Apple is trying to make it even easier for people to get involved in the iTunes ecosystem and enjoy the content available on the service. They have now launched a web based sort of iTunes Store that they are calling iTunes Preview. This system allows users who don’t have iTunes installed on their computer to still discover content shared through iTunes links.

While these links would normally either a.) open iTunes on the users computer if it was installed, or b.) have the user install iTunes first if it wasn’t installed, users who don’t have it installed will now be able to view the content in their browser first. To me, this is very valuable as it allows users quick access to the content without having to wait for a download and install of iTunes.

For now, it appears as if online based viewing is strictly for music if you want the details. For instance, clicking a song will give the user a list of all the other songs on the album as well as links to purchase all of them in iTunes. However, clicking on a movie or app simply takes the user to the original page that then redirects them to iTunes as usual. However, some of them do show an icon or other graphic of the media that was trying to be accessed.

If you want to get a glance of what this looks like, scroll to the bottom of Apple’s iTunes page and check it out for yourself.

Product [iTunes]

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

If you use a Mac or own any of Apple’s iDevices, chances are that you use iTunes on a regular basis. The reason behind this is that iTunes had been dominating the digital media market on personal computers for a while now. Apple intelligently bundled iTunes with OS X and ensured little competition by designing all of its iDevices to sync and work perfectly with iTunes. However, iTunes’ dominance may soon be coming to an end, and doubleTwist just may be the spark that is needed for that to happen.

Many people dislike iTunes for many different reasons, such as excessive memory usage, complexity, and countless others. Yet, for people with iDevices in which certain features are only available within iTunes (such as the iPhone), there is no other choice but to download and use it, which again is an excellent strategy used by Apple to market their products. However, iTunes will undoubtedly be gaining some competition from doubleTwist, a great new iTunes alternative that will likely be converting a decent amount of current iTunes users.

The main feature that caught my attention with doubleTwist is its simplicity, something that iTunes is definitely lacking. Computer illiterate people will definitely find doubleTwist more attractive than iTunes, as performing simple tasks with it is, well, simple. doubleTwist’s UI is also very eye-pleasing and native-looking, with an obvious similarity to iTunes’. However, just because doubleTwist is much easier to navigate through than iTunes doesn’t make it inferior. Managing your digital media within doubleTwist is very efficient, as it should be.

doubleTwist’s collection of purchasable music is also quite impressive, thanks to its use of Amazon’s DRM-free MP3 store, which I definitely prefer to the iTunes Store, particularly because of the lower prices and greater selection. However, the lack of purchasable television shows, movies, ringtones, and iPhone/iPod touch applications is definitely a major downfall for doubleTwist, as all of Apple’s iDevices were designed for much more than just music. doubleTwist would definitely not be the best choice of software to use for iPhone and iPod touch owners, due to its lack of support for syncing applications, a major component of the devices.

Also, a consequence of doubleTwist’s simplicity is the lack of features many users find to be essential in a digital media managing application. Features such as smart playlists, music rating, and the ability to edit ID3 tags are nowhere to be found in doubleTwist, and may be enough of a reason for many users to remain with iTunes. One thing I also disliked about doubleTwist was its requirement to create an account before you can even use the application, which many users may find to be unnecessary and bothersome, as I did. While I cannot say that iTunes is exempt from this, they were more apparent in doubleTwist.

Below, I have broken down the categories of competition between iTunes and doubleTwist in regards to major issues and features:

Simplicity - doubleTwist is undoubtedly the winner here; its clean and easy-to-use interface and navigation is definitely a major selling point for the app.
Purchases - doubleTwist would win this category if it were only based on music, but due to iTunes’ availability of movies, TV shows, and iPhone/iPod touch applications, iTunes is the clear winner.
User Interface - In my opinion, both applications have a decent, native and surprisingly similar UI, so I’ll call this a tie.
Productivity - iTunes definitely wins this category due to doubleTwist’s lack of many important, complex features.
Media Management - This is another close one, since iTunes has support for more media types and has a much cleaner organization than doubleTwist, but doubleTwist supports many devices other than Apple’s iDevices, so I’ll have to call this one another tie.

In general, I would not consider doubleTwist to be a replacement for iTunes due to its lack of many important features, but rather an alternative digital media manager for the user who enjoys simplicity over functionality. I, for one, am in need of the functionality that iTunes provides, so I won’t be switching over any time soon. Which app do you prefer more? Let us know in the comments!

Products [iTunes] & [doubleTwist]

Full Story » | Written by Patrick Lutz for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

At first glance, iTunes LP seems like an interesting new way to revive some of the sales of records. They offer the same songs available as single/album downloads on other stores, but also provide their own visual twist on the content, making them different (and more expensive) than simply purchasing the list of songs. They are, in a way, trying to give the consumer a look and feel lost by not purchasing the physical media from a store with a 21st century digital twist. That said, new restrictions discovered about this type of media may show this isn’t going to be quite as successful as previously thought.

According to Gizmodo, a man running a small music label company outside of Chicago has recently contacted Apple about creating an iTunes LP album. He was told that 1.) iTunes LP albums aren’t being offered to indie labels yet, and 2.) they cost a nice $10,000 to produce and put onto the iTunes Store. This alone is kind of depressing for people looking to create an LP album to potentially boost their sales as they may not even be able to afford that if Apple were to even allow them to have the chance to create one.

The iTunes LP idea could work, Apple, but only with creative indies behind it pushing the limits.

Via [Gizmodo]

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As many of you will be aware, Apple is hosting a music themed event in San Francisco on September 9th. The tagline on the invitations reads “It’s only rock and roll, but we like it,” which certainly suggests music will play an important role in the keynote. While there are certainly rumors surrounding an update to the iPod line, there are also many other rumors that have been circulating the Internet, so here’s a round-up of all the possibilities we could see from Apple tomorrow.

iTunes 9

The last major update to iTunes included the App Store, along with updates to iTunes DJ. This upcoming event is rumored to see the release of iTunes 9 which could include the option to incorporate your library and listening styles with your favorite social networks, such as Facebook and Last.FM.

A long-awaited feature from many customers has been to have the ability to re-organize your iPhone/iPod touch applications from within iTunes, which would then synchronize across to your device. According to the Boy Genius Report, this could also be making an appearance in iTunes 9, something I personally am certainly looking forward to.

It doesn’t stop there, however. The third major update that could feature in iTunes 9 is support for Blu-ray movies. This was rumored for the previous upgrade to iTunes, but with HD DVD out of the race, it’s more possible that Apple hase decided to jump on the band-wagon with Blu-ray support.

iTunes 9 could also see an iTunes Unlimited service come to life. Similar to what’s available with the Microsoft Zune, customers would have full access to the entire iTunes Store, with the option to buy the tracks to keep, if you’d prefer. A similar service to this has been launched in the UK, called Spotify, and has been incredibly successful.

iPod and Nike+ Refreshes

Previous to the iPod shuffle, the last iPod to receive an update was the iPod nano—a year ago on September 9th 2008. Sources believe that the iPod nano could see a slight update in its design, making it more convenient to hold and use, especially during sporting activities. It is also expected that Apple will add a camera to both the iPod nano and iPod touch, making them more useful and more media-based rather than simply music players. Apple Premium Resellers are reporting they are not replenishing their stock of the iPod nano, iPod touch or iPod classic, which leads to believe that updates will be appearing for all three models.

This could also include a refresh for Nike+ to include support for the iPod range, and also the iPhone 3G and 3GS. With the iPhone’s GPS capabilities, the Nike+ software could provide a lot more information that could synchronize back to your computer for you to review.

Apple iTablet

While rumors have been coming in about this for quite some time, it’s quite unlikely we’ll see such a device on Wednesday. If only because of the music theme for the event. It’s also plausible such a device would warrant its own event, possibly closer to the Christmas holiday season, if not in February 2010 at another event. It would be great for an iTablet, or iPad to be unveiled tomorrow, but, as I said, we’re clutching at straws for that one. It’s unknown at this point whether such a device would use a modified version of the iPhone OS or of Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Findings within the accessibility settings within Snow Leopard that reveal full-size keyboards lead us to believe Snow Leopard could be the basis for a tablet device upon its launch.

Apple TV

We mentioned this last week on Appletell that an Apple TV update could be the “outsider” of the event. Wall Street analyst Gene Munster believes Apple could be phasing out the smaller 40GB model to leave space for an update to the device. If an iTunes Unlimited option also included TV shows and movies, the Apple TV could become quite popular. Even if you were required to pay a monthly subscription to access the iTunes store via the Apple TV, it would still be a hit. It’s certainly an outsider at this point, but there’s always hope for the “One More Thing…” section of the media press conference on September 9th.

