so hard to do, it looks like this may become a real issue a little ways down the road.

One suggestion made in another post was to somehow use MC for management, but iTunes just for syncing.  A potential hurdle with this method is with files that do not allow tag information to be stored in the file itself, such as Audible files where tag info is only stored in the the "library" instead of in the actual file.  This of course means that you'd need more than just a "file list" if you wanted everything to "fully" work with the "manage in MC / sync in iTunes" method.  iTunes would somehow need to be able to see not just the file tags, but the information in the MC library in order for this to fully work.  Is this possible?

On a related note, have there been any developments in this regard such that iPhone support may end up being possible in MC?  I know that Apple doesn't want anyone to use any other software with their products (and that they intentionally make it difficult), but given how well MC works with the CURRENT iPod line, I am wondering if there is still hope for MC support on future iPod units.  I guess I'm still holding out hope for a totally iTunes-free setup.

Thanks,

Larry

[datdude]

Well if and when my nano gives out, if the next ipod doesn't work with MC, I won't be buying an ipod.

[lalittle]

Well if and when my nano gives out, if the next ipod doesn't work with MC, I won't be buying an ipod.

On one hand I feel the same way, but of all the mp3 players, it still seems like iPods lead the field in both interface and features.  It will be interesting to see what other companies come up with over the coming months, and if they can actually challenge Apple's reign in this area.

Of course, the BEST situation would still be for MC to end up supporting the new units.  I've heard/read that Apple will be making it easier for third party development for the iPhone, which "might" mean that MC would have a somewhat easier time supporting the iPhone when that time comes.

Larry

[JimH]

I've heard/read that Apple will be making it easier for third party development for the iPhone, which "might" mean that MC would have a somewhat easier time supporting the iPhone when that time comes.

I'm afraid that will be the same kind of help that Microsoft provides to third party developers. 

It looks like both Apple and Microsoft think the key to success is building a complete closed world.

[datdude]

Unfortunately that's how MS has succeeded in the past with Office etc...

[bitmason]

Hmm. Sounds like, through no fault of J River's, support for "Future iPods possibly built on iPhone/MacOS model" may not be quickly coming given Apple's "we own everything" approach. I guess that may raise the importance of how to cooperatively use MC and iTunes together where iTunes is the path to synchronization. Handling ratings in a way that are compatible (or at least transferred) between the two programs would seem to be one aarea where there's no easy approach AFAIK today.

[lalittle]

Hmm. Sounds like, through no fault of J River's, support for "Future iPods possibly built on iPhone/MacOS model" may not be quickly coming given Apple's "we own everything" approach. I guess that may raise the importance of how to cooperatively use MC and iTunes together where iTunes is the path to synchronization. Handling ratings in a way that are compatible (or at least transferred) between the two programs would seem to be one aarea where there's no easy approach AFAIK today.

Since I don't use ratings, that particular issue wouldn't be a problem for me personally (although I understand that this is important to some people.)  However, as stated in my first post above, I have a lot of Audible Files that have been re-tagged in MC due to the fact that some of the native tags in aa files are really poor.  Since MC doesn't save these tags in the actual files themselves, I'm not sure how complicated it would be to have these fields transferred over to iTunes for syncing.  Might it be possible for MC to have some sort of "export iTunes playlist" command, where iTunes could import this playlist and have ALL the information from the MC library transfer over?  This would eliminate at least some of the problems, but it would still be a lot nicer if MC ended up supporting the new generation of iPods.

Unfortunately, I have a feeling that upcoming units will be even more popular than the previous ones, and that they'll end up being the de-facto "standard" for portable players.

Larry