iTunes posts

Filed under: Audio, Video

Finally, serious competition for iTunes...from Sony!

by Sebastian Anthony Nov 20th 2009

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]

Tags: app store, AppStore, itunes, software, sony

Filed under: Linux, Open Source, Canonical

Canonical working on an iTunes-like music store for Ubuntu?

by Lee Mathews Nov 17th 2009

One program people I know miss when they've tried to switch to Linux is iTunes. Like it or not, Apple's desktop app has gained the reputation of being the place to buy music and video downloads. But iTunes on Linux? Fuhgettaboutit.

That leaves an opportunity for someone in the Linux community to step up and deliver an alternative. Enter Canonical, who may be preparing to do just that in time for the release of Lucid Lynx.

Over at LaunchPad, there's a blueprint called Ubuntu One Music Store which states its goal as "to deliver the ability to purchase music from within a desktop music player." There's nothing much yet for details on the associated wiki, so there's no telling yet what exactly might be in the works.

As Joe Panettieri points out at WorksWithU, Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth mentioned Amazon during a press call for the launch of Karmic Koala. Unlike Apple, Amazon was more than happy to show Linux users some love - offering a downloader for purchases from their MP3 store. They're also pretty chummy already thanks to that whole cloud thing.

Even if the Ubuntu One Music Store ends up being an affiliate app powered by Amazon, it could provide a decent revenue stream for Canonical. It's also one more feature that could entice users to give Linux a try on their desktop.

*installer screen cheesily simulated

Tags: itunes, linux, mp3, music store, MusicStore, ubuntu, ubuntu one, UbuntuOne

Filed under: Apple, Web

Apple finally lets you check out iTunes store without installing iTunes

by Brad Linder Nov 13th 2009

Apple may control one of the most popular digital music and video stores on earth. But that's really not saying much, since there are still millions of people who haven't installed iTunes on their PC or who can't install it on their Linux computer. And for all of those people, clicking on a web link that's supposed to take you to to the iTunes listing for a song, video, or iPhone app is an exercise in frustration, since what you end up looking at is a web page telling you to install iTunes.

But that's finally changing. Apple has launched a new service called iTunes Preview that lets you browse the iTunes catalog on the web. It also lets users copy a link from the iTunes client and paste it onto the web. When you click on that link, instead of going to a page telling you that you can't proceed without installing software, you'll be taken to a listing on Apple's web site.

This is especially useful for people who aren't using iTunes. But it could also come in handy for iTunes users that simply don't want to fire up the software just to look up a song or artist.

The iTunes Preview service is only available for music at the moment. There's no word on if or when Apple will roll it out for iPhone Apps and video content.

[via CNet]

Tags: digital media, DigitalMedia, itunes, itunes preview, ItunesPreview, music

Filed under: Audio, Internet, Apple

Apple TV, amongst other things, now mixes your music!

by Sebastian Anthony Oct 29th 2009

Not only was there an update to iTunes today but there was also a software update for the Apple TV media center box thingee! With it there's a shiny press release and overhauled website.

If you haven't heard of Apple TV, it's their answer to the Windows Media Center -- just plug it into an HD TV, connect to a Mac or PC running iTunes via your local network... and blam! All of those lovely iTunes-bought movies and TV episodes can now be easily streamed to your big screen.

The new functionality being touted with version 3.0 of Apple TV are their two musical technologies: iTunes LP and Genius Mixes. iTunes LP is like some kind of 'immersive experience' -- not only do you listen to your favourite albums through your living room sound system (which is usually the best in the house!), but you also get 'extra footage' displayed on the TV! Presumably this will be liner notes from the album, studio photos and video footage from live concerts.

The update also brings the other new, neat feature of iTunes -- Genius Mixes -- to the Apple TV. Using some kind of match-making algorithm (a la Pandora?), Apple will apparently create smooth-sounding playlists automatically.

Of course, available to you at any time with the Apple TV there's the usual fare of streaming Internet radio and YouTube (though I can't imagine your living room speakers are going to be very kind to YouTube videos...) Also worth mention is the ability to easily get your photos from your hard disk (or Flickr) over to your big TV.

It all comes at a price though -- $230, for a box with a small hard disk and a network adaptor.

At least it's a pretty box.

