How do I get rid of my CDs? - Page 2

You're thinking too hard. The iPod is owned by his kid. Kids today don't listen to albums.

No wonder my brain, what there is of it, hurts.
Oh yea. Duh.

This thread seems to have gone the iTunes route. I don't care for iTunes myself, and there are other music managers that are very intuitive, such as MusicBee. Easily lets you rip CDs to flac. If you want to look at non-Apple streaming options, ask in the AVS Networking, Media Servers & Content Streamers forum.

Yes. That's governed by the tags on the individual song files.

Personally I would never use an Apple product or format. I spent three years in Apple hell with an iMac. I have all my music on my PC and use foobar2000 to play it. Foobar has a steep learning curve but handles hi-def .flac files without lossy conversions. For ripping EAC is my preferred program.

Sorry to hear of your rough ride with Apple. Did you avail yourself of the help at AppleCare? Many have had the reverse experience, I don't hear of cases like yours much, not to say you didn't have trouble.

FLAC and Apple Lossless serve exactly the same function. They both "pack" data more compactly, but don't through any away. You can "teach" iTunes to do FLAC, but I've never seen the point.

Computer systems are very personal things. I can't understand why people put up with Windows, but I know that's just me. The virtue of Apple for a beginner is that, as they say, it just works. When you get more advanced, you may find things you want to do that Apple won't let you do (at least not easily), but that's rarely a concern when you're just starting out.

Your assumption here seems to be that Apple is the best choice for people, and that any divergence from that can be solved by AppleCare. That's not true.

My point here is not to start a war here about which is better (anyone who wants to do that can go research and join the many existing arguments on the web). Rather there are good reasons for using Apple, and there are good reasons for using alternatives. One is a good fit for some people, another a better fit for others. I completely understand why some of my colleagues and friends like Apple products, but they are not for me. (And yes, I've used and owned Apple products.)

Now in this thread, there was not enough investigation into what software and products Wheels already uses. Could be that an alternative would have been a more user friendly choice for him.

Windows Media Play and/or Media Center are included with Windows. You can set the rip settings to lossles one time and forget it. Why bother with ITunes? just an extra (very popular) but totally unnecessary bloated resource hogging application. Bothersome with the constant update notifications that want to install hundred plus megabyte bloatware programs with each update. WMP is actually much more forgiving,and easy for managing the libraries and play lists, Backups, moving to different/ other / new computers and players is all so much easier.
If you have not started down the dark proprietary path of Apple yet don't start now.

Exactly.

If the OP uses and likes Windows Media Player/Media Center, then that could be a better solution for him. We don't even know if he has a DLNA capable receiver. He might, with no need to go out and buy an AirPort Express.

Your assumption of my assumption is presumptuous. How's that for a sentence? The statement above doesn't reflect my view at all. I never stated that Apple is the best choice for people. I have stated that I believe iTunes to be one of the easiest to learn and most versatile of computer music systems. That's all I've said in this thread. I asked if the poster had tried to resolve his/her issues by availing themselves of AppleCare. They have an excellent track record. I don't buy extended warranties in principle, but have always purchased an AppleCare plan because it covers not only the hardware and software, but dumb things I do or may not understand about the hardware and software. It's not training, but it lets me ask questions about how this work, or why they don't, and gets me answers. I have not found a similar situation with Windows systems, mostly because the hardware and software are provided by many different companies, so there's no one "go-to" support line. But I own both Windows PCs (several) and Macs (several) and work in both regularly. Been "cross platform" since the early 1990s. I like to think that puts me in a position to compare fairly. No wars started, no shots fired. Everyone is free to opine.
Agreed. The OP seemed fairly novice, like he was looking for initial direction without having taken the first step, but that too was an assumption. We shoulda asked.

Back in the early 80's I read an article about choosing computer systems for business and technical use. The title was something like "Choosing the right system... If You Picked the Hardware First, Loose One Turn". The idea was, pick the application you like that does the job best, and get the hardware it runs on. With iTunes, you don't have to pick between Mac and Windows. And, frankly, with a Mac, you can run Windows natively too. So the argument isn't as strong today as 30 years ago. But, if you love Windows Media Player, there's no Mac OS version, so that's the direction to take.

No arguments, just preferences.

This is a typical anti-Mac argument. It's every bit out of balance as the hard-core Mac stance. Both have their strong and weak sides. Neither is perfect. Let's not start the Mac/PC war here, it's really pointless. Let's spare the thread from comparisons too. It's all be done before, been done to death, there's no winner.

