[Rhythmbox-devel] Fix Sync (to device) errors

[Denis Korkut <dkorkut sfu ca>]

Many people use rhythmbox for its simplicity (and how it looks/functions
like iTunes) but syncing is usually a pain, for me anyways. And here are
a few things that should be taken into consideration for future
development.

1) I have to sync music to my phone, which requires the .is_audio_player
file, which is one annoyance , why can't rhythmbox just ask users if it
is a audio player, when plugged in? (but this isn't a huge problem, but
it is if the user does not read the help files, so maybe a popup
notifying users should be shown [only once] if any removable device is
seen)

2) RhythmBox does not know when the device is full. When ever I want to
shuffle my library and put it onto my phone, RhythmBox always thinks my
phone has 27GB of storage. Before syncing RhythmBox should calculate the
number of songs that will fit with respect to the devices actual free
space.

3) (This is also connected to the above) Error messages when device is
full. This is a HUGE problem, whenever I want to shuffle my library into
my device (I use the method shown in #4) I get a thousand+ message of
theres no space for this song and that song. When I get back to my
computer, I usually see tons of windows open, rhythmbox should use a
list of songs that can't be transferred, like iTunes, or atleast a
'Export Errors' sidebar list, similar to the Import Errors list.


4) No easy or fast option to shuffle songs into a device. This is
extremely useful for those with small capacity devices, and huge
libraries. There should be a Shuffle Library to device, or similar
'automatic' function. Making a play queue and shuffling it and then
putting it onto the device isn't that bad, but it took me a while to
figure it out.

These suggestions should help retain more new users, especially since
they look for good integration with audio devices, and new users usually
need guidance and/or automation.

Other than this, as a new user myself, everything seems great.


Thanks!

Denis