SAN FRANCISCO – With iTunes Match’s release on Monday, we’ve been discovering a slew of interesting tidbits about Apple’s cloud-based music service. Our own Dan Moren went hands-on with iTunes Match earlier Monday, and we’re putting together a set of answers to frequently-asked questions, too. To find out what people were curious about, we asked our Twitter followers for iTunes Match questions, and reader Michael Rodgers asked if Apple had “in any way addressed those of us with multiple iTunes accounts with DRM music.”
I drafted editorial director Jason Snell to help me figure this one out, and we’ve got good news: Any computer that is authorized to play protected iTunes music can add that music to iTunes Match. This is the case even if the Apple ID being used for iTunes Match isn’t the same one that was used to buy the music.

I have an album in my iTunes library that was purchased using a family member’s Apple ID. This album was purchased in the days before iTunes went DRM-free, so every song is a Protected AAC file–that is, they are copy-protected and linked to a single Apple ID. My laptop is authorized to play content purchased by that ID, so I can listen to the song on my computer and on my iPhone; unfortunately, I can’t move it to any other computer of mine (my iMac at work, for example) because that Apple ID has reached its limit of five authorized computers, and protected iTunes music won’t play on computers that are unauthorized.

Enter iTunes Match. When I enabled the service on my laptop, those protected songs showed up with an iCloud Status of Matched. This is the same status iTunes Match uses for songs you’ve ripped from a CD or received from other sources, and it indicates that you can re-download the song again as a DRM-free 256-kbps AAC file.
When I deleted one of these protected songs from my library and re-downloaded it by clicking the iCloud download button, ownership was transferred to my iTunes Match account and the file downloaded as a DRM-free AAC file. So I can now listen that Mike Doughty album on my work iMac, too.

Jason and I confirmed that this will only work with songs your computer is authorized to play. I tried adding a protected song of Jason’s–which I am not authorized to play–to my iTunes library, and iTunes Match told me it was “Not Eligible” for matching. Once Jason authorized my computer, however, the track status changed to “Matched,” and I was able to delete it and re-download it as my own. When Jason de-authorized my computer, the tracks tied to his iTunes ID were removed from iCloud.

Un-protected purchases do not have this restriction: I added a DRM-free iTunes song to my library that Jason had purchased, and it immediately showed up as “Matched,” no authorization required. (Of course, giving songs to your friends is still illegal. iTunes Match doesn’t change that.)

Both of these methods will require a track that still exists on the iTunes Store; if the track has been pulled, you’ll be given the option to upload the song, but when you re-download it, it will return to your library as a protected .m4p file (if it has DRM) or a DRM-free file with the original owner in its metadata.

While there are almost certainly ways to abuse this feature, it’s good news for families and other groups who bought iTunes music from more than one account in the bad old days of DRM. Once you purchase a subscription to iTunes Match, you can merge all your music into a single Apple ID by re-downloading tracks, and on top of that, you can stream it to ten different devices. It only works for music–you can’t do this for mobile apps, videos, podcasts, or any number of other iTunes Store purchases–but it’s a nice start.

September 17, 2011

By Daniel Ionescu
August 31, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO – Surprise, surprise: Apple’s upcoming iCloud service will support the streaming of your iTunes music library stored online to your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and PC. The news comes as developers signed up to the iOS 5 beta program received, late on Monday, access to what is called iTunes Match beta – Apple’s paid cloud music service.
Apple said in June at WWDC that iTunes Match will cost $25 per year when it arrives this fall. The service scans and matches your music library (up to 25,000 songs) with the same tracks in the iTunes Music Store. It Apple can’t match the tracks on iTunes it prompt you to upload tracks to your iCloud automatically.

Once your music library is in the iCloud, you can download any of the songs on up to 10 iOS devices (including up to 5 computers). But Apple left one surprise for developers to find on Monday: iTunes match can also stream your iCloud songs to your phone or computer (InsanelyGreatMac has a video preview of the feature). The developers beta only supports streaming to iOS devices and Macs, but PC streaming will be available when the service is no longer in beta, Apple says.

The iCloud iTunes model Apple is approaching has several advantages over competing services from Google and Amazon, which received lukewarm reviews. Google Music and Amazon Cloud Player don’t match your songs to a cloud library, but only upload your MP3 files to their servers.

