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iTunes 4.2 and QuickTime 6.5

usr122122121 writes "iTunes 4.2 and QuickTime 6.5 were released today, available by Apple's Site and Software Update (respectively)."

31 of 467 comments (clear)

  1. AOL integration, too by radicalskeptic · · Score: 5, Informative

    Now people with AOL can just use their screen name to buy songs on iTMS, and it'll be billed to their AOL account.
    ...
    Not that I would know personally now!! I read it on the website, I swear!

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  2. Some more detailed information: by radicalskeptic · · Score: 5, Informative
    --
    WARNING: If accidentally read, induce vomiting.
  3. So... by phreak03 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here are the "new" features.
    For itunes, you can now use your aol login, and aol
    wallet to pay for stuff.

    Quicktime now supports the 3GPP and 3GPP2 standards
    These standards are usefull for Third generation cell phones. They allow transfer of scalled video, sound, text, and just about anything as the yare track based formats.

    (anyone know if the itunes breaks the support for mytunes <www.cowpimp.com> the program that lets you download thru mytumes)**

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  4. and 10.3.2 by scrotch · · Score: 4, Informative


    A new Panther update - to 10.3.2 - is also available from SoftwareUpdate.

    hopefully I can finish downloading it before it gets apple-slashdotted...

  5. jTunes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    There's a good java clone of iTunes complete with Rendezvous support.

    http://sourceforge.net/projects/jtunes4/

  6. Re:Also updated today.... by TheViffer · · Score: 5, Informative

    >A non-unix based software program

    Ummm ....

    Non-Unix Operating system?

    --
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  7. Re:Quicktime 6.5 by morcheeba · · Score: 3, Informative

    Right-on! I got to play that game for about a week before I had to install panther to play with xcode. I can't believe that the retail Apple store I bought it at has been selling a game for the last two months that won't work on an up-to-date system (I had to downgrade QT on jaguar) - Apple should have pulled it until macplay got it working (even if it was apple that broke quicktime). Good idea with the ipod - I hadn't thought of that, thanks.

  8. Here's what's new in QT 6.5 by savetz · · Score: 4, Informative

    QuickTime 6.5 delivers a number of new features and important updates, including:
    - Creation and playback of mobile multimedia in the new 3GPP2 format.
    - Creation and playback of mobile multimedia in the popular AMC format.
    - Improved text track support.
    - Enhanced DV playback options.
    - Enhanced support for iMovie, iDVD, and Final Cut Pro.

  9. Re:Changelog? by adamwright · · Score: 4, Informative

    What's new in iTunes 4.2

    iTunes 4.2 allows you to sign in and buy music from the iTunes Music Store using either your AOL or Apple Account, view the iTunes Music Store in a separate window, and includes a number of performance improvements.

    (And yes, that really was the extent of the changes listed in the help and readme after I downloaded it).

  10. Re:Fullscreen is a feature by OmniVector · · Score: 4, Informative

    i know. i hate apple! it's not like you can't find any free alternatives with fullscreen built in that even play more media formats by default.

    --
    - tristan
  11. Re:I'll use itunes by ejunek · · Score: 5, Informative

    In all seriousness, there seems to be some misconception that iTunes can't play ogg files. Well, I'm not sure about on the PC, but there is a plugin for the Mac that plays ogg files just fine.

  12. Re:Changelog? by hpavc · · Score: 5, Informative

    forget about AOL support ... you can group tracks now! awesome

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  13. Re:Fullscreen is a feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Or make a 7-line AppleScript

    on open fileName
    tell application "QuickTime Player"
    activate
    open fileName
    present movie 1
    end tell
    end open

    Drag a movie onto the script icon and it plays full screen.

    Idiot.

  14. Update spree by krray · · Score: 3, Informative

    With the recent up to 10.1.3 the application load time has gotten even _faster_ (among other things :). Now these updates. It's usually FUN to update the Mac the see what's new.

    Throw in the Linux 2.6 kernel and it's going to be a fun Christmas.

    Isn't it ironical that at the same time I'm dreading the next Windows update that is always coming down the pike (being the sysadmin over seeing all such systems on the network :).

    At least Apple makes this SEEM fun. New in the iTunes application menu -- a link to:
    HotTips

  15. Re:Quicktime 6.5 by jpkunst · · Score: 5, Informative

    Quicktime 6.5 does not fix the No One Lives Forever 2 problem with QT 6.4. I just tried it.

    Back to rebooting in 10.2.8/QT 6.3 for Cate Archer action.

    JP

  16. Re:just wondering by shotfeel · · Score: 4, Informative

    Mmm, but iTunes is mainly used to buy music online, not to play music

    No, iTunes on the Mac has been the premier app for organizing and listening to music for waaaay longer than iTunes Music Store has existed. Still is.

  17. Re:Hmmm.... by JeffTL · · Score: 4, Informative

    Well, actually, he didn't do anything except insert a loopback somewhere up in Quicktime...you could already do about the same thing with any audio capture utility, or for that matter a CD-RW drive.