Tomorrow, all will be revealed

So there you have it; the most likely (and not so likely) updates that could be emerging from Apple HQ tomorrow. Is there anything in particular you’ve been waiting to see, or something else you wish would get a little love from Apple this September? Personally, I feel we’ll see a refresh for the iPod classic, iPod nano and iPod touch, along with iTunes 9. An update for Nike+ could also be likely, while I feel an Apple Tablet and a new Apple TV are less likely to appear at this particular event. Feeling the same? Let us know below in the comments.

Full Story » | Written by Ed Parry for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

No matter how big the iTunes store has become, there’s always been one band in particular that has been missing: The Beatles. We’ve all heard their music in one form or another, but if you wanted to download an album or track from iTunes, you were met with a collection of covers and tribute bands, never original music. Maybe that’s about to change.

EMI Music and Apple Corps LTD (not to be confused with the beloved Apple, Inc.) have announced in an updated press release that they intend to release re-mastered versions of the entire Beatles catalogue in glorious stereo sound. Usually, this might bypass some people until they see an advert showing the new CD collections available, or hear it being played on the radio, but there’s one detail that caught our eye: the date. The worldwide release of the two boxed sets featuring 28 CDs is due to take place on September 9th; the same day as the release of “The Beatles: Rock Band” for Wii, PlayStation and Xbox 360. There might also be something else happening on that day—a little old Apple press conference.

Maybe this is just a coincidence, but sources close to Apple apparently feel quite confident on the date for the event. The September event has often featured updates to the music side of Apple—iPods and iTunes—so it’s certainly possible, and I can’t help but find it interesting that it’s the same day the remastered Beatles catalog hits the shelves. Either I’ll be spending a few more pennies in the iTunes store in September, or the rumor mill is just taking a break from the Apple tablet for a little while.

Think we’ll be seeing The Beatles in the iTunes Store download charts any time soon? Speak your mind in the comments!

Via [Cult of Mac]

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Provides: Stream and record internet radio
Format: Download
Developer: Gaga Factory
Minimum System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.5+, 1GB RAM, Internet connection
Processor Compatibility: Universal
Price: $29.99
Availability: Now
Version Reviewed: 1.0.2

Getting sick of your iTunes library in it’s current state? You have a few options. You could buy more CDs or MP3s, or you could download whatever you want, but that’s bad, so don’t. Another option you might find appealing, depending on your personal preferences, is internet radio. Radio Gaga brings free, quality internet radio to your Mac plus more.

Yes, you can listen to internet radio with iTunes, but can you record the songs?  I think not.  You can with Radio Gaga.  Not only does it offer you a beautiful interface, it also provides a relatively convenient way of recording the audio content you’re listening to directly inside the app at full quality.  And not only that, you can actually record more than one stream of content at a time.  It will record as many radio stations at once as your bandwidth can handle.  Content is recorded in MP3 format and is tagged appropriately.

The application comes with over 10,000 radio stations ready for you to listen to, separated out into genres.  Of course, this is a bit deceiving, as these vary in quality, and the counting method is a bit suspect.  But still, you can listen to tons of radio stations from all over the world, and add more if you like.  Just remember, not all radio stations broadcast 24/7, and they aren’t all at 256kbps.

There are a number of ways you can record stations using Radio Gaga.  You can simply record what you’re listening to at any time, but this is likely not optimal since you probably won’t have the beginning of the song or audio content using this method.  You can also set up a schedule to record a specific channel at a specific time.  This is great if you have a particular radio program or time slot you enjoy.  And finally, you can set Radio Gaga to record specific songs (content) from specific stations.  It’s like searching and waiting, and the key is that you have to know which channel the song you want will be playing on.  If you know this much, you’re set.

The program performs very well overall, provided you enjoy the radio experience.  If you don’t like radio, then this app won’t change you, unless you really really need free and legal songs.  I wish there was a better way to record specific songs by searching over a number of stations at once automatically, but I honestly can’t think of an easy way for them to implement such a feature, so I won’t hold it against them.  Even when restricted to you knowing which station might soon play the song you want, the feature is pretty cool.  Recorded content quality is directly proportional to the quality of the stream, so WYSIWYG.  Like radio?  Then you’ll love Radio Gaga.  Else, probably not.

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

According to reliable sources over at The Boy Genius Report, the ninth version of iTunes will have some nice new features. The first of these rumored features says that iTunes will be receiving Blu-ray support finally, despite some of Apple’s (or should I say Steve’s) comments in the past. This isn’t the first time this has been rumored, but it seems a little more plausible now that HD DVD has had some time to fade away.

Furthermore, it appears as if users will now be able to rearrange and organize their Applications section in iTunes. While this isn’t groundbreaking or anything, I certainly would love the ability of some customization in this section of the application. The last of the potential features involves some sort of social network integration, but it wasn’t made very clear, according to the report.

UPDATE: The Boy Genius Report now has images of some of these possible features of the new iTunes. You can check them out below, and they mostly showcase the Last.fm integration.

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Provides: Digital drum effects
Format: DVD
Developer: ToonTrack
Minimum System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.4, Dual G4 1.25GHz with 1GB RAM, 4GB free space, DVD drive
Processor Compatibility: Universal
Price: $349
Availability:  Now
Version Reviewed: 2.1

ToonTrack’s Superior Drummer is an appropriately named piece of software / sound generator plug-in. It will breathe life and warmth into the all too often cold world of digital music. You can use it to take your drum programming to the next level, or better yet, hook up a set of MIDI capable edrums to emulate the type of sound you could only get from a phenomenal set of acoustic drums that you probably can’t afford, plus thousands of dollars worth of microphones and recording talent on top of it.

The idea behind Superior Drummer is to replace the need for using mics to record acoustic drums, or to make purely programmed drum sequences sound convincingly real.  Instead of using mics, you can use drum triggers with a set of acoustic drums or use a set of electronic drums (edrums).  Edrums have the obvious added benefit of being quieter; quiet enough even for some apartments.

So instead of buying all of the necessary mics yourself, and then trying to set up a good environment to record in, and then do all of the other things involved with recording, you can skip directly to great sound.  That is an amazing feeling.  And not only that, if you make a mistake while recording, you can fix it in post like the pros (do they do that?).  What I mean is that if you forget to hit a note, or if you hit a drum out of time, you can move it later since the only thing actually being recorded is the timing of drum hits along with its associated velocity (which can be edited later).  Garageband even has a built in feature that will sync up your drumming to the beat.  It won’t replace years of lessons or even just good old fashion practice, but honestly, this probably isn’t much of an issue for you if you’re considering a piece of software that costs this much.

You can use Superior Drummer on its own or in your recording software of choice, which, for many of us, is Garageband. I chose to test it out in Garageband, which is more than sufficient for my purposes.  After adding a new “real instrument” track, you change the generator to Superior Drummer in the edit tab.  It takes a few seconds for the sounds to be loaded into memory, but once they are loaded there is no waiting.  Now you can play around with all of the options available to you from the software. It’s incredible really. You can do as much or as little as you want to the drums. But all you really need to do to get great sound is start playing. The difference between Garageband’s default drum generators and Superior Drummer is eye- (ear-) opening.  You may even forget that you’re playing through software; I know I did.  It’s like the first time you watched a BluRay movie, you don’t realize how bad what you’re used to (Garageband’s default drum generators) really is until something better is presented to you.

There are only two downsides to Superior Drummer, and both of them are obvious before you buy it. It costs a ton, and it takes up a ton of storage space.  It comes on 5 DVDs.  Yes, I said DVDs.  It’s huge, but that’s a result of how high quality it really is.  And that’s what you’re paying for.  Would you really want any less?  I say the 20GB of space that the full install requires is more than worth it.

Time after time I say it, and more often than not it’s true.  You get what you pay for.  Is this for everyone?  Nope.  It’s for the drummers out there who need professional sounding drums on a lower budget.  Yes, I said lower budget.  This one piece of software eliminates the need for a lot of things, like mics and headaches involved with recording drums.  You get sound that only thousands of dollars of equipment and hours upon hours of time could produce in mere seconds.  Plus, you get the benefits of being able to edit your patterns after recording them.  Try that with a mic.

Normally I’d rate this a 4 out of 5 purely because of the price, but considering the level of quality and what it potentially could replace (or eliminate the need for purchase) I’m giving it an unrestricted 5.  The days when you can truly record a studio quality album at home are here.

