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Why the iTunes in the Cloud Rumour Makes No Sense

Why the iTunes in the Cloud Rumour Makes No Sense

by thomasfitzgerald on 21. Jan, 2010 in Apple, Internet, Music, iTunes

There’s been a rumour doing the rounds the last few days that really doesn’t make sense. It started when some analyst (I think it was on techcrunch) said that they’d heard that Apple plans to offer people the ability to put their iTunes collection “in the cloud”. Basically, it would allow people to access their music anywhere in the world. CNET are now reporting that Apple have been talking to the record labels about the possibility. Needless to say the mac rumour web has jumped on this. I have doubts though. There’s one aspect in particular that just doesn’t make sense. Here’s an example From 9-5 Mac:

“Apple didn’t reveal much, but much like what was reported yesterday, the idea is that people would upload their music to Apple’s servers and it would be available to them anywhere in the world on any device.”

Why though would Apple make you upload your music? Surely it would make more sense to scan your library or even your iTunes sales records and see which tracks you’ve bought and allow you to stream them from Apple’s servers. I mean, why download a song from iTunes only to then re-upload it to another Apple server? There’s no way in hell you’ll be allowed to do this with content you didn’t buy through iTunes either, so forget about using this for music you’ve bought on CD.

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Misconceptions about iTunes and iPods

by thomasfitzgerald on 20. Dec, 2009 in Technology, iPhone, iPod, iTunes

Macworld has an interesting article dealing with 5 of the most common myths about iTunes/iPods that seem to get propagated around the web and elsewhere.

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Some thoughts about Blu-Ray on the Mac.

Some thoughts about Blu-Ray on the Mac.

by thomasfitzgerald on 12. Oct, 2009 in Apple, Blu-Ray, Entertainment, Mac, iTunes

I really believe that there is a growing interest for blu-ray on the Mac. One of the things that leads me to suspect this is that the number one search term and link that is bringing people to this site at the moment is blu-ray. In particular Final Cut’s Blu Ray support. More and more people keep asking me: “when do you think the Mac will get blu-ray?” which is usually followed by “should I wait?” To be honest I doubt it will come this year. I suspect that when Apple does their widely rumoured Autumn Mac refresh, blu-ray won’t be on the cards (and John Gruber says so, so it must be true). I suspect that Apple’s primary focus will be keeping costs down for the holiday season, and although blu-ray burners are much cheaper than they used to be, they’re still more expensive than a normal superdrive. Unless they add it as a build to order option, I can’t see it coming before January.

Incidentally, for those claiming that iTunes downloads offer everything you need for your high-def movie satisfaction, here’s a few points to consider. Firstly, there are still very few sell through high-def movies on the iTunes store. I guess the movie studios aren’t that interested, or the initial take up by consumers has been low and the studios haven’t bothered pushing the format any more. I’m sure if they were selling well they would be falling over themselves to get more content available, but on the US iTunes store there’s only a small few titles available for purchase, and most of them are back catalogue or b-rated movies.

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A vanishing iTunes bug

by thomasfitzgerald on 17. Sep, 2009 in Apple, iTunes

This is interesting (well, to me anyway). When I first downloaded iTunes 9 every other time I went to purchase anything it would ask me to log in (despite already being logged in), and it would then take me to my account page. I’d then have to go back to where I was and purchase the item again. It was very annoying. Anyway, kudos to Apple because it seems to have gone away now, and iTunes is acting like it always did. I guess it was a server side error.

[UPDATE] I spoke too soon, it’s still there. I wonder if it has anything to do with the store now being webkit based, as safari has a hard time remembering logins too

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iTunes 9 Zoom Button

by thomasfitzgerald on 16. Sep, 2009 in Apple, iTunes

Screen shot 2009-09-16 at 09.52.44.png

One of the complaints that people have had about iTunes on the mac for years was that the zoom button (the green plus button beside the close and minimize buttons) didn’t zoom the window like other apps but instead activated the mini player. Well, it looks like they’ve finally changed that behavior. Sort of. A new support document from Apple reveals that the mini player is now activated by option clicking on the plus button or selecting it from the menu. I hadn’t spotted this, but then I never use the mini player.

Unfortunately though the zoom button still doesn’t seem to work properly. Instead of making the iTunes window fill the available screen space it defaults the window to an odd position in the middle of the screen, partially obscured by the dock. Still, for those who took issue with the previous behavior I guess it’s a step in the right direction.

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My Expectations for Apple’s Rumored September Event

by thomasfitzgerald on 15. Aug, 2009 in Apple, AppleTV, iPod, iTunes

With tablet rumors swirling out of control and supposed iPod touch photos doing the rounds, the build up to Apple’s usual September annual event seem to be bigger than ever this year. Just to play devils advocate here are my thoughts as to what we will see for Apple’s consumer electronics fall lineup. (Disclaimer: I have no inside information. This is just pure speculation and it’s just for the fun of it so please don’t take this too seriously)

  1. iPod touch with camera. This will come in 16, 32 and 64gb versions. I would say that the inclusion of a camera is a near certainty at this stage. It will more than likely do video too. This will prety much bring the iPod Touch in line with the iPhone in terms of hardware (minus the phone part obviously). I doubt that there will be many other surprises related to the iPod touch.
  2. iPod nano will be upgraded with a slightly different form factor and may feature a camera. I’d say capacities will probably remain the same although we might see a 32gb version.
  3. iPod Classic will either be discontinued or remain the same, but I doubt it will see upgrades. I still see a lot of people out and about with iPod classics so I don’t know if their sales have dropped off to the point where Apple will kill it yet. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Either way, I doubt it will be upgraded.
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An Interesting Opportunity for Sony to Reboot The Walkman Brand

by thomasfitzgerald on 17. May, 2009 in Apple, Music, Sony, iPod, iTunes

x_series_walkman_sony.jpg.jpeg

It’s been a while since the launch of a Sony Walkman made headlines but its latest offering, the new x-series Walkman has reviewers somewhat excited. The new Walkman, despite its OLED screen, and despite its internet access, wifi and youtube, may be attempting to compete against Apple’s iPod touch, but its biggest strength is as a music player. It’s unclear if that is deliberate but it does present is an interesting point. As Apple moves it’s iPod line to be more of a multimedia handheld computing and gaming device, the market is opening up once again for a premium audio product that caters for those who want high quality audio in a portable device. Something, unfortunately Apple seems to no longer be interested in.

Before I go any further her, let me get one thing straight. Just because Apple makes the iPod, that doesn’t preclude anyone else from ever making a portable music player, and just because I’m an apple fan, it doesn’t mean I or you have to bash everything every other company makes. And just because I may say good things about a competitor doesn’t mean I’m bashing the iPod or Apple. If you can’t accept any of those simple concepts then please, don’t read any further, you won’t like it.

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Hackers crack Apple’s iTunes gift card algorithm

by thomasfitzgerald on 10. Mar, 2009 in Apple, iTunes

From Apple Insider:

$200 iTunes Gift Certificates are selling for less than $3 in China now that a group of local hackers has circumvented Apple’s algorithm for creating the digital vouchers and built their own gift certificate generators.

This is not good, because Apple will have to take steps to deal with this and that could be bad news for people who use legitimate gift cards. It will be interesting to see how they handle this.
[Read Hackers crack Apple's iTunes gift card algorithm]

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