itunes

iConcertCal concert-listing app comes to Android

I test a lot of iPhone apps, but because I've only got an 8GB iPhone 3G, I end up deleting most of them after a few days or weeks. One of the very few exceptions has been iConcertCal, which helps you find local shows by your favorite artists. Not only has it stayed on my iPhone since I first reviewed it in July, but it made my year-end list of most welcome digital audio products.

Now Android users can get in on the fun with iConcertCal for Android. Like the iPhone version, it will identify artists in the music … Read more

Desktop Cover Flow

Cover Stream is a standalone app designed to help you browse through and listen to your iTunes music, using a visual, intuitive, and unobtrusive interface that's similar to iTunes' Cover Flow.

You can use Cover Stream through your menu bar, in a separate window (which you can toggle to full screen, or to float on top), or both, and the app makes it easy to flip through albums and playlists, play music (including standard controls such as pause, shuffle, and volume, along with a host of system-wide hot keys), build a "Jukebox Mode" queue (including a shuffle … Read more

Apple KB Updates: Logic Pro 64-bit features, iPod and iPhone connectivity, and iTunes backup

Apple has released a few knowledgebase article updates which include information on some features of the latest Logic Pro update, managing iPod and iPhone features and connectivity to your Mac, and a small how-to on backing up your iTunes media.… Read more

iTunes 9.0.3: Error 42408 or Error 42404 possible resolutions

When downloading purchases from the iTunes Store or authorizing those purchases on your machine, you may encounter either Error 42408 or Error 42404, stating that the action could not be completed. The following are some troubleshooting steps you can use to help resolve these error messages.… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1183: War and peace on the Internet (podcast)

Patent wars reignite, the Internet is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, and multitasking may be coming to the iPhone. It's an epic sort of show today. Also, PS3 gets in the game with a motion-controller, and employees like us knowingly violate IT policies like crazy people.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1183

Apple’s iPhone 4.0 software to deliver multitasking support http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/03/11/apples_iphone_4_0_software_to_deliver_multitasking_support.html

Verizon to have 4G phone by mid-2011 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703791704575114130970301388.html?mod=googlenews_wsj… Read more

Troubleshooting basics: iLife '08 or '09

If you are experiencing issues with any of the iLife applications included with your Mac (iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand, or iWeb), you can take these basic steps to begin troubleshooting your problem.… Read more

Pink Floyd sues EMI over iTunes payments

It's hard not to like Pink Floyd. The band's music always felt so important, even if the songs were called things like "See Emily Play" and the albums resonated with names like "Ummagumma."

Over the years, drama never lurked far from the band's core. The legend of the wonderfully strange, and now deceased, Syd Barrett makes for eerie and sad telling. And the falling out between David Gilmour and Roger Waters means that they actually tour separately.

Now there is another chapter. This one is called "Money," for the band has … Read more

ScatterTunes sells digital albums with a visual twist

ScatterTunes is a Texas start-up focused on making the experience of digital music more visual and interactive. In September, the company introduced its V-Album format, which includes audio tracks in unprotected MP3 format, plus material such as lyrics, photos, videos, and links to merchandise and (where applicable) concert tickets. Although the audio portion of the download works with any software, and can be exported to any MP3 player, the video part requires downloading and installing the free ScatterTunes Player. So far, ScatterTunes has only released a couple of V-Albums, and none by artists I'm interested in, so I didn'… Read more

What if iTunes never happened?

Apple introduced iTunes on January 9, 2001, but it wasn't that big a deal; world domination took years to fully develop. I admired the effort, and Apple figured out a way to get people to pay for downloaded music. That's a good thing.

My biggest problem with iTunes is that it doesn't sound as good as a CD or LP, and Apple hasn't even bothered to offer high-resolution FLAC downloads for those who care about sound quality. No, Apple instead spearheaded the race to the bottom for sound quality. Worse yet, you can sometimes buy the CD for less than the price of the iTunes album; I paid $7.99 for the new Spoon CD, "Transference," on Amazon.

Why would anyone pay more for lower-quality sound? Or why does iTunes regularly charge the same price; downloads should always be a lot cheaper than physical product, shouldn't they? I guess not; buyers happily pay a premium for instant gratification. I don't get it.

So I'm left wondering, would CD sales have tanked if iTunes never appeared? Maybe Tower Records and a lot of great local record stores would still be around. I don't know about you, but I discovered tons of great music in small, neighborhood record stores. In NYC it was easy to score great deals on used CDs, at lower prices than on iTunes.

Maybe that's what I find so unpalatable about iTunes, the way it crushed the retail side of the record biz. In the pre-iTunes era you probably bought your tunes in your town, didn't you? … Read more