This weekend I had a go at getting my iPod working under my Ubuntu Linux OS. The first problem was that I couldn't write or delete anything on the ipod, even as root. So I had to visit my brother to use his Windows XP laptop to wipe the ipod and reset it to factory settings. This helped with the write problems.
So far so good. Next I tried to write my music library to the ipod via the Amarok interface I use (which is, for every other use, superb). The files write OK but only in short batches. If I try and write more than, say, 10gb then something falls over and the whole thing crashes. The files are present on the ipod but the contents database isn't there (Amarok must write this after it writes the music files). The end result is that the music is there but the ipod clickwheel menu system doesn't show it as present. I need to read into this a bit more. My current workaround is to use Amarok to manage my music collection and gtkpod to do all the to and fro business with the ipod. Not ideal.
This is how things are with Linux in my experience. Lots of fiddling around to get things working. I don't mind this though because a) everything is free and b) when things do get working they are superb in terms of reliability and functionality. However, I must admit that at times this weekend I've felt like buying a Mac.
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