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

As I am writing this, the MacHeist 3 Bundle is about to be revealed. Last year, many were disappointed with the MacHeist bundle, as it had many apps that had been seen in the previous year, and no really spectacular app. This year, that was acknowledged, and a much better bundle has been promised.

Right off the bat, Eventbox is free just for showing up at the live unveiling. It will likely be added to your loot even if you didn’t tune in, but that’s another maybe. At a $12, it’s already a $12 savings. Great way to begin the night.

After a bit of a late start (what’s 10 minutes among friends?), Lisa, Veronica, and Chris chatted for a bit, went totally dark for an antagonizing minute, then introduced the first app: iSale. Not terribly impressive, as if you don’t use eBay, it’s useless. But it’s the first app, and I have a feeling we’re only going up from here. iSale is a $40 value.

Next up? The Apple Design Award winning Picturesque. Picturesque is an image-enhancer. You can get those Apple-style perspective/reflection images, put shadows, strokes, and more. Great for desktop publishing, it’s a much easier way than Photoshop, worth $35. It’s getting excited!

Now they announce that the first 25,000 buyers of the Bundle will get Big Bang Board Games for free. For those who didn’t get it free with their Mac, this is a great extra, and worth $25.

Sous Chef is the next app in the list. Though of no use if you don’t cook, it’s a great, and very pretty way to keep your recipes organized and share them with friends. Sous Chef is a $30 value.

Now we get a game! World of Goo is a physics based puzzle and construction game in which you drag live globs of Goo to build bridges and towers and other things to get them to safety. It actually looks really cool. This is one I’m excited about. Plus, it’s valued at $20.

And now, PhoneView. PhoneView provides desktop access to the content on your iPhone, a disk mode to store files on your iPhone or iPod touch, and much more than probably should be included in iTunes. It’s priced at $20 as well.

Next up is LittleSnapper, a brilliant screenshot app, much like Skitch, that has integration to their own web service, FTP, Flickr, etc. If you’ve ever wanted to scribble on your desktop, now you can. (It has more useful uses as well.) A great app, which would normally cost $39.

Acorn is the next app on the agenda. It’s another image editor, so it’s questionable given how Picturesque is already part of the bundle. To be fair, Acorn is more about touching up a photo, whereas Picturesque is about stylizing them. Still, a bit of a stretch. It costs $50 normally.

Still no huge apps at this point, but the next app is Kinemac, a $300 app. That’s exciting in and of itself. Kinemac is a 3D real-time animation and presentation software, with the simplicity of a 2D tool. It’s like Motion, but not confusing as all-get-out. The only problem with Kinemac? I have a feeling it’ll drive up the bundle price. Once again, it retails for $300. Wow.

Now we’re getting to the unlocks. These are the apps that are part of the bundle only after a certain amount of bundles are purchased. After $100,000 is raised for charity, Wiretap Studio will be unlocked. Wiretap can record any combination of audio feeds together at once. It’s pretty cool, but definitely not an exciting app. It retails for $70.

Three more apps to go now, and the next app is available as an unlock (the required charity level wasn’t mentioned.) It’s BoinxTV, a fantastic app that turns any recent Mac into a live TV studio, allowing you to add lower thirds, cut between cameras, and much much more all live. It retails for $199 normally. Now that is exciting.

The Hit List is the next app, part of the “Mega Unlock” where two apps are unlocked at a certain charity level. The Hit List is a GTD app to organize tasks in your life. With a simple and easy to use design, it might just be the To-Do app I’ve never been able to find. We’ll see. The Hit list retails for $50.

The other half of the “Mega Unlock” is Espresso, a web development app that combines editing, real-time previewing, and publishing in one window. It has a sleek UI and intuitive interface, and it retails for $60.

All together, these apps cost about $900, according to Chris Pirillo’s math. Chris asks us how much we’d expect to pay? $500? $250? No? $100? Still high? $50. Okay. $50. That’s it, right? What? Lower?! What’s a good price then? $39!

That’s right. $900 worth of software, including Live TV software, 3D animation software, and much more. For $39. Plus, if you’ve been doing all the heists, you have an $8.00 bundle discount. That means, for $31, you can have $900 worth of software. My writing skills are going out the window as I scramble to add money to my PayPal account.

Check out and buy the bundle at MacHeist.com!

Full Story » | Written by Adam Fisher-Cox for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

With the new iPod shuffle, comes iTunes 8.1. And with iTunes 8.1, you now get iTunes DJ. What’s iTunes DJ? You may remember it as Party Shuffle. It wasn’t a ground-breaking feature of iTunes then, and while it doesn’t take center stage now, it’s slowly getting there.

So, what’s changed other than the name? Well, the biggest new feature is its integration with the iPhone/iPod touch application, Remote. You remember that one? Used to control your iTunes through a local WiFi connection? Well, as long as you download the latest update to 1.2, then you’ll be able to connect to iTunes DJ and request and vote for songs. Let me put that into context; if you’re at a party where the DJ is using the iTunes DJ mode, using the local WiFi network, you’ll be able to connect to him, see his library, and request songs. Once you’ve made a request, it gives that song 1 vote. Other people can see this, and also vote for the song. It’s a great concept, but it needs a lot for it to work successfully at a party. A DJ using iTunes, people with iPhones and/or iPod touches, and a decent wireless network with no security, or that everyone can connect to using the password. If you’ve got all that, it’s great.

Other than that, and the name of course, there’s not too much else that’s new. As with the rest of iTunes 8.1, it responds a little quicker, and there are a few slight changes to the UI that you may notice. It’s still lacking a few features to become a fully fledged option for DJs, but it’s certainly on the way.

Full Story » | Written by Ed Parry for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Apple has released iTunes 8.1, which they are claiming is “Faster, smarter, better.” The updated was expected after the announcement of the new iPod shuffle yesterday. Along with speed improvements, iTunes now defaults to the higher quality 256-Kbps AAC file format when importing CDs. Kind of ironic, really, that they increase the default file size on the heels of a shuffle release, where you need to import lower quality songs to squeeze as much music as possible into 4GBs.

From the announcement:

Now available as a free download, iTunes 8.1 loads large libraries, browses the iTunes Store, and syncs with iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV more quickly than the previous version. There’s more. iTunes now automatically imports music from your CDs as higher quality, 256-Kbps iTunes Plus files, so your music sounds even better than before.

In addition, Autofill now works with any iPod, and Party Shuffle has been redubbed “iTunes DJ.” From Software Update:

iTunes 8.1 is now faster and more responsive. You will enjoy noticeable improvements when working with large libraries, browsing the iTunes Store, preparing to sync with iPod or iPhone, and optimizing photos for syncing.

In addition, iTunes 8.1 provides many other improvements and bug fixes, including:

• Supports syncing with iPod shuffle (3rd generation).
• Allows friends to request songs for iTunes DJ (learn more).
• Adds Genius sidebar for your Movies and TV Shows
• Improves performance when downloading iTunes Plus songs.
• Provides AutoFill for manually managed iPods.
• Allows CDs to be imported at the same sound quality as iTunes Plus.
• Includes many accessibility improvements.
• Allows iTunes U and the iTunes Store to be disabled separately using Parental Controls.

For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

In addition, Front Row has been updated to v2.1.7 to improve iTunes 8.1 compatibility.

The iTunes 8.1 update is available via Software Update or at Apple’s website as a free download.

Check out Appletell’s First look: iTunes DJ.

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

There are tons and tons of iTunes controllers on the market. But taking out all the basic apps, and weeding out the ugly ones, I’ve only found three that really get the job done: SizzlingKeys, Synergy, and CoverSutra. Here I’ll lay out what makes them unique.

SizzlingKeys

SizzlingKeys is the only choice on this list for people looking for a free iTunes controller. It is very basic in terms of user interface, a feature that led me to stick with it for a long time. “All” it does is show a simple bezel at song change or with a shortcut key. The bezel shows current album artwork, name, artist, album, and rating. There is also a search window that can have a shortcut assigned to it. Where SizzlingKeys shines is its wealth of shortcut options. Everything resides in a simple preference pane in the System Preferences app.

What makes it good: It’s the most unobtrusive and lightweight of all controllers I’ve used, while still having all the features needed.

