iTunes posts

Links to the iTunes Store have been a major annoyance since they first started popping up. You click one and - surprise! - your browser window loses focus and you're switched over to iTunes. Doh! Well, Apple fixed part of the problem late last year by introducing iTunes Preview, which shows song info and previews in-browser when you click an iTunes music link. Now they've gone the rest of the way and extended the preview feature to App Store links.

Unfortunately, this doesn't mean Apple has coded an in-browser iPhone simulator that lets you preview all the App Store's free games in your browser - although that would be amazing. It just means that you'll get to see the app's description, reviews and screenshots without being immediately redirected to iTunes. A small thing, maybe, but a big deal to software blogs like ours: now we can be a little more free with the app links without being pesky to you, our readers. Win!

You can test out the new preview by clicking on some of Apple's bestselling apps and staff picks.

[via TechCrunch]

YouTube began testing the waters with a movie rental service late last month. Starting small, they offered a collection of five films from the Sundance Film Festival. The movies were offered for ten days to see how users would respond to a paid movie rental service.

Charging only $3.99, the films picked up 2,684 views and pulled in only $10,709 total. While the "big guys" in the movie rental business such as NetFlix, Apple and Amazon are certainly not intimidated by such a paltry sum, YouTube says it's happy with the outcome of the test. According to Google, the results "exceeded our expectations given all the barriers" and it looks like we can expect a larger movie rental presence from YouTube in the future.

While nothing is finalized, YouTube says it will be pulling in new video partners and start offering rentals on various sections of their website on a short-term basis. It'll be interesting to see how they fares up against larger companies if their rental service grows.

[via NYTimes.com]

You may have heard that Apple introduced a new tablet computer called the iPad today. Our friends at Engadget are covering the heck out of the announcement. But one aspect I wanted to touch on was the launch of a new application designed specifically for the iPad, called iBooks.

Basically iBooks is like iTunes for eBooks. Apple has reached deals with 5 major book publishers and starting today there should be a ton of books available for download including New York Times bestellers.

We don't have details on the price yet. And I'm a bit skeptical that Apple's 1.5 pound, 10 inch tablet with a full color display is going to provide the same kind of reading experience as a thin, light, and high-contrast grayscale eBook reader such as a 10 ounce Amazon Kindle. But it should be interesting to see how Apple's new eBook marketplace affects the digital book space. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other eBook distributors are about to get some serious competition. And that should be a good thing for innovation both in the software and hardware for digital book readers.

As cool as Ray Kurzweil's Blio looks, you have to wonder if it has a snowball's chance against iBooks.

DoubleTwist is an iTunes alternative that can sync your media library with tons of mobile devices, not just those made by Apple. The app has supported Android devices for some time now, and a brand-new partnership with T-Mobile means it will be used on many more Android phones in the future. The wireless provider has licensed DoubleTwist, and will now pre-install it on a selection of Android devices, as well as promote it to T-Mobile customers.

This looks like a great move for both T-Mobile and DoubleTwist. The phone company that doesn't carry the iPhone (although that could change soon) meets the music app best known for supporting non-iPhone devices. They're like peanut butter and jelly! Google wins, too, because there's no built-in Android app that syncs music, videos and playlists anywhere near as seamlessly as DoubleTwist does. The only thing missing from the pre-installed Android version of DoubleTwist is Amazon Mp3 Store integration, but you can get that by downloading and installing the standard version of the app.

[via TechCrunch]

Ever click on a link to a song, only to find out that it leads to the iTunes Music Store? It's such a hassle, especially if you don't even use iTunes.

Well, Apple just threw us a bone and added in-browser song previews. Now, clicking on a music store link will load up a preview page in your browser while iTunes (if you have it) loads the appropriate page in the music store. Check it out by clicking on some songs on the iTunes Charts page.

You can listen to the 30-second preview of the song - via a 300+kbps Quicktime stream - as well as read reviews and artist info like you've always been able to in iTunes. This doesn't appear to have anything to do with Apple's purchase of Lala.com, which set off rumors about a streaming subscription service from iTunes. That doesn't mean such a service won't eventually happen, but for now, we've just got previews.