Apple’s service not only removes the need to upload files (except for songs unavailable in the iTunes store), but also allows you to download and stream your songs (over Wi-Fi or 3G) at 256 Kbps, even if your original files were of lower quality. The streaming option for iTunes Match makes the deal even more desirable over competing services, which were already able to stream your songs.

The iTunes Match (U.S.-only) beta service requires the latest beta of iOS 5, and a new beta of iTunes 10.5, which are available to registered Apple developers only. iOS 5 and iTunes Match are expected to publicly debut this fall, along with the introduction of a new iPhone.

SAN FRANCISCO – Reader Michael Beaudoin is frustrated with an iPhone that has too much information on it. He writes:

I have an iPhone and MobileMe. When I sync iCal to MobileMe and my iPhone, I get duplicates (and sometimes triplicates) of items in my iPhone calendar. I have syncing to calendars in my Sync Preferences and in iTunes checked. I’ve tried various combinations of checking and unchecking but still get the duplicate entries.

Harkening back to a recent Mac 911 entry, allow me to reiterate that Apple’s syncing strategy needs a stern overhaul. When you throw MobileMe, Google, and iTunes syncing into the mix and aren’t aware of how they interact it’s easy to find yourself in this kind of situation. Let’s see if we can bring some clarity.
First, you’re in danger of getting duplicate items if you’ve switched on calendar syncing with both MobileMe and iTunes. To check, attach your iPhone to your Mac, select it in iTunes’ Source list, choose the Info tab, and peer at the Sync iCal Calendars entry. Look for these words:

Your calendars are being synced with MobileMe over the air. Your calendars will also sync directly with this computer. This may result in duplicated data showing on your device.

This is a very strong hint that you’re doing The Bad Thing and that you need to make a choice between syncing with your Mac or with MobileMe. You can disable calendar syncing within iTunes by unchecking the Sync iCal Calendars option. When you do, iTunes will offer to remove its calendar entries from your iPhone. Or, turn to your iPhone, choose Mail, Contacts, Calendars; select your MobileMe account; and flick the On/Off toggle switch next to the Calendars entry to Off. You’ll be offered the option to delete these calendar events from your iPhone.

(Still not sure what’s going on? Launch the Calendar app on your iPhone, tap the Calendars button in the top-left corner, and look at the headings on the resulting Calendars screen. If you see one entry for From My Mac and another that includes your MobileMe address–example@me.com, for instance–you’re duplicating your efforts.)

But suppose you have different events in the calendars you synced from your Mac and those that are synced via MobileMe and you’d like all of your events on the iPhone. What to do? Try this:

Attach your iPhone to your Mac and in the Info tab disable iCal syncing. When offered to keep or remove the calendars currently on the iPhone, choose to keep them and click the Apply button at the bottom of the window. Now move to your iPhone, choose Settings -> Mail, Contacts, Calendars and select your MobileMe account. Flick the On/Off toggle next to Calendars to Off. Again, you’ll be offered the choice to keep or delete your calendars. In this instance, delete them (don’t worry, they’re stored in the cloud). Now switch this Calendars toggle back on. In the sheet that appears, tap Merge.

What happens? The duplicate events currently stored on your iPhone (the ones synced from your Mac) and on MobileMe will be merged into a single event. Any additional events not found in your MobileMe calendar will be added to MobileMe.

Did I mention that Apple’s syncing strategy needs a stern overhaul? Let’s hope the iCloud rumors are true and we get exactly that.

LONDON – Most PC users have some, if not all, of their music collection stored in digital format on their computer. However, with multiple machines in one home becoming the norm, you my think you’ll need to copy all of your MP3s to each PC to ensure you can enjoy them no matter where in your home you are, which is time consuming to say the least.

However, Apple introduced a feature to its iTunes software in 2009 that allows multiple PCs in the same house to share music, apps and videos. The feature is available in version 9 and above, so if you haven’t got the latest edition of iTunes, head to Apple’s website and update your software.

Step one
Open iTunes, by selecting the program from the start menu. Then select Preferences from the Edit menu, located at the top of the window.

Step two
Tick the box next to Share my library on local network and then select whether you want to share the entire library or selected playlist. If you plan on only sharing selected items, you must then select them from the list presented.

Step three
You can even opt to password protect the sharing function. Click OK. You’ll be reminded that sharing music is for personal Use only. Click OK and your library can now be see and listened to by other PCs on your network. It’s worth noting that for other PCs to see your library, your computer must be on and iTunes must be open.

