Podcasts For 2009

Due to a bit of a power surge on Christmas Eve I ended up with a corrupt iTunes Library!!! Pretty much all back to square one, just need to tag movies that are unwatched and resync with Apple TV, and re subscribe to podcasts.

Now that is the dilemma. At the moment it feels sort of liberated to have NO podcasts at all. So rather than just rush in and re subscribe to the original ones I am going to leave it blank for a while and take the opportunity to start afresh.

iTunes 7.5

According to AppleInsider we could be seeing the next upgrade to iTunes as soon as next week. It is expected to just have a few tweeks here and there rather than any major additions. One are that it is hoped it will improve is the problem faced by some iTunes Store customers while attempting to upgrade certain standard iTunes tracks to iTunes Plus versions.

Users of the current version of iTunes have experienced an issue where iTunes Plus upgrades cause the software to hang indefinitely following data downloads, eventually requiring a force quit.

TuneBar 3 Beta

I have written about TuneBar before, most recently TuneBar 2.7, and as you know it is developed by regular reader Tom, who also happens to be my ‘partner in crime’ on a number of design and development projects.

Impressively TuneBar 2.7 is currently siting at number 6 in the Apple downloads list as a staff pick.

I have been keeping an eye on the development of Tunebar 3, and recently have been using the beta, and I must say that it has taken over where 2.7 left off and is looking very very cool!

TuneBar 2.7 Promotion Link

I wrote about the MacUpdate promotion for TuneBar 2.7 last week, so I just wanted to give you the link (removed) that you can use for this TODAY ONLY.

If you haven’t already it is well worth a look.

TuneBar 2.7 Promotion

Regular readers of the site will know Tom and the work he has done on my site, on a number of plugins that we have worked on and of course his own application TuneBar.

TuneBar is a easy to use application that allows you to access iTunes through any application on your computer. It is designed around the idea that it will take up only the minimal amount of screen space by sliding underneath the menu bar when not in use. This controller gives you access to the most fundamental features of iTunes such as Play/Pause, Back Track, Next Track, Volume and more from with in any running application on your computer.

iTunes Use

I am trying to figure out the ‘best’ way to store and distribute my digital content. A number of ‘events’ have conspired to make this a more urgent task than I had anticipated. I will go into these ‘events’ in future posts, otherwise this article will become of ‘War and Peace’ proportions.

First up, I do not want to implement a NAS server. I don’t want the additional cost, nor do I want to have another machine running all the time when my Mac is effectively on all the time anyway, at least it is always on at times when we will want to access content.

iTunes and iPhoto on a network

Seems like it’s “Ask a question” time over here on the blog, which is fine with me as your questions always get me thinking, and your responses always teach me something!

This time Wayne has a question about iTunes and iPhoto on a network, which is something that I seem to always be ‘struggling’ to work out in my own set up.

Wayne’s Story

iTunes 7.3

Well there is one good thing that has come out of iPhone Friday (I wonder in years to come if it will become a public holiday) and that is the fact that the iTunes 7.3 upgrade that they have released today for it fixes the problem in 7.2 of sharing videos that I wrote about earlier in the week.

iTunes 7.2 Problems

Last night I wanted (proudly) to show my parents some of Moreno’s movies over the network via Front Row. On every Mac I tried it showed the shared videos but wouldn’t play them – kept coming up with a “The shared video server may be having problems playing the video”.

It looks like this is now a known fault with iTunes 7.2, so if you are still on 7.1 stick with it for now!

you control:tunes

you control:tunes lets you ‘access your music library and control iTunes from the menu bar” It is a really good application, and it is FREE!

I tend to get drawn towards menu bar applications, especially free ones that are as great as this. Installation is the ‘usual’ drag over to the applications folder and then there are some preferences to play around with. The “About You” is just personal information stuff, but “Menus” has some pretty good options. Here you can chose how the controls look and act in the menu bar, which elements of iTunes you want to control (podcasts, genre, album, artist etc)

Would you like DRM with that?

Here is an article from the newest contributor to MyAppleStuff, Mark Howson

Photo Credit: dsearls

Cars, hamburgers, domain names. They all do it, but the newest darling of the upsell industry was announced Monday by Steve Jobs during an EMI Music Event. That’s right, iTunes would like to welcome you to the upsell. No, not the social, the upsell, really.

Starting May, iTunes will release to all territories the entire EMI music catalogue in a DRM free format. Here’s the catch. It’s 30 cents more. But, it does come with a few perks. Like twice the quality of your regular download, and the ability to use the music with:

Apple patches issues with iTunes 7.1.1 release

Apple patches issues with iTunes 7.1.1 release

‘iTunes 7.1.1 addresses a stability issue and minor compatibility problems in iTunes 7.1,’ the company wrote in a brief set of release notes accompanying the software.

The maintenance release is available from the Mac OS X Software Update mechanism and has also been posted to Apple’s support site as a 28MB download for Macs and a 36.1MB download for Windows PCs.

Apple did not say whether Friday’s update addresses any of the persisting incompatibilities between iTunes and Microsoft’s new Vista operating system.

The iPod & iTunes Pocket Guide, Second Edition, 2nd Edition

The iPod & iTunes Pocket Guide from Peachpit costs $9.99 ($8.99 on line) and is a fun book to add to your collection.

Book Description

iPod users want to start using their devices as soon as they get their hands on them, and this guide shows them how. In these pages, trusted gadget teacher Christopher Breen reveals the secrets to using the leading portable player. This handy guide offers the quickest way to learn how to use the iTunes Store (including the new movie store!), import songs from CDs, and how to pick the right accessories. Readers will also find thorough coverage of the entire iPod family, including the iPod shuffle ($79-1GB; the world’s smallest MP3 player), iPod nano ($149-2GB; $199-4GB; $249-8GB), and the updated iPod ($249-30GB and $349-80GB, which holds up to 20,000 songs or 100 hours of video). Along the way, Christopher offers hints for burning CDs, tips for making the most of the device’s storage capabilities,and troubleshooting advice for when the gadgets become uncooperative.