When I bought my first iPod I was still on Windows and the software delivered with the Windows iPods (yup, Windows specific iPods back then) was a version of MusicMatch. The software was OK, but just OK. It was slow and a pain to build playlists. One of the reasons I bought the hard disk iPod over other flash MP3 players was so I could have all my music with me and not have to decide what I wanted to listed to while sitting at the computer. MusicMatch did that [...] Read the rest »
iTunes 7.6 Released – Movie Rentals
Apple released iTunes 7.6 which updates iTunes to support movie rentals. Both the Mac and Windows versions get the same update description. Rent and download your favorite movies with iTunes on your computer or directly to your living room on Apple TV. Enjoy rented movies in sizes up to 720p HD with surround sound on your Apple TV and sizes up to DVD-quality on your computer. Transfer your rented movies from iTunes to your iPod or iPhone and enjoy them on the go. It’s available through Apple software update or [...] Read the rest »
Centrally Managed iTunes Library on Windows Home Server
I decided to move my iTunes Library to a shared folder on my Windows Home Server. The HP MediaSmart Server does come with the ability to stream songs to any computer running iTunes on your home network. But this only provides streaming ability, which I can already do from my iMac. I wanted to be able to manage the library from any Mac, not run multiple iTunes simultaneously. This does not provide the ability run multiple copies of iTunes at the same time, rather it allows the library to be [...] Read the rest »
iTunes Tip: Re-Ordering Downloads
I subscribe to a lot of video and audio podcasts through iTunes along with a couple TV shows. If iTunes has been shut down for a day or more there’s frequently quit a few files to download. It never seems to fail that what I really want to listen to or watch first is at the end of the download list. So today when that happened I decided to try re-ordering the downloads. I found we can drag individual downloads up or down the list to set the order in [...] Read the rest »
Apple Updates iTunes & Quicktime
Apple released updates to iTunes and QuickTime for both OS X and Windows. The updates are available through Apple Software Update or as standalone downloads. The iTunes 7.5 update contains: …the ability to activate iPhone wherever service is offered and support for Phase, a new interactive music game designed exclusively for iPod nano (third generation), iPod classic, and iPod (fifth generation). This release also includes bug fixes to improve stability and performance. No details on those bug fixes, you didn’t expect any did you? If you don’t want it through [...] Read the rest »
10 Most Used Mac Apps
During the ramp-up to Leopard I’ve been reviewing the apps I use and why. So I headed out to my Wakoopa profile to see what it says I use the most. These are the top 10 apps based on how much I use them according to Wakoopa. 1. Firefox 2.0.0.x – Used almost 10 times more than the second place app and about 15% of the time my PC is turned on. What Wakoopa doesn’t catch is that I run apps in the browser – Google Reader and the WordPress [...] Read the rest »
Amazon MP3 Store
There was a lot of hype when Amazon began selling MP3 song downloads. Some even used the dreaded “iTunes Store Killer” phrase. There’s certainly a lot to like about the Amazon MP3 store from a features point of view: Un-DRM’d MP3 music downloads. 256kbps encoding. (Actually it’s Variable Bit Rate encoding) Lower cost – $8.99 for top 100 albums compared to iTunes typical $9.99. $0.89 per top 100 song compared to iTunes $1.29 for the un-DRM’d songs. Since Amazon only sells un-DRM’d songs they have a smaller selection than iTunes. [...] Read the rest »
Apple Updates iWork, iWeb, iTunes (Windows) & Firmware
Hot on the heals of yesterday’s iLife updates Apple has released updates to four applications and a bunch of firmware. iWeb 2.0.2 was released. You’ll need the iLife Support 8.1 update that was released yesterday before you can install this one. It’s a 18.4MB download through Software Update (Intel) and a 17MB standalone download. Apple tells us… This update to iWeb addresses issues with upgrading iWeb 1.x websites, and fixes some common publishing problems, and supports general compatibility issues. All three iWork Apps were updated. Numbers went to version 1.01. [...] Read the rest »
iTunes 7.4.2 Released
Apple has released iTunes 7.4.2 for both Mac and Windows. In typical Apple fashion the description is a terse: iTunes 7.4.2 addresses an issue with creating ringtones using iTunes Plus song purchases and includes bug fixes to improve stability and performance. Hey, it’s been over a week since the last update. Maybe all Mac software should have “broadband” as a requirement. It’s needed to download all these updates. The update is available through Software Update or as a direct download. It’s 38MB for the Mac and 49MB for Windows. Mac: [...] Read the rest »
iTunes – The Missing Update
Back on Thursday Apple Software Update pushed iTunes 7.4 to my iMac. Since the Mac was off for a couple days while I traveled I figured this was the update for the new features and hardware. This was confirmed by the description. Now, this morning Apple Software Update wants to push iTunes 7.4.1 to my iMac and it’s also described as an update to handle the new iPods and features. (Click the first thumbnail to see my update history) So there’s been two updates in less than 5 days. The [...] Read the rest »