Apple Releases Major iTunes Update

shunnicutt writes "Apple has released iTunes 4.5 (and iPod software 2.2 and QuickTime 6.5.1) and relaxed some iTunes Music Store restrictions: now tracks you purchased can be authorized to play on up to five other computers, instead of three. However, they reduced the number of times you can burn a playlist to an audio CD from ten to seven. Another new feature is iMix, which allows you to publish playlists on iTMS, including comments on each track. The iTMS also offers a weekly free single for download." crazney adds "This release also changes their network sharing protocol in a way that breaks the open source iTunes sharing applications that have been released (based on my work on iTunes 4.2's DRM)." kefoo writes "Among the new features is Apple Lossless Encoding, which claims to compress losslessly to half the size of uncompressed CD quality audio." Hm, and I was about to re-rip all my CDs at 320 kbps MP3 ... Update: 04/28 14:56 GMT by P : I just tested, and I can listen to previously de-DRM'd AAC files from playfair, but I cannot use either playfair or FairTunes any longer. The former "Couldn't get DRM key for user," and the latter produces a blank file.

Comments

Another Apple "Innovation"

[asv108]

Among the new features is Apple Lossless Encoding, which claims to compress losslessly to half the size of uncompressed CD quality audio.

Why not support open standards and open source and use FLAC? Looks like another apple "innovation" that is just a copy of another product, in this case FLAC, SHN.

ACK!

[artemis67]

4.5 music sharing is incompatible with 4.0!

I hate Apple's "forced upgrade" policy... sigh.

Re:ACK!

[artemis67]

Yes, they are forcing us to upgrade. When you have a significant number of people on the LAN sharing iTunes music, and 4.5 tells you that it won't connect to 4.0 streams, then everybody has to upgrade at one time or the program loses a significant part of its usefulness. To have 4.0 not connect to 4.5 is understandable as technology advances... but to not be able to connect 4.5 to the last version is ridiculous. If I had known that in advance, I wouldn't have upgraded, but it wasn't in the Read Me (which I actually read this time!)

You talk about the program being FREE as if Apple has descended from heaven and graciously bestowed on us a most precious gift. No, it's not that way at all. Apple is fighting for marketshare, and I am doing them the greater service by downloading and using their program. It IS generating a revenue stream from me. My iTMS purchases have undoubtably paid for the product many times over. I am the consumer; if they want MY attention and MY money, they better focus on MY happiness.

Re:Why is this news?

[amichalo]

Satisfied?

Not really. I thought you might have some intelligent reasons. You don't provide any facts. You hardly provide reasons (How is "OS X belongs where Windows does, in a Windows." a reason for disliking OS X?).

I thought you were going to provide some interesting assertions.

BTW, 1. Apple held well over 15% market share in he 1980's, 2. You can choose to have iTunes NOT move your music by selecting so in the preferences.