Posts Tagged ‘iTunes’

iTunes 8

Monday, July 27th, 2009

iTunes 8Along with the new iPods, Apple recently launched a new version of iTunes, iTunes 8. The new version looks very similar to the old version, but has a few new features that we’ve all been waiting for.

The biggest addition to the program is HD (High Definition) viewing. You can now download and watch HD T.V. shows using iTunes. When you buy the show you will also get an iPod ready version with the best settings for your iPod.

Another important background addition is in the accessibility department. It is now screen reader friendly on both Mac and PC. A screen reader basically helps disabled people to use the computer. It uses audio and/or Braille outputs to help the user to understand what is on the screen. It also works for iTunes content so that anybody can now purchase and download from iTunes.

Genius is Apple’s new playlist creator. You choose a song and click on the genius button and iTunes will create a playlist of other songs in your library that, ‘go great together.’ The sidebar will find music on the iTunes Store that goes with the song, helping you to find new music that you may like. It’s a nice addition but nothing groundbreaking.

On the visual side Apple has added two new elements. They have a new Visualiser with 3D spheres, ribbons and lights that move to the beat and they have Grid View. Grid View is just another way to look through your music. Your library will be displayed using the cover art of the albums. It looks great if you have all your album artwork, but if you don’t, this new feature will be of no use to you.

Although iTunes has not changed much at first glance it has taken a huge step forward, a step into the next generation of entertainment. And along with it they’ve given us a few extra features that can be used or ignored at your discretion.

How to copy DVDs to your iPod

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

iTunes StoreFor many iPod owners the idea of watching your favourite movies on the go is really appealing. You happily buy your iPod and some DVD’s and then realise it’s not so easy to just move them onto your iPod. You aren’t doing anything illegal; you have a right to watch the movie you bought on your iPod.

Apple has finally realised this and is now very slowly adding iPod versions of movies onto DVDs. This means you just have to pop in the DVD, put in a code, and your movie will be added to your iPod perfectly. But while we wait for that to get into full swing we still want to watch movies on the go. You can buy all these weird and wonderful pieces of software or you can do it all free!

Here is the step by step guide to getting your DVD to your iPod.

1)     Download Handbrake here.

2)     Download DVD43 here.

3)     Put your DVD into the disk drive of your computer. The DVD43 face should be happy once you have done this.

4)     Open Handbrake

5)     Under source, click browse and locate your DVD. Look for the VIDEO_TS folder and click on it. Then click OK. Handbrake will read your disk.

6)     Under the Source Title select the longest time, this is usually the movie.

7)     Under destination put the location you want your iPod ready file to be saved and give the file a name.

8)     Select your iPod from the white box on the right.

9)     Click the video tab and select 2-Pass Encoding

10) Click the start button in the top left hand corner

11) Your movie will now be made. This may take a few hours depending on your computer speed.

12) When your movie is done open it in iTunes. You can do this by right clicking the movie and selecting open with, and then iTunes.

13) Then simply drag your movie into your iPod.

It’s that simple. There are many other options you can play with to adjust the video quality, size and more. You could also use this program to create files that will support other devices like a PSP. Now you can watch your DVDs on the go.

American iTunes Store Account

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008

iTunes StoreFor those countries which have iTunes Stores, setting up and purchasing items from the store is simple and easy. You just click sign in, create account, and off you go. But for countries without iTunes Stores, or iTunes Stores which only have certain content, getting the content you want is not so easy.

I doubt there will be anybody who will deny that out of all the iTunes Stores in the world, America has the best selection. So everybody wants an American account, even those that have iTunes stores in their country. For millions of people around the world, piracy is their main music and movie distributor. iTunes provides a simple paying alternative and because of the great content and ease of use many people prefer it to pirating their music. Unfortunately the studios, record labels and governments of the countries around the world don’t seem to see the benefit of making iTunes access a priority when it comes to fighting piracy. So some countries end up with no stores, and others have very little in their stores.

We found a way for anybody, from anywhere, to get an American iTunes store account and buy their music from the best music store in the world. Although what is being done does seem to be a loop hole in law and Apple’s policies, it still feels a little underhanded.

The best acceptable way to get an account is to get an American friend to create one for you with their address and details. If your credit card is not from an American bank you will not be able to register. So the way to get around this is to purchase gift vouchers for the iTunes store account and use those to pay for your music.

It sounds simple enough, but not everybody has a friend in the states, and getting gift cards on the internet can lead to scams. So what do you do? Step in tunecard.biz. A legitimate company that you can buy iTunes gift vouchers from. If you want, they will even set up an account for you.

