4 ms·

I have the same problem. I've spent the last few years tied into the Microsoft ecosystem. Decided to move to the Mac as I got a hand me down MacBook Pro. About

by bananas 13y ago

I have the same problem. I've spent the last few years tied into the Microsoft ecosystem. Decided to move to the Mac as I got a hand me down MacBook Pro. About 9 months in now, I'm pretty stuck. With respect to liberating data from the ecosystem, it's pretty hard. It's also pretty hard to escape the interoperability problems. For example, I've become dependent on AirPlay, iCloud, iWork formats, iPads and associated apps as well as all the extra metadata I've meticulously pumped into iTunes that it doesn't update the files with. So has my wife and so have my children. The cost to escape is quite large now. If you include the cost of a vehicle in that, it's getting ridiculous. If it starts to force purchasing decisions then it's broken. For me this was having to purchase an Apple TV to play media on because none of Apple's streaming stuff works with my (standardised!) Bravia EX DLNA stuff. As a devops person though, I'm well exposed to different platforms (FreeBSD and Linux), so I'm slowly making a move in that direction and towards open standards. I'd buy neither car these days and use a Bluetooth hands free (parrot etc). Screw the integration if it locks you into an ecosystem.

coldtea 13y ago
>I have the same problem. I've spent the last few years tied into the Microsoft ecosystem. Decided to move to the Mac as I got a hand me down MacBook Pro. About 9 months in now, I'm pretty stuck. With respect to liberating data from the ecosystem, it's pretty hard. It's also pretty hard to escape the interoperability problems. For example, I've become dependent on AirPlay, iCloud, iWork formats, iPads and associated apps as well as all the extra metadata I've meticulously pumped into iTunes that it doesn't update the files with. So how exactly are you "stuck"? I've used Windows, FreeBSD, Linux and (for the last several years) OS X, and I have no issues moving between those. And I'm a pretty hardcore user, also using stuff like Logic and Final Cut Pro. You can easily export your iPhoto photos, you can sync your calendard with Google, you can save your Pages documents in .docx or rtf format, etc. And you can easily move mails. As for iTunes, given that you really "need" those metadata (which is usually superfluous stuff, like people spending eons tagging their music collection and less time actually enjoying the music), the solution is quite simple for a hacker: write, or get (there are some on the internet) an Applescript that writes those metadata to the mp3 tags. There also several third party apps to help with that stuff (I usually do it manually or with small scripts I write). It's funny how some people say that "most of the stuff they do is in the cloud now" and then others complain how they are locked in with some platform. Of course, if you wanted ultimate flexibility in moving between Windows and Mac, you could always have run something like MS Office or OpenOffice on your Mac, checked your emails with Thunderbird, used Lightroom or something similar for your photos, Vox or something similar as your music player, Chrome or Firefox for browsing and such. Integration, though, involves some loss of flexibility. If OSes and apps were designed with the concept of moving stuff to another OS/app at anytime as a priority, then they would only catter to the lowest common denominator.
- bananas 13y ago
  I agree with you entirely. The problem is time and money, both of which aren't plentiful. Every file requires consideration individually to preserve it. As per most humans, I didn't bother to make a tradeoff when I picked tools for the job therefore incurring this cost later (now). Some good suggestions there, particularly with respect to mp3s. Thanks for these. Already use Lightroom though which is a royal pain to shift to another platform as the metadata isn't portable to other software easily.
- aaplthrowaway 13y ago
  > As for iTunes, given that you really "need" those metadata (which is usually superfluous stuff, like people spending eons tagging their music collection and less time actually enjoying the music), the solution is quite simple for a hacker: write, or get (there are some on the internet) an Applescript that writes those metadata to the mp3 tags. Honest question: which metadata does iTunes stores on proprietart files? Album covers and ID3 stuff go into the files, playlist can be exported to m3u... I have an external drive with music that I lug around and I use the same files seamlessly between iTunes and foobar2000 at work.

by bananas 13y ago

coldtea 13y ago

>I have the same problem. I've spent the last few years tied into the Microsoft ecosystem. Decided to move to the Mac as I got a hand me down MacBook Pro. About 9 months in now, I'm pretty stuck. With respect to liberating data from the ecosystem, it's pretty hard. It's also pretty hard to escape the interoperability problems. For example, I've become dependent on AirPlay, iCloud, iWork formats, iPads and associated apps as well as all the extra metadata I've meticulously pumped into iTunes that it doesn't update the files with. So how exactly are you "stuck"? I've used Windows, FreeBSD, Linux and (for the last several years) OS X, and I have no issues moving between those. And I'm a pretty hardcore user, also using stuff like Logic and Final Cut Pro. You can easily export your iPhoto photos, you can sync your calendard with Google, you can save your Pages documents in .docx or rtf format, etc. And you can easily move mails. As for iTunes, given that you really "need" those metadata (which is usually superfluous stuff, like people spending eons tagging their music collection and less time actually enjoying the music), the solution is quite simple for a hacker: write, or get (there are some on the internet) an Applescript that writes those metadata to the mp3 tags. There also several third party apps to help with that stuff (I usually do it manually or with small scripts I write). It's funny how some people say that "most of the stuff they do is in the cloud now" and then others complain how they are locked in with some platform. Of course, if you wanted ultimate flexibility in moving between Windows and Mac, you could always have run something like MS Office or OpenOffice on your Mac, checked your emails with Thunderbird, used Lightroom or something similar for your photos, Vox or something similar as your music player, Chrome or Firefox for browsing and such. Integration, though, involves some loss of flexibility. If OSes and apps were designed with the concept of moving stuff to another OS/app at anytime as a priority, then they would only catter to the lowest common denominator.

bananas 13y ago
I agree with you entirely. The problem is time and money, both of which aren't plentiful. Every file requires consideration individually to preserve it. As per most humans, I didn't bother to make a tradeoff when I picked tools for the job therefore incurring this cost later (now). Some good suggestions there, particularly with respect to mp3s. Thanks for these. Already use Lightroom though which is a royal pain to shift to another platform as the metadata isn't portable to other software easily.
aaplthrowaway 13y ago
> As for iTunes, given that you really "need" those metadata (which is usually superfluous stuff, like people spending eons tagging their music collection and less time actually enjoying the music), the solution is quite simple for a hacker: write, or get (there are some on the internet) an Applescript that writes those metadata to the mp3 tags. Honest question: which metadata does iTunes stores on proprietart files? Album covers and ID3 stuff go into the files, playlist can be exported to m3u... I have an external drive with music that I lug around and I use the same files seamlessly between iTunes and foobar2000 at work.