I use both Mac and PC, and there are times when I love each one, times when I hate them both. There are days when I wish I could just go back to Unix and be done with it. Then I open Photoshop, and forget all about Unix. Computers are tools, not religious artifacts. And all big companies have a dark side. The bigger, the darker. Ooops, just my opinion.

I didn't say you stated it, but it was certainly "presumptuous" to assume that AppleCare would be the solution for someone that used an iMac for three years and hated the experience. I've owned an OSX PowerMac tower and iPad and got rid of them both within about six months because I didn't like the experience. AppleCare would not have helped me either. LOL

So we agree. We really should ask the OP questions like what music manager he likes to use? What kind of receiver does he have? Is he planning on getting a smartphone?

If the latter is true and he's thinking of getting an Android, I don't think the trip into Apple land is necessarily the best choice. Apple works well as part of a complete software/hardware ecosystem. Not necessarily the best choice is people are familiar with and using other software ecologies.

I say again, did you try calling AppleCare when troubles arose? Did you take any of the training Apple offers to people transitioning from Windows? OR did you just struggle along hating them for six months because they were different? No that would be fruitless. He's asking us what kind of music manager he should use. How is the receiver pertinent to what kind of music manager he should use? That one I'll agree with. But the choice of the Android could be causing him to "loose one turn" (from the previous post).
That one is loaded. The specific choices are entirely situational. It's not so much that people are unfamiliar with the Apple OS, it's if they are willing to learn it and discover its strengths. IF people just lock into how different it is, and use that as the primary reason for not liking it, then those are the folks who should stay with what they know. I've seen people go through the learning curve in both directions, Mac > Windows, and Windows > Mac. Neither one is exactly a no-brainer. It has entirely to do with the individual's desire for the advantages to be gained, regardless of which direction.

Here's two examples to help make the point. A person who's been Mac only for life now has to use a business accounting program that only runs in Windows. She doesn't like the transition, but learns it because there is great benefit in having her small business accounting on a computer.

A Windows user is plagued by mal-ware and viruses. His main activity is fielding emails from his company's web site, and though the company provides the latest virus protection software, it's always a couple of weeks behind the latest viruses. His Windows PC is constantly needing to be de-virused, or re-built from scratch. He is given a Mac by the company to avoid those problems, and keep him on a working computer with less virus issues. He doesn't like the transition to the Mac, but learns it because it's less of a pain than dealing with a virus and mal-ware laden PC.

Both transitions were unwelcome, but both had benefits too. Look, it doesn't matter who uses what, so long as they're happy. But let's not take shots at either OS in and of itself. They're both good and bad, their both different from each other. All computers crash sooner or later. The advantages and disadvantages of both should be weighed, then a decision made, followed by effort expended at becoming fully proficient on the system chosen. Otherwise the benefit that drove the choice in the first place remains unrealized.

Here is is again. AppleCare to the rescue. Who said there were "troubles?" My dissatisfaction with the Apple experience is related to the particular design of the hardware/platform/software and how well they fit my needs, not a lack of understanding of how to use them. Apple products aren't that hard to figure out if one has the technical expertise.

Yes, I go to AppleCare when someone's not happy because in most cases its lack of understanding of software or hardware, or failure of software or hardware. Seems not in your case. So you were not dealing with a "problem" with the hardware or software, you were dealing with unfulfilled needs and expectations. No tech support would help you with that one. You must have unique needs and expectations.

I don't understand. You go to AppleCare when "someone's" not happy? Sounds like you must provide end user support for Apple products.

Error in my phrasing. I mean, I usually suggest that people can get help with their Mac problems by going to AppleCare because most, the vast majority, relate to lack of understanding of hardware or software, or malfunction of hardware or software. I understand that you are saying none of this was true in your case. That makes you quite unique, but not unheard of. It also probably disqualifies you from presenting a balanced view, but that's fine. Your experiences were real and your opinions valid.

I do not provide computer support for anyone outside my own family. The support I supply to my family is on both platforms. I use both Windows and Mac based products every day, and have for 20 years. There are very few tasks that I cannot accomplish on both platforms, most equally well, but a few better on one or the other, and a few applications I use on Windows have no Mac OS version. I have the Adobe Suite on both, and Office on both. The only Mac-only applications in my world outside those included with the OS are Final Cut (video editing), Aperture, and QuarkXpress, which we haven't purchased for both platforms. The Windows-only apps are for programming control systems, acoustic and electronic analysis, and calibrating Audyssey. The Audyssey application won't run on a virtual Windows OS, it has to be native. The others virtualize more or less ok.