UPDATE: tunecars.biz has closed down. This may or may not be due to Apple or dodge behavior, or maybe both. The only other way to get the vouchers is to buy them from ebay.com. If you do this, we recommend only buying from Top sellers. Look out for the Top Seller logo next to their name.

iPhoneAll you need is a paypal account and you’re on your way. We decided to give them a test run and see if this was all real. We had to set up a paypal account and get our credit card confirmed which took two days. After that we went through to their site, clicked on the amount we wanted and paid them through paypal. We were then directed to a page which asks for your details so that they could either set up your new account or put money into your existing account. After completion we received a confirmation e-mail from the site, thanking us for our payment. In just two hours we had an e-mail with our new account details. After logging on, our account had already been credited with the amount requested and we were free to download music.

It was simple, easy and the service was fantastic. If you want to pay for your music and have quality albums for great prices this service is your golden ticket. But I can’t stop wondering how legal this process is. After looking into Apple’s policy you can’t begin to deny that this process is not accepted by Apple. Their very first clause is that you must be in the United States to use the service. Here is the excerpt:

U.S. SALES ONLY

Purchases or rentals (as applicable) from the iTunes Store are available to you only in the United States and are not available in any other location. You agree not to use or attempt to use the iTunes Store from outside of the available territory. Apple may use technologies to verify such compliance.

After further investigation it seems there are very different and confusing tax laws in the different countries. This reason alone is probably good enough to stop outside buyers. So, unfortunately those of us who want to obey the rules have hit another brick wall. Although I think Apple is simply covering themselves from law suits, they can block your access if they catch you. It’s back to the drawing board for those of us who are too impatient to wait for our own great stores.

South Africa gets an iTunes store

Saturday, July 12th, 2008

iTunes Store“It’s finally here,” I shouted whilst hopping around the room. “It’s finally here!” South Africa finally has an iTunes store. We can finally get accounts and finally benefit when there are free items needing accounts. iTouch owners can finally legally upgrade their iTouch with just a few clicks.

The sad news is we only have an applications store at the moment. The main reason South Africa never had an iTunes store, is because the music and movie studios in our country are always haggling over copyright. But the first important step has been made. You can sign up and get applications, some are free and the highest price I have seen is under $10. With Vodacom still keeping very silent on a release date for the iPhone we can only hope that sometime soon music and movie stores will be added to iTunes too.

iTouch Review

Thursday, June 5th, 2008

iTouchApple’s iPhone is a groundbreaking cell phone, but unfortunately many people can’t buy them in their countries. People resort to illegally importing and hacking into the phones to use them. If you aren’t the criminal type or feel you just don’t want another phone the iTouch is the best iPod ever made.

The iTouch sports the same design as the iPhone but sheds some weight and looses a few buttons. There are only two buttons on the iTouch. Everything else is controlled through touch on the beautiful 3.5-inch screen. I have heard people say the screen is not as good as the iPhone, I can’t really see how.

iPod Touch

From Apple: Flick through album covers and find your music. Download and watch your favorite movies, rentals, TV shows, and more from the iTunes Store. Tap into thousands of photos. All using incredible Multi-Touch touchscreen technology on a beautiful 3.5-inch display.

The iTouch comes in three versions. The only difference being the space. 8G, 16G and the latest 32G. Users have complained about the size of the hard-drives, which is the reason Apple later released a 32G version, but to be honest I think those people are being picky. On a 16G hard-drive you can comfortably fit 1.5 days worth of music and 8 full length movies and still have 2G left to play with. Most people plug their iPod into their computer regularly so I do not see how there is a need for more space. No normal person could watch 8 movies and listen to 1.5 days of music so quickly that they would not have time to go to the computer and put on new movies. The battery power lasts for 5 hours of video OR 22 hours of audio.

The iTouch interface is the same as the iPhone in most respects. Most people who play with one for the first time don’t even need to ask questions. The interface explains itself making it extremely easy to use. The best thing about the iTouch is not the music, the great 3.5-inch screen to watch movies or the cool sensor which flips the screen according to how you hold it. It’s the fact that it’s fun to use. And it never seems to wear out. The idea of using touch is just so natural.

I managed to embarrass myself the other day when looking at a friends normal iPod. I automatically touched the screen trying to navigate the menu. It was just so natural for me. That for me is the best proof of how this is the best iPod to ever grace our stores, and until we get the new iPhone in our countries it will be the best compromise you will ever have to make.

iPod Touch