ok I have an ipod and the only program that would sync almost right was a windows program from red chair software. Now I found the perfect program (for windows ) Winamp, it will auto convert to mp3 with tags intact and also convert replaygain tags to soundcheck. I haven't tried syncing after the first sync to see if it will only add new instead of redoing all like a linux app I tried to use did. You see most of my collection is in FLAC now with replaygain info. Anyway on to why I am posting

I want a native linux app that will deal with the ipod as well as winamp does, oh and winamp also doesn't leave converted mp3s that won't play on the ipod like so many other software. I do not need the music player functionality. I have tried Floola, gtkpod and some others that will freeze or have some files that can't be played and NONE seem to do the soundcheck conversion. Any ideas are welcome thanks to all who reply

Unless I'm completely mistaken, the "best" iPod apps on Linux all use the same library for accessing the iPods (the versions might differ, but the library is probably the same in all of them). So the device access shouldn't much depend on which program you use -- GTKpod, Amarok, Rhythmbox or something else -- but the rest might, like media type conversion (from audio type X to mp3 for example), though typically they too are not done by the program itself (like Amarok) but by an external program or library. By far the best apps I've used with iPods are Amarok (for QT desktops like KDE) and GTKpod (for GTK desktops like Gnome).

Note that not all the new iPods necessarily work well with the library used to access them, as they differ quite a lot from the older generation iPods; on some new models like iPod Touch the database is different (if I remember right, it had something to do with encryption or something like that), and that caused trouble at least when the things were new and shiny. Could well be that they work well now too, but I would first make sure before buying anything..

In short, if neither Amarok nor GTKpod satisfies your needs, probably nothing will. iTunes is the only app I know that should "do it all the best way", but based on my experiences, it's worse than bad (at least on anything else than a Mac), so..in short, iPod owners just have to admit they have paid a lot for trouble including me, even though I didn't pay that much.

Having recently been given an iPod Touch (Software version 1.1.4), I now hate Apple. Previously I had "No opinion" of them.

It does now sync with Amarok (well, the music does, not the Album Art, but I can live without that).

I had to go through several steps:

1] "Jailbreak" it (using a windows-only program)
2] Set up ssh
3] Set up key-authenticated logins to my iPod
4] Configure it so it connects to my wireless network
5] Configure Amarok.
6] Sync my music
7] Reboot the iPod (2 finger salute) so the music shows up

It will only sync if it is connected by wireless ssh to my network. Data transfer is over wireless because Apple have apparently implemented a non-standard USB interface. Wireless data transfer is slower than USB.

I understand that any update from Apple may break this hard-earned functionality.

I am never going to buy Apple stuff in the future. (Even if the hardware is pretty!)

Here are some links I found useful:

http://lifehacker.com/388785/sync-yo...essly-in-linux (The itouch software is basically the same as the iPhone's )
http://lifehacker.com/370532/jailbre...-in-45-seconds
http://lance-systems.com/wiki/sync-i...uch-with-linux

i have a 3rd generation iPod nano, and so far the ONLY program i have gotten to work properly with it was Floola...

yes I admit it, but %^$ it, it was the only choice if I wanted all the cool accessories as none of the other players are popular enough to have EVERYONE make accessories for them . Plus it had the large storage I needed, I am not a playlist type of guy, I never know what mood I'll be in so I like to tote my whole collection lol. So it seems for now I am stuck with winamp, I suppose it won't be so bad when Wine is able to handle USB requests or even start winamp

oh BTW I have a 5G or 5.5G ipod video 30 gig, so there should be no compatibility problems, I guess if I wait long enough floola which I found the most promising will have the features I need, I'll just put in some requests and plenty of bug reports lol. Of course gtkpod is advancing fast, I guess I'll keep an eye on both, unless some super guru posts to tell me of a mythical app that does everything I need