Winamp Plug-In Sets iPod Music Free

**Gobby** · 05-25-2005, 03:10 AM

IPod users are raving about a plug-in that makes the Winamp digital jukebox a better way to manage the iPod than Apple's iTunes.

The plug-in, called ml_iPod, allows iPod users to bypass iTunes and manage music collections in Winamp instead. The iPod is supposed to work with iTunes only. A new version of the software was released Monday.

Justin Frankel, creator of Winamp and the open-source peer-to-peer software Gnutella, initially developed ml_iPod, but programming was taken over by Will Fisher, a computer science student in the U.K. Fisher and other developers programmed a slew of features, including the ability to synch multiple iPods with Winamp, create smart playlists and -- the most useful option -- the ability to copy songs from an iPod onto a hard drive.

"A lot of the feedback I get is people thanking me for freeing them from iTunes," said Fisher. "It shows the dissatisfaction people have with iTunes."

Apple Computer did not respond to several requests for comment.

ITunes -- a 40-MB download -- takes up a lot of space on a computer, Fisher said. By contrast, Winamp is 4 MB and the plug-in only takes up 130 KB of space. "ITunes takes up a lot of resources on the computer. Winamp is a lot faster," Fisher said. "Indeed, a lot of our users are still using Windows 98, which iTunes doesn't work on."

http://www.mlipod.com/

**guino** · 05-25-2005, 03:38 AM

I don't have an iPod to try this out, but my question is: would this actually allow users to play music in winamp directly from the iPod ? If so, do you have to use the media library or can you simply "browse" a location for the songs/playlists etc ? I ask because it would be nice to be able to load the songs from the iPod into RR's playlist for instance.. I know I can do it with my "file-based" mp3 player.. and that's actually the main reason I did not get an iPod myself...

**Gobby** · 05-25-2005, 03:51 AM

I'm not entirely sure ... I don't own an ipod so can't test this, I just thought people here would be interested. I'm sure someone using Road Runner has an ipod and would be willing to test.

**Dox** · 05-25-2005, 04:14 AM

I haven't got WinAmp installed on this machine (yet), but have my wife's "pink" iPod plugged in the back. Hang on whilst I d/l & install and I'll let you know...

Dox

**Gobby** · 05-25-2005, 04:15 AM

Nice one, thanks Dox ..... if it works it looks as though Guino will include support for the iPod in Road Runner which would be a useful feature.

**Dox** · 05-25-2005, 04:49 AM

<f/x>Clock ticks...</f/x>

Seems to do...

Dox

**Gobby** · 05-25-2005, 04:55 AM

Doe sit play them direct from the iPod through the playlists?

**Dox** · 05-25-2005, 05:19 AM

Originally Posted by UK_MP3Car

Doe sit play them direct from the iPod through the playlists?

I'm currently listening to "my" playlist which selects some of the more reasonable (read less embarrassing) stuff on Sue's iPOD for when I stick it in the car on long runs and it's playing the list as if it was created in WinAmp for files on the PC.

I've just created an m3u playlist on the PC by adding tunes from the "ipod" in media library and peaking into it with notepad it's file references point to the ipod. I've imported the playlist into media library, and it's still referencing the file on the ipod.

There's a section in the config dialog for updating usage/rating info back and forth between the PC and the ipod, and tick box in "misc" that says "Smart Playlist Live Updating (very experimental)" so there are obviously some kinks still being worked out. But it seems to work flawlessly...

Right, I'm off back to listen to Sue's Duran Duran album... err, sorry, typo, meant to say somebody much cooler...

**shizzle** · 05-25-2005, 05:25 AM

Originally Posted by Dox

Right, I'm off back to listen to Sue's Duran Duran album... err, sorry, typo, meant to say somebody much cooler...

Thanks for the immediate feedback. Nothing like instant gratification on a forum!

**timwiththebo** · 05-26-2005, 08:54 AM

This would be an awesome feature in RR.

I imagine being able to listen to my favourite music from the small amount on the hard drive but then for longer journeys, I can just plug in my ipod and use the RR interface to access them.

You going to implement this Guino? I suppose we now need to raise some donations to get Guino an ipod!