My sister is trying out Ubuntu and asks “what about my iTunes”? And this is the third time someone asks me about iTunes and Ubuntu. High time for an article on that.
I have bad news, ugly news and good news!
The Bad News
There isn’t any iTunes for Linux (and Ubuntu). There is even a
iTunes on Linux Petition to Apple Computer, Inc.
There are socalled workaround solutions where you use
Wine or
Crossover Office. In general, these allow you to run some of the native Windows programs, but even those don’t work properly for iTunes:
The Ugly News
You can set up a dual boot system. This is very ugly because you have to reboot your computer every time you want to access iTunes and then reboot your computer again to go back to Ubuntu.
Two slightly less ugly variations of this are running virtual Ubuntu inside Windows using
VMWare, or running virtual Windows inside Ubuntu using VMWare.
And the Good News is …
You can manage your iPod without iTunes with many native Linux programs. Wikipedia offers
a comparison (including lists of features) of iPod managers that will work on Linux (and Ubuntu). AmaroK and Banshee in particular come highly recommended by
Ubuntu Forum members.
For more information on where to get music, including user experiences and recommendations, these Ubuntu Forum threads may be helpful:
Then what about songs you already purchased at iTunes?
You cannot legally play the songs you have already purchased. When you buy from the iTunes store, you agree to their
terms of service, which states:
Security. You understand that the Service, and products purchased through the Service, such as sound recordings, videos and related artwork (”Products”), include a security framework using technology that protects digital information and limits your usage of Products to certain usage rules established by Apple and its licensors (”Usage Rules”). You agree to comply with such Usage Rules, as further outlined below, and you agree not to violate or attempt to violate any security components. You agree not to attempt to, or assist another person to, circumvent, reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise tamper with any of the security components related to such Usage Rules for any reason whatsoever. Usage Rules may be controlled and monitored by Apple for compliance purposes, and Apple reserves the right to enforce the Usage Rules with or without notice to you. You will not access the Service by any means other than through software that is provided by Apple for accessing the Service. You shall not access or attempt to access an Account that you are not authorized to access. You agree not to modify the software in any manner or form, or to use modified versions of the software, for any purposes including obtaining unauthorized access to the Service. Violations of system or network security may result in civil or criminal liability.
Next steps
Pick your first path. Any of the above solutions, Wine, CrossOver, Dual Boot, Amarok, Banshee, we can do. It would be my pleasure to write an article that includes all of the details on how to do it. And traveling down a path we may discover that we wish to try another. No problem!
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iTunes on Ubuntu: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
I have bad news, ugly news and good news!
The Bad News
There isn’t any iTunes for Linux (and Ubuntu). There is even a iTunes on Linux Petition to Apple Computer, Inc. There are socalled workaround solutions where you use Wine or Crossover Office. In general, these allow you to run some of the native Windows programs, but even those don’t work properly for iTunes:The Ugly News
You can set up a dual boot system. This is very ugly because you have to reboot your computer every time you want to access iTunes and then reboot your computer again to go back to Ubuntu. Two slightly less ugly variations of this are running virtual Ubuntu inside Windows using VMWare, or running virtual Windows inside Ubuntu using VMWare.And the Good News is …
You can manage your iPod without iTunes with many native Linux programs. Wikipedia offers a comparison (including lists of features) of iPod managers that will work on Linux (and Ubuntu). AmaroK and Banshee in particular come highly recommended by Ubuntu Forum members. For more information on where to get music, including user experiences and recommendations, these Ubuntu Forum threads may be helpful:Then what about songs you already purchased at iTunes?
You cannot legally play the songs you have already purchased. When you buy from the iTunes store, you agree to their terms of service, which states:Next steps
Pick your first path. Any of the above solutions, Wine, CrossOver, Dual Boot, Amarok, Banshee, we can do. It would be my pleasure to write an article that includes all of the details on how to do it. And traveling down a path we may discover that we wish to try another. No problem!