itunes 8
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TUAW Tip: Control the iTunes visualizer
By now you've probably had the opportunity to play around with the new iTunes Visualizer in iTunes 8. It's pretty cool, eh? Just like the previous visualizer, you can control this one with a few, simple key strokes. By pressing "?" while the visualizer is running, you are presented with a list of keys that customize the visualizer. ? - Shows/hides the help screen M - Changes the mode P - Changes the color palette I - Displays the track information for the currently playing song C - Toggles "auto-cycle" (which is turned on by default) F - Toggles the "freeze mode" N - Shows/hides the "smoke" in the background L - Toggles camera lock Know of any more cool key combos for iTunes visualizers? Be sure to tell us in the comments! Thanks to Luke and others for the tip!Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 and TUAW Tips sections.
Flickr Find: iTunes genre icons
Maybe I'm not paying attention (likely), but Derek B. told us about something in iTunes 8 that I'd never seen before -- you can organize your music in Grid view by genre, and when you do, there are some pretty good-looking icons that show up for each genre. I especially like the Blues and Jazz icons (nice nod to the old Blue Note Records in there), but all of them have a pretty neat vibe, summing up each genre as best they can in a colorful little box.Of course, there will always be more music out there than boxes to put it into, and so Derek B has started up a Flickr group to come up with icons for some of the more obscure genres out there. Replacing the icons is pretty easy to do, and there's even an app that will let you do it with ease -- just find the icon you want, and tie it to your genre. As you can see above, if you don't have an icon for the listed genre, it'll show off your album art (and just like iPhoto, mousing over the picture will let you flip through whatever albums are in there). It's kind of a weird thing to add into iTunes (and it's kind of tough to line them all up -- it's too bad iTunes won't pull down genres for music it recognizes from the iTunes store), but odds are we'll see these icons pop up more later, so getting them all lined up now is probably worth it.
Mac 101: Save a Genius playlist in iTunes
The feature of iTunes 8 that Apple wants to you notice is called "Genius." Basically, it generates playlists, either from your songs or the iTunes Store, based upon a track selected from your library. In this post, we'll look at creating and saving a Genius playlist on your Mac.First, select the target track in your library. I wanted to generate a playlist for work, so I selected a mellow track by Band of Horses. Next, click the Genius button (with the icon) in the lower right-hand corner of the iTunes window. Presto! Your playlist is created. But there's still room for tweaking. At the top of the window, you'll see the track upon which your new playlist is based. Next to that, a drop-down menu lets you select the number of songs to include. Choose from 25, 50, 75 or 100.Finally, you can exclude an individual song by deselecting the gray checkbox next to its title. When you're happy with the result, click "Save Playlist" in the upper right-hand corner.Your new playlist will now appear with the others, named for the original target song.
iTunes 8 adds podcast controls, terms of service geographic limit (not new)
In the iTunes 8 new features listing, a couple of tweaks may have been overlooked. Podcast subscribers have long yearned for more granular control over downloading and retention in iTunes -- "keep three episodes" might be great for Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me or Mac OS Ken, but what about Coverville or You Look Nice Today? You'd surely want to keep those & other awesome 'casts in perpetuity, and there are some podcasts that are so large you want to cull them after one download.Now, iTunes 8 lets you apply retention policies on a podcast-by-podcast basis. Select the podcast in the list and click the "Settings" button at the bottom of the window, then UNcheck the "Use Default Settings" box to enable custom prefs for that particular show. Dee-lightful! Unfortunately, podcast-to-iPod sync settings are still one for all and all for one, but this is a step in the right direction.Update: Comments below (and a visit to the Wayback Machine) have confirmed that the territorial clause in the iTunes store TOS is not a new addition with v8, but has in fact been in place for quite some time. It's interesting that it only came up as a topic of discussion now -- perhaps because everyone was forced to reaccept the TOS with the new version, and read it a bit more carefully? It's also looking like the clause was displayed front and center on the new TOS acceptance screen; this degree of prominence seems to be new, and probably attracted attention to the pre-existing restriction. In any case, our apologies for the error.Speaking of minor changes that might have major implications, a number of readers have expressed concern about something that Robert originally pointed out in his rundown of iTunes 8: that the iTunes store terms of service (long a source of controversy in Europe) now include have long included a clause restricting use to the geographic area where the user's account is established. In the US the rule