Synergy

Synergy is very much like SizzlingKeys, in that it isn’t a full iTunes interface replacement, but instead is an addition, adding features like a bezel at song change, shortcut keys, etc. Synergy optionally places three buttons in the menu bar: previous, play/pause, and next. It shows a bezel with song info at song changes, but I found the bezel to be rather ugly, and not thought out from a design standpoint. The very smallest setting is useful for not taking up screen real estate while still showing what song is playing. Beyond that, it isn’t useful for much. Synergy costs 5 euros, about $6.30.

What makes it good: Other than the menu bar controls, Synergy really does nothing SizzlingKeys can’t, so try SizzlingKeys before shelling out the money for either Synergy or CoverSutra.

CoverSutra

CoverSutra is the most expensive and also most full-featured application on this list. It differs from the others in that it is more of its own application, as opposed to an add-on to iTunes. Of course, it still requires iTunes to play music, but CoverSutra’s bezel (pictured above) shows all the usual song info, plus gives playback controls, a timeline scrubber, volume controls, and shuffle control. CoverSutra can also display current album artwork on the desktop, but annoyingly, when there is no song playing, it displays a boring blank album instead of disappearing. Automatic song changes are shown via a pop-up menubar item, and user-controlled song changes and play/pauses are shown in a bezel, much like the Mac OS X volume bezel.

What makes it good: All in all, if money is no object, CoverSutra is a fantastic application, and definitely does the most out of all the applications listed here. Its lack of customizability may be a problem for some, however, so download the trial and give it a spin first. CoverSutra is 14.95 Euros, or about $18.80.

Full Story » | Written by Adam Fisher-Cox for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

It’s likely Apple’s most installed piece of software. It’s also buggy, bloated, inconsistent, bloated, slow, bloated, and bloated. It goes by the name of iTunes, and if you own an iPod, or even if you don’t, it’s not to far fetched to assume it’s on your computer right now.

On Windows, iTunes has always been a joke. It’s no secret that Apple isn’t the best at developing speedy optimized Windows applications. iTunes takes the better part of a minute to load on Windows, and when combined with the insane idea that Windows should provide absolutely no visual feedback that an application is launching, it creates quite an annoyance when you’re not sure if it’s just being its normal, slow self or if you somehow missed the icon when you clicked.

On a Mac, the story should be different. The iPod and iTunes were originally made for the Mac, and so it should be Mac optimized. But it still takes fifteen seconds to open and be functional, and that’s after it has already been opened and quit, so it opens faster due to having some data in cache. The problem with iTunes is that features are constantly added onto it, but it is never cleaned out. Apple needs to do to iTunes what it is doing to Mac OS X with Snow Leopard, and clean out all the unneeded stuff in the application.

What problems do you find with iTunes? Or am I just crazy? Sound off in the comments below.

Product [iTunes]

Full Story » | Written by Adam Fisher-Cox for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Since the announcement of the entire iTunes Store having iTunes Plus, all songs downloaded are/will be technically compatible with all MP3 players, as iTunes Plus files do not contain DRM. Due to the removal of DRM, Norway has dropped it’s complaint against iTunes, which argued that songs downloaded from iTunes were only compatible with one player by one company, creating an unfair market.

Apple’s removal of DRM has set off only good in the press, with the consumers, and in the business world. Although once criticized for its DRM, Apple’s iTunes Store is now being applauded for its attempt to remove all DRM from the store and increase quality of files without a significant change in price. Announced on January 6, iTunes will be completely DRM free by April.

Via [MacDailyNews]

Full Story » | Written by Alec Feld for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Provides: Song information correction
Format: Download
Developer: Equinux
Minimum System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.5+
Processor Compatibility: Universal
Price: $29.95
Availability: Now
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1

My favorite song, you ask? Oh that’s easy. Track 3 by Artist! That song was amazing.

Don’t let this happen to you. There is another way.

Thankfully, iTunes almost always avoids this problem. It’s to the point were incorrectly labeled songs are almost a thing of the past. When you rip a song from a CD using iTunes, it’s more or less automatically tagged with the correct artist and song information.

On some occasions, it may be necessary for you to pick between two or more album choices if iTunes can’t determine just what CD is inside of it. And even more rare is for iTunes to give up completely and make you do it yourself. That last case is where you’d need something like SongGenie.

SongGenie will find the correct ID3 tag information for your songs. Kind of. It won’t get every song you throw at it; the more popular the band, the better chance of it working. But then again, you’d likely have correct information already if they were famous right?

If you feed already tagged songs to SongGenie, you’ll find out it’s really picky. It looks at capitalization differences as being wrong. And honestly, I can’t think of a better way to do this; if you for some reason have strangely capitalized song names, then they need to be fixed. But what makes this bad is that SongGenie is not consistent in its capitalization scheme.

For instance.  Do you capitalize every word in a song’s title (including words like “the”, “or”, “and” etc.)?  Or do you type song titles exactly as they appear on the CD Jacket (even if that means all caps)? Ultimately, you have to make a choice, but SongGenie doesn’t. I’ve even had the software change its mind mid-album. That’s not good.  Just take this advice. Don’t let SongGenie loose on your correctly tagged songs.

But even if you do, it’s not like you have to change anything. The application suggests corrections to your song information, and you can choose what you want to change. Maybe just the artist name, song title or album name. Well, I guess that’s all of your choices really.

If you have music from compilations, then you’ll want to be careful with the album names that are suggested. Sometimes, if the songs are significantly different (remastered, etc.) they will be recognized as from a greatest hits album or the like. But more often than not, SongGenie will attempt to rename every song based on the original album. But maybe you like that. I don’t.

What SongGenie is good for is tagging songs that you know are wrong. I had a few songs in my collection from a band named Sigur Ros (you may have heard of them) that weren’t right for whatever reason. SongGenie can fix that. But how many songs do you really have that are in dire need?

What I think Equinux should do is take SongGenie, throw it in a blender with CoverScout 3 and make one amazing program. They both fix your parts of your songs, so they really belong together. This way, if you didn’t need to fix your song information, you wouldn’t feel bad about buying the whole package because CoverScout 3 is still such a great album art fixer. And while I’m making suggestions, I’d really like to see lyrical information added to the things that SongGenie can fix. Lyrics are one of the hardest things to get correct in your song details, so that would be a great feature to have.

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

I’m going to retroactively take back every bad thing I ever said about Microsoft, if only because of their new piece of software: Songsmith.

Not because of the program itself, which generates a tune after the user sings into a microphone. It’s because of the video they created to promote Songsmith, which will melt your brain with hilarity. In it, a young girl demonstrates just how easy it is to create a song using Microsoft Songsmith…so easy, in fact, that it appears she’s using a Powerbook to do so (MS should really have a clause in their ad contracts that the creatives can’t use Macs in their commercials). This amazes her father so much that he promptly steals her laptop so he can run to a coffee shop and entertain/annoy the people there with his magnum opus about glow-in-the-dark towels.

This, of course, really amazes a songwriter who’s band is complaining that his songs are “a little stale lately.” He also has the best line in the entire short: “Microsoft, huh? So it’s pretty easy to use?”

And it all ends happily with the dad knocking ‘em dead at a business meeting with his second song about towels, where he is greeted with applause, rather than the dead-eyed horror you might expect. It’s all part of the magic of Microsoft!

If you have been as amazed by this video as I was, feel free to download a demo version from Microsoft Research where you’ll get six hours of creativity for free (full version is $29/€29). If you use it to create a song about how awesome the Macintosh is, send it on to us and we’ll see if we can get you onstage at the next Apple event, because my guess is that John Mayer uses the same songwriting process.

Product [Songsmith]

Full Story » | Written by Bill Stiteler for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Pandora, one of the most popular online streaming music sites around, is also well known for their killer iPhone app. This iPhone app, which has previously allowed users to stream music over EDGE, 3G, and Wifi, has recently been updated to version 2.0 and brings a host of new features. Two of these most prominent updates add features to the app that make the music browsing experience more like that off the actual iPhone iPod application. For example, double tapping the album cover will now cause it to flip around and show the artist’s bio and song information. Furthermore, tilting the iPhone sideways will bring up a coverflow view that gives access to recently played songs.

These aren’t the only improvements the Pandora iPhone team has brought to the software, though. On top of those, the bookmark feature now allows users to get 30 second playback previews. And last but not least are the sharing features that have been polished. It is now easier to create playlists from songs as well as actual emails to recommend songs for your friends.  If you haven’t used the app or service before, I strongly recommend it. Head over now and get it for free on iTunes.

Product [Pandora] Via [Ars Technica]

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

I use Garageband 08’ quite a bit, as a casual guitarist. Garageband is not professional recording software but is excellent for people like me who don’t necessarily need to record more than 24 tracks simultaneously or need to adjust the audio on each of those tracks. Garageband is perfect for people who record on the weekends with their buddies in, well, the garage.

