Tag: Music

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Amazon MP3 BETA Offers DRM-Free Music

Amazon has taken its new music service to public beta.

Introducing Amazon MP3, a la carte DRM-free MP3 digital music downloads.

Amazon MP3 BETA

Most DRM-free MP3 tracks are priced ¢89, and most albums are priced from $5.99 to $9.99. Tracks are encoded in 256kbps MP3. Amazon recommends installing Amazon MP3 Downloader, that will automatically add any purchased song to iTunes or Windows Media Player.

Amazon MP3 Downloader

Unlike Amazon Unbox, Amazon MP3 service is compatible with Mac and Windows (haven’t tried it on Linux).

At first, it seems that Amazon MP3 is a worthy competitor to Apple iTunes Store. Looking ahead and beyond, this is a victory over the dreaded DRM. It is interesting how Universal Music Group purposely excludes Apple iTunes Store from its DRM-free offerings. Eventually, it won’t matter anymore, because DRM-free MP3s will work in any music players. Be it an iPod, Creative Zen, SanDisk Sansa, or even Zune.

I can play the MP3 I purchased from Amazon MP3 on my iPhone.

Support DRM-free music service!

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Apple’s “Mum Is No Longer The Word” Special Event

Thanks to my insomniac life, I’m up hitting the refresh buttons on Apple’s “Mum Is No Longer The Word” special event coverage.

  • Apple UK Store is closed for product updates!
  • 8GB iPhone, O2 as carrier in The UK, £269 (including VAT)
  • Will arrive in the UK on November 9th, 2007
  • GPRS and EDGE, no 3G – US Customers rejoices!
  • Visual Voicemail and Unlimited data with £35, 45, 55 plans
  • From Endgadget:
    10:16 – Steve gets back on stage for Q&A. We ask: Why not 3G networks?Steve: “The 3G chipsets are real power hogs. Handset battery life cuts power to 2-3 hours.” Yeah yeah, we’ve heard it before. “Our phone has a talk time of 8 hours and that’s really important when you want to use your phone for internet and music. 3G needs to get back up to 5+ hours, something we think well see later next year”
  • Free HotSpots provided by Cloud in The UK
  • From Slashgear:
    “The contract for the phone will be 18 months, and unlimited data usage actually means 1400 web pages per day.”
  • …
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Apple Releases iTunes 7.4.2

UPDATE:
Yep, the ringtones added using the .m4r method are moved out of the ringtones folder to the music library. Still looking for a workarounds.

Hot off the grills, iTunes 7.4.2 is out.
We’ll see if this Update closes the ringtone loophole.

iTuners Icon

Apple posts iTunes 7.4.1 for both Mac and Windows.

iTunes 7.4 for Mac (38.3MB) | for Windows (49.1MB)

About iTunes 7.4.2
With iTunes 7.4, sync your favorite music and more with the new iPod nano (third generation), iPod classic, and iPod touch, plus create custom ringtones exclusively for iPhone with many of your favorite songs purchased from the iTunes Store. You can now also play purchased videos with closed captioning (when available), easily rate your favorite albums from one to five stars, and watch videos at a larger size inside the iTunes window.

What’s New in this Version
iTunes 7.4.2 addresses an issue with creating ringtones using iTunes Plus song purchases and includes bug fixes to improve stability and performance.

iTunes 7.4.1 was released on September 7th.

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Apple Posts iTunes 7.4.1

Apple posts iTunes 7.4.1 for both Mac and Windows, just a little over a day after iTunes 7.4 was released.

iTunes 7.4 for Mac (38.3MB) | for Windows (49.1MB)

This update adds support for the new iPod nano (third generation), iPod classic, and iPod touch, plus create customer ringtones exclusively for iPhone.

About iTunes 7.4.1
With iTunes 7.4.1, sync your favorite music and more with the new iPod nano (third generation), iPod classic, and iPod touch, plus create custom ringtones exclusively for iPhone with many of your favorite songs purchased from the iTunes Store. You can now also play purchased videos with closed captioning (when available), easily rate your favorite albums from one to five stars, and watch videos at a larger size inside the iTunes window.

This is odd, because I just installed iTunes 7.4 on September 5th.

Not sure what Apple “fix”, but I can no longer add my own ringtones using the “.m4r” extension method.

How to add your own custom made ringtones to the iPhone:

  • Encode the file into 128kbps AAC, smaller file size is preferred.
  • Rename the file extension from “.m4a” to “.m4r”; for Mac OS X “Get Info” the file, then change the extension name there.
  • Add the now “.m4r” file into iTunes, preferably have iTunes to copy the files into the library.
  • Look for the “Ringtones” folder, usually inside the “iTunes/iTunes Music/Ringtones” folder.
  • Rename the extension of the files back to “.m4a”.
  • Connect your iPhone, go to the “Ringtones” tab, and check the ringtones you want to send to the iPhone.

So far it is possible that Apple has just plug this “.m4r” extensions hole, or it is just a “side effect”.

iTunes 7.4.x is no longer supported under Windows 2000

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Apple Posts iTunes 7.4

Apple finally posts iTunes 7.4 for both Mac and Windows.

iTunes 7.4 for Mac (48.1MB) | for Windows (49MB)

This update adds support for the new iPod nano (third generation), iPod classic, and iPod touch, plus create customer ringtones exclusively for iPhone.

About iTunes 7.4 With iTunes 7.4, sync your favorite music and more with the new iPod nano (third generation), iPod classic, and iPod touch, plus create custom ringtones exclusively for iPhone with many of your favorite songs purchased from the iTunes Store. You can now also play purchased videos with closed captioning (when available), easily rate your favorite albums from one to five stars, and watch videos at a larger size inside the iTunes window.

I’m gonna check if there is a way to create ringtones using tracks made through GarageBand.

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Apple To Add Custom Ringtones Feature on iTunes

Apple reveals that custom ringtones are coming to iPhones via iTunes. Ringtones can be created from tracks purchased from iTunes Store, for $0.99 cents. Not all tracks sold on iTunes Store are licensed for ringtones, as shown at Apple site.

One thing is still unanswered. Can one make a completely custom ringtone, from an original composition. I for one, have my own music that I wrote, and want to use as ringtones.

Updates to iTunes is coming soon.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/ringtones.html

iTunes Store - Custom Ringtones