"dual booting" Amarok 2.0 (Windows / Linux)

[Holger]

Ian Monroe wrote:
> On Jan 11, 2008 9:13 AM, Holger <myth at finch.de> wrote:
>  
>> I already use shared data/configuration for at least half a dozen other
>> programs and it usually works fine :-)
>>
>> What does everybody else think?
>>     
> Those other programs aren't keeping track of files then I suppose.
>   
Well, it depends. Most of the time, they store (almost) everything into 
some (base) directory and one or more symlinks are involved :-)
> Since Amarok stores path information of music in the colleciton, and
> paths are going to differ between Windows and Linux, sharing an Amarok
> database between two computers or two operating systems doesn't happen
> for "free." Someone will have to work at it to make it function
> correctly.
>   
err... yes. That's why I wrote:
> As far as I know, this is not currently possible... (due to absolute 
> paths in the database)
:-)

Shane King wrote:
> ...
> Then again, I don't really get the need for it: the collection db is 
> just a cache of info in the file tags. Scanning twice isn't that much 
> of a pain, is it?
> ... last.fm ...
>   
No, scanning twice doesn't really matter much (and I wouldn't even have 
to do that for the "initial scan", b/c I can copy and "adjust" the db)

But as I wrote...
> I really wouldn't like to maintain two databases. And even if I do, 
> the "recently played", "play count", ratings, favorites etc. would be 
> completely messed up...

I care about the "stats". Not so much "all time favorites", but things 
like recently listened and ratings...
How about playlists? Does last.fm "backup" your playlists?
Either way, I think there are good reasons to "want" a shared database. 
I'm not the one who can implement it, though :-(

In a dual-boot system, you usually "go where your data is" and in 
earlier attempts, I ended up always booting into Windows because it had 
things and data I needed.
Now I really pay attention to that and have all my data easily 
accessible from both systems. I can think of some "hacks" to make this 
work for me (like some SQL-script that patches the paths for me), but I 
*really* think I'm not the only one interested in that and I think that 
NOW is a good time to approach that issue...:
Amarok 2.0 is the first cross-platform version and therefore the first 
time this is a problem. Also, it is still "long enough before release" 
to think about stuff like that...
I think a *very* high share of "early Amarok on Windows" users will be 
the ones who know it from Linux and use both systems, right?

Cheers,

Holger