BoatBanter.com - Interesting gun. I don't have one...

On 12/20/2015 7:38 PM, Keyser SÃ¶ze wrote:
On 12/20/15 7:16 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/20/2015 6:55 PM, Keyser SÃ¶ze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/20/2015 6:32 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 20 Dec 2015 17:13:45 -0500, Keyser SÃ¶ze
wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 12/20/2015 4:55 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 20 Dec 2015 15:52:30 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"

wrote:

Even when you download iTunes
and install on a Windows based computer it takes forever. That
was the
first thing I noticed on the iMac when updating the OS. Come to
think
of it, even the OS revisions for the iPad take a long time.

===

That's because the first thing that iTunes does is lay claim to
all of
your music files, rename them, and restructure your music
directories.
It took me a week to get everything back to the way I wanted it.

You are right. I had forgotten that. I deleted iTunes from this
and my
previous Vista computer because I got tired of doing everything
to do
with music files the "Apple" way. Much better saving the files
where I
want them, not where Apple thinks they should be.

You can put the music files wherever you want. Mine reside on my
server, a
non-apple product, and are accessible via all our devices, via
hardwire, wi
fi or via data sources off the premises.

AKA avoiding Apple when you can

That was my conclusion. I tried using iTunes for my music files but
found it to be convoluted and way too complex to use. I stored the
music in folders I created and organized instead. I kept iTunes on all
the computers (the Vista laptop and this Win 7) while I had the iMac
and was trying to get used to it. When I got rid of the iMac I also
got
rid of iTunes.

I remember once that iTunes automatically started changing mp3
extensions to mp4 which ****ed me off. The older Vista computer
couldn't read mp4 so, in order to send a file via the wifi network from
the iMac to the Vista, I had to manually change the extension back to
mp3. Don't know why Apple decided to make that change. It started
after one of the many iTunes "updates".

Yeah, it was really difficult. I set up a directory on my sever and
pointed
itunes at it. Whew! ðŸ˜… guess some would find that . . . Tough.

I didn't say it was "tough". I said it ****ed me off because I didn't
want them stored as mp4 files. I saved them as mp3 but iTunes decided
they should be mp4. There was no notice of the change whenever they
decided to start doing this. I discovered by accident that right
clicking on the file allowed me to transfer it via the network as a mp3
rather than an mp4. Another one of those "intuitive" Apple things that
you should just *know*, I guess.

It's well-hidden in the help files:

Choose import options
Choose iTunes Preferences, click General, and click Import Settings.

Choose an encoding format from the Import Using pop-up menu.

AAC Encoder: Use for most music. You can listen to songs encoded using
this format in iTunes, on iPhone and iPad, and on iPod models that come
with a dock connector.

AIFF Encoder: Use if you want to burn high-quality CDs with the songs
youâ€™re importing without losing audio quality.

Apple Lossless Encoder: Use if you want to listen to imported songs on
audiophile-quality sound systems without losing audio quality. (Songs
imported using this format take up much more disk space.)

MP3 Encoder: Use if you plan to listen to music in apps other than
iTunes, or on MP3 players other than iPod, iPhone, or iPad.

WAV Encoder: Use if youâ€™ll be playing your songs on a computer that
doesnâ€™t have MP3 software.

Choose a bit rate from the Setting pop-up menu (not available with Apple
Lossless Encoder). In most cases, the default selection works well. If
you chose MP3 Encoder, you can choose one of the following:

Good Quality: Choose to fit more songs on a portable MP3 player with
limited storage capacity.

High Quality: Choose if you play music in a noisy environment. This
setting creates files that are about 1 MB in size per minute of music.

Higher Quality: Choose if you plan to create your own audio CDs or
listen to your music with high-quality stereo speakers.

Custom: Choose for greater control over the file size and sound quality.

Of course, you might have to spend 30 seconds calling up the built in
help file.

I remember reading it after I found it by accident. I never found an
option to store them only as mp3 by a default setting though. Maybe you
can but I never found it. It may be a minor task to have to select the
format and extension but it's still a nuisance and another example of
Apple software deciding stuff for you.