Ipad transfer question

[BobM]

I have finally given in and got an ipad, mainly for work manuals and Skype when away.
I want to add my music to it but dont want to put itunes on my PC, I've tried various free programs after an internet search but most seem to want itunes in the back ground or just transfer FROM ipad to PC.
I can put music files into Dropbox but how do I get itunes to play the music (maybe I cant..)
I also have a Linux machine i can use if its easier?

[Keef]

Tricky.

iTunes on the PC is a real pain, but there isn't much else that will do the job.

I have iTunes on mine, but it's corralled on drive H and not allowed near drive C (after it filled a former drive C with tens of gigabytes of rubbish, all buried deep in hidden files). I start iTunes to rip CDs or to update the iPod, iPhone or iPad, then shut it down again.

It backs up all the Apps (which I could download again if they got damaged) but not my data (which I can't) - seems typically Apple-wacky to me. I do my own data backups, not using iTunes.

[Paul_Sengupta]

I installed something on my PC which does it. I think it's called CopyTrans. Seems to work with my ipod. I don't have an iphone or ipad or can't comment other than that.

http://www.copytrans.net/

[BobM]

Thanks Paul, unfortunately it needs itunes or bits of it in the background. Just tried it and it said "please install itunes"

Keef I think you may have the answer,I'll put another hard drive in my laptop and do it from that.

I think Banshee on Linux does it but cant work out how
so I thought; I'll use a friends laptop with itunes on.. but no that would be too easy because it wants to load all their music etc too and i have to put my music into their library... FFS Apple all i want to do is put music from one computer to another without loading my PC up with your program!!

There I feel slightly better now

[Paul_Sengupta]

Thanks Paul, unfortunately it needs itunes or bits of it in the background. Just tried it and it said "please install itunes"

Um, strange, I specifically loaded it on my work PC as I didn't want to install itunes.

Perhaps it's changed.

Specifically looking at CopyTrans Manager.

http://www.copytrans.net/copytransmanager.php

It says:

"Easily manage iPhone without iTunes"

[stevelup]

Just install iTunes - life's too short to mess around with the alternatives.

[GrahamB]

I tend to agree, Steve, but i have found this app works very well.

I have moved stuff in and out of app libraries just by dragging and dropping to and from the desktop.

[stevelup]

That (and all the other tools) will only copy music from the device though, not to it though...

[GrahamB]

Never tried importing music to it, I use iTunes for that!

(I'd overlooked the original OP question )

[bar shaker]

Just install iTunes - life's too short to mess around with the alternatives.

I completely agree.

Teams of software engineers have spent years refining iTunes to make it simple, slick and reliable. Why would you not use it?

[Colonel Panic]

bs - to be fair, whilst iTunes works very well on a Mac, it would appear that it is less than slick on a PC.

[bar shaker]

CP, it has always done what's been asked of it on my pc laptop.

It's very slick on the Mac.

[stevelup]

As you may imagine, over the years I have... erm... Apple-ified lots of friends and colleagues. There was obviously a transition period where they used their Apple iThings with non-Apple computer equipment and I never once have had to resolve an issue with iTunes.

The problems with it are overstated. Most current 'free' Anti-virus packages install more carp on your machine than iTunes does, and it uses no resources at all when idle.

It truly, honestly, is not worth messing around trying to bypass it.

The main problem people have with it is that it behaves like an Apple app and not a PC app. It's confusing to some that there isn't a 'CANCEL, APPLY, OK' button at the bottom of every page

[BobM]

Thanks everyone, I put itunes on an old HD I had for the lap top (with Vista on ) and did it that way although for some reason it only synced about 50 tracks, the rest I had to do manually.

Now I have to learn how to use goodreader and dropbox for the various manuals I've got

[vintage ATCO]

I have never had a problem with iTunes on any PC, never understood people's aversion to it. I even use it and my iPhone to sync my Outlook calendar and contacts on a desktop and laptop . . . Not entirely flawlessly, some duplicate entries in both get created so I sometimes need to do a bit of editing. Does for me.