What kind of technology oriented public servant would I be if I didn't tell all my loyal readers about the latest way to go legit with you music downloading habit. It's called iTunes. You may have heard me mention this program before, and those of you who read my essay concerning the RIAA's methods of stopping file-swappers, know that I consider this kind of technology and innovation essential to alleviating the music industries woes relating to online music trading. But back to iTunes...
iTunes is two things really (1) an all purpose media player, and (2) a music downloading/purchasing system. Some of you who own Mac's may already be familiar with iTunes, as it has been the chief media manager for the OS X Platform for quite some time. The reason I waited till now to discuss it, is because it was released for the windows platform yesterday (10.16.2003), thereby making this information more pertinent to the BULK of my readers...
(1) - All Purpose Media Player...Since I haven’t had a WHOLE lot of time to fool around with this program, I can’t go into more detail at this time. But rest assured that as I learn more, so will YOU!If you've owned a consumer software company for more than 3 years chances are you've put out a media player. There are media players available from ATI, Real, Creative, MusicMatch, though you are all probably MOST familiar with Windows Media Player (WMP) and WinAmp. iTunes is yet another offering among a bounty of media solutions. To the average Windows user utilizing WMP or WinAmp, iTunes is not much more than another version of the same thing (Media Libraries, Playlists, Radio Stations, etc). To these individuals, this function of iTunes will seem more of a nuisance than a solution, to whom the value of iTunes will become more apparent in the second module.
So, what windows users need this thing? It's no big secret, that the Portable MP3 player to OWN is the apple iPod, which despite being available in both Windows and Apple formats, is hardly level-handed when it comes to music transfer and management. Up until now, there has been no GOOD iPod connectivity software for Windows. iPod owners running Windows were forced to download plugins for MusicMatch (which didn't really work), or seek and opensource solutions that were mediocre and buggy at best. iTunes solves all that. I'm not going to go into detail about the functionality, but lets just say the words seamless, simple, and FAST come to mind. If you own an iPod and run Windows 2000 or XP, you NEED to get iTunes.
(2) – iTunes Music Store
In case you hadn’t noticed, the RIAA is starting to hunt down file-swappers, and despite the slim odds of getting caught, it’s still a smart idea to be at least semi-law abiding. iTunes music store offers up thousands of tracks of high quality audio for purchase. Users link their username to a credit card and can purchase individual tracks for 99 cents each, and entire albums for around $10.00. Because the music is encoded and maintained by Apple, users of iTunes are guaranteed certain levels of service, and a certain level of quality when it comes to their downloaded songs.
I downloaded a few tracks last night. Each one took between 15-20 seconds to download, and the audio was superior to anything I have EVER downloaded elsewhere. Moreover, those of you using portable audio devices (like the iPod) that utilize ID tags for music organization will be thrilled to learn that THIS TOO has been taken care of on all audio files. Some may still question why anyone would pay for what they can get for free. For this ex-file-swapper, iTunes represents an affordable and convenient way to go legit. The advantages over KaZaA are countless, and it'lll get the RIAA off your back in a pinch, because the music you’re downloading you actually OWN!
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