I'm having iPod problems again

[vdeane]

I installed Mint 17 (64 bit/MATE) on my new desktop and use Banshee as my media player. I just bought two new albums so that I could play them from my iPod nano (3rd generation... no, I did not find it at an archaeological dig) on a roadtrip I'm going on next weekend. However, I cannot get the albums onto my iPod because Banshee won't sync. It gets stuck while "loading" the iPod and won't get past "preparing to sync". Why did I buy these albums if I can't play them on my iPod during my trip? Otherwise, I would have waited to buy as finances are tight right now. I guess I'll never learn.

Please note that I do not want to install additional programs and I intend to replace the iPod with something that actually works properly with Linux when I have the money to do so. I do not want to bloat my system up; it already runs slow enough due to the video drivers being crap. It is also for this reason that I refuse to install iTunes on Windows under any circumstances.

Please help. Right now I would like nothing better than to bash my iPod with a hammer.

[Kalyk]

AFAIK installing programs under Linux doesn't make it slower unless you make them all run at startup.
I myself use gtkpod for putting music and podcasts on an ipod, works flawlessly (and very fast).

[vdeane]

Yeah, had to start using gtkpod. It does at least manage playlists successfully (something that, if attempted in Banshee, will cause the iPod to blow up), but I do find that maintaining two media libraries is a bit silly. At least it's only the database that's duplicated. It's too bad there isn't a single program that can function as an iTunes replacement (without all the bloat iTunes has).

[Kalyk]

I use gpodder to download podcasts weekly.
But in its latest version gpodder doesn't support export to an Ipod anymore
I now use gtkpod where I import the downloaded files from Gpodder and sync these to my Ipod.
Is a little more hassle but works very well.

This way of working fits in the Unix/Linux strategy of making one program to do something well.
But I haven't figured out a way to automate the whole process and the problem is not big enough to solve it.
Can't gtkpod function as a good Banshee replacement?