iTunes

Apple Premieres iTunes 9

Featuring iTunes LP, Home Sharing, Genius Mixes & Improved Syncing

September 9, 2009—Apple today introduced iTunes 9, the latest version of the world’s most popular software application to purchase, manage and play media, packed with innovative features such as iTunes LP, Home Sharing and Genius Mixes, as well as a redesigned store and improved syncing. iTunes 9 makes it easier than ever to discover, purchase and enjoy your music, movies, TV shows, and apps for iPhone and iPod touch from Apple’s revolutionary App Store. Plus, Home Sharing now lets you easily transfer songs, movies and TV shows to other computers in your home.

"iTunes 9 is a great iTunes release, with innovative features that make using iTunes better than ever and iTunes content richer than ever," said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. "iTunes LP, for example, lets artists share more of their creativity with fans and gives music lovers the feeling of being immersed in an entire album with art, lyrics, liner notes, photos and videos." Read more

Creative Sound Blaster Wireless for iTunes is Available Now

by Justin Hubbell on Tue, 2009-07-21 12:54


Lenovo S10

The Creative Sound Blaster Wireless for iTunes will wirelessly play iTunes, MP3 and all audio from a PC or Mac through powered speakers up to 100 feet away. The Sound Blaster Wireless for iTunes including a Creative Wireless Receiver is available today at Amazon.com and Creative.com for only $149.99.

Sound Blaster Wireless for iTunes enables speakers to be placed anywhere in the home. Because Sound Blaster Wireless for iTunes is only about the size of a thumb drive, the user can just grab it and plug it into the USB connection on a PC or Mac. Connect a Creative Wireless Receiver to speakers or the great-sounding Creative GigaWorks T20W speakers which contain a built-in wireless receiver and the Sound Blaster Wireless for iTunes is ready to go.

It uses a proprietary wireless technology based on 2.4 GHz designed specifically for audio so the listener doesn’t have to tolerate dropouts or interference, which commonly plague Bluetooth and Wi-Fi systems. Also, it doesn't require a wireless network.

Bose Announces New Wireless Music System

by Justin Hubbell on Mon, 2009-07-20 10:36


Bose SoundLink Wireless Music System

The SoundLink wireless music system is a one-piece portable speaker system that allows users to play music from their computer, wirelessly, in and around the home. No software or Wi-Fi connection is required. Just plug the included SoundLink USB key into the computer, select music from iTunes, Pandora, or any other Internet radio or music source and the audio will stream to the SoundLink system via a long-range wireless link that works through most walls and floors. It also comes with an infrared remote control and a lithium-ion charged battery.

The new SoundLink wireless music system comes in Gloss Black, and will be available from Bose beginning August 27, 2009, for a price of $549.95. It will be sold at authorized Bose dealers, Bose retail stores, www.Bose.com or toll free at 1-800-444-BOSE (2673).

Verizon Wireless Announces MP3 Store, Gives iTunes Some Competition

by jessica on Mon, 2009-04-06 11:59


Verizon phone, computer

Verizon Wireless announced at last weeks' CTIA trade show that they are now selling MP3's from their online media store. Verizon is the first mobile provider to offer full MP3's (not just ringback tones) from their online store. Customers simply choose from about 5 million titles on the site, preview the music, log in to purchase, download, and then play it on their computers or any MP3 player, including a Verizon Wireless music-capable phone. In case you were wondering (I know I was!), you don't have to be a Verizon subscriber to buy tracks.

Beginning April 7th, Verizon is offering tiered pricing for MP3s purchased online. The prices will be:
  • $1.29 for new releases and best-selling releases;
  • 99 cents for most major contemporary releases;
  • 69 cents for most classic catalog releases.

Visit Verizon's online store at http://mediastore.verizonwireless.com or http://vzw.com/mp3.

New HP MediaSmart Home Media Server and Backup System

by Joe Stewart on Mon, 2008-12-29 13:11


HP MediaSmart Server The main strength of the HP MediaSmart Server is central storage and media streaming for music and photos over your home network. Special iTunes support allows iTunes playback on connected computers that use iTunes.

You can serve photos directly from the MediaSmart server or upload photos to Facebook, Picasa or Snapfish. I do not see Flickr support in the announcement though.

In addition to media center type serving of music, videos, and photos the server also performs a network backup for Windows and Mac computers on a home network. To add additional redundancy you can add Amazon S3 for offsite storage. The HP Media Collector can schedule centralizing files from the other computers on the home network.

