Rubenerd: Moving off iTunes after two decades
I initialised my first iTunes music library back in 2001, on my blueberry iMac DV. I created a new one a few months later on my then-new iBook G3 to sync with my FireWire iPod, and I’ve carried it with me ever since.
This library been imported and moved onto every Mac I’ve ever owned, and on a couple of Windows machines. I’ve added songs, created playlists, bought my first digital music, and synced it with every one of my iPods and iPhones, along with a few Palms using iSync. It received audio magazines, New Time Radio programmes, and podcasts from iPodder and Juice Receiver before it even got podcasting support. It’s what I listened to live Whole Wheat Radio house concerts on, and was my first attempt at archiving before offloading video to Plex. It wasn’t the first software I burned or ripped CDs with, but it was the one I used the most.
It was with me when I left home for university, when I got my own place, and when I moved in with Clara. It’s been fun seeing my musical tastes evolve and change over time, but I can re-live those heady days of the early 2000s by sorting by add or publish date. It’s been a welcome distraction and a source of strength during tough times, especially when I didn’t really have a permanent base.
