Re: [Rhythmbox-devel] Future Goals

[David Scotson <davidscotson mac com>]

On Saturday, August 2, 2003, at 04:10  pm, Sam Clegg wrote:

> Not sure how itunes handles local playlists being xfered to the
> ipod.  I'm guessing it does a bidirection sync of all playlists
> when the device is plugged in (with one or the other taking presidence
> in case of conflicts).

The general concept for iTunes-iPod integration is that the iPod is the 
end of the line and data only goes to the iPod, never getting read back 
(apart from, possibly, track play counts).

Basically every management function is controlled by iTunes and the 
iPod is just a dumb player. One semi-exception is the ability to create 
an on-the-go playlist on the iPod but these are wiped every time you 
sync. Further, each iPod only talks with one copy of iTunes because, as 
part of a minor sop to DRM, you have to pair your iPod with a single 
computer so iTunes expects to find only what it has put on the iPod 
with no songs or playlists added from elsewhere. If you plug it into a 
different computer it will ask you if you want to pair and then proceed 
to wipe the iPod if you say yes. Only a one-way sync is therefore 
required for iTunes.

The default sync behaviour is for your entire iTunes Library to be 
copied to the iPod and then any changes, additions or deletions made to 
your iTunes Library are synced to the iPod each time it is plugged in.

If you have more songs than can fit on your iPod (or are just choosy 
about what you want to carry with you) then you can sync only selected 
playlists to the iPod. The third and final option is to manually manage 
what tracks are updated.

For the sake of ease-of-use (and ease-of-programming) I would suggest 
copying the pairing idea but instead of wiping the iPod when you pair 
to a new machine, give the option to add the music to the new machine's 
Library and allow read-only access to the iPod on non-paired machines.

cheers,

dave scotson