  18. Re:Hmmm.... by line.at.infinity · · Score: 5, Informative

    > Which hack was that?

    QTFairUse.

  19. Re:Changelog? by thatnerdguy · · Score: 3, Informative

    Look for Itunes-sidekick. It's a plugin for Itunes for Windows that adds, among other things, minimizing to the tray.

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  20. Re:Quicktime 6.5 by Fred+IV · · Score: 5, Informative

    Otherwise, I'm going to install Jaguar to my iPod and boot off that when I want some "Cate Archer" sneaking action.

    You might consider checking with Apple first to see if it will screw up your warranty.

    iPodHacks warns that booting off your iPod might be considered "abuse" by Apple if you have problems later.

    FIV
  21. Re:just wondering by scorpioX · · Score: 4, Informative

    1. Apple makes ~ 10-15 cents on each song (rumors are they are operating iTMS at a slight loss). I don't think you and a few of your friends buying some songs is enough incentive to port iTunes -- they'd need a few millon Linux users for that.

    2. The high-price of Apple machines is a myth that neeeds to die. You can get a Desktop G4 for around $900, and a laptop for a few hundred more. I think that is well within the financial reach of most people. On the other hand, if you want the top of the line dual G5, you have to be willing to pay for it. Just like you do with Dell, HP or any other PC vendor selling the latest and greatest hardware.

  22. Re:Changelog? by allgood2 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Apple's Read Me's are always notably lacking information on specific changes, possible because parts of the read me display in the software update and installers. Anyway, Apple often releases specific details as part of its knowledge base.

    My quick review of changes in iTunes 4.2 on Mac OS X (sorry won't have access to a Win2k machine until next week), these are the immediate changes I notice:

    Hot Tips
    http://www.apple.com/itunes/hottips/
    Apple introduced hot tips on creating Smart Playlist, keyboard shortcuts, copy song, artist, and album urls from the iTunes Music Store, etc.

    Grouping
    Under song details, there is now a new ID3 tag called grouping. I'm not certain if this will allow for subcategories, or can be used for things such as Celebrity Playlist so songs from multiple albums can be grouped. I'll have to play with it. Also added to Smart Playlist queries.

    Artwork
    Added scaler to artwork, so images can be scaled up or down to fit album space area.

    Playlist from Selection
    For those who complained about queue-ing songs, I imagine this feature will come in handy, as well as for other purposes as well. Allows you to Command-Select (Click) on random songs in your library then create a playlist from them, immediately.

    Music Store in New Window
    Double-clicking will launch the music store in a new window (yeah).

    iTMS: Music Essentials
    Like Celebrity playlist, but collections of "iTunes Essential" music in categories I wouldn't have imagined, including Disco Ball Essentials and Coctail Party Kitsch--yet more ways to spend even more money.

    iTMS: AOL Sessions
    Added more music "exclusives" basically various performances by artist for AOL can now be purchased.

    iTMS: AOL Users
    Tons of direct access stuff for AOL users. Which, if they can do this for AOL, maybe they could do it for other venues, like artist who do live concert releases.

    iTMS: Artist Self-Released Albums (Return of the EP)
    This was there before, but some artist like Pearl Jam who are self published are and can now release stuff directly to the iTMS. I also noticed John Mayer's "As Is" is not attributed to Sony or any music label (which may indicate that it was also self-published). Ben Folds have also been doing a number of quick EPs, but they are all still published attributed to EPIC. It will be interesting to see if more artist start releasing EPs with 4-5 songs exclusively for iTMS or other music stores, and then have regular albums published every 1-2yrs.

    These were the things I noticed immediately. Now I need to go and play and see what else comes up.

  23. Re:I'll use itunes by RalphBNumbers · · Score: 4, Informative

    In all seriousness, there seems to be some misconception that windows-iTunes can't play ogg files. Well, I'm not sure about the parrent, but I know that there is an open source plugin for windows-Quicktime that plays ogg files just fine.

    --
    "The worst tyrannies were the ones where a governance required its own logic on every embedded node." - Vernor Vinge
  24. Re:The Comic Book Guy says... by usr122122121 · · Score: 4, Informative
    ".. shortest news item, ever"
    Apparently Apple also thought the news item was too short... so they released Xcode 1.1, which is also available through Software Update (if you have the developer tools installed). Yet another update to add to the list :-)
    --

    -braxton
  25. Re:Quicktime sucks. Who cares? by derubergeek · · Score: 5, Informative
    Yeah - Quicktime is such a POS that MPEG-4 is based on it. Bunch of losers.

    Really - before you start ranting you should at least bother to learn something about the subject. You can write plugins for QT. There is technical documentation at Apple's Quicktime developer's site, and you can download both Windows & Mac SDKs. Also, check sourceforge for other QT Components.

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  26. Re:Fullscreen support? by scaryfish · · Score: 5, Informative
    No, you do not need to pay to get fullscreen. At least, not if you use a mac.

