Solutions For Mediaphiles!

"Yeah, how do you even rip CDs and encode videos with Ubuntu?! This can't be! I'm going back to Window$!!" Hold it right there partner! Ubuntu has some cool programs you'll love for doing common things we normally did back in Window$.

Once of these things is ripping audio CDs to the computer's HDD. Back in Windows there are tons of thousands of programs that do this, and most of them are worth $40.00+ and people end up downloading them from somewhere, illegally of course. Well, here in Ubuntu we don't have the need to pirate programs.

If you want a good CD ripper just go to Synaptic and search for:

sound-juicer

This little program (found in Applications>Sound & Video>Audio CD Extractor) rips your music and converts it to WAV, MP3, OGG and others. After ripping the music just sync it with your mp3 player (gtkpod-aac for iPods and as of other mp3 players you're on your own. I don't have any other mp3 player which I can test. I do know that iPod Classic 160GB, iPod Nano 1st gen 4GB and iPod Shuffle 2nd gen 1GB work perfectly in gtkpod, if you have a Zune...well...you're pretty much alone in the dark since no one can make a Zune work with Linux this far...go figure.)

And what if you want to convert videos for your iPod?...SIMPLE! just follow my instructions on how to install ffmpeg and winff found here.

I won't go into much detail here because these programs are pretty easy to figure out. But if you encounter any problems or you have questions, just post them on the comments section! I'll be happy to help!
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iPod + Ubuntu = LOVE!

So, many people think iTunes is the only place where you can manage your iPod...well...THEY'RE WRONG!!! In Windows there are lots of programs for iPod management, most of them being dangerous to use. But in Ubuntu there are tons of other programs, which could be dangerous for your iPod too...There are lots of music-playback programs that claim to have iPod management, most of them just let you play the songs on the iPod and not download or upload songs to and from you iPod.

Ok, in my case I tried Rhythmbox (Ubuntu Hardy's default music player) which I love, but it's iPod management is kinda sucky...and while surfing the Ubuntu Forums, I found a little program called "gtkpod-aac" which is awesome!!!

Some people might argument that it makes an iPod recognize songs as "other" files... Never happened to me, never had a problem. Obviously there's always a risk, but I've never had a problem with any of my iPods.

To install: Go to Synaptic Package Manager (System->Administration->Synaptic package manager), and search for "gtkpod-aac" select it, and hit "Apply" and wait for the program to install.

Once installed go to Applications->Sound & Video->gtkpod.

Once inside, connect your iPod and if everything is alright it will automatically recognize it! Almost everything related to download and upload of songs to and from the iPod is done by Drag&Drop, so it can't get any easier =)!

Since gtkpod has robust features I'm not going to explain everything it does...it'll take a lot of time. So if you need a manual for using and understanding gtkpod, just check the online ReadMe and you'll find all the info you might need.

If you have any specific questions, just post them below on the comments' section as always!

Note: I've tested this program with my 4GB 1st gen iPod nano and my beloved 160GB iPod Classic and both of them work great!!! Everything works smoothly, and there's no mess in playlists! I haven't tested any other iPod models.

Second Note: gtkpod can add music as well as videos to your iPod (if it's a video-capable iPod) but I haven't tested adding pictures...I believe that for pictures you'll need to use a different program. I'll check that out and update this post.
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