Classic Rock

My experience with Garageband has had its good points and has had some bad points. Let’s take multitrack recording for instance. This is a feature that was new to the 08’ version of Garageband. The idea behind it is that you can rerecord a portion of your track until you feel you have gotten it right. In theory, that is a really cool feature that a lot of people could use. The problem is how they implemented it. In order to to avoid a mistake or a pause in the recording where you don’t want one, you have to use the multitrack in an area between to pause. What I mean is that once you have the multitrack recording area set and you hit record, it will continue to make passes until you stop it manually. In the time it takes you to manually stop the recording you have a space of time with nothing recorded, and unless this is what you are trying to do, it can be very frustrating. There should be a pause after each pass to give the musician time to stop the recording if they want to. Beyond that, I wish there were more “metal” like drum loops, but I can’t fault Apple for that, and there are plenty available on the net.

Modern Rock

Now, let’s get to Garageband ‘09, which was announced this week in the Macworld Expo Keynote. The first thing I would like to talk about are the new Basic Lessons. Every musician can learn. No one is perfect. What I like about this idea is there are people out there like my niece who just picked up a guitar about a year ago, and could really use some lessons. I live 600 miles away and am not able to provide her with lessons, and I am hoping that Garageband 09’ will be good enough to help out. I, myself, would like to learn more about the piano, and the fact that you can speed up or slow down the lessons is something that can come in handy for people to who already know a little bit about guitar and piano. I really hope that Lessons turns out to be as good in implementation as it sounds in theory. There is also a twist. Some of Americas favorite artist have created custom lessons from themselves. Should be interesting to see who participates is lessons along with already announced artists such as Sting, Fall Out Boy, and John Fogerty.

Alt Rock

Let’s talk about guitar effects. Currently I use Gear Box from Line 6 to do all of my amp modeling. It works pretty, well minus a bit of delay when using it with Garageband. It is not bad enough that I can’t use it though. Gear Box offers hundreds of amp and cabinet combinations and also has models for bass and voice. Garageband 09’ is going to throw its hat into the amp modeling arena. I don’t have a list or anything that tells me what all of the models will be, so this is going to be a wait-and-see for me as to wether or not they did it right. I hope they did it right; if I can get rid of the minor delay with Gear Box, that would be totally cool with me. The Apple website claims to have over 30 rigs to choose from, which is kind of a small number compared to other software, but if they sound good you only need a few to write good music.

Jam Sessions

I love to jam. It is a very “free” feeling to pick up an instrument and just start playing; no worries about how well you’re doing, no worries about being perfect for the recording, no worries about being better than the people you’re jamming with. It’s just playing for the love of music. Enter Magic Garageband. Most of the time, when I sit down and pick up my electric guitar or bass, I fire up Magic Garageband and just jam out for a couple of hours. If I come up with something decent, I will record it. There are, however, a finite amount of combinations, and you will run out of new material at some point. Well, new in Garageband ‘09, “Jams” has been added to Magic Garageband. This offers more control over your backing band. You can change instruments, styles, and volume all from the full screen stage that will be in front of you. I, for one, am very excited about these new features.

All in all, I think this version of Garageband is going to be a major improvement to an already good product. I can wait to get my hands on it.

Product [GarageBand ‘09]

Full Story » | Written by Anthony Parkinson for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Provides: iTunes media cleaning
Format: Download
Developer: TuneUp Media
Minimum System Requirements: Mac OS 10.5+
Processor Compatibility: Intel only
Price: $11.95/Year or $19.95/Forever
Availability: Now
Version Reviewed: 1.0 (Gold)

According to TuneUp Media, your music collection is in dire need of cleaning, and they’re probably right. Good news, they have a utility to do just that, and it works “Automagically.”

TuneUp runs on the side of iTunes and works with it to fix your library’s messy and missing meta data. It fixes cover art and meta data (things like track names, artists, album titles, genres). But that’s not all; TuneUp also finds music videos, related auctions on ebay, artist news, Amazon music recommendations and local concerts for songs that are playing in iTunes.

TuneUp’s window has four tabs: Clean, Cover Art, Now Playing, and Concerts.

Clean is where you’ll spend most of your time. Here, you can drag your filthy songs to TuneUp to clean them up.

Chances are high that your mother still won’t like them, though, since it won’t clean out any of that dirty language you youngins seem to like to listen to so much.

One of three things will happen after you’ve dragged songs to TuneUp. It will be labeled as a Match, Likely Match or Not Found. Match represents a correct match 99% of the time, while Likely Match is correct more than 80% of the time. Each album has up to four choices for album art. First, make sure the meta data makes sense for the songs that you fed it, select the best looking match for the album art, and hit save. The songs will be tinted blue until the saving is complete. It’s really that easy.

TuneUp Media claims that TuneUp can clean about 85-90% of your Library, which I’ve found to be a pretty good estimate. There will always be a few songs it won’t get, especially if you have sound clips or music from local bands, etc. Still, 85-90% is pretty decent when you consider the work involved with fixing album art and meta data by hand.

That said, the utility doesn’t always work perfectly. It won’t always find meta data, and it may not be able to find album art for everything. Sometimes it will find correct meta data and the right album art, but when you select that album art icon, the larger preview has an error and does not display the right picture. I’ve also had a few cases where the meta data actually started out correct and ended up wrong after TuneUp “fixed” it. This was probably more my fault for not checking all of my songs and blindly allowing TuneUp to fix everything I fed it. Still it only happened with a handful of songs, so it safely fits into the 10-15% that TuneUp can’t (or shouldn’t) help. I’ve also had a few instances where album art was not updated after TuneUp ‘saved’ it’s changes. Even with these issues, I think the program is very good.

TuneUp is primarily for tidying your library, but there are other features. It can find concerts with artists in your library when they are in your area. It can also find music videos, merchandise and artist news. All of this works as expected and could be a great way to find concerts with minimal effort. Though, in the end, I don’t see myself using these other features since I probably won’t bother to run the app when my music is clean.

I’d recommend TuneUp for anyone with a library in need of help. Whether you need album art or correct meta data, TuneUp can help. The iPhone and iPod Touch both display album art while playing music, so it’s useful to have it be correct. If you have an iPhone, iPod Touch or are envious of Cover Flow working the way Steve Jobs would demonstrate it, then you might need this utility. Yes, there are a few issues, but fixing meta data by hand is a tedious and semi-painful process, so the benefits outweigh the issues. Plus, this program is already a stellar offering for being version 1.0.

There is a free version of TuneUp available to test out. It’s limited to 500 song fixes and 50 album art fixes, which may actually be enough to fix the problems in your library. A word of advice for those with particularly messed up libraries, just buy the “Forever” version. This version doesn’t cost that much more than a license for a single year, and basically protects your future music purchases.

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Don’t want to control your music with iSight gestures? FrontRow not your style either? Sick of the usual iTunes interface and can’t find a Boxee invite? Bowtie may be your next favorite application for iTunes. It allows users to create system-wide hot key combinations to control your music with. Furthermore, it not only integrates with Last.fm, it also features customizable interfaces. For these interfaces, you can either download themes from MacThemes or create your own using CSS and JavaScript code.

This application is relatively new and may still be in beta. That said, it works really well for what it does because it’s simple and unobtrusive. Also, you can choose what it displays by creating your own theme that includes only what you want in it. Still, if this app isn’t enough for you, you can always check out Cover Stream to suit your needs. Try them out and let us know what your favorite is. Or, better yet, let us know of any other ones that you use!

Product [Bowtie]

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

The results of this year’s British Technology Awards are skewed so heavily towards Apple that I have to wonder if Steve Jobs wasn’t maybe a judge. Actually, the results were determined by “... thousands of votes ...” so it may be a fanboy thing. Still, having such rabid fanboys is certainly better for business than simply impressing a handful of men and women who sit around labs and pick apart technology all day.

The winning Apple products are:

• Best Mobile Technology: iPhone
• Best Music Technology: iTunes
• Gadget of the Year: iPhone
• Most Stylish Technology: iPhone
• Technological Innovation of the Year: iPhone

Hmmm. Does anyone remember when Apple’s computers used to win awards? Does anyone remember Apple’s computers? If not, the event next Tuesday for the new MacBooks may serve as a great reminder.