[via 9-to-5 Mac]

Ever since Palm and Apple started their dance about the Pre's ability to sync with iTunes, I've been keeping an eye out for alternative ways to move media to my Pre.

Over the last few weeks I've been putting three applications through their paces with my Pre to find a suitable workaround for this glaring omission on Palm's part: MarkSpace's GoGadget for webOS, Salling Software's Media Sync and doubleTwist. All three applications are available for Windows and Mac OS X, however in this review were tested on Mac OS X.

Photo by whatleydude

Lifehacker recently found a neat (if not somewhat convoluted) trick for syncing Firefox bookmarks to an iPhone. This is going to work for you if you're running Windows and using Firefox, and it also requires using Internet Explorer. You're also going to need the very useful bookmark manager Xmarks.

I know, I know, but bear with me, here. Apparently, all the easier methods disappeared when Firefox 3 came out.

The Xmarks trick was written up by blogger Shawn0, has quite a few steps, but it's actually pretty straightforward. You install Xmarks, use it to sync your bookmarks from Firefox to Internet Explorer -- which you can then sync to Safari on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Three browsers, one add-on, and iTunes -- just for bookmarks? Well, it beats entering them all manually on your phone.

Step-by-step instructions from Shawn0 are available for anyone who wants to give this method a shot. Be sure to let us know how it goes.

The Windows version of Songbird, an open-source music app, just hit version 1.4.1 and introduced some very attractive new features. Foremost among Songbird's latest batch of goodies is support for external storage devices. You can sync songs (and playlists) on some devices using the MSC (Mass Storage Class) add-on, and there's even an iPod Device Support extension that makes your iPod show up in Songbird.

Other new features include CD Rip Support, with automatic metadata lookup. I can't believe Songbird didn't have this earlier, even though CDs are in drastic decline. Anyway, the feature's here now, so,if you're still into that whole "buying physical media" thing, you don't have to avoid Songbird any longer. There's also a new skin (also know as a "feather" in Songbird) called Purple Rain, which updates Songbird's UI for a more media-centric and less browser-like experience.

Don't want to spend more on shipping your gifts to arrive before Christmas than they're actually worth? Don't worry, there are lots of online sites where you can give some super gifts via download online certificates. Here are 14 places to check out to give some great gifts:

E-Gift Cards:
Amazon.com offers the ability to send gift cards via email in any denomination from $1-5,000. Your gift card can arrive in your friend's inbox as soon as you hit checkout. You can also print your gift card and give them something that is more tangible.

Barnes and Noble is another option if you'd like to send an online gift certificate to someone. B&N provides online access to ebooks which can be read on iPhones and Blackberries, Mac or PCs. All your gift recipient will have to do to get started reading, is select their book at B&N.com and download the free eReader software. Note, gift certificates can only be used at B&N.com, not in stores.

Macys.com offers the ability to send e-gift cards until 1pm on December 24. Your recipient will receive a personalized email within 24 hours, redeemable at Macys.com, macysweddingchannel.com or in stores.

I did a little dance when doubleTwist added support for the iPhone and iPod Touch earlier this year. U.S. users of the iTunes alternative have another reason to get excited now: the arrival of Amazon's MP3 store.

The doubleTwist Music Store works pretty much like iTunes. Search for songs, click to buy, sync 'em with your device. You need to have valid payment option set up with Amazon and a U.S. billing address. Everyone else is out of luck until Amazon figures out how to roll out global access.

I'm not holding my breath. Hell, the Canadian MP3 store has been "coming soon" since early 2008. Oh well, at least I can use doubleTwist to sync my eMusic purchases... *sigh*

The new version is ready for download at doubletwist.com, and it's an excellent iTunes alternative - even if you can't use the store.

[via Lifehacker]

Major magazine publishers know they're in trouble. Mags have been shutting down all over the place during the past year, and the rise of blogs and eReaders continues apace. A group of publishers including Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corp., and Time Inc. has combined to launch a digital delivery system for magazines that has been compared to both iTunes and the popular streaming TV site Hulu.