None of that is really pertinent to the discussion, though. Perhaps we should stop?

These are pretty big assumptions to make. I have done some end user tech support and training in my career (more so in the past than now), and I also regularly evaluate digital technology as part of my job. Many end user problems with a lot of technology relates to a lack in technological literacy skills or malfunctioning hardware or software. The fact that AppleCare can help people work around where it was not a good fit for them initially, does not necessarily mean that it was a good choice overall. But it is good for Apple's customer relations--it helps to make people happy--and it fits their brand image and marketing strategy quite well. Just good business (as opposed to Microsoft who has regularly floundered on the customer support/customer relations end)

So what I've heard in this thread is a defensive posture supporting Apple. And don't suppose I'm some big Microsoft fan. I actually despise Apple and Microsoft as companies about equally (lol).

My experience has been that determining a particular user's hardware/software needs is much more complex than you have made it out to be. I tend to recommend technology based on a variety of factors. Not just on it's suitability for the task at hand, but also considerations such as the user's particular technological literacy skill set, their current technology ecology (e.g. the variety of platforms they are currently using and how they use them), potential future needs, time to acquire literacy with the new technology, and of course financial costs.

As much as I don't appreciate being misquoted, or at least misunderstood, I'm going to refrain from a response to this. It's not helpful to continue a circular argument.

We've made our suggestions, stated our positions. If the OP has any further questions he will ask.

Review my post again. You were not misquoted. I used the quoting feature on the site to quote you. It is a red herring to imply that happened.

I wasn't referring to the obviously verbatim text in the quote box. It's not important that you get it, though.

As I said, I use foobar. That is what made it easy for me to put all(most) my music on my pc. I tried an iMac for three years largely because OSX seemed to be a superior operating system. I did this after several decades of being a PC user. It was the hardware, impossible to repair or upgrade and inferior for the price, that made me return to PCs. I am writing this on a PC with 16GB of ram, several TB of disk shortage, a SSD OS/program drive, a AMD HD7850 video card, all at less than half the price of an equivalent Apple if there were such a thing. I can easily pull out and replace all the components, impossible with an Apple (other than the very expensive Mac Pro). Admittedly the desktop computer is headed to obsolescence and will be replaced with tablets. For that I will use Android or Windows 8 (truly awful on a desktop computer though).

Then your statement was erroneous, just as I said. Misquoting means that the quoted text was inaccurate or otherwise incorrect (such as wrong person attributed to a quote). There's no other meaning to that term. Look it up.

Sigh.

If I actually typed the words "You are right." and "You win", would you stop arguing? I'm guessing not.

You are right.

You win.

Back to the original question. If you have a windows based computer I suggest using Windows media player to rip all of your CD's go to options- rip cds- quality set to lossless or wav. Then you can use several options to connect the PC to powered speakers or HiFi equipment in your house. Not sure what you currently are using to listen to your CD's but if it should have inputs for an external source a cable is easiest go from your audio out on the soundcard to RCA in on your sound system. Digital is a better option but you need a newer Receiver or powered speakers. If the sound system and your PC are not setup close together wireless is also easy, check this out to help: http://audioengineusa.com/Store/Audioengine-W3#.UH1vJ8VX3ng

That makes sense, though personally, I prefer using an Apple TV instead of Airport Express + Remote.

I scanned this thread and didn't see any mention of iTunes Match. It's a $25/yr service that will automatically upload/match any music in your iTunes library, making your entire collection available from the cloud.
You can then stream or download your music to your PC/Mac running iTunes, Apple TV or iPhone, iPad etc.

I got rid of all my CD's (14,000 tracks) this year using the service. I often buy new music & podcasts while at work, and anything I add to my iTunes library here is automatically available from my phone for the drive home, on my Apple TV when I get home and on my laptop when I want to edit/play with it (i'm a dj).

I went ahead and ripped all my wife's and kids music, linking it all to the same Apple ID account, so no matter what device anyone is using, the entire family's library is available.
I then used the cash from selling the CD's to buy everyone gift cards to go and get more music for us to share.

I got the Apple TV as a gift, but pairing it with iTunes Match has dramatically changed my listening habits - all the music my wife and I ever owned is fully available from the living room. No fear of a hard drive crash, no relying on a PC battery, no manual syncing.

I keep about 30,000 songs using MediaMonkey which I love. I've NEVER been an Apple fan and refuse to use their products due to their "proprietary" nature. I will not get locked into an Apple solution, and I've been managing technology for almost 30 years now.