Read [British Technology Awards]

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Boxee is a new application for the Mac that is much like Front Row, only better—in theory. It is an open source effort, meaning that plug-ins can be added and it can be modified by others besides the developers. It is currently in a private alpha stage, and I just so happen to be a private alpha member, and I figured I should bring a preview to you.

When Boxee launches, even if there is only one account present, you are greeted with a screen where you can choose between accounts. Using a keyboard, mouse (if enabled) or a remote, you choose the account you want to log in to. The account doesn’t dictate the media you can access; rather, it dictates your “recommendations” and “friend activity”—one place where Boxee sets itself far apart from Front Row.

Whenever your friends watch or listen to something, unless they have dictated it a private source, it will show up on your home screen. Recommendations are based upon what your friends listen to or watch, and also what you like. Likewise, whenever you listen to or watch something, it will show up for your friends, unless you dictate it as a private source. This is fairly easy to do, but not readily obvious, an issue that plagues Boxee.

In my article about making AppleTV (and Front Row) better, my number one request was to integrate streaming TV from sources such as Hulu and ABC.com. While Boxee has not gotten there (due to the Flash containers used by Hulu shows), it is much closer than Apple, and Boxee developers have expressed interest in adding Hulu support. However, I am still more inclined to use Front Row over Boxee on my forthcoming home entertainment setup, and it’s because of the UI.

The Front Row user interface could not be made any simpler. On the flip side, the Boxee interface has no room to cram anything else in, and is rather unintuitive. As seen in the above screenshot, Boxee has some inexplicable design choices. Here in the Music section, the option to choose internet sources is grouped along with the choice of “My Sources” and all of my album artists. Having all the options is both intimidating and completely un-hierarchical. Common sense would dictate that I should choose between Internet and My Sources, then choose by Artist. One last issue is that changing view settings is easy, but tedious, and view settings must be changed per the individual menus, of which there seem to be infinitely many.

Overall, for an alpha build, Boxee is really great and has great potential. It is, however, a ways off from becoming my choice for a Home Entertainment hub.

Boxee is available for Mac and Linux. You can sign up for the private beta at boxee.tv.

Full Story » | Written by Adam Fisher-Cox for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

As expected, today Apple launched a new version of iTunes to go along with their revamped iPod line, and during the Apple Event, Steve Jobs simply could not shut up about the newest iTunes feature: “Genius.”

What Genius does is analyze the music and video in your iTunes library (provided that you opt-in to the service, that is), and recommend other music and shows you might like, based on other users with similar tastes. It’s similar to the recommendation feature used by movie rental site Netflix and online “radio station” Pandora to help users find new movies and music.

First off, privacy concerns. While Genius very definitely collects your information and sends it to Apple, it’s not something that happens without you knowing it. Not only do you have to turn on Genius (after installing iTunes 8, natch) you have to agree to the TOS (which explains in relatively plain English how the service works), and you then have to sign into your iTunes store account. From there, Genius begins analyzing your music, which can take a while (my 26GB work library took about 15 minutes), but there’s a big fat “stop” button on the Genius page (which sits just below the Party Shuffle in the Playlists sidebar). The TOS notes that you can opt-out of Genius at any time and it’ll stop sending your data to Apple (but presumably they retain the data they have). You can use iTunes normally while Genius analyzes your music.

Genius consists of two components. One, it creates playlists based on music you already own, and second, it will suggest music you can buy from the Apple iTunes Store, either by the same artists, or tracks from that album you may be missing. The latter shows up in the Genius sidebar, which you can hide with a button click.

The Genius Playlist is set up like a smart playlist: you can limit the number of songs in it, refresh the list with new songs, or save it if you like the mix it creates. And I have to admit that on its first try, it didn’t do half bad: going from Dylan’s “Shelter from the Storm” into Paul Simon’s “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” into Bowie’s “Young Americans.” Not bad at all. Likewise, it did a good job of mixing Weezer into the Pixies into Modest Mouse and Cake.

But when you get into more… unusual… choices, Genius stumbles. It had no suggestions for a mix starting with William Shatner’s “Common People,” (but really, what could follow that?), but it was spotty when trying to build lists starting with They Might Be Giants. LP cuts it had no problem with, but more obscure tracks from EPs stopped it dead. If Genius can’t create a list, it advises you to try “updating Genius.” Apparently, the problem erupts if Genius can’t identify the track. It’s not just an issue of missing information, because it created playlists from certain tracks even if information (like the album) was missing. Genius will also not create playlists from tracks on an iPod hooked up through iTunes.

After playing with it for only a short time, though, I have to say I’m pretty impressed with Genius’s mixing skills. Except for one thing…

Genius doesn’t work with the Beatles. At all. Not the compilations, not with Abbey Road, not with “Hey Jude.” Which tells us that Genius is probably pulling its data from songs that you can buy from the iTunes store, or from ITMS customer recommendations.

The other notable change in iTunes 8 is a new way of viewing your album art: rather than shuffling through them (by far my favorite), you can now view them in a grid layout, sortable by Album, Artist, Genre and Composer. It’s a neat way of looking at things, kind of like hanging your album art on the wall, but not really that earth shattering.

Genius, however, is going to create a lot of interest, from people who want to find new music, those who want to laugh when it makes an inevitable ridiculous prediction, from privacy advocates (even though it’s an opt-in system), and from those who will criticize it as a tool for recommending “more of the same” while potentially ignoring more indie, unusual artists.

Full Story » | Written by Bill Stiteler for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Probably one of the best features of iTunes and the iTunes store is the convenient access to thousands of free audio and video podcasts.  With so many viewing and listening choices, where does one start? Here are a few of my recommendations:

NOTE: Click on any of the links to view the podcast’s iTunes store page.

• NBC Nightly News: Full-length, high quality video of the evening news with Brian Williams, whenever you are ready to watch it. Generally commercial free, except for a 10 or 15 second plug for other NBC podcasts during the normal TV commercial time.
• Apple Keynotes: The must-have subscription for Apple fanboys. Every time Steve Jobs takes the stage at Macworld or WWDC, iTunes will download the full-length keynote in high quality for your Front-Row viewing pleasure.
• Circuits with David Pogue: A bi-weekly video podcast from the quirky New York Times personal technology columnist himself. Usually features a review and demonstration of some sort of cool new gadget. Pogue is a well known Mac fanboy. An example of his work for those who would like to see:

• The Alan Colmes Show: A great political talk radio program by Fox News’ Alan Colmes.
• NPR Sports with Frank Deford: Great weekly sports commentary that Sports Illustrated’s Frank Deford does for NPR every Wednesday. He brings a refreshing intellectual perspective to sports commentary that is unique and entertaining.

These are just a few of my personal favorites, and there are lots of others out there for people with all sorts of interests. This is a feature of iTunes that you really should be sure to check out if you haven’t already.

Look for part two in the coming days!

Full Story » | Written by Michael Goonan for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

A number of years back (or even more recently), you might have heard of XBMC (XBox Media Center). XBMC was a way for XBox owners to mod their units into a fully capable media center. That project has continued to progress, and has moved on since its XBox roots. While XBMC is still available, there is an interesting offshoot based on it’s code called Boxee and it’s making its way to a Mac near you soon.

Why soon? Well, that’s because Boxee is still in Alpha, so there are still some wrinkles to iron out here. But that’s not to say it’s not already shaping up to be an awesome application. More on this Alpha business later…

So what is Boxee? It’s like Front Row, with more options and a social aspect. The Boxee team calls it a “social media center.” It can play most of your movies, music, and pictures, as long as they aren’t shackled down with DRM. And, with 30 video codecs, Boxee can handle just about all of your media sitting on your hard drive.

But it isn’t limited to your hard drive. Boxee is great for browsing online media. There are RSS feeds built into the player that can provide you with hours of entertainment. Some examples are the Onion News Network, Ask A Ninja, Wine Library TV, CNN, etc. On top of that, you can enter your friends into Boxee. So, you can send and receive recommendations, and check out what your friends have recently watched. Best of all, if one of your friends watches a great movie, like 300, Boxee will attempt to find legal sources for you to watch related content. Things like previews or clips available on the net. It works for songs too. Boxee tries to find YouTube videos for songs your friends have listened too. And it all happens from completely legal sources. Awesome!

The interface is built to be used by a remote. While the developers consider the mouse to be the wrong interface for this program, you can enable it in the settings. That said, every function is accessible from the remote. They did this purposefully, so that, for example, you could connect a Mac Mini to your living room TV and control the whole media experience from the comfort of your couch with your Apple Remote.

