# So if not iTunes, what should I be using? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 7, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-not-itunes-what-should-i-be-using/646361 "2013-01-07T17:00:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-not-itunes-what-should-i-be-using/646361/1 "2013-01-07T17:00:40Z")
I keep hearing that iTunes is bloated, a system resource hog, and lots of other terrible things, and as my aging laptop starts to stutter on games, I feel like I could use all the extra performance that I can squeeze out of this computer. But what do I replace it with? I have a few basic needs: playback from playlists, something to manage my podcasts, and something to load music onto my iPod shuffle. I’m willing to consider different programs for different utilities, but really I’d like to keep it all in one program. So, All-Knowing Dopers, what should I be using? ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-not-itunes-what-should-i-be-using/646361/2 "2013-01-07T21:02:00Z")
I’m going to move this to IMHO since it is less about the content of what you play on iTunes than it is about apps and the delivery system. From Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-not-itunes-what-should-i-be-using/646361/3 "2013-01-07T21:47:50Z")
Are you having specific issues with itunes or is it just that you’ve heard from others that it’s “bad” and wonder what’s better? I always use itunes and don’t have any problems with it. I use it to purchase games/music and swap said games and music in and out of my ipod since it doesn’t hold everything I own. I don’t know how much better it could work since it does what I want it do do without any problems. Some aspects of the gui could make it a little easier to sort and categorize my stuff but it’s not that big of a deal. As for memory hogs, does it take up that much when running that it’s an issue for you? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-not-itunes-what-should-i-be-using/646361/4 "2013-01-08T03:25:20Z")
The first two are easy, but I’m not so sure about the last one. Used to, there were many apps that would sync your iDevices, but I’m not sure that’s possible anymore. For the first two, just use the built in Windows Media Player. It’s there for a reason, and it’s integrated into the OS so it runs faster. I agree that, if you actually use apps, you might as well keep iTunes. But since you only need it to sync apps, maybe try something like [Floola](http://www.floola.com/home/), which seems like one of those older programs I mentioned in the first paragraph. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-not-itunes-what-should-i-be-using/646361/5 "2013-01-08T14:18:28Z")
First of all, _always_ describe the machine your are using, it’s type, OS and other relevant details. For my MS-Windows XP machine, I use Winamp. For what you want to do and if you have a not completely ancient version of MS-Windows, go with that. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-if-not-itunes-what-should-i-be-using/646361/6 "2013-01-08T14:29:05Z")
Winamp is all you need.