Cross-platform computer question

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Sat Jan 30, 2016, 08:21 PM - Edit history (5)

There's probably a better forum for this, but the question is involved. By "involved," I mean it takes in Windows, OS X, and Android. Some background:

I have edited this post extensively following its initial appearance to clarify what I want to do.

I want to listen to episodes of Little Steven's Underground Garage (LSUG). I installed the LSUG app for Android on my Samsung tablet earlier today. I also updated my TuneIn app. With either of those apps, I can listen to LSUG, but not when I am away from a wireless hotspot. What I want to do is to download LSUG in the form of a podcast, transfer the podcast to iTunes, and then download the podcast to an iPod or the Samsung tablet. The old shows are in the LSUG archives, and I especially want to listen to them. I need a high-speed connection for the download, and I have one only at work or at the library.

At work, I have an employer-issued Dell laptop running Windows-something. The software on it is what the people in IT put on it. My employer, for some odd reason, sees no reason to have iTunes on my work computer. Go figure. I do not have administrator privileges, so I can't install it myself.

The connection is pretty fast. The network will only recognize employer-issued equipment, so I can't bring in a laptop and connect it to the network. We don't have wireless at work either, so that method of connecting a bring-your-own device is disallowed.

At home, I have, among other things, a Macintosh G4 iBook running OS X10.4.11. The G4 is a Power PC device. Yes, that's way behind the times. There's a slot for an AirPort card, but it doesn't have that card. Not only that, but the house is not wired for cable, so I'm on dialup at home. I have iTunes 9.2.1, the latest version that runs in 10.4.11.

The last time I tried the "Software Update" option on my laptop, I was told that I had the latest version of everything. Safari, iTunes, iWork - the works.

This has not been a big deal until lately. I spend 40 hours per week at work staring at a computer, so I have yet to upgrade at home, even to DSL. I am getting the urge to do that pretty soon.

You'll be amused to hear that my default browser is TenFourFox, which was most recently updated last week. No kidding. They just released version 38. My laptop has a G4e processor.

My mobile device is a Samsung SGH-I497 tablet running Android 4.0.4. It can connect wirelessly fast enough for me. iTunes is available for Android devices, but the only version I see at the Google Play store requires Android 4.3. So, the Samsung does not have iTunes.

I have some old iPods, a 2nd generation Nano and a Mini. Both have the newest version firmware available.

LSUG podcasts are available in iTunes, but oddly, only in Spanish:

Little Steven for iTunes, as podcast

I don't understand that either. I think all I can do is to download it, in Spanish, to iTunes and then transfer it to an iPod. That's the only way I can listen to it, for example, on the DC Metro while it is underground. For listening on my Samsung while nowhere near a wireless hotspot or in a DC Metro tunnel or on a Metrobus, I am out of luck. Right?

Thanks.

ETA: The library has Dell computers. When I go to the Google Play store using my tablet, which is connected to the library's network wirelessly (as it is, at the same time, connected to the library's Dell via the Dell's USB port), the only iTunes that comes up requires Android 4.3. I can upgrade the OS on my tablet, but only to 4.1.2. Android 4.3 probably requires newer hardware. I got the tablet last summer, at a yard sale. It is locked to the AT&T network. I took out the SIM card. I can't unlock it without knowing the previous owner's name and last four digits of his social security number. I can sign up for AT&T pay as you go, but I can't go to, say, T-Mobile without unlocking it.

I'll be timing out on the library's desktop computer pretty soon, so I might not be able to get back on for a while.

There's an Apple store within bicycling distance of the library, but I think they're going to tell me what I already know - no dice. My oldest Mac is the original, so if they're going to give me a hard time for having an Android device, they'd better be prepared for some backlash.

Thanks again. Timing out in 5 ... 4 ....

[enough]

1. A good place to find people to talk about this is the DU MAC USERS GROUP.

Lots of experience with different vintages of Mac and cross-platform issues.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1096

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. I saw that there was a Mac group.

This is more of an Android issue than a Mac issue.

Sent from Samsung. Sorry for typos.

[ypsfonos]

2. Part 1 Windows @ work Part 2 Home

http://undergroundgarage.com

Archived shows available on the menu

The Radio Show--->Archived shows

Javascript plays the one you choose.

Hmm the first 100 aren't available but all the others are....

******************************************

Dialup is not fast enough to stream radio.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. LSUG

Last edited Sat Jan 30, 2016, 08:30 PM - Edit history (1)

I edited the zeroeth post and this one to clarify what I want to do.

Yes, I can listen to LSUG. at work, but I want to save it in the form of a podcast to my mobile device. Theoretically, I could save the show to a drive in real time. It would be much more practical to download the entire show all at once, as one file, and move it around in that form.

The Samsung OS is upgradable to Android 4.1.2, Jelly Bean, but not beyond that.

I agree that dialup is no good for streaming. I want to download LSUG at work or elsewhere for listening on an IPod or the tablet at some later time. This does not seem to be possible, except for the Spanish language version. It is hard to believe that is the only way it can be heard in iTunes.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. Update, a week later.

During the week, I was told how to go about updating drivers, software, apps, etc., on my Android. The procedure had evidently never been performed, as I downloaded something like 449 MB. It took 20 minutes in a wireless transfer to move all that data. Then the installation proceeded.

I have now gone as far as I can go in terms of operating systems with this tablet. That's Android 4.1.2. iTunes and Apple Music need at least Android 4.3:

Apple Music hits Android to tempt switchers

Haters gonna hate

Computerworld | Nov 11, 2015 12:28 AM PT

Android users at last gained an app they can trust yesterday when Apple introduced the long promised Apple Music app (beta) for Android devices, a little slice of iced water to cool the divide between the two platforms.
....

However, the complaints within the reviews seem to confirm how difficult it is to build consistent user experiences on the fragmented Android platform. While 66% of iOS devices can run Apple Music, only Android 4.3 or above is supported.

So that's that.