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Posts tagged with "itunes"

Back to the Cloud

When I bought my first iPhone, I didn’t realize I would need the cloud someday.

By “cloud” we usually mean “online sync” nowadays. The possibility to keep different devices’ settings, email accounts, app databases in persistent synchronization. OmniFocus uses the cloud, for example. Simplenote is a cloud-based note taking application. Dropbox is the non-plus ultra of cloud-connected setups.

Then there’s MobileMe. Apple’s own sync infrastructure / online drive / web-based app suite that has managed to gain quite a few users over the years but, according to many, is still struggling to find an identity. What is MobileMe? Why does Apple keep on redesigning its web interface and doesn’t ship a major overhaul of the underlying engine instead?

OS X left the desktop and landed on the iPhone to gave birth to iPhone OS. Years later, iPhone OS evolved into the 2.0 version of Apple’s original mobile vision, iOS for iPhone and iPad. The once-OSX-now-iOS is going back to the Mac with Lion.

.Mac and iTools were tied to the Mac. The newly renamed MobileMe later approached the web and iPhone as lovechilds to keep safe and constantly connected. Two years after the introduction of MobileMe, it is time for Apple to go back to the cloud. Read more

Apple Posts Ping Guidelines for Artists

Remember Ping? Apple sure does: it’s the “social network” for music discovery and sharing they embedded right into iTunes 10, together with a new icon (the one you love) and a refined UI. I’m not a big fan of Ping (I think it’s useless and far from being a “social network”) but Apple surely believes in it. After all, it’s a way to drive more downloaded to the iTunes Store, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ping extending to movies, TV shows and apps in the near future. Read more

Do We Need an iTunes Server Version?→

Do We Need an iTunes Server Version?

iTunes Server would allow each user to set up an account and build a personal library. These accounts would ensure that the server program knows exactly which files each user wants to access. Users’ library files would remain on their individual computers, and they would be able to create their own playlists, add ratings, and keep track of their play counts and last played dates.

When the server is first set up, users would be able to choose which files they see in their copies of iTunes; this would also affect what they can sync to their iOS devices.

Sounds interesting, but my money is on iTunes in the cloud making the whole process easier, faster and, overall, better.

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Ouch: New Apple TV Doesn’t Trigger 24 Hour Timer for Shows Rented On Mac

Interesting bug (or is it a feature?) discovered by MacRumors about the new Apple TV: if you try to stream a show rented on a Mac’s iTunes, the 24/48 hour countdown for the rental doesn’t get triggered. Instead, you’ll keep seeing the 29+ days message as if  you never opened that file.

This only happens when you stream the file from your computer to the new Apple TV which, as you may know, doesn’t come with storage capabilities like the old model. Read more

Free Your Mac’s Media Keys from iTunes→

Free Your Mac’s Media Keys from iTunes

The tricks we used before were far less than ideal, requiring you to start up Quicktime in the background, or do some serious hacking to system files within iTunes.app. NoMitsu has created a one-click installer that patches the remote control daemon, the app responsible for managing the media keys. Just download the patch and double-click on it. After entering your password, your media keys will be free from iTunes’ grasp.

I installed this and it works perfectly.

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iTunes: Apple’s Weakest Link→

The problem is that iTunes is now a pretty ancient piece of software. When it first appeared in 2001 as a reworking of SoundJam, a program Apple bought from a Californian company in 1999, it provided an elegant way of doing just one thing: getting songs from CDs on to your computer’s hard drive. But over the years, more and more functions have been added: first the management of iPods, then the Apple online store. Then iTunes became the conduit for managing one’s iPhone. The latest addition is the Ping social-networking function.

This is what the industry calls “feature creep” on an heroic scale.

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Apple Adds Badge to Game Center Apps in the App Store

This is a neat little feature, a small improvement, but we like it: Apple has added an indicator in the App Store page of Game Center-compatible apps. You can check it out in the top-right corner of a page like this one.

It’s easier now to know whether a game supports Game Center or not, but an indicator is not enough: what does the app allow you to do on GC? How many achievements does it come with? I don’t think that developers should put all this information in the product description, a dedicated one is needed. Also, what about already-purchased apps? You still have to try and click Buy to find out, as there’s no indicator for that. (Update: not to mention a “Retina Display-ready badge)

Apple is working on making the App Store a better marketplace (remember, it’s not a simple showcase of 10.00o apps anymore), but it still lacks basic features like a complete and detailed history, or a better wishlist. We’ll just have to wait, I guess. Read more