Source control for synchronizing massive music library?
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I've been thinking about using source control software to keep my music library synchronized between computers and external devices. At first glance, I thought Mercurial would be a great option for achieving this task... but upon closer inspection, I'm realizing that using Mercurial (not sure about other alternatives, will depend on how they manage their repos) for this task will end up just about doubling the size of the library. The reason behind the doubling is that the repository in Mercurial keeps the initial copy of each single file, plus your working directory has another copy (your "working copy")... and well, doubling the size of a massive library of binary files doesn't seem like an attractive alternative. How do you guys manage your large entertainment libraries (if you have multiple machines, in different locations)? Have you tried using any source control for this? ...seems like a rather inefficient use of hard disk space for Mercurial to have two copies of everything.
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I've been thinking about using source control software to keep my music library synchronized between computers and external devices. At first glance, I thought Mercurial would be a great option for achieving this task... but upon closer inspection, I'm realizing that using Mercurial (not sure about other alternatives, will depend on how they manage their repos) for this task will end up just about doubling the size of the library. The reason behind the doubling is that the repository in Mercurial keeps the initial copy of each single file, plus your working directory has another copy (your "working copy")... and well, doubling the size of a massive library of binary files doesn't seem like an attractive alternative. How do you guys manage your large entertainment libraries (if you have multiple machines, in different locations)? Have you tried using any source control for this? ...seems like a rather inefficient use of hard disk space for Mercurial to have two copies of everything.
I used to download music from iTunes, but I now just listen to Pandora, so I don't need to do that anymore. However, I still download tons of shows from iTunes. Once I watch them, I save them to DVD and delete the files from my hard drive. With the DVD in a media case and with my "index" of the DVD's (an Excel file), I can find any of the DVD's I want at any time. And I figure having them spread across a bunch of DVD's is more fault tolerant than having them stored on hard drives. I hear iTunes has some cloud option for music, but I'm not sure if that includes streaming from your cloud music library or if the cloud option is really just a remote backup. And I've heard it only works for music purchased from iTunes (rather than imported from CD's), but that could easily be incorrect or changed. I have coworkers who have media servers that they store all their music on and stream all their music from. They're Mac guys, so it's probably all based around iTunes or Time Machine.
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I used to download music from iTunes, but I now just listen to Pandora, so I don't need to do that anymore. However, I still download tons of shows from iTunes. Once I watch them, I save them to DVD and delete the files from my hard drive. With the DVD in a media case and with my "index" of the DVD's (an Excel file), I can find any of the DVD's I want at any time. And I figure having them spread across a bunch of DVD's is more fault tolerant than having them stored on hard drives. I hear iTunes has some cloud option for music, but I'm not sure if that includes streaming from your cloud music library or if the cloud option is really just a remote backup. And I've heard it only works for music purchased from iTunes (rather than imported from CD's), but that could easily be incorrect or changed. I have coworkers who have media servers that they store all their music on and stream all their music from. They're Mac guys, so it's probably all based around iTunes or Time Machine.
Pandora's great... but it's nice to listen to exactly what you want when you want... specially if you've purchased the music, so just looking for options. Media servers are good, but I don't want to open up network access into any part of my network at home from the net... so reaching it from work would still be an issue.
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I've been thinking about using source control software to keep my music library synchronized between computers and external devices. At first glance, I thought Mercurial would be a great option for achieving this task... but upon closer inspection, I'm realizing that using Mercurial (not sure about other alternatives, will depend on how they manage their repos) for this task will end up just about doubling the size of the library. The reason behind the doubling is that the repository in Mercurial keeps the initial copy of each single file, plus your working directory has another copy (your "working copy")... and well, doubling the size of a massive library of binary files doesn't seem like an attractive alternative. How do you guys manage your large entertainment libraries (if you have multiple machines, in different locations)? Have you tried using any source control for this? ...seems like a rather inefficient use of hard disk space for Mercurial to have two copies of everything.
