iTunes

[xane]

Anyone got subscribed up to iTunes ? On Windows ? What is it like ?

Give me the run-down on iTunes, I know if I was not so lazy I could find these answers on the net somewhere, but hopefully someone on the forums has real experience.

* whats the subscription rates and download costs ?
* what sort of song collection, extensive, up-to-date, recent releases ?
* does it run okay on Windows ?
* are they standard MP3s or some sor tof proprietry file format ?
* do I actually need an iPod, or can I put them on a regular MP3 Player ?
* what about playing them on Windows, using, say, WinAmp ?
* how about burning CDs, is that done through special software or can you use Roxio/Nero etc.
* can you give iTunes songs to other people, or is there some kind of encoding or just some legality that prevents you ?
* what happens if you stop subscribing, can you still play your songs ?

etc, etc, etc

TIA

 

[ECA]

the iTunes software is free, you pay per song or a sub, more info @ www.itunes.com stop being lazy :-]

 

[Tom]

I just hope it doesn't have big 'upgrade to pro' messages every time you start it, that would annoy me like nothing on earth.

 

[FatBusinessman]

It would appear not - the iTunes software itself appears to be entirely free.

It's just the Music Store that you have to pay for, and that's only available in the US anyway.

 

[FatBusinessman]

Oh, and there's already a thread on this topic in the TechNation forum - probably worth reading through.

 

[SilverHood]

they in .mp3 format?

 

[FatBusinessman]

If you want them to be - remember, there is a difference between the Apple Music Store (online subscription service) and iTunes (an MP3 player, and CD ripper/burner). iTunes won't force you into using some proprietary Apple format - you can even tell the CD ripper to encode into MP3.

 

[Xavier]

Downloads from the itunes store are in .aac format, and presently iTunes only supports the iPod as a media player under Windows... which just happens to be is AAC capable, even though apple haven't updated their specs to show this.

I've wedged my collection into it, and after an intensive weekends writing, rating tunes as they play in the background, I have to agree with Steve Jobs :

best.windows.app.ever

I listen to music most of the day when I work, having an app which wraps up so many handy little features under such a polished interface for -free- is a real treat... aside from the window controls, it's as close a clone to the version on my G4 as I could ask for.

As Fatbusinessman pointed out, we've already got a thread here:

http://forums.barrysworld.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=87811

which includes screenies of the main application windows, plus the itunes store... I'm very tempted to write an overview of it, so as to ease people into the idea of trying something other than WinAMP or Windows Media Player, it's THAT good.

(Unlike Winamp and Windows Media, it can rip in AAC or MP3 as standard , and smart playlists are indispensable once you've used them...)

\\Edit: Almost forgot to add, iTunes 4.1 lets you share your music collection with up to 5 other PCs running iTunes on your local area network (- to listen to, not to copy). Now Bym can listen to all the tracks I have on my desktop that she's been nagging about lately, without making a second local copy and wasting space

 

[Munkey-]

tried to download it the other day but i could only find the windows 2000/xp download file and the Mac one.

So i dont think i'll be using it anytime soon

 

[Xavier]

aah, yeah, i put it in the news post but not above, it's xp/2000 only

 

[MYstIC G]

tbh it's not got anything "over and above" winamp if you're just after a player

 

[DaGaffer]

Originally posted by MYstIC G
tbh it's not got anything "over and above" winamp if you're just after a player

Agreed, but anyone who's got a Windows iPod and has had to sruggle with MusicMatch will be doing cartwheels over getting iTunes. Its about a billion percent better.

 

[FatBusinessman]

Originally posted by Xavier
\\Edit: Almost forgot to add, iTunes 4.1 lets you share your music collection with up to 5 other PCs running iTunes on your local area network

As a student on a college network, I have to say that this is damned useful

 

[Ch3tan]

Originally posted by DaGaffer
Agreed, but anyone who's got a Windows iPod and has had to sruggle with MusicMatch will be doing cartwheels over getting iTunes. Its about a billion percent better.

I've always used Musicmatch over Winamp - I find it much better. iTunes is the same as musicmatch for me, so I'm using both

 

[xane]

Sorry, yes, the questions where more directed towards the Music Store, anyone subscribed or used it though ?

 

[DaGaffer]

Originally posted by Ch3tan
I've always used Musicmatch over Winamp - I find it much better. iTunes is the same as musicmatch for me, so I'm using both

Playlist synching is much more intuitive with iTunes - MusicMatch is a bit of a pain tbh. Its also irritatingly intrusive sometimes.

 

[DaGaffer]

Originally posted by xane
Sorry, yes, the questions where more directed towards the Music Store, anyone subscribed or used it though ?

Want to. Can't.

 

[MYstIC G]

Originally posted by DaGaffer
Want to. Can't.

Kinda sums up a lot of why Apple is Apple tbh

And agreed on the iPod thing, but I've got a BeoPlayer2 MP3 player which though can't compete on storage comes with the spinky BeoPlayer software which is free & can be downloaded from www.beoplayer.com (though unless you like software that is different just for being different it's not worth it for anyone who's got winamp the way they like it)

 

[xane]

So you can't use the Music Store through Windows ? Only the Itunes software for existing MP3s ?

 

[MYstIC G]

Originally posted by xane
So you can't use the Music Store through Windows ? Only the Itunes software for existing MP3s ?

My understanding is you can't use it unless you're a US citizen, nothing to do with Windows itself.

 

[Xavier]

that's soon to change Makes sense to get the application out there now and add countries gradually...

 

[(Shovel)]

You can acess the music store, but you can't buy anything. I believe that you can access the track previews though, which may be of interest to some people.

Basically, it means you can click on a track in the music store and press "Play" and it'll play part of the song.

 

[(Shovel)]

With regard to the selection, do a search for "Radiohead" and spot a problem.

 

[xane]

Are there any alternatives to Apple's Music Store, that operate in the UK, and don't have stupid designs like if you stop subscriptions then all your tunes cannot be played.

From what I see, the Apple Music Store give you the same rights to 99c downloaded songs as if you would have bought them on a CD, i.e. they can be ripped and copied for personal use.

This is the part I want to know about, but I'll be downloading iTunes tonight anyways as a generic music player.

 

[WPKenny]

http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2003-05-28&res=l

 

[old.Kez]

Upon installing iTunes, there was only one word I could think of: behemoth. The thing is fucking screen-engulfing, and as far as I can see, I can't actually resize it - thats a real plus for Windows integration there; Oh, and I'm still recovering from the shock discovery that people at Apple actually think their brushed chrome is a) nice b) better than having a program that fits in with the rest of the Operating System scheme.

I deleted it soon after realising it was bloaty cumbersome shite that couldn't begin to suit my needs. It may be a blessing in disguise, as winamp5 beta1 arrived today, which may or may not actually have a purpose.

 

[Xavier]

ehm, it can be resized, try that little doohicky bottom right.

 

[FatBusinessman]

Originally posted by old.Kez
The thing is fucking screen-engulfing, and as far as I can see, I can't actually resize it

Where the Maximise/Restore button would normally be, there is a button which reduces iTunes to 300x70px.

Not entirely intuitive, I'll grant you, but it's there.

 

[Xavier]

A couple of quick grabs...


Almost the size of my screen.

One quarter size, or thereabouts

As small as it will go with the visual effect on.

Hit the 'maximise/restore' button'

And shrink down to this, if you so wish.

 

[Tom]

Any way to make it stay on top, or lock it to the taskbar?