Strange Ubuntu iPod Experiences

For chrissakes, I just want to get an iPod icon to appear on my desktop when I put it in, and when I double-click it I can assign that to an import/export/playback app that actually works. Sure, the icon appears, but it launches Nautilus instead of an app that I want to assign. They said Rhythmbox on GNOME was all the rage, but I couldn't figure out how to write files to it, only read them off of it. I also found that Rhythmbox crashed unless I used gtkpod and this trick to create a fresh iTunes database file on the thing. So in the end, I stuck with gtkpod, which works sort of okay and the interface is fairly clear. (I also like the fact that I could customize the interface in gtkpod by changing the pixmaps in /usr/share/gtkpod and editing the Glade file.)

Others have bragged about Banshee, but I don't want to catch Mono or give any credence to the worthiness of Microsoft, so I refuse to install it. And still others bragged about other players, which I tried too, but they failed far worse than gtkpod. So folks, stick with gtkpod -- you won't be disappointed.

I'm doing this for my daughter's new iPod that we want to give her for Christmas. I don't want her to go back to Windows, so I'm doing everything I can to make Ubuntu the environment she likes to use. So far, Ubuntu is working with my daughter and my wife, and I made it look very much like Windows so that they wouldn't be confused. They done their class work on it, shopped, did online banking, watched YouTube videos, and a lot of things that make Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer stay awake with nightmares at night. That's a good thing.