The hoop is not using the software. The hoop is having to install the software.
Why can't the iPod work without iTunes? (It can, but only with a lot of work.)
IIRC correctly most of the older MP3 players didn't need any software beyond what was built into Windows.
Of course this was the era of Windows 95/98 so how well that worked overall it's difficult to say.
And most of the current mp3 players, as far as I know. iPods are the broken ones.