The service has no name yet, but it will deliver magazines - and advertising, of course - to eReaders, mobile devices and laptops, staying true to the mags' print layouts. Other publishers will be able to join the platform eventually (hey, it can't hurt to offer more content), and it might expand beyond magazines eventually.

As Valleywag points out, the challenge of this venture is to consolidate the userbase behind one device and corresponding delivery mechanism, like Apple did with iTunes and the iPod. Magazine publishers might not be the ones to do that, considering how clueless they've been in the print business. Plus, Hearst is also involved in a service called Skiff, that launched a week ago, uses Sprint's 3G network, and seems to be a competitor with this nameless new magazine platform.

[via Mashable]

But MediaNet is back with a new, easy-to-use interface (API) that makes the reselling and distribution of digital music really, really easy. You see, MediaNet has deals with all of the big record labels. You simply build the site, be it a lyrics repository or a social network, tack on some MediaNet extensions, and voilà! A site that sells music.

There's no barrier to entry now -- here come the start-ups! CNET are reporting that many sites are already getting in on the action. Imagine the possibilities: a news story about Lady Gaga, with links to buy her music down the side, or a blogger that wants an easy way to share a song they like with their readers. How about 'buy this song now' below every video shared on Facebook?

Where does this leave Microsoft and Apple? Both are stuck with standalone music stores. It's surprising that neither of them have moved towards the music-as-a-service angle. I doubt with iTunes' massive success that Apple will consider changing their game plan -- but I expect Microsoft might have something up their sleeve. They love their services.

[via CNET]

Phones running Google's Android OS are predictably well-equipped to sync with any Google service. When it comes to syncing various files from your hard drive, especially music and movies, there are some big gaps. Markspace has stepped in with an Android version of The Missing Sync to make Android syncing work a little more smoothly - with iTunes, even! It'll cost you a hefty $40, but that might be worth it if you find yourself sick of syncing your Droid the hard way every day.

So, what exactly can The Missing Sync sync? Practically anything, including ringtones (it can both create and sync them), podcast subscriptions, music (via iTunes, even), and movies. It even converts video files to the proper format for your device before transferring them.

The Missing Sync also syncs contacts from various address books - including Apple's Address Book, Microsoft Exchange, and Entourage - although this feature reportedly has some kinks that are yet to be worked out in Android 2.0. Future features will include wireless contact sync, syncing of text messages and call history, and more.

[via MobileCrunch]

Lala doesn't have a huge user base, so perhaps Apple is planning its own streaming music service to compete with the promising new generation of streaming services like Mog All Access and Spotify (which is anticipated to land in the US in 2010). Some sources are saying that Apple is very interested in Lala's payment system, which sells bulk song credits and thus requires fewer credit card transactions than Apple's current system.

Lala stores users' music in the cloud, so it wouldn't be a stretch for Apple to use this technology to provide users with streaming access to the songs in their iTunes libraries. Rebuying your library at 10 cents a song for streaming access wouldn't be horrifyingly expensive, and Apple would get to cash in again on songs it's already sold for 99 cents a pop. It's way too early to know Apple's actual plan for Lala, but it seems like a smart, forward-looking acquisition to me.

[via Wired]

They've been awfully quiet the last couple of years, except for the recent PS3 price reduction and slow drip-feed of good games. But it seems, after the appointment of a new CEO back in 2006, the results of some internal reshuffling might finally be coming to fruition!

There's no name for the new software reported on by BusinessWeek. There's also very few details of the functionality Sony's iTunes-killer will actually utilize to draw people away from Apple's soft, white allure and into their black, serious grasp.

BusinessWeek suggests that the software will try to differentiate itself from iTunes by including Picasa- and YouTube-like functionality, allowing users to upload videos and photos from their (Sony?) cameras. Other than that... who knows what Sony has up their sleeves?

Sony are huge however -- multi-national robber-baron 'XBox' huge -- with an additional vast library of music and movies. They also have a large installed base of PlayStation owners (that's fast increasing!) It wouldn't be a surprise to see some kind of 'PlayStation App Store' included in Sony's new software.

We shall see!

[via BusinessWeek]