Now, since it’s still in Alpha, there are some bumps in the road. For instance, when you play a video but decide to browse for more videos via the menu, it’s hard to get back to the video playing. The current video continues to play in the background, which is a beautiful feature on its own, but it seems there aren’t enough buttons on the Apple remote to get back to the current video. The only solution I could find was to enable mouse controls, and click on the video playing. I’ve also had some issues with the way controlling playback works. You have to click the play/pause button once to bring up the playback controls, and then again to actually pause a video. These are very minor problems that I’m sure will be cleared up, and honestly, I’m surprised I haven’t found a ton more, considering this is still in Alpha.

What’s really cool about the developers of Boxee is that they want to release this program to the Mac and Linux communities first. They feel the pain that Mac users experience when everything comes out for Windows first and is ported over to the Mac. Not so, this time. It’s ironic, considering the original project, XBMC, started on a Microsoft product.

Overall, I find Boxee to be an awesome application, but it won’t be replacing Front Row for me anytime soon. I love knowing which podcasts in iTunes I haven’t watched yet. Still, I think Boxee is for a different purpose. I love browsing for online media with its interface.

Now, about this Alpha business. It’s a closed Alpha, so you have to get an invite to try this app out. And I’m of the belief that you have to try a program out to really see what it’s like. You could sit here all day and read what I have to say about this great app, but it’s just not the same as trying it. Good news for you, I have some invites. The first 20 commenters to this article that express a desire to get in on the Boxee action will get invited. Just don’t forget to fill in the e-mail box. And don’t be surprised if the app hangs, crashes, or has some bugs. It’s Alpha after all.

Product [Boxee]

[Author’s Note: I want to make it clear that Boxee is actually a flavor of XBMC, as pointed out in the comments by XBMCfanboy. XBMC has branched off into a few other programs, and actually, XBMC is still available as well. So, if Boxee doesn’t get you excited, maybe one of the others will.]

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Today I was browsing the web for some Apple news, and found a great article on TUAW entitled Stars and Smart Playlists. Basically, the article boils down to a quick guide on how to organize a huge library of music into a condensed playlist of great songs using ratings. It got me wanting to share how I organize my music and sync my various iPods.

In the beginning of 2008, I actually forced myself to painstakingly go through my entire library of music and rate each and every song I own. It took me quite a while, but I’m thankful I did. That said, you don’t have to rate your entire library if you don’t want to.

The idea is simple. Rate your absolute favorite songs as five star songs, with the scale proceeding downward with song quality. Depending on how extensively you rate your library, you can now sort it with smart playlists.

After creating a smart playlist, just select the first parameter as Rating, then choose whether you want to sort as just one rating (ex., five star songs only) or greater than (ex., three and above).  Be sure to enable Live Updating and you’re done.

Here’s my rating scheme. Five is awesome, I’ll listen to it almost every time it comes up in a shuffle. Four is great, but I skip it from time to time. Three is a good song that I still want to have on my iPhone or iPod. Two is a bad song I don’t want to hear, but it’s not so bad that it receives a one, which is basically garbage. The play count never exceeds 1.

So, even if you only go through and find five star songs, you at least have some songs rated, and you can make a smart playlist that can update in the future automatically when you rate new songs five stars.

This is how I manage music on my iPhone and iPods. I created a smart playlist to include songs with a rating of three and above. Instead of syncing my iPhone to my entire library, which wouldn’t fit, I sync it to that playlist. An added bonus of being picky about your five star songs will help out those of you with iPod shuffles. I sync my iPod shuffle to my five star smart playlist, and my runs have been more about running and less about skipping…songs, that is.

Now every time I buy a new CD, after importing it, I rate each song. I have a full library of rated songs, and I can sort them effectively.

One last tip. If you’d like to have your entire library rated, it could be quite an undertaking if it’s large. It took me over a few months, because you can only rate so many songs in one sitting. A great way to keep them coming is a smart playlist for unrated songs. Then, you always know how many you have left to go.

Via [ TUAW ]

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

KavaSoft have just released the latest version of their web jukebox for iTunes: KavaTunes 3.2. KavaTunes is essentially a web app that looks and works just like iTunes, meaning that you can browse, search and play your iTunes library from any web browser, anywhere in the world. KavaTunes also features continuous playback, which means songs will play one after another in a playlist automatically—without any gaps. If you want album artwork added to your library, KavaTunes can do that too. Web catalogs that resemble the iPod’s interface can be created; visitors can play music via this interface. Your personalised home page shows your music taste through several different categories: most played artists, recently added albums, recently played songs and top rated albums. If visitors like what they’re hearing, they can click a link to buy it from the iTunes Store.

KavaTunes 3.2 brings a re-designed music preference pane, which gives the option of whether vistiors can download music from the site. The volume of playback can also be customised. KavaTunes costs £35, and can be purchased from their website.

Via [MacMegaSite]

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Real Networks and Viacom’s Rhapsody will be launching a $50 million MP3 downloads business to challenge iTunes’ 70% market share, Reuters is reporting.

Digital music seller Rhapsody is launching a $50 million marketing assault on Apple’s iTunes, offering songs online and via partners including Yahoo Inc and Verizon Wireless, Rhapsody said on Monday.

The songs will be sold in MP3 format, which means users of the Rhapsody service will be able to play them on iPods.

Before now, Rhapsody, jointly owned by Real Networks, Inc. and Viacom Inc.‘s MTV Networks, had focused on a subscription service, allowing unlimited song streaming for $13 to $15 a month, rather than selling downloads.

But Rhapsody Vice President Neil Smith said the fact the service has not been compatible with Apple Inc.‘s top-selling iPod digital player has limited Rhapsody’s reach.

“We’re no longer competing with the iPod,” Smith said. “We’re embracing it.”

Rhapsody also will be the music store back-end to MTV’s music Web sites and iLike, one of the most widely used music applications on social networking site Facebook.

Rhapsody is not the first business to try to compete with iTunes’ dominance in online music sales.

Rhapsody is the latest player to challenge iTunes’s 70 percent-plus market share of U.S. digital music sales.

Last month, digital music service Napster Inc launched an MP3 store. Both Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and Amazon.com, Inc. launched stores last year.

None of the new stores has made much of a dent on Apple’s lead. Early this year, iTunes became the biggest music retailer in the United States. It has sold more than 5 billion songs since it launched in 2003.

Via [MSNBC]

Full Story » | Written by Michael Goonan for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

What good are media files on an iPhone if you can’t turn them into an awesome ringtone? None. Well at least that’s what Information Appliance Associates thinks.  =That’s why they have announced their PocketMac RingtoneStudio for iPhone, “...a new tool that gives iPhone users the power to convert almost any media file on their Macs into a ringtone.” And when they say almost any media file, they mean it. You can make a ringtone from any sound file, iTunes song you own, and even Mac friendly movie formats on your iPhone. If the file is too long, simply use the built in editor they call EditingBay to pick any 30 second clip you want.

This wonderful utility can be yours for the slim price of $14.95, and works with Mac OS X Tiger and Leopard. “This opens up new possibilities for iPhone users,” said Terence Goggin, CTO of Information Appliance Associates, “We’re incredibly excited.” I would be too. This seems like a wonderful piece of software to get around having to pay an extra $.99 to make a ringtone from a song you already own. Head on over to their site and check it out.

Product [RingtoneStudio]

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

AQUARIUS Software has released a new version of Playwatch, a popular iTunes controller and information ticker for the menu bar on the Mac. Version 1.2.0, “...offers exciting new features, Portuguese language and bug fixes.” One new feature is that the main HUD window for the applications interface now has two new appearances, as well as a new button to switch between them. Also, you are now able play tracks simply by clicking on them, and the currently playing track stands out with a “Bloom and Blur” effect. On top of all this, the animations have been improved.

This application requires Mac OS X v10.5 or higher (10.5.2 recommended) and can work on both PPC and Intel based Macs. You can download it and enjoy a free 30 day trial, but it will cost you $13.20 to register. If you are upgrading, you will get a reduced price for bigger updates, as well as free minor updates. If you are looking for a new way to interact with your music, check this out and report back here to let us know if you like it.

Product [Playwatch]

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

RingtoneFeeder is trying out a new way of distributing music, and they are calling it Dynamic Albums. Using Geoff Smith’s “Ones and 0s” album as the first go at this, RingtoneFeeder will give you certain items at the purchase of the product in the form of an iTunes podcast feed. Then, every two weeks or so for 12 months after the initial purchase, RingtoneFeed will throw extra material into the feed for you, thereby adding value to the product after the time of purchase.  This extra material will consist of “...karaoke versions, videos, access to exclusive USTREAM shows, exclusive tracks, ringtones etc.”

