Two Years on Linux: Can I Cut Over to Linux for My Music Needs?

Gtkpod Screenshot

Originally uploaded by sogrady.

About two weeks shy of two years ago, I cut permanently over from Windows to Linux as my primary desktop operating system. The operating system on which I do all of my day-to-day research, writing, email, IM and so on. With few exceptions (which I’ll try and explore in later posts), I’ve had little cause to regret this decision. Linux may not be the appropriate choice for every user – actually, scratch the may, it is not – but it’s been a great choice for me. What’s interesting is just how much better it’s gotten over the past two years; in that time, I’ve seen the release of advanced desktop search, next generation user interfaces, and a host of nifty little widgets that make me more entertained, more productive, or both.

But there is one area in particular where I’ve never left Windows, and that is music. In the past I’ve had other applications that required Windows, such as Quickbooks, InDesign, and Acrobat Professional, but usage of these has either declined dramatically, ceased altogether, or migrated to online alternatives. Music, however, is one area that has more or less been the primary domain of Windows. I’ve downloaded the occasional track or podcast on Linux, of course, and have kept an eye on most of the other applications in the space, but I’ve remained a loyal iPod/iTunes customer.

Two things, however, have compelled me to reevaluate that relationship. First, there’s the fact that I’m going to be migrating out east and the Windows box will not be accompanying me. So while I’ll have the XP partition on this laptop available in for emergencies, Windows will not be readily available as it is today. Second, the Windows/iTunes combination seems to have decided that mounting my iPod will no longer be necessary. And therein lies a story of moderate interest.

A couple of weeks back, following a return trip from somewhere, my iPod was sitting unsleeved on the table next to my door. The approximate height is perhaps three feet. Az, curious cat that she is, thought it might be amusing to see what would happen if the iPod was pushed off the edge of said table. After a half-hearted scolding (how mad can you get at animals?), I picked up the iPod to see what damage had been done and was pleased to see that on the surface, it appeared unscathed – it operated just as before. But while I cannot prove correlation, it’s my belief that that event was the beginning of my inability to get iTunes to recognize my iPod.

I tried all the usual tricks; resetting the iPod, reinstalling iTunes/iPod driver combinations, etc – all to no avail. Gradually I became resigned to the fact that I’d have an iPod that, while functional, could never be updated – or that would have to be repaired at some cost.

While on the trip down to Orlando this week, however, I happened to plug my iPod into the laptop to charge it, and was surprised to see that it mounted fine in Linux. I could even write to the disk, so clearly it wasn’t a hardware problem. So then I began to consider whether or not I could actually do without Windows for my music needs, and set about evaluating the Linux options in greater detail.

The verdict is not yet in, but I’m happy to say that my iPod is both visible and writable in not one but two different Linux applications; the pictured gtkpod, which even offers access to the iPod’s playlists and so on, and Banshee, which doesn’t have playlist editing yet (it’s underway) but is a much more capable music player interface. Neither player has anywhere near the polish that iTunes has – it’s my favorite music application by far – but they’re each usable in their own fashion. The major catch is that while both can read and play most music files, they are unable to render anything bought from the iTunes Music store (unless I can get some help from DVD Jon’s FairPlay, of course). Where would I buy my music if I can’t use iTunes? emusic.com, of course. While their Linux support is extremely limited, it’s something.

The biggest problem I’m likely to have then is logistical rather than technical; I keep all of my music on an external hard drive – it wouldn’t fit on my laptop – and I don’t really relish the thought of plugging it in every time I want to listen to music.

But just in case any of you were of the opinion that owning an iPod would preclude you from going to Linux, let me assure you that that is not the case. You’ll have to weigh – as I will this summer – the convenience of the overly restrictive commercial offerings against the more flexible but occasionally kluge (neither application would see my iPod until I mounted the device at /mnt/ipod) open source alternatives, but at least we have a choice. For that we should all give a hearty round of thanks to the fine developers of of the ipod-sharp, libipoddevice, gtkpod, and Banshee libraries and applications.