Apple Releases iTunes SDK for Windows

amichalo writes "Apple's recent release of an iTunes SDK for Windows provides the ability for third party programs, such as WinAmp and Windows Media Player, to support the AAC file format. Ars Technica has additional commentary. The SDK uses the COM interface and supports iTunes 4.5 only."

Comments

Finally

[cameronk]

The original goal of the iPod was to drive Mac sales, although perhaps things are a bit upside down now. This SDK goes a long way, though not far enough, toward opening the iTunes music store and keeping the iPod (and therefore Apple) relevant.

Re:Finally

[Adian]

I think this is just another sign that Apple actually benefits from cross-platform applications. The roll-out of the IPod, then ITunes, it's all ultimately to make Apple products easier to use on Windows, since unfortunately it is running on a large share of home users desktops.

Re:Finally

[Have Blue]

Apple is only interested in cross-platform applications as long as they directly support the bottom line. iTunes allows more people to buy and use iPods, so it gets ported. There's no equivalent revenue stream for the other apps, so they wouldn't benefit from porting them and therefore won't do so.

Re:minor nag

[irokitt]

Anyone who has written even a simple game under Windows should know the basics of COM and how it works. Ditto for anyone who has done basic coding in C/C++/C# for Windows (and those who use VB for advanced coding instead of using it for a macro/prototyping tool). So quite a few developers are going to read that and chuckle. Of course, that was probably written by some marketing weenie who doesn't know any better.

Re:I don't think this does what you think it does.

[prockcore]

In fact, many OSX programs expose functionality like this via AppleScript -- a practice I wish were more widespread on other systems.

Other systems usually go with an object broker, which is much more powerful than (although not as easy as) providing applescript hooks.

On Windows you've got COM, on KDE you've got DCOP, on Gnome you've got CORBA.

DCOP is probably the easiest, most flexable, and most widely implemented (Practically every KDE app has DCOP support.. while under Gnome, very few use Corba, probably due to the real/percieved slowness of it)

Re:minor nag

[Lord Kano]

Take a little journey with me.

When discussing Jobs's Apple, it's all about image and the ability to rally the troops. Many Mac users are savvy programmers, but in my experience most are not. Those rank and file users will hoop, holler and cheer at this announcement. It's a great illustration of Apple's innovation.

LK

Re:misleading quote

[Talthane]

They mean the DRMed AAC format by apple

DRM-capable. I have plenty of AACs ripped from CD that are wide open. It's important to make the distinction, because AAC the file format has nothing to do with DRM per se; that's a commercial decision by the iTMS. You can happily distribute your AACs free of all DRM and fees if you want to, so don't blame the file format.

Re:misleading quote

[blowdart]

And the SDK doesn't even support that, it allows scripting/COM languages to drive iTunes

There is NOTHING about supporting FairPlay AAC in any external programs.

Of course Apple, like Real will whine about Media Player not supporting their formats, even though the DirectFilter SDK and specs have been around for years. Ogg supports it nicely, as does DIVX. Apple and Real just produce PR puff pieces, making bogus complaints. Of course they don't want people using Media Player, or WinAmp, as they loose the eyeballs and revenue they get forcing people to stick to their players.

If you really want to think about it, MS have a WM SDK, and a DRM SDK which they give away for FREE, so anyone can write a player (although for DRM you have to have a code signing key). More open than Apple? Shocking huh?

Re:minor nag

[should_be_linear]

"Anyone who has written even a simple game under Windows should know the basics of COM and how it works" Not true. I wrote many enterprise C++ applications and found COM ugly enough to avoid learning it. I prefere static linking. Applications in my opinion (and my life) should be self-contained, easy to deploy and portable. COM eliminates all 3 aspects. I think that even MS is trashing COM, only supporting it as "legacy" model (for .net).

Re:I know it won't happen...

[Anonymous Coward]

Ultimately, how you encode your file is your own choice. That said, you chose to use a proprietary file format (WMA), instead of a standard one (MP3). And now you complain^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hwish that this proprietary format would be fully supported by other firms ?

Re:minor nag

[TwistedSquare]

Having programmed games and used DirectX a lot (I assume that's what you're referring to) I still had no idea what COM was. You use it the same as using a class in C++ pretty much, except for the reference count thing, so why learn more?

Perhaps Apple won't have to...

[Vandil X]

Hewlett-Packard will soon be marketing its own hp-branded mp3 players based on iPod technology that will utilize iTunes. Perhaps HP, being a Windows PC provider, will utilize the Windows Media 9 Series SDK and add WMA support to iTunes.

Re:I know it won't happen...

[Refrag]

Now you know why you shouldn't use proprietary formats for archival use.

Re:minor nag

[Twirlip of the Mists]

Obviously there was a little bit of miscommunication between the marketing person who wrote the press release and the developer who told them what COM is.

Erm, no. Not exactly. Rather, the developer told the marketing guy what COM is, and the marketing guy replied, "Nobody cares about that. Tell me why people should care." The developer then rambled for ten minutes about remote object invocation and locational transparency. The marketing guy got up right in the middle of a sentence and said, "Lets you control iTunes, kinda like AppleScript. Got it. Thanks."