I have a 160GB iPod with docking station at work. 160GB isn't much (but enough) and the costs of iPods aren't trivial... But I can listen music ANYWHERE! If I'm on vacation I'm taking it with me, if I'm going for a bike ride I'm taking it with me, etc. To me this beats having source control, some external server, etc. So my advice is to just buy an mp3 player with enough GB's to keep you happy. The only downside is that it doesn't synchronize itself (unless I use iTunes which must be the worst media player EVER), but that too is exactly how I want it :)
It's an OO world.
public class Naerling : Lazy<Person>{
public void DoWork(){ throw new NotImplementedException(); }
} -
I've been thinking about using source control software to keep my music library synchronized between computers and external devices. At first glance, I thought Mercurial would be a great option for achieving this task... but upon closer inspection, I'm realizing that using Mercurial (not sure about other alternatives, will depend on how they manage their repos) for this task will end up just about doubling the size of the library. The reason behind the doubling is that the repository in Mercurial keeps the initial copy of each single file, plus your working directory has another copy (your "working copy")... and well, doubling the size of a massive library of binary files doesn't seem like an attractive alternative. How do you guys manage your large entertainment libraries (if you have multiple machines, in different locations)? Have you tried using any source control for this? ...seems like a rather inefficient use of hard disk space for Mercurial to have two copies of everything.
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I've been thinking about using source control software to keep my music library synchronized between computers and external devices. At first glance, I thought Mercurial would be a great option for achieving this task... but upon closer inspection, I'm realizing that using Mercurial (not sure about other alternatives, will depend on how they manage their repos) for this task will end up just about doubling the size of the library. The reason behind the doubling is that the repository in Mercurial keeps the initial copy of each single file, plus your working directory has another copy (your "working copy")... and well, doubling the size of a massive library of binary files doesn't seem like an attractive alternative. How do you guys manage your large entertainment libraries (if you have multiple machines, in different locations)? Have you tried using any source control for this? ...seems like a rather inefficient use of hard disk space for Mercurial to have two copies of everything.
You can use large file extension for mercurial. The large file extension does not store a copy for every change. It uses a seperate folder for storing large files and even caches the file so it gets the file only if a change in hash is detected.
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You can use large file extension for mercurial. The large file extension does not store a copy for every change. It uses a seperate folder for storing large files and even caches the file so it gets the file only if a change in hash is detected.
+1 Mercurial with large file extension... which was baked in version 2.0, so it's no longer a plugin extension.
'As programmers go, I'm fairly social. Which still means I'm a borderline sociopath by normal standards.' Jeff Atwood 'I'm French! Why do you think I've got this outrrrrageous accent?' Monty Python and the Holy Grail
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I've been thinking about using source control software to keep my music library synchronized between computers and external devices. At first glance, I thought Mercurial would be a great option for achieving this task... but upon closer inspection, I'm realizing that using Mercurial (not sure about other alternatives, will depend on how they manage their repos) for this task will end up just about doubling the size of the library. The reason behind the doubling is that the repository in Mercurial keeps the initial copy of each single file, plus your working directory has another copy (your "working copy")... and well, doubling the size of a massive library of binary files doesn't seem like an attractive alternative. How do you guys manage your large entertainment libraries (if you have multiple machines, in different locations)? Have you tried using any source control for this? ...seems like a rather inefficient use of hard disk space for Mercurial to have two copies of everything.
Dropbox and the like?
If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe, but not a personality. [Charlie Brooker] ScrewTurn Wiki, Software Localization Tools & Services and My Blog
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I used to download music from iTunes, but I now just listen to Pandora, so I don't need to do that anymore. However, I still download tons of shows from iTunes. Once I watch them, I save them to DVD and delete the files from my hard drive. With the DVD in a media case and with my "index" of the DVD's (an Excel file), I can find any of the DVD's I want at any time. And I figure having them spread across a bunch of DVD's is more fault tolerant than having them stored on hard drives. I hear iTunes has some cloud option for music, but I'm not sure if that includes streaming from your cloud music library or if the cloud option is really just a remote backup. And I've heard it only works for music purchased from iTunes (rather than imported from CD's), but that could easily be incorrect or changed. I have coworkers who have media servers that they store all their music on and stream all their music from. They're Mac guys, so it's probably all based around iTunes or Time Machine.
