Sort. Ing. Ob. Jects.
Dec. 1st, 2004 01:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pseydtonneI really like having an iPod. It brings me instant access to songs and albums I haven't listened to in years. It combines the benefits of MP3 files -- portability, single tracks easily played at random -- with the ability to play entire albums in series. On the way to work today, I played XTC's 1980 beauty The Black Sea without having to worry the changer in the trunk would screw me out of the first few tracks. I could also skip the couple tracks I don't care about. It did have a problem loading a track, but I backed up and it make the leap the second time. I'll assume any machine of this complexity in such a compact space (shit, the thing is more complex than my first 32-bit computer and has as big a hard drive as what was cutting edge three years ago).
Unfortunately, having an iPod means dealing with Apple's software. In this case, I'm talking about iTunes, a bureaucratic hunk that turns my giant stacks of loose tunes into a spreadsheet with half the entries missing. Why can't iTunes figure out ID3 tags automatically when it imports songs? This shouldn't be the trickiest thing.
Before certain Macophiliacs get wingnut about "how dare you trash talk the sacred blabitty bloo", save it. I was using Apple equipment when you were in diapers. They still have this problem of needing to reinvent the wheel and making the user fix problems and feel honored to do it. Hey, back in 1992 when System 7.0.1 could kick Windows 3.1's ass easily and do it with less, that was great. It wasn't until OS 10.1 that they could keep a minor app crash from crashing the computer and still get working networking at the same time (from 7.1 until 9.2 you had working networking; with OS X.1 you had a BSD variant but somehow had no TCP/IP stack worth booting). Apple is a company, just like any other major corporation. Expect issues. People have issues with my company, too. I'm not saying "burn Cupertino!" I'm just asking.
Those of you that don't geek may have no idea what an ID3 tag is. Let's say you play an MP3. It probably has a file name such as "01-Song_of_Joy.mp3". When you play it in Winamp, what you see on the screen is actually "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Song of Joy". The computer isn't guessing that data: it's been slapped on the end of the file as a bunch of formatted information. The slab of appendix is the ID3 tag. Often you'll grab an MP3 (legally or not) and it won't have this tag (for example, you weren't online when you ripped the disc so the ripping software didn't add the song info). You may never have noticed because Winamp extrapolated enough from the file title to make a band name and song title.
I've been using Winamp since 1998. Back then I only had a few MP3s and what would now be considered an antiquated computer. Winamp was always able to play the tracks (well, at least once they came out with a version that could handle Variable Bit Rate rips, which happened later) and make its wuss attempt at shuffling them. It just worked; it wasn't dynamic. As I think about it, it's been the Model T of MP3 players -- you can mod it out as you see fit but it's really only there to play tunes. In turn, every PC owner can turn it on and get music.
iTunes is not content to play your tunes. It wants to be Tivo, figuring out your next move. It wants to be your home version of the Library at Alexandria. It wants to impress you about what you already have or sell you more stuff by those artists you like. It isn't smart enough to figure out a fake ID3 tag from a file name because I guess that's plebeian. Apple is only for the Sacred Few, after all -- people too busy creating to be bothered to learn how to monitor their resources.
I'm going through programs that can label songs without my doing them manually. Frnakly, I wanted to rant so badly but I've tossed most of it. It's just been annoying. Now that I've sorted a lot of the files (I still have about 1000 to go), the randomizer is pulling better. I don't know why, but it does. This is a reward for a fit of OCD.
Unfortunately, having an iPod means dealing with Apple's software. In this case, I'm talking about iTunes, a bureaucratic hunk that turns my giant stacks of loose tunes into a spreadsheet with half the entries missing. Why can't iTunes figure out ID3 tags automatically when it imports songs? This shouldn't be the trickiest thing.
Before certain Macophiliacs get wingnut about "how dare you trash talk the sacred blabitty bloo", save it. I was using Apple equipment when you were in diapers. They still have this problem of needing to reinvent the wheel and making the user fix problems and feel honored to do it. Hey, back in 1992 when System 7.0.1 could kick Windows 3.1's ass easily and do it with less, that was great. It wasn't until OS 10.1 that they could keep a minor app crash from crashing the computer and still get working networking at the same time (from 7.1 until 9.2 you had working networking; with OS X.1 you had a BSD variant but somehow had no TCP/IP stack worth booting). Apple is a company, just like any other major corporation. Expect issues. People have issues with my company, too. I'm not saying "burn Cupertino!" I'm just asking.
Those of you that don't geek may have no idea what an ID3 tag is. Let's say you play an MP3. It probably has a file name such as "01-Song_of_Joy.mp3". When you play it in Winamp, what you see on the screen is actually "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Song of Joy". The computer isn't guessing that data: it's been slapped on the end of the file as a bunch of formatted information. The slab of appendix is the ID3 tag. Often you'll grab an MP3 (legally or not) and it won't have this tag (for example, you weren't online when you ripped the disc so the ripping software didn't add the song info). You may never have noticed because Winamp extrapolated enough from the file title to make a band name and song title.
I've been using Winamp since 1998. Back then I only had a few MP3s and what would now be considered an antiquated computer. Winamp was always able to play the tracks (well, at least once they came out with a version that could handle Variable Bit Rate rips, which happened later) and make its wuss attempt at shuffling them. It just worked; it wasn't dynamic. As I think about it, it's been the Model T of MP3 players -- you can mod it out as you see fit but it's really only there to play tunes. In turn, every PC owner can turn it on and get music.
iTunes is not content to play your tunes. It wants to be Tivo, figuring out your next move. It wants to be your home version of the Library at Alexandria. It wants to impress you about what you already have or sell you more stuff by those artists you like. It isn't smart enough to figure out a fake ID3 tag from a file name because I guess that's plebeian. Apple is only for the Sacred Few, after all -- people too busy creating to be bothered to learn how to monitor their resources.
I'm going through programs that can label songs without my doing them manually. Frnakly, I wanted to rant so badly but I've tossed most of it. It's just been annoying. Now that I've sorted a lot of the files (I still have about 1000 to go), the randomizer is pulling better. I don't know why, but it does. This is a reward for a fit of OCD.
