iPod and generic mp3 player support in Edgy and Dapper

[Sean Hammond]

It seems we ran afoul of this bug:

https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+source/linux-source-2.6.15/+bug/49052

The Dapper kernel has no support for the journalling option of the
iPods HFS+ filesystem. In order for any application to be able to
write to iPods in Linux (at least with the Dapper  kernel) journalling
must be turned off on the iPod, which as far as we know can only be
achieved with OS X.

Once journalling is off, the combination of Rhythmbox (play files from
iPod) and GTKPod (moves files to/from iPod) works well in Dapper, at
least with the ipod we tested. This is what we'll recommend to people
with Dapper.  Banshee seems to be buggy -- displays the name of the
ipod wrong, and we found the UI least intuitive. We did not try
Amarok.

Still, I'm interested to know what the state of ipod support is in
edgy, and also how the generic mp3 player support in rhythmbox works
in dapper and edgy, particularly will it convert oggs to mp3?

On 10/9/06, Sean Hammond <sean.hammond at gmail.com> wrote:
> No, we'll try Amarok.
>
> I also found this launchpad entry:
>
> https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+spec/rhythmbox-ipod
>
> which says that ipod support for rhythmbox in dapper was 'deferred.'
> Since we know rhythmbox could play from ipod in dapper, I assume the
> entry is about full support.
>
> And this wiki page:
>
> https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+spec/rhythmbox-ipod
>
> which says iPods work with Banshee, GTKPod and Amarok in Dapper,
> though we know from our own testing that Banshee and GTKPod are buggy
> (both crashed).
>
> Neither page has info about Edgy.
>
> It seems that if journalling is enabled on the iPods HFS+ filesystem
> then Linux (in Dapper) mounts the iPod as read only, which may explain
> banshee and gtkpod crashing. You can disable journalling on the ipod
> via OSX, though probably not via WinXP or Ubuntu. We are going to find
> out if disabling journalling fixes things.
>
> On 10/9/06, Patrick Carey <paddycarey at gmail.com> wrote:
> > i always found the ipod support in amarok to be pretty good, even in
> > breezy, but better in dapper and edgy, have you tried that?
> >
> > On Mon, 2006-10-09 at 13:58 +0100, Sean Hammond wrote:
> > > Ah, actually it seems GTKPod does not work on Dapper, it tries to sync
> > > the changes to the iPod before exiting:
> > >
> > > Error opening '/media/ipod/iPod_Control/Music/F04/gtkpod424116.mp3'
> > > for writing (Read-only file system).
> > >
> > > Error opening '/media/ipod/iPod_Control/Music/F05/gtkpod302268.mp3'
> > > for writing (Read-only file system).
> > >
> > > It looks as if iPod support, via Rhythmbox, Banshee or GTKPod is
> > > pretty dodgy on both Breezy and Dapper. What about Edgy?
> > >
> > > On 10/9/06, Sean Hammond <sean.hammond at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > More info, my Ubuntu Breezy user reported to me that GTKPod didn't
> > > > work. My friend running Dapper who found that Rhythmbox and Banshee
> > > > failed tells me GTKPod does work. Any info on the status of GTKPod?
> > > >
> > > > On 10/9/06, Sean Hammond <sean.hammond at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > > So, among the people I have installed Ubuntu Breezy for I have:
> > > > >
> > > > > * Someone with an iPod who had mixed results using it with GTKPod and
> > > > > Banshee, Rhythmbox didn't use it at all apparently
> > > > >
> > > > > * Someone who ripped a load of music into OGG then went out and bought
> > > > > an mp3 player
> > > > >
> > > > > So, I wanted to know what the support for these devices is like on
> > > > > Edgy and  Dapper, but I can't try them myself since I don't own any,
> > > > > although I have some info about ipods and Dapper from a friend:
> > > > >
> > > > > * Rhythmbox can play music from iPod, but that's all (can't move music
> > > > > on or off the ipod)
> > > > >
> > > > > * Banshee seems to support moving music on and off the iPod, but crashes
> > > > >
> > > > > So what is the status of iPod support in Rhythmbox and Banshee on
> > > > > Dapper and Edgy?
> > > > >
> > > > > And I've heard the Rhythmbox ipod plugin does OGG-mp3 conversion. How
> > > > > does the Generic MP3 player plugin in Rhythmbox work? Will it
> > > > > automatically convert OGGs to MP3 when you drag them onto the MP3
> > > > > player? On Dapper? On Edgy?
> > > > >
> > > > > So I can figure out how best to help these embattled users at some
> > > > > point in the future.
> > > > >
> > > > > Thanks!
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> >
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> >
>