configuring vl-hot to mount specific devices

[bad_gui]

I have an ipod and to use gtkpod it needs to be mounted at /mnt/ipod which I can do
manually. I want to know if I can set the vl-hot daemon to identify a specific device
and attach it to a corresponding mount point.  So my usb pendrive isn't mounted as
the ipod for example.

Here is dmesg for the ipod

usb 1-4.3: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 5
usb 1-4.3: configuration #1 chosen from 2 choices
scsi4 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
usb-storage: device found at 5
usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning
scsi 4:0:0:0: Direct-Access     Apple    iPod             1.62 PQ: 0 ANSI: 0
sd 4:0:0:0: [sdc] 1941441 4096-byte hardware sectors (7952 MB)
sd 4:0:0:0: [sdc] Write Protect is off
sd 4:0:0:0: [sdc] Mode Sense: 68 00 00 08
sd 4:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 4:0:0:0: [sdc] 1941441 4096-byte hardware sectors (7952 MB)
sd 4:0:0:0: [sdc] Write Protect is off
sd 4:0:0:0: [sdc] Mode Sense: 68 00 00 08
sd 4:0:0:0: [sdc] Assuming drive cache: write through
 sdc: sdc1
sd 4:0:0:0: [sdc] Attached SCSI removable disk
sd 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 0
usb-storage: device scan complete

vl-hot-config seems to change all the mountpoints and doesn't seem to allow
identification of specific devices.

Is there something I can assign in fstab?  sdc could be the ipod or pendrive so I
can't use that.  Is this doable with udev?

[bad_gui]

From http://www.linuxquestions.org/linux/answers/Hardware/Linux_and_Apple_iPod

TIP: You can use udev with iPod to make it always appear with the same device file name. Put this in /etc/udev/rules.d/00.rules

## iPod
BUS="scsi", SYSFS{model}="iPod*", NAME="ipod"

When you connect iPod to the Linux box udev will create /dev/ipod device file. Now your /etc/fstab line changes into:

/dev/ipod /media/ipod vfat users,exec,noauto,managed 0 0

Here is a section from VL5.9 /etc/udev/rules.d/50-udev.rules

Code:

# pilot/palm devices
KERNEL=="pilot",        NAME="%k", GROUP="uucp"

# jaz devices
KERNEL=="jaz*",         NAME="%k", GROUP="disk"

# zip devices
KERNEL=="pocketzip*",   NAME="%k", GROUP="disk"
KERNEL=="zip*",         NAME="%k", GROUP="disk"

# ls120 devices
KERNEL=="ls120",        NAME="%k", GROUP="disk"

Do I just add something like this to udev-rules

# ipod device
KERNEL=="iPod*"  NAME="ipod", GROUP="disk"

and then etc/fstab is

dev/ipod /mnt/ipod vfat users,exec,noauto,managed 0 0

 

[bad_gui]

Actually, I didn't need to change udev rules or an entry in fstab

I switched to hal from vl-hot and most of the problems disappeared.

The ipod is mounted as /media/"ipod_ownername"  this was done automagically
and eliminates the problem of my pendrive getting mounted with the same name.
The hal daemon must grab the ownername from a file on the ipod iteslf- pretty cool!

For anyone else with an iPod here is the resource you should start with:

http://gtkpod.wikispaces.com/

I had to execute a script to write file on the device with a firewireID.  Now gtkpod can
write to the ipod's directory structure correctly (before the device couldn't see the new
files I added).

Also gtkpod install placed an icon and listing on my xfce menu. 

I still have to eject the device as root- but this is a minor inconvenience.

No iTunes needed!

[GrannyGeek]

Can gtkpod purchase music, TV shows, videos, etc., from the iTunes store? If it can't, how can you say iTunes isn't needed? Or is it just for converting stuff or managing an iPod? Wouldn't you still need iTunes and Windows if you wanted to purchase from the iTunes store?
--GrannyGeek

[bad_gui]

I don't want to start a flame war.  My simple statement "No iTunes needed" is just that.
Gtkpod lets users manage content on their ipod that they purchase from many websites
such as amazon.com  AFAIK there is no interface on the amazon website to transfer
content to your ipod.

Yes, you need iTunes to purchase content from Apple. However, do you buy GM gasoline if
you own a GM car and only have it serviced at a GM dealer?

[The Headacher]

Can gtkpod purchase music, TV shows, videos, etc., from the iTunes store? If it can't, how can you say iTunes isn't needed?

I don't see why buying music would have to be done at the iTunes store (but then again I don't own any if these iThings). There's plenty of places to buy music.

Or is it just for converting stuff or managing an iPod? Wouldn't you still need iTunes and Windows if you wanted to purchase from the iTunes store?

Sure, if you insist on tying your hands by only wanting to use iTunes (why would we want to do that again)?

The way I see it, the gtkpod thing allows people with Linux to use their iPods with their favourite OS. Not being able to pay Apple to use their store isn't that big a downside I'd think.

Still, all those trouble with these proprietary "we know better what you want" devices made me very careful what sort of hardware to buy and what not. My current MP3 player is just an usb stick that happens to play music, and it works with pretty much every computer. No need to convert files, install software or anything.

[GrannyGeek]

I don't have an iPod and I've never bought anything from iTunes. I have a Sandisk Sansa 2 Gb player and I usually buy music from eMusic.com. You don't need special software to buy music or to use the Sansa.

However, lots of people do buy music from iTunes. It's currently the Number 2 music seller and is expected to become Number 1 soon. So I think if we're telling people that Linux has an iTunes software equivalent, we should make it clear that they can't buy music from iTunes, just manage what they have.

I might inform them that they have choices other than iTunes, but it's not my place to argue with them if they still want to buy from the iTunes store. If they do, they need to know they can't do it in Linux.
--GrannyGeek

[The Headacher]

So I think if we're telling people that Linux has an iTunes software equivalent, we should make it clear that they can't buy music from iTunes, just manage what they have.

Nobody said there was an iTunes equivalent on Linux. He was just happy about getting it to work, and that was perfectly clear from his post IMO.

Buying music online has to be one of the biggest scams ever, especially if it's encoded with a lossy codec like MP3. Nothing comes close to owning the record ( vinyl or CD ), with a little booklet with the lyrics in it, photo's of the band etc. If I want to have mp3's I'll buy a cd and rip from that.

[bad_gui]

Yes, gtkpod merely communicates with the ipod device.  This is accomplished despite the efforts
of Apple to block open-source users from using anything but their own software. 

I received the iPod as a gift.  I would have bought myself one of the open-source compatible ones
that uses lossless codecs.  I'm not an audiophile and I just listen to the ipod while traveling to work-
I wouldn't build a home entertainment system around it.

I have used ripperX to convert some audio CDs to mp3 so I can put them on the ipod.  I haven't
purchased songs from iTunes, Amazon or other sources.  I heard there is something called iOpener
that allows windows users to use music they download from iTunes (as opposed to the file being
"locked" to a specific Apple device).  I haven't used it so I can't comment.

I have downloaded podcasts and audiobooks and used gtkpod to load them on my iPod.

I found a resource for converting books on tape or books on CD to the format for transfer to iPod:
http://blog.blazingangles.net/whatsthis/2007/09/creating-an-audiobook-on-linux.html