reads:10. Territory. The Service is available only in the United States. You agree not to use or attempt to use the Service from outside of the available territory, and that Apple may use technologies to verify your compliance. There are several classes of users who might run afoul of this restriction: travelers who shop in their home stores while venturing abroad, for example, would technically be in violation... but our suspicion is that these casual, intermittent border-busters are not what Rule 10 is about. Instead, any enforcement of this restriction is likely to be aimed at users who live in one country and establish an iTunes store account in another -- allowing them to buy TV shows or movies that may not be available yet (or ever) in their localities.Certainly the content providers who sell their wares through iTunes may choose not to sell their programs to a particular region at a particular time; that's their prerogative. It seems somewhat myopic, however, to think that enforcing restrictions by geography in the iTunes store will have any effect other than to drive revenue and customers from the quasi-legal market firmly into the rip-and-download underground.Thanks to Eric & Mark
Apple's 'Let's Rock' event roundup
We know it's been a long day of Apple news, what with all those colorful new nanos, the thin-as-all-get-out touch, a fresh version of iTunes, and that forthcoming iPhone / touch update (and don't forget about those new shuffle colors). It's all a lot to take in, but as usual, we're presenting it to you in one delicious, easy to digest roundup. Enjoy!The liveblog:Live from Apple's 'Let's Rock' event in San FranciscoHands-on coverage:iPod nano 4G hands-oniPod touch 2G - first hands-onProduct announcements:iPod classic refreshed, only comes in 120GB flavor nowOfficial: iPod nano reaches 4G, looks tall for its ageiPod touch updated -- same screen, new case, Nike+ integrationApple introduces $79 in-ear headphonesOne more thing: New iPod shuffle colorsiTunes / iPhone / touch updates:Apple launches iTunes 8, NBC comes back, TV shows at $1.99, Genius in the houseiPhone 2.1 software update announced (update: $10 for some iPod touch owners)iPod touch 2.1 firmware update now available
TUAW report card: Let's Rock event
Now that today's press event is over, we can review our earlier predictions and see how well we did.Just half an hour before it started, I guessed that Steve would reveal "...a revamped nano line, with greater storage, a new design and UI." The design and UI are certainly new, and the storage capacities have changed to 8GB and 16GB. I also predicted a price drop on the iPod touch (got that one), iTunes 8 (one more) and HD content (trifecta!). Not bad.What I missed: All of the nifty new features on the touch, new accessories and Steve's brown shirt.Last week, Erica predicted "...a revamped nano with a longer silhouette," and was right on target. She also predicted a re-tooling of the Nike+ kit, and was half right on that one. It's built into the iPod touch now, but the functionality is the same. Many people thought we'd see a subscription-based "iTunes Unlimited" today, but it didn't happen. Finally, Erica predicted iPhone 2.1 and iTunes 8.0. All in all, we did pretty well.Thanks for playing along and let us know if you buy any of Apple's shiny new toys!
HDTV shows arrive on iTunes 8
Just in case your hectic work day hasn't allowed you to follow our word-for-word (almost, anyway) coverage of today's Jobsnote, here's an HD headline to simmer on: HDTV shows are coming to iTunes 8. Among other niceties, iTunes 8 sees the re-joining of NBC and the launch of high-def TV shows at $2.99 a pop. Details are admittedly scant at the moment, but you will be able to watch 'em right on your computer. For those with a few bucks to spare, try it out and let us know how things go.
iTunes 8: It's like having a Genius in your Mac
At Apple's "Let's Rock" event today, they unveiled the newest version of iTunes: version 8. The rumors were mostly right: iTunes 8 includes a new feature called "Genius" that allows you to "rediscover your iTunes music." Genius works by matching music with your listening tastes. The Genius interface looks similar to iPhoto and works similar to Pandora (or Last.fm). iTunes 8 will be a free update later today, and we'll have more about it then. Stay tuned to TUAW as we provide coverage of Apple's "Let's Rock" event.
Rumor: iTunes 8 to include Genius recommender, grid view, new visualizer
Kevin Rose is at it again, with a brand new round of rumors about iTunes 8, supposedly premiered next week at the big Apple iPod event. Did I miss the meeting where we all declared him king of iPod rumors? King or not, he's got what he claims is inside information, including a writeup about something called the "Genius" sidebar, which creates recommended playlists for you, a new grid view (like Delicious Library?), and a new music visualizer.Additionally, Rose's tipster mentions HD TV shows in the iTMS, and reiterates the previous rumors of new IPod nanos and Touches. None of these things are a huge surprise -- while the Genuis system will certainly be interesting to see (and make fun of) if real, HDTV and the new iPods are old news in Rumorville by now.Is it OK if we hope for some faster and easier iPhone syncing with a new version of iTunes as well? Whatever is coming next week, we'll find out all about it then.
