iTunes

= =iTunes=

[|iTunes] is a software program that lets you organize, purchase and listen to your music. Like most of the technological gadgets out there, iTunes was designed to serve several tasks. iTunes allows you to organize your music or video files in anyway you like, whether by artist, song name, genre, last played, ranking, and several others.


 * Radio**

iTunes includes an online radio, with 20 different genres and over 750 available stations, there is literally something for everyone. Just like satellite radio, all stations are commercial free and play only those songs in that genre.


 * Music Store**

In the iTunes music store you have more than 2 million songs, over 3,000 music videos, 25,000 podcasts, and more than 16,000 audio books to choose from. If it seems too good to be true it is because it is. It is $.99 per songs, $6.95 and up (most I saw was $37.95) for an audio book, the podcasts are free. This is the feature of iTunes that Apple pushes the most. On just about all, if not all, songs listed in the library, there is a link that will take you to more songs by that artist or even a link to the CD that song appears on.

In an attempt to stop or decrease the ever so popular illegal downloading, Apple is charging $.99 per song. It does not seem like a lot, but it is safe, gives credit to the artist, and hopefully boosts up the ever falling record sales. The upside to iTunes music store over peer-to-peer (P2P) programs is that if you are looking for older or less popular music, the iTunes store is more likely to have it. Because it is P2P, if it is not popular not that many people have it the search results on a Limewire program will come back negative.


 * Shared Music**

You can also share your music. Unlike programs such as Kazaa or Limewire, iTunes allows people on the same network to share their music libraries. So you can be sitting in class and listening to your favorite song, the catch is that you did not download it, the person 3 rows in front of you did. However, because Apple wants to avoid trouble, you are not able to transfer songs from person to person or download songs in other people’s library. Apple would much prefer that you transfer your music library to your iPod. Also, when that person closes the program you are not able to access their library. One should think of the iTunes sharing as tapping someone on the shoulder and asking them if you could listen with one of their headphones. When they have to go, they ask you for their headphone back and as a result, there goes your favorite song.

Music Store and Radio numbers from http://www.apple.com/itunes/overview/
 * References:

iTunes image Courtesy of http://www.apple.com/ca/itunes/