Step four
When other PCs in your home open iTunes they’ll see a Shared option on the left-hand side of the window and the library will be displayed below. To change the nam of the library hats displayed, select Preferences from the Edit menu and then click on the General Tab. Here change the library name.

SAN FRANCISCO – The next major iOS update is slated to be released this Friday, March 11, alongside the ultra-hyped iPad 2. One of the key features is a little something called iTunes Home Sharing, which allows users to stream music, podcasts, movies and more from PC to iOS device. This was probably the 4.3 feature I was most excited about as I don’t own an AppleTV or an iPad (yet). However, upon installing the GM, released last Thursday, I was looking to enable iTunes Home Sharing and it wasn’t immediately obvious how to do so. If that’s the case for an iOS developer, I’m sure there will be plenty of other users scratching their heads when they install the iOS update on Friday hoping to share their media libraries from the get-go. This is how to enable iTunes Home Sharing in iOS 4.3.
Step 0: Install iOS 4.3 (released 3/11/11)

Just in case you missed the title of this article, iOS 4.3 is required to enable iTunes Home Sharing!

Step 1: Install iTunes 10.2

Although obvious now, this was a step that initially escaped me. I have Software Update set to Manual (since I tend to know when major updates are released and prefer not being bothered by alerts). Anyway, run Software Update and install iTunes 10.2, it is most definitely required to enable iTunes Home Sharing.

Step 2: Enable Home Sharing in iTunes

My first instinct to enable Home Sharing was to go to iTunes preferences, but my assumption proved to be wrong. Instead, Apple has placed Home Sharing in the “Advanced” menu as its own menu item. There is also now an item under the “Sharing” heading in the left-side bar called “Home Sharing” which brings you to the same view. Here, you must either sign-in or create an Apple ID (who doesn’t have one of these yet?) and click “Create Home Share.”

Step 3: Enable Home Sharing on your iOS device

After my incorrect instinct in iTunes, I went looking for a way to access my Home Share from my iPhone directly from the iPod app. Turns out, you actually have to turn it on from the “Settings” app. D’oh! Under “iPod” Settings, there is now a “Home Sharing” heading, in which you will need to sign into your Apple ID once again. Also, be sure you are connected to the same WiFi network as your PC, while you’re here.

Step 4: Accessing your Home Share

Go back to the iPod app on your iOS device and click on the “More” tab. There you will see a new heading titled “Shared” which lets you choose between your iOS library or any Shared Libraries you have enabled on your WiFi network. Bazinga!

FRAMINGHAM – The Apple App Store hit the 10 billion app download mark overnight on Friday, marking a milestone involving an awful lot of Doodle Jump, Tap Tap Revenge and Angry Birds playing, not to mention Facebook and Pandora usage.

Apple is rewarding the downloader of the 10 billionth  free or paid App Store app with a $10,000 iTunes gift card in a bit of showmanship that Willy Wonka would be proud of. As of 7AM EST, however, Apple hadn’t publicly identified the winner, only saying that you’d need to come back later to find out who won.

MORE APPLE: iPhone 5 “iPhoneys” emerge

Apple put an iOS app countdown ticker on its Website last week to build buzz around the milestone and generated about 250 million app downloads since.  It also revealed a list of all-time most downloaded free and paid iPhone and iPad apps.

The Apple App Store hit the 1 billion mark in April of 2009, after opening in July of 2008.

Apple celebrated the 10 billionth song downloaded a little less than a year ago: Johnny Cash’s “Guess Things Happen That Way.

ANALYSIS: A billion reasons to read about Apple, Facebook and others

Apple’s year has gotten off to a captivating start, with CEO Steve Jobs taking a medical leave,  the company posting stellar financial results for Q1,  Apple showing up among the top 50 patent recipients in the United States,  and with buzz building for the iPhone 5 smartphone and iPad 2 tablet computer. ]]> http://pcworld.com.ph/apple-app-store-hits-magical-10-billion-app-download-milestone-to-award-10k-prize/feed/ 0 http://pcworld.com.ph/send-non-itunes-files-to-apple-tv-with-airflick/ http://pcworld.com.ph/send-non-itunes-files-to-apple-tv-with-airflick/#comments Tue, 21 Dec 2010 23:00:47 +0000 Fei http://pcworld.com.ph/?p=10526