Open-source alternative to iTunes?

Another option (open-source) is amaroK: http://amarok.kde.org/

Why create a carbon copy of the iTunes interface instead of going with something new? Your commendable efforts may be drowned out by the calls of CHEAP COPY and lawyer notices.

so, because it is "open source", it is not thiefware and can't be supported by losing giants like Microsoft or AOL eh?

Just wait for hopeless geeks suggest using it instead of iTunes...

First off this project is doomed and is a waist of time. It will be slow as fuck, not offer any compelling reason for people to switch and will not interoperate with iTunes Music Store tracks [#1 store] not offer good iPod integration nor will it be able to access the network of Podcasts that Apple provides.

It's a cheap knock off of the interface and a pointless entry into an already flooded marketplace.

A bit of advice tho. If you insist on working on a music player, help out other projects instead. Oh and Platform specific is the way to go; it's faster, cleaner and just plain easier to do. Why re-invent the wheel, both Apple and Microsoft have frameworks to make such an app in a few hours.

I just wonder how they're going to interface to things like iTMS. W/o such interaction, their app is useless.

I think an 'open' version of something like iTunes is a good idea. Unfortunately it will never be an equal. For it to be a viable alternative it will have to seamlessly integrate with all the other online music stores, similar to how the iTMS is integrated with iTunes (this WILL require co-operation from the stores to allow the app to access the store from outside a browser, which is unlikely). It will also have to work seamlessly (again) with all the other MP3 players, and allow it to be the 'track management' app for the player, this again is unlikely. Can you see Sony allowing you to use this instead of there MusicMatch app, I can't.

I am tired of hearing about these alternatives for iTunes that are being done 'for the public' and 'for the rights of the consumer'. I think he's doing this for himself and trying to get press. Much like the nutcase CEO of Real™, who won't just admit that he's lost. People have made their choices -- they didn't have to use iTunes, but they tried it and they loved it.

Quote: "software that will work naturally with the growing number of music sites and services on the Web, instead of being focused on songs on a computer's hard drive. That's where iTunes, which plugs only into Apple's own music store, falls short, [founder Rob] Lord argues"

I think that amount of people who care about online music stores are small incomparison to people who want to just keep their digital music organize. iTunes does that just fine. along EXTRAS such as providing an interface for the iPod and access to the iTunes Music Store.

I think that amount of people who care about online music stores are small incomparison to people who want to just keep their digital music organize. iTunes does that just fine. along EXTRAS such as providing an interface for the iPod and access to the iTunes Music Store.

Well, it does it fine for as far as it goes. But it doesn't support several popular and open formas (like FLAC, OGG, etc) which limits its usability to a group of people. Plus, there's a community of people who like to have specific control over the encoding of their music (why they use lame instead of iTunes to rip in the first place).

^^^ Amarok is dependent on the Qt libraries and other core KDE technologies that do not exist on Windows. Amarok is Linux only.

Secondly, where do any of you get off saying this will be a failure? I hate iTunes! It's a pile of crap! It's bloated, won't shut up with its stupid popups and "HAY DO YOU WANT TO GO TO THE MUSIC STORE? NO? WELL ILL TAKE YOU THERE ANYWAY" crap. Also, iTunes has a FLAT VIEW, which is stupid, because I want to be able to browse by artist and not have to scroll past 10,000 songs just to get to the artists who start with letter 'M'.

Another thing, the metadata editing and file organization, when that is implemented completely it will blow iTunes' organization out of the water. I want my mp3's organized the way I want them organized, not the way iTunes is hardcoded to organize them.

iTunes does not play well with open standards like ID3 tags. Updating meta info on iTunes does not update meta info in the file.

iTunes is a thrown together piece of commercial bullcrap and it will be replaced by something quicker, easier to use, FREE OF DRM, and with much better support and development. And the sad part about it is Apple will be follow the Microsoft route and not improve their product. They will just leech off the idiots who think because you have to pay for software somehow makes it better software. Have any of you downloaded and tried Songbird? It's fucking amazing and will only get better.

You say "cheap copy" now, but you are probably the same kind of people who were saying the exact same thing about Firefox vs IE.