[via Engadget]

Tags: apple tv, AppleTv, itunes, multimedia, set-top-box, streaming

Filed under: Audio, Video, Web services

TubeRadio.fm turns YouTube into a powerful music player

by Jay Hathaway Oct 26th 2009

Using YouTube to listen to music is nothing new. Search for a song you want to hear, and you're very likely to find it, even if there's no official music video. YouTube isn't built to listen to music though, and that's where TubeRadio.fm comes in. It's a slick music player that lets you create playlists from YouTube, and can even find entire albums at once, using track listings and album art from Last.fm. The TubeRadio homepage describes the service as "iTunes meets YouTube meets Spotify," and that's not much of exaggeration.

TubeRadio.fm puts more emphasis on the "radio" than the "tube": the videos themselves take up very little space in the UI. More space is devoted to the tabbed info box at the bottom of the screen, which automatically pulls up lyrics and artist bios. TubeRadio does a good job of getting the album versions of songs when you use 'Discography Mode' to grab whole albums, but occasionally it will find a live version instead. Fortunately, there's another mode that searches all of YouTube, and you can manually add the version you want, if it exists.

Tags: itunes, last.fm, music, music player, music videos, MusicPlayer, MusicVideos, playlist, spotify, tuberadio.fm, youtube

Filed under: Audio, Internet, Google

Watch out, iTunes! Google may be getting ready to launch a digital music service

by Lee Mathews Oct 21st 2009

While they've offered music streaming and downloads in China (pictured) for quite some time now, Google users elsewhere have been left wondering "When's it gonna be my turn? (use your best Cleveland voice)"

According to TechCrunch, it may not be that much longer. Take that with a grain of salt, of course, since Arrington and Co. have been known to miss the mark by a wide margin from time to time.

Still, an iTunes competitor makes a lot of sense and now is the perfect time for Google to debut it. With Android starting to pick up steam in the mobile handset market and devices like Barnes & Noble's Nook and Dell Streak popping up with the OS, Google could be planning to strike while the iron is hot.

They've also done their share of negotiating with copyright holders before, so getting content providers on board should be a walk in the park. Putting that experience and existing relationships to work in a music service could be a major win for Google.

After running Google Music China through Translate, I'm thinking my first downloads will be "Sparkling Arouses Love" and "How can you be Willing to Let Me Cry." If this music service turns out to be half as entertaining as Google Translate, I'm all in.

Tags: android, google, itunes, mp3, music

Filed under: Audio, Windows, Apple

So long, iTunes: DoubleTwist now syncs with iPhone and iPod Touch

by Nik Fletcher Oct 19th 2009

If you're searching for a free alternative for iTunes on Windows, DoubleTwist - the handy media player for Windows and OS X - just became even more attractive with today's launch of version 2.4 that includes support for iPhone and iPod touch syncing.

If you're not familiar with DoubleTwist, it's a company founded by 'DVD Jon' Lech Johansen - who reverse-engineered the encryption in DVDs and the iTunes store - that now offers a desktop media player for Mac and Windows.

DoubleTwist just recently announced their plans to add the Amazon MP3 store to their desktop software, and with today's announcement of iPhone & iPod touch support DoubleTwist is fast becoming a worthy - and highly competent - competitor to iTunes.

iTunes has long been an app we all love to hate. It looks like iPhone and iPod Touch users will now have a solid alternative that won't try to slip in a browser, codec, or who knows what else every time it updates.

[Via Lifehacker]

Update: We should also point out that, given Apple's cat-and-mouse game with Palm over the Pre syncing with iTunes, it's highly possible that Apple might break this functionality in a future update to the iPhone / iPod touch OS. Game on....

Tags: doubletwist, iPhone, iTunes, Windows

Filed under: Utilities, Macintosh, Productivity, Apple

Pollux tags your music files in iTunes so you don't have to

by Jason Clarke Oct 5th 2009

Pollux Pollux is a new Mac OS X application by Chetan Surpur and Shashwat Kandadai that will automatically tag your music files in iTunes. It is capable of tagging the name, artist, album, album art, genre, year, and lyrics for each song, and it does so by analyzing the song's audio fingerprint. This means that it can draw on a database of tag information, and do so very accurately, even if the song has no identifying information at all to begin with.

To use Pollux, you select songs in iTunes, then from the Pollux icon in your menu bar, choose Tag Selected iTunes Tracks. Tagging can take a little while, so don't expect instant results. In my testing I found tags to return in anywhere between 15 and 60 seconds. Tagging an entire library this way could certainly take some time, but since it's all automated, why not? There is also an option in Pollux to automatically tag any new music that is imported into iTunes.

There are other applications that do similar things, but Pollux sets itself apart by being both unobtrusive and free. Pollux is still in beta, so you might experience a problem here and there, though in my limited testing it was solid.