    Try the following AppleScript:

    tell application "QuickTime Player"
    activate
    set request to display dialog "Select a scaling, fool!" with icon note buttons {"normal", "double", "screen"} default button "screen"
    if button returned of request is "normal" then
    present movie 1 scale normal
    else if button returned of request is "double" then
    present movie 1 scale double
    else if button returned of request is "screen" then
    present movie 1 scale screen
    end if
    end tell
  27. Re:Quicktime sucks. Who cares? by green+pizza · · Score: 3, Informative

    Quicktime is a media wrapper with gobs of supported codecs and track types (it even supports a special text track for that MIDI karaoke fomat that never really took off). DVD Studio Pro, Final Cut Pro, and the OS X version of Shake are all very heavily QT-based. (As are iTunes, iMovie, iDVD, and even iPhoto).

    The "Quicktime Player" is just a free front-end demo sort of thing that doesn't want to die. Seeing how Apple has published all the specs for the QT framework, I'm amazed someone hasn't written a nicer player frontend.

    Most people only use QT for DV25/DVCPro25 and DV50/DVCPro50 video editing (and futher down the data path, MPEG2 for output). Be it at home from their MiniDV camera in iMovie and output to DVD via iDVD or a pro using Final Cut and DVD Studio.

    Soooo many of .mov files I ran across on the net use the worst possible codecs (maybe for better compatibility?) usually cinepak, which hasn't changed since Quicktime 1.0 in 1991. But then, that's not any worse than the people that output to AVI using something like the crusty old Indeo 1 codec... equal ass quality.

    I don't hate QT, it's part of what makes Macs and their applications a more sane world, but I do with QT had a few more codecs and wish there were some better frontends/players. (There were gobs of third-party/shareware/freeware QT player frontends back in the oldschool classic Mac OS days... but very few for OS X).

  28. Re:Hmmm.... by Fnkmaster · · Score: 3, Informative
    First of all, it's not vaporware. Secondly, Soundstudio is a Mac OS X app (I believe, assuming we're thinking of the same Soundstudio here), and there aren't any apps I know of for Windows that will open a _protected_ m4p file and encode the stream to an MP3 directly.


    Third, as I mentioned in my QTFairUse guide above, you might find that unprotected AAC audio which you can easily get from QTFairUse is a nice way to listen to your iTunes Music Store songs using WinAmp or non-Apple AAC-capable hardware players, without any quality loss whatsoever. The myths that QTFairUse doesn't work or do anything just aren't true - it is a pain to use in its current form, but it works, and it is useful for some of us. And it's the only way I know of besides stream recording or burn-and-rip to go from M4P to MP3 on a Windows box.

  29. Re:woah, cool, MOD PARENT UP by scaryfish · · Score: 3, Informative
    I should point out that the original script was by Mikey-San.

    I did make a few modifications, however.

  30. Toshiba 1.8" laptop drive specs (iPod too) by djupedal · · Score: 3, Informative

    1.8-inch HDD
    40.0 GB:
    MK4004GAH

    Lightweight, only 62 grams
    Low Power Consumption
    15ms Average Seek Time
    100MB/s Ultra DMA Transfer Rate
    300,000 MTTF Hours

    Sounds like a laptop drive to me...and a good one too! One that doesn't know the difference between audio, OS files, games or video...knock yourself out.

    Run it all you want, that's what the warranty/extended warranty is for. One year from Toshiba to Apple to you...more if you have Apple Care, CompUSA, etc.

  31. Re:Where is sort by path anf filename? by gerardrj · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yup. Your trying to fight iTunes instead of letting it work for and with you.

    Why would you have two instances of the same song on your machine unless they were from different albums, different encodings, or sample rates or such? iTunes just did you a favor, it found you some wasted hard drive space. Delete the duplicate(s) and move on.
    If they aren't exact duplicates then use the "View Options" to add the appropriate colums to the display so you can discerne the differences between the tracks.
    iTunes stores enough tag and other meta information that you should never have to sort files manually. Manual and smart playlists are tremendously powerful, especially when you can create smart playlists based on the contents of the "comments" box for each track. For example, I use terms like "male female group solo singing instrumental acoustic live remix" in the comments field. I have several smart playlists that sort on these, such as "live group rock"; this is powerful voodoo.

    To backup your comments and such, simply copy the "iTunes 4 Music Library" file. You can later restore it to the appropriate place and all will be well.

    Chances are that if you are going to "move my data on my machine to another location" that you would be moving the entire location of your "my documents" folder. iTunes would then look for its file(s) relative to that new location. If you DO just want to move the iTunes database, simply use a shortcut (alias to MAc users, symlink to BSD heads).

    Unless you are a geek who wants to tweak, there's little to no reason for iTunes to complicate matters by offering alternate locations for the database. The standard options allow for a centralized store of music, and each user to maintain their own ratings, comments, etc.

    The window maximize thing is annoying. It doesn't even work on the Mac like it's supposed to (hold Option, click the window zoom button). To make a maximized iTunes window you have to manually drag the window to size. Apple does occasionally break its own HIG documents, and this is one of those occasions.

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