The HP MediaSmart Server ex485 will have 750 GB of hard drive space at $599 and the ex487 will double the hard drive storage to 1.5 TB and a price of $749. Storage can be expanded to 9 TB later. They both contain a 64-bit 2.0 GHz Intel Celeron processor and 2 GB of RAM. Read more

HP Launches New Home Server for PCs and Macs

December 29, 2008 -- HP today launched a home server designed for use with both Windows and Mac computers.

Based on the Microsoft Windows Home Server platform, the HP MediaSmart Server ex485/ex487 is a central repository for automatically backing up and accessing digital music, videos, photos and documents from multiple computers on a home network.

The MediaSmart Server automatically organizes files across all PCs, streams media across a home network and the Internet, and publishes photos to popular social networking and photo sharing sites. Read more

NBC Universal Returns to the iTunes Store

September 9, 2008 — Apple and NBC Universal today announced the return of NBC programming to the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com) including NBC networks’ top 10 series available immediately for purchase and download in both standard definition and stunning high definition. iTunes customers can choose programming from NBC, USA Network, SCI FI Channel, Bravo, Sleuth and NBC News including favorites such as the award-winning and critically acclaimed “Heroes,” and the Emmy award-winning programs “The Office,” “Battlestar Galactica” and “30 Rock.” NBCU standard definition television shows on the iTunes Store are $1.99 per episode and HD programs are available for just one dollar more at $2.99 per episode and select library content is available for $.99. Additional NBCU programming from Oxygen, Telemundo, Mun2 and NBC Sports will be available on iTunes soon.

“The return of our shows to iTunes is terrific news for everyone who loves television and the ease and convenience of Apple’s iTunes,” said Jeff Zucker, President and CEO, NBC Universal. “And now, by offering consumers a variety of new options, our fans have even more ways to enjoy our content.” Read more

Apple Announces iTunes 8

September 9, 2008—Apple today announced iTunes 8, the next major release of Apple’s ubiquitous music and video player for Macs and PCs which is seamlessly integrated with the most popular online content store in the world (www.itunes.com). iTunes 8 includes the new breakthrough Genius feature, which lets you automatically create playlists from songs in your music library that go great together—with just one click. Genius helps music fans rediscover favorite songs in their existing music library and suggests related music on the iTunes Store they might want to add to their music collection. iTunes 8 features new ways of viewing your music and video libraries, and adds television programs in stunning high definition for sale on the iTunes Store.

Using Apple’s breakthrough Genius feature is easy—select any song, click the Genius button, and iTunes instantly creates a playlist of songs that go great together from your own library. You can preview the playlist Genius creates, refresh the list to choose different songs and save Genius playlists to enjoy again later. You can even create Genius Playlists on-the-go with the new iPod classic, iPod touch, iPod nano and iPhone. The Genius sidebar appears right in iTunes and recommends music from the iTunes Store that you don’t already have, based on the songs you select. Read more

iLike Sidebar for iTunes Keeps You (Musically) Updated


iLike Sidebar for iTunes screenshotEver wake up one day to find out that one of your favorite bands was performing in town last night, only you didn’t know about it? Miss out on buying tickets for a show because you didn’t know when they went on sale? Frustrated with having to pay outrageous prices on StubHub?

It is estimated today that nearly 50% of concert tickets in the United States go unsold, and the #1 reason people cite that they don’t go to more concerts is, “I didn’t know they were playing.” Read more

Twentieth Century Fox & Apple Introduce iTunes Digital Copy

January 15, 2008—Twentieth Century Fox and Apple today announced Digital Copy for iTunes, which provides customers who purchase a DVD with an additional Digital Copy of the movie. Just like movies purchased from the iTunes Store, an iTunes Digital Copy can effortlessly be transferred to iTunes and then viewed on a PC or Mac, iPod with video, iPhone or on Apple TV. The first DVD to make its debut with iTunes Digital Copy is the Special Edition DVD premiere of the Family Guy “Star Wars” parody, “Family Guy Presents: Blue Harvest,” which is being released in stores today. Fox and Apple are planning to deliver many more DVDs with iTunes Digital Copy this year.

“One of the most requested features DVD buyers have been asking for is the ability to get the movies they bought into their iTunes library,” said Jim Gianopulos, chairman and chief executive officer of Fox Filmed Entertainment. “We’re thrilled to offer such an incredibly simple way for our customers to get even more out of their DVD purchase, and we look forward to releasing many more DVDs this year with iTunes Digital Copy.” Read more

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