Thanks for the Pandora link. I used to listen to internet radio but they either required you to keep clicking an ad or charged you to listen so I quit.
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I've been thinking about using source control software to keep my music library synchronized between computers and external devices. At first glance, I thought Mercurial would be a great option for achieving this task... but upon closer inspection, I'm realizing that using Mercurial (not sure about other alternatives, will depend on how they manage their repos) for this task will end up just about doubling the size of the library. The reason behind the doubling is that the repository in Mercurial keeps the initial copy of each single file, plus your working directory has another copy (your "working copy")... and well, doubling the size of a massive library of binary files doesn't seem like an attractive alternative. How do you guys manage your large entertainment libraries (if you have multiple machines, in different locations)? Have you tried using any source control for this? ...seems like a rather inefficient use of hard disk space for Mercurial to have two copies of everything.
Actually, I am now using Google music for my whole collection - about 90GB worth of stuff total. I can listen to it on anything with a web browser and there is a native app for my android phone - the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Oh, and Google music now also lets you download the files from your library. Best thing I have EVER done.
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Thanks for the Pandora link. I used to listen to internet radio but they either required you to keep clicking an ad or charged you to listen so I quit.
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I have a 160GB iPod with docking station at work. 160GB isn't much (but enough) and the costs of iPods aren't trivial... But I can listen music ANYWHERE! If I'm on vacation I'm taking it with me, if I'm going for a bike ride I'm taking it with me, etc. To me this beats having source control, some external server, etc. So my advice is to just buy an mp3 player with enough GB's to keep you happy. The only downside is that it doesn't synchronize itself (unless I use iTunes which must be the worst media player EVER), but that too is exactly how I want it :)
It's an OO world.
public class Naerling : Lazy<Person>{
public void DoWork(){ throw new NotImplementedException(); }
} -
Actually, I am now using Google music for my whole collection - about 90GB worth of stuff total. I can listen to it on anything with a web browser and there is a native app for my android phone - the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Oh, and Google music now also lets you download the files from your library. Best thing I have EVER done.
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Dropbox and the like?
If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe, but not a personality. [Charlie Brooker] ScrewTurn Wiki, Software Localization Tools & Services and My Blog
They have a very small amount of storage space... in that case, Google Music is a better alternative.
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Pandora's adds aren't too intrusive, but fair warning, they limit try to limit you to 40hrs of listening per week (although you can get around it with multiple computers/accounts).
So far so good every now and agin it'll ask me if I'm still listening but other than that I'm happy with it. I probably won't go over 40 hrs I've got almost 2K CD's on my computer, but I like to stray every so often. :)
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Thanks for the Pandora link. I used to listen to internet radio but they either required you to keep clicking an ad or charged you to listen so I quit.
I paid about $40 for a yearly Pandora One subscription. Less than $1/week isn't too bad in my book.
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I paid about $40 for a yearly Pandora One subscription. Less than $1/week isn't too bad in my book.
Cheaper than Sirius XM but right now things are tight and having to cut back on non-essentials.
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That's a good suggestion... although I hate iTunes.
Me too, luckily I can manually manage my iPod using winamp. I don't even have iTunes installed :)
It's an OO world.
public class Naerling : Lazy<Person>{
public void DoWork(){ throw new NotImplementedException(); }
} -
Me too, luckily I can manually manage my iPod using winamp. I don't even have iTunes installed :)
It's an OO world.
public class Naerling : Lazy<Person>{
public void DoWork(){ throw new NotImplementedException(); }
}I use Winamp too... :-D ..I only have a small ipod, for working out... but like to listen to music while I work.
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I use Winamp too... :-D ..I only have a small ipod, for working out... but like to listen to music while I work.
Me too :D I share an office with four co-workers. Luckily none of them mind. Actually, there's only one person that does. For that reason he is least popular as a 'office mate'. Last week we re-arranged furniture so we'd have more room for new people (the building is becoming too small) and we got to pick new rooms. No one wanted to sit in the office with the non-music listener :laugh:
It's an OO world.
public class Naerling : Lazy<Person>{
public void DoWork(){ throw new NotImplementedException(); }
}