Tags: album art, album-art, AlbumArt, beta, fingerprint, itunes, lyrics, Mac Os X, Mac-Os-X, MacOsX, pollux, song, tag

Filed under: Audio, Macintosh

djay for Mac hits version 3, look great, sounds even greater

by Paul O'Brien Oct 2nd 2009

Mac OSX application djay, pitched as 'the world's sexiest DJ software' (I'm inclined to agree), has been updated to version 3.

Featuring a user interface that is likely to make Windows users cry in the corner and a featureset to match, djay reads your iTunes library and turns your Mac into a full on DJ system that is well suited to both beginners and professionals.

djay's range of functions really are too extensive to list here but in essence, djay allows you to drag and drop from your iTunes library and mix them either manually or using an 'automix' function. djay has full beat and tempo detection for seamless mixing, auto volume control and a range of effects you can apply to your tracks. Everything you would do on a set of turntables is here - you can even plug in a set of headphones to pre-cue the next song, and connect a microphone to do a bit of MC'ing!

djay stands out as a great example of an application really tuned for OS X - as well as that gorgeous user interface, multitouch gestures are supported if you are using a Macbook / Pro. MIDI devices can also be connected and mapped to application functions as desired.

Your hot mixes can be recorded from within the application itself for use later.

Check out a video of djay in action after the jump!

Tags: DJ, djay, itunes, mixer

Filed under: Audio, Web services, Web

5byfive offers super-simple, super-slick album artwork discovery

by Nik Fletcher Sep 22nd 2009

I'll admit that I've never been all that impressed with the built-in iTunes artwork completion - it's occasionally mis-identified albums and downloaded the entirely incorrect artwork, and never been all-that-convinced with some of the third-party desktop applications available for the Mac that are available.

However 5byfive is a super-slick but supremely simple tool for finding album art online. It's not designed to be used for adding artwork for your entire library, but if you're looking for an easy way to find the odd errant album artwork, 5byfive might be just the ticket. Depending on the artwork that you're after, you might need to enter a little more information than simply the album name - but in my tests, 5byfive was a great way to quickly and stylishly find the odd bit of artwork that iTunes struggled with.

[Via WebAppStorm]

Tags: Artwork, iTunes, Music Artwork, MusicArtwork

Filed under: Audio, Windows, Apple

iTunes 9 continues to suck on Windows, makes halfhearted attempt at Windows 7 integration

by Lee Mathews Sep 12th 2009

I make no bones about the fact that I'm not an iTunes fan. With Apple's usual trumpeting of a new release of version 9, I was hopeful that things might be different this time around.

Really, we all know better. Apple apps on the Windows platform are kind of like that Christmas present in the fancy wrapping that turns out to be a pair of work socks or plain white briefs.

So off I went to download yet another 80+ megabytes of upgrade. You know, because Apple also hasn't figured out how to do modest, intelligent updates (a la Google Chrome or a dozen other apps). After I'd given up 110 megs of disk space to iTunes 9, here's what I was rewarded with on my Windows 7 laptop.

Jumplist: the Windows default options are there, i.e. songs can be pinned to open in iTunes, but that's thanks to Windows 7. What did Apple themselves integrate? Two links to the iTunes store so we can more easily spend money on fart apps and soundboards. No recently played items, no playlists, nada.

Taskbar preview: Album artwork? Nope. Progress indicator? Nope. Previous, Play/Pause, and Next buttons and a balloon with the current track's title, artist, and album name.

This is the best Apple can do? It's not even close to as slick as what this independent developer knocked together for Foobar2000. Feel free to share your take on iTunes 9 for Windows in the comments.

Tags: apple, itunes, jumplists, shell integration, ShellIntegration, suck, windows 7, Windows7

Filed under: Fun, Windows, Macintosh, Apple, Freeware, Social Software, iPhone, Windows x64

iTunes 9: The Download Squad Review

by Nik Fletcher Sep 9th 2009

Hot on the heels of today's iTunes 9 announcement, I've been busy at Download Squad's international outpost to take a look at some of the newer features in this update to one of the most well-known apps around.

It maybe be at version 9 - and Apple's hype machine is running at full-pelt - but is it any good? Join me as I run through an evening with the latest version of iTunes.

