Geeks, Guitars and Guinness

Hmm... Try any of the so-called music download sites in the UK. All powered by OD2 in which case they are all the same site with different access levels...

Some sites allow you to download tracks that others do not, but they're all based on OD2.

HMV, virgin net, freeserve, and I think MSN UK is the same. So much for a free and open system ;-)

Just downloaded iTunes for windoze onto RH9 with wine... let you know how I get on.

Hmmm...I had the same thoughts. How can you port a Unix based program to Windows and not port it to Linux. I'd use iTunes if it ran on Linux.

From the way it runs on Windows (slow), I don't think that all of it was ported. I think that the UI is running on some sort of emulation layer. I do wish that they would port it though. (Also want Vorbis on the iPod)

I tries running the Windows port in Wine, it didn't like it.

MMmm.... Good qustion. I have iTunes for Windows on my windows machine and it runs just fine. i would use linux but this single app along with the macromedia and adobe graphic design tools, makes me don't do it. I know, gimp is almost photoshop, but face it. IT'S NOT PHOTOSHOP. Vorbis is a very good format. I have some .ogg files but you cannot compare the quality ans THE POPULARITY of the AAC format and the MP3 format. DVDs and everything on this world is based on MPEG standards. Digital TV recorders, DVD, etc. etc. etc. it's based on MPEG 2 or MPEG4. How can you go against the wave? how can you go after thousands of companies that uses MPEG2 and MPEG4 as their standard? I see that iPod supporting ogg ver VERY improbable. There is, however, an ogg emulation layer for iTunes based on Quicktime but it runs DAMN SLOW ON MY 2.0GHZ P4!!!!. iTunes ROCKS!!. all my 600 mp3s were organized in just seconds and it's easy now search an specific song on it.
Now, imagine emulating windows and windows emulating some part of the apple code. It runs slow. VERY SLOW.

Now, why iTunes it's not ported to linux? basically 2 reasons:

1.- Marketshare: Apple Holds 3% of the PC market, Windows the rest and a very very little 1% holds Linux. In money, that means a lot and let's face it. Apple released iTunes for windows for the only reason that they see it's profitable: the music store. It's no profitable a 1% market share. If you can get more market share, the better.

2.- Coding reasons. Remember that all the Apple apps are VER VERY VERY VERY BUT VERY graphic intensive. They use all kind of animation, shade effects, blobs, squash and gods knows what other effect they have in mind so, the only graphic intensive operating system on the PC side of the world is Windows. Linux could have OpenGL, but it's not well developed as it is in Apple. Besides, if you write an app for linux using GTK instructions, wanting it or not, it will look ugly. It will not have the same "Aqua Look" that makes all the iLife apps so special

If you want to access the BuyMusic.com website in Linux, just tell Konqueror to pretend it is IE on WinXP. Oh wait, it requires MediaPlayer 9. Dang! Well, it was a nice thought.

what about using iTunes for Windows with Wine?

iTunes through WINE is a bit of a no-goer because iTunes for Windows uses its own drivers for CD access and writing, it screws around and changes the Windows drivers, and does some pretty freaky stuff with the interface.

VMWare might be your only option here, and I'd have my doubts about that because of the driver interface, again.. I'll have to give it a shot.

erm, it's not as simple as "os x is based on unix", i'm getting tired of hearing that. itunes is a carbon application, which is basically the classic macos api. and cocoa and qt/gtk+ are not the same thing. where do people get this stuff from ??

Okay - I see a number of trolls here. For a start - just about any Linux windowing app could be themed/skinned. With iTunes - the big thing is both the store, and the organisation/rating abilities.
The look and feel is great- but it is incidental to the functionality - which could be without a shadow of doubt reproduced on a Linux box.
As for market share - porting to many platforms will simply get more of it. I actually run a Windows box and a Linux box.
As for CD access/writing - it is not the part of itunes that people are after - although nice,it is the library management, playback and store access on Linux - then I am happy.
There is also no good reason why a Linux box cannot handle graphically intensive apps. I use mine for 3D CAD and Simulation - which is a GREAT DEAL more intensive than iTunes.
The only really graphically intensive part of iTunes is the visualisations anyway - not the UI - which is just an interesting arrangement of standard widgets.
Miguel Angel Saavedra - I get the impression that you are a Mac Weilding designer - and your comments show you dont know the first thing about coding or windowing toolkits. They are not constructive - go away unless you have tips for wine or getting apple to convert it.
There is a difference between that and pfhor who actually seems to know what he is talking about.

In order to get iTunnes running in WINE wouldn't you have to also be running Quicktime thru WINE? I know absolutely NOTHING about WINE, but am interested in making it work. My beige G3 doesnt cut it anymore and I sure as hell wouldn't be cuaght dead using Windows. Linux it is.

ok - not to sound stoopid - but, how do you infact run itunes linux kde 3.1 ?????

ANyone?

You don't. Or at least I can run it fine in VMware, but that really doesn't count.

Crossover 3.1 will run it without any issues supposedly. Due out 2004 (late). For now, gtkpod works very well...