IPODIPOD question: Do I need to use Itunes?

[justins7]

I don't yet have an Ipod.
I have a mountain of MP3s. I just want to transfer them to an Ipod quickly and in MY order, without Itunes organizing things, without keeping them on the main hard drive too.
Is this possible? Other MP3 players seem like simple hard drives; people I know using an Ipod, however, have their music tangled up in a moronic Itunes web, with matching music on the computer and player.

Is there a way around this?

Do you have to use Itunes?

Can you transfer music from a DVD, for example, circumventing Itunes?

[yellow]

Is there a way around this?

Do you have to use Itunes?

Can you transfer music from a DVD, for example, circumventing Itunes?

You could certainly attempt to move the songs directly from your hard drive to your iPod and try to recreate the way the iPod automagically sorts them. But the OS on the iPod is immutable, so you cannot create your own "interface", nor order them how you want. Ultimately, you'd make it more difficult for yourself when you could simply use iTunes to do it properly and more quickly.

So short answer, no, you have to use iTunes.