Gallery: iTunes 9 Tour

Tags: Digital Media, DigitalMedia, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, Movies, Music

Filed under: Audio, Apple

iTunes 9: no social networking, plenty of new features, breaks Palm Pre sync

by Jay Hathaway Sep 9th 2009

I guess those leaked iTunes 9 screenshots were fake after all. Apple has just released the latest version and, while it doesn't include the Facebook integration we were speculating about, there are some major improvements to syncing, the iTunes Music Store, and Genius. For iPod Touch and iPhone users, the biggest new feature is the ability to organize your apps and create custom home screens from within iTunes. We'll have a detailed look at these features soon, but here are the basics:

Syncing

If you have more than one computer on your home network, you can now share your iTunes library with up to 5 other machines. Previously, you could view and play music from shared libraries, but now you can import songs from other authorized machines, and play your purchased music on any of them.

The Music Store

The iTunes Music Store has gotten a nice facelift, and is now a bit easier to navigate. The big news is that both music and movies now have extras. New iTunes LPs feature album artwork, liner notes, videos and more, putting a digital spin on the gatefold covers from LPs of yore (do most iTunes customers even remember vinyl?). Movies also come with extras now, which should attract a few customers who held off making the switch from DVD because of the bonus features.

Tags: apple, audio, itunes, itunes 9, Itunes9

Filed under: Audio, Utilities, Macintosh

Song Sergeant whips your music library into shape

by Jay Hathaway Aug 21st 2009

Song Sergeant is an OS X app that cleans up problems with your iTunes library. Duplicate songs, orphaned files in your iTunes folders, and missing songs are no match for Song Sergeant. It scans and fixes your library, allowing you to manually decide what to do about each individual file, or just taking quick, ruthless automagical action if you prefer.

If you don't make any manual decisions, and just let Song Sergeant make every change it suggests, your library will probably end up significantly tidier than before. Where Song Sergeant really shines is in the details, though, like the clever way it handles duplicates. Song Sergeant treats song metadata and audio separately, so when you have a duplicate, you can keep the audio from one file and the song info from the other.

I was quite happy to apply Song Sergeant's fixes for inconsistently-named songs, albums and artists. When there's a conflict - I had both "Eels" and "The Eels" in my lbrary, for example - Song Sergeant suggests which version of the name is probably correct, and does a pretty good job of it. Out of 30-ish inconsistencies in my library, it only picked the wrong version once. Although Song Sergeant doesn't have the flashy features of some other music-cleaning apps - like cleaning up album artwork - it competently completes its assigned tasks.

Tags: cleaner, id3, itunes, metadata, music, song-sergeant

Filed under: Apple, Social Software

Are these iTunes 9 screenshots for real?

by Jay Hathaway Aug 19th 2009

Download Squad isn't the only blog that gets dubious screenshots sent in by anonymous tipsters. Just a couple of weeks after we got some purported screenshots of the Google Chrome OS, gadget blog Boy Genius Report received some unsourced images of Apple's upcoming iTunes 9. Highlights include the Facebook support that blogs have been buzzing about lately, and the ability to sync non-iPod devices.

The screenshots depict a Facebook menu that contains shared playlists, and then a user's Facebook activity stream with a shared item in it from "My iTunes." I'm not sure I wouldn't just block the My iTunes app on Facebook if I started seeing these - hell is other's people's terrible musical tastes, after all - but Apple would inevitably sell more music this way. It's like free advertising for the iTunes store!

There's also a screenshot of a Samsung device apparently syncing in iTunes. Maybe this could be for real, but after killing Palm Pre syncing with the 8.2.1 update, Apple doesn't seem to be two keen on third-party devices working with iTunes. On the other hand, maybe they want compatibility on their own terms, instead of through slightly shady mimicry of iPod device IDs.

What say you, Download Squad readers? Are these screenshots the real deal, or just clever fakes?

Tags: apple, facebook, fake, itunes, itunes-9, screenshots, sync

The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

View more Time Wasters

Featured Galleries

Defective by Design, London: Protest Pictures

Download Squad at the Crunchies After-Party

Android First-look: Amazon.com MP3 Store

Flickr Pool

www.flickr.com

Download Squad bloggers (30 days)

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Jay Hathaway	116	5
2	Lee Mathews	87	25
3	Sebastian Anthony	70	254
4	Brad Linder	39	4
5	Jason Clarke	23	0
6	Dolores Parker	7	2
7	Matt Heerema	6	3
8	Grant Robertson	6	5
9	Victor Agreda, Jr.	5	1
10	Nik Fletcher	4	0
11	John Burke	2	0
12	Paul O'Brien	2	0
13	Download Squad Staff	1	0

More Tech Coverage

Control Shift It's all about the experience
Somewhat Frank Perspectives on tech as it fuses in everyday life
Switched Gadgets, web news and commentary
Urlesque Exposing bits of the web

Download Squad