This will start mid July, 2008, and you can expect around 26 updates for the album. You can check out RingtoneFeeder’s site for more information about this new idea, as well as a nicely put together FAQ if you still have questions.

Still, this gets better. All of the tracks will be “...in mp3 format encoded with a bitrate of 256 kbit/s, and all the songs are DRM free.” If you like the idea, head on over to their site and take part in it/

Product [Dynamic Albums]

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Cynical Peak Software has announced that Rivet, an application that will help you stream your digital life (music, photos, movies) from Mac OS X to your Windows Xbox 360, has been released as version 1.1, bringing better media browsing support while fixing stability issues. More specifically, it makes media updating on your computer more CPU friendly and transcoded images more hard drive friendly. It supports a slew of formats, including AAC, MP3, WMA, H.264, DIVX, AVI, WMV, JPEG, GIF, TIFF, RAW, TIFF, PSD, and PDF, and costs $18.95.

One of my favorite features of this application would have to be the organization aspect. According to the description, Rivet makes sure that, “[e]very movie or photo folder that you share is exactly replicated on your Xbox 360.” You are then able to “[o]rganize them into subfolders by TV show, genre, or whatever you want. The entire folder structure will be there. No more scrolling through a huge, flat list.”

Sounds pretty great to me, I might even buy this myself to make use of that 360 I have lying around. Let’s just hope this streaming doesn’t give it the red ring of death...I can’t handle any more of those.

Product [Rivet]

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Those who want a digital stereo voice recorder with Apple reliability and Alesis quality, this is for you. Last Friday, Alesis announced the new ProTrack iPod recording system. 

With this tool, you can slip in your iPod (2G or 3G Nano, 5G Video, and iPod Classic are supported), and, using either an included AC power adapter or AAA batteries, record away. From the Alesis Press Release:

ProTrack provides convenient, direct-to-iPod stereo digital recording to iPod in a portable, handheld form factor. Users can capture live audio anywhere and anytime with their iPod or iPod nano. ProTrack’s smart design integrates the iPod into the recorder, with included sleds to securely mount supported iPod models to the recorder.

As you can see from the quote, the ProTrack is mainly aimed at musicians, but the accessory could be used for any other type of recording need. The attachment includes a universal iPod dock, integrated microphones, LED indicators, and knobs for power, limiter and volume. No word on the price as of yet, and this one can be expected sometime later this year.

Via [Engadget] 

Full Story » | Written by Mark Rowland for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

SonicMood, an ambient music generator from Bit of Paradise, just got some great new features. The newest release, version 4.8.6, provides the user with refined software and a brand new service from Bit of Paradise: SonicMood MP3s. From the application, you can download either a 30 minute or 120 minute version of all 28 moods provided in the application.

You may think, “Ambient music. Oh, that’s nice.” But there is more to it then just noise. A recent study conducted by the American Society of Hypertension proved that listening to just 30 minutes of ambient music with a homogenous rhythm can “significantly reduce high blood pressure,” along with other health benefits, such as being a natural sleep aid. Another benefit to SonicMood over ambient music found on the web is that SonicMood’s music is generated “automagically.” Automagically is the term coined by Bits of Paradise for the algorithms that generate ambient music, making it so the user will never hear the same sequences twice. 

Other new features in 4.8.6 is shortened code, improved drag and drop functionality, and many other new features, some of them not visible to the user. SonicMood costs $12.95. 30 minute MP3s are $1.69 and 120 minute MP3s are $3.49. All are available from the SonicMood website.

Product [SonicMood]

Full Story » | Written by Mark Rowland for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Are you sick of the boring old iTunes interface for searching through your music? If so, be sure to check out Cover Stream. Using iTunes cover flow view, Cover Stream gives you all the control you could ever want over your music and stays out of your way while it does it. Cover Stream has a beautiful interface with support for full screen and the Apple remote, making it the perfect app for a party machine. You can even search your music, customize shortcuts, and connect to your Last.fm account right from the Cover Stream interface. If you still aren’t sure if this is the app for you, download a trial or watch the demo.

Coming in at around $28.86, Cover Stream only works with Mac OS X Leopard and iTunes 7.5 or higher. However, that price will give you free updates for life. This application not only looks super easy to navigate through, it is also beautiful. Using a heads-up display (HUD) and high quality album art, Cover Stream brings the fun back to searching through your music collection. Check it out and let us know how it is!

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Computer Music, a popular British magazine about just that, has featured GarageBand in its latest issue. The feature includes coherent guides on everything from starting a project to publishing it in iTunes. Also included in the issue is a demo disc, featuring 12 video tutorials and 200 high quality loops for GarageBand as part of Remix Tools, a JamPack add-on from Apple. The following is from a preview of the issue on Computer Music’s website:

“From first steps with Magic GarageBand to publishing your tracks on iTunes, everything you need to know is here, teamed with audio demos and GarageBand songs to remix on the included disc.”

The magazine is available on UK news stands now.

Via [Apple Hot News]

Full Story » | Written by Mark Rowland for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

As if the MacHeist Bundle wasn’t an amazingly good deal already, MacHeist has added two more great apps to the mix.  Those apps are Vector Designer from TweakerSoft and Sound Studio from Freeverse. These apps bring the total number of apps in the bundle up to a whopping 14, with the value now weighing in at almost $500. There is an almost 90% discount on the bundle, which sinks the price to a measly $49. To put the icing on the cake, the purchase of the bundle will also help your karma, as 25% of the profits are donated to a charity. The charities to which you can choose to donate to include Direct Relief International, Save Darfur, The Humane Society, Action Against Hunger, The Natural Conservancy, Save the Children, World Wildlife Foundation, Prevent Cancer Foundation, AIDS Research Alliance and the Alliance for Climate Protection.

Although Vector Designer is available in the Bundle now, Sound Studio will not be available until $50,000 has been donated to charity, which is about $15,000 away.

Via [Mac OS X Rumors]   

Full Story » | Written by Mark Rowland for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

This post is part five of a seven part series covering the iPhone applications and games announced at the WWDC Keynote on Monday, June 9th.

Ever have the urge to jam while on the go? Do you have an iPhone? Well, with the new iPhone 2.0 App Band, you’re in luck. With Band, you can choose from a slew of instruments, ranging from Piano to Guitar to Drums, and, using the iPhone’s touch interface, rock to your heart’s content. Strangely, the developer behind this app, Mark Terry, works developing applications for an insurance company, but was able to create this spectacular program in his time out of work. I think that this will be a well received app for the iPhone and iPod Touch for those who like music (i.e., most users of the iPhone and almost definitely all iPod Touch users, after all, they both are made for the music).

For more on the new iPhone apps revealed at WWDC, follow the links below.

  • Auctions
  • Push Notification Service
  • Typepad
  • Mobile News
  • Band
  • Modality and MIMVista
  • At Bat

Full Story » | Written by Mark Rowland for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

For those with fledgling Apple lovers at home, put this in your iCal. The schedule for this summer’s Apple Camp has been announced by Apple. If you have a child between ages 8 and 12, be sure to snag one of the free (but limited) spaces for lessons on the creative aspects of a Mac, such as how to create a good Keynote presentation, how to capture, manage, and edit shots in iPhoto, how to make custom music in GarageBand, and videography tips with iMovie. 

Registration is open now, so be sure to claim a spot ASAP.  Sessions last three hours and include a shirt, field guide, DVDs and CDs of your child’s masterpieces, along with other goodies picked up during giveaways along the way. Register at Apple.

Via [TUAW]

Full Story » | Written by Mark Rowland for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Tutorial-video vendor macProVideo.com, in conjunction with Apogee and Universal Audio, has launched a remix contest with Olav Basoski. I don’t know much about this Olav fellow, but I’m told he’s an influential artist in the dance music industry, having produced hundreds of hit records. Regardless, the contest offers participants the opportunity to take an original Olav Basoski mix and make it their own. And, more importantly, to win a MacBook Pro.

Contestants will download a song by Olav, and then use their preferred DAW (digital audio workstation) to create a remix. The best remix (as judged by macProVideo.com in conjunction with Olav Basoski) will win a Logic Studio workstation that includes the following items:

• A MacBook Pro
• A Copy of Logic Studio
• An Apogee Duet (supplied by Apogee)
• A UAD-Xpander Xtreme (Supplied by Universal Audio)

For full contest details, visit the contest page at macProVideo.com.

Good luck!

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »