Filed under: iTunes

Filed under: Multimedia, Internet Tools, iTunes, iPhone, Music

Boo Hoo! SimplifyMedia dropping products and changing direction

by Mel Martin (RSS feed) on Mar 13th, 2010

The problem is, we just don't know where they're going. In a Saturday blog post, the company announced it is "...taking a new direction" and won't be offering their current apps to new users.

SimplifyMedia has been offering free software for computer-to-computer and iPhone-to-computer music sharing over the internet. Using the iPhone app, you could connect to your computer at home and stream albums, playlists or songs without any complicated firewall setups. A newer version of the software also allowed remote access to your iPhoto library.

It also looks like the company is going to slowly sunset current customer accounts but will continue to keep them functioning for at least another 3 months.

The Simplify iPhone app has been removed from the App Store, and the company says new account creation will be disabled soon.

I don't have any idea where the company is headed, but the current product will be missed. SimplifyMedia was offered for Mac, PC and Ubuntu.

[Thanks to Robert for the tip]

Tags: iPhone, media sharing, media streaming, photo sharing, SimplifyMedia

Filed under: iTS, Retail, iTunes, Apple

Report: RIAA pressured Apple into creating iTunes LP

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Mar 9th, 2010

This feature over at GigaOM has quite a few interesting insights about the iTunes LP program -- while Apple sells it wholeheartedly as "the visual experience of the record album," it appears the story behind the story is not quite so clean. According to an anonymous source in the industry (note, not Apple themselves), the service didn't come from Cupertino. Instead, it was designed by record companies, and agreed to by Apple as a "concession" to "make a gesture in favor of album sales." The piece also states that Apple subsidized the creation of the first few "LPs," some of which cost up to $60,000 to assemble and license.

As you might expect with any other less-than-popular product at Apple, iTunes LP isn't exactly being thrown into the spotlight, either. While a much more visual music experience would be perfect for the iPad, GigaOM notes that it didn't even merit a mention by Jobs at the iPad announcement. It's certainly possible that iTunes LP could find a new home in the future, if bands really get behind the service and make their own (a few have, as noted, but the cost seems pretty prohibitive, especially if sales aren't that impressive), but from what this anonymous source says, the LP service is a record company concession that hasn't paid off for Apple even in the way its originators hoped.

[via iPodNN]

Tags: apple, concessions, drm, gigaom, itunes lp, itunes-lp, ItunesLp, program, record-companies

Filed under: Apple Corporate, iTS, Apple Financial, iTunes

Apple pressuring music publishers over Amazon Daily Deal

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Mar 4th, 2010

Amazon has used low-priced, exclusive "Daily Deals" to promote its MP3 store successfully, and Apple's not happy about it. In fact, the iTunes team is trying to talk publishers out of participating.

According to Billboard, participating labels entered into the program with Amazon in 2008 without paying a thing. It was simply meant to increase the store's publicity. Two years later, that's changed. An unnamed major-label head of sales told Billboard that "[the] promotion morphed into something where the labels make arrangements to provide an exclusive selling window with Amazon for a big release expected to do a lot of business on street date [the day the new release is available for general retail sales]."

Two years in, the labels are motivated to offer Amazon first dibs on major releases at a significant discount, and that's gotten Apple's attention. Billboard's sources suggest that iTunes executives are trying to persuade labels to stop offering Amazon these exclusives, and have even gone so far as to pull their own promotions for those releases.

In response, Billboard reports, certain label executives recently opted out of Daily Deal promotions for such big names as Corinne Bailey Rae, Lady Antebellum and Ke$ha (Sony Music Entertainment denies considering a Daily Deal promotion for Ke$ha's "Animal"). Additionally, Amazon is said to be altering the deal to not require exclusivity, but Apple's still unsatisfied.

Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to sell digital music.

[Via AppleInsider]

Tags: amazon, apple financial, AppleFinancial, daily deals, DailyDeals, itunes, itunes store, ItunesStore

Filed under: Software, Freeware, iTunes, iPhone

Boston creates app to report road problems

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Mar 3rd, 2010

Since moving to LA, I haven't quite had to deal with the potholes that Spring in Chicago usually brings (not that roads are any better out here, but at least they don't have to deal with all of the freezing and thawing). But despite the yearly flat tires and ruined alignments, Chicago hasn't gone quite as far as Boston, where the city government has developed not one but two apps to enable its citizens to report on potholes and other city issues.

Citizens Connect is an app developed late last year by the city that enables locals to report graffiti, potholes, broken streetlights, and other urban issues in the Boston area, and now they're working on a new app, nicknamed BUMP (for Boston Urban Mechanic Profiler), that will automatically transmit road conditions to a central database using the iPhone's accelerometer and data connection. That seems tough to do with all of the extra noise that must come from an accelerometer, but they are working with a researcher from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, so maybe they will be able to pull it off. Interesting to see metropolitan areas like this using newer technology to keep an eye on what's up in their city. Of course, actually fixing the potholes will take a little more work, but knowing what's wrong is helpful.

Tags: app, boston, boston urban mechanic profiler, BostonUrbanMechanicProfiler, bump, chicago, city-government, helpful, potholes, worcester polytechnic institute, WorcesterPolytechnicInstitute

Filed under: Apple Corporate, iTS, Apple Financial, iTunes

Apple announces winner of the 10 billion songs promotion

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Feb 25th, 2010

Just yesterday Apple's iTunes store reached a huge milestone -- 10 billion songs sold. That's an incredible number. In fact, it's almost as incredible as the prize that Mr. Louie Sulcer of Woodstock, Georgia received for buying the magic song. As his reward, he received a $10,000 iTunes gift card, which he may use towards any of the music, TV shows, movies, apps, books, etc. in the store.

What was the 10 billionth song downloaded? "Guess Things Happen That Way" by Johnny Cash.

Apple's vice president of Internet Services Eddy Cue remarked on the milestone in a recent press release. "We're proud that iTunes has become the number one music retailer in the world, and selling 10 billion songs is truly staggering."

Congratulations to Mr. Sulcer! Enjoy that hefty gift card. Might we suggest a little Battlestar Galactica [iTunes link]?

[Via MacDailyNews]

Tags: apple financial, AppleFinancial, itunes, itunes store, ItunesStore, retail

Filed under: iTunes, Mac 101

Mac 101: How to use the iTunes parental controls

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Feb 24th, 2010

As Apple removes sexually suggestive apps from the App Store (and is evidently preparing a Red Light District for the future), users are wondering how they can protect their kids from certain content. With that in mind, here's an overview of the parental controls in iTunes.

Note that the screenshot at right is from iTunes 9.0.3. Older versions look slightly different. Parental controls are only available in iTunes 5 and later.

To access these settings, select Preferences from the iTunes menu, and then click the Parental tab. Here you've got several options.

First, you can disable access to podcasts, internet radio or the iTunes Store completely. Note that you can keep iTunes U accessible while disabling the rest of the store. Additionally, you can deny access to shared libraries. Once turned off, these items won't appear in the left sidebar of the iTunes window.

Continue reading “Mac 101: How to use the iTunes parental controls”

Tags: how to, HowTo, itunes, itunes store, ItunesStore, mac 101, Mac101, parental controls, ParentalControls

Filed under: iTunes, Apple

Apple sells 10 billionth iTunes download

by Aron Trimble (RSS feed) on Feb 24th, 2010

As speculated earlier today, Apple did in fact manage to sell their 10 billionth iTunes download. This represents a huge milestone for both Apple and the music industry. Apple has revolutionized the music industry with the iPod and iTunes. It seems like only yesterday that Apple sold the 500 millionth song to much fanfare. It's pretty clear that this whole digital music thing has really caught on. Here's to another 10 billion Apple, from your fans at TUAW.

Tags: contest, ipod, itunes, itunes store, ItunesStore

Filed under: Multimedia, Video, iTunes

TV networks continue to resist iTunes price cuts

by Chris Rawson (RSS feed) on Feb 22nd, 2010

Apple has been courting US TV networks recently in a bid to get them to drop episode pricing from its current level of $1.99 down to $0.99. The New York Times reports that, predictably, many TV networks are resisting Apple's push for lower episode prices, even though iTunes's initial $0.99 per song price point is arguably what made purchasing digital music palatable to consumers.

Music sales through the iTunes store have fallen off recently, at least partially because of record labels' demands for a price hike to $1.29 per song for popular tracks. Meanwhile, though TV shows have been available for download in the iTunes Store since 2005, only 375 million shows have been downloaded in that time -- compared to nearly 9.5 billion songs downloaded over the same period. With a reported 125 million iTunes Store accounts, that equates to an average of 76 song downloads per customer compared to a paltry 3 TV episodes downloaded.

Click the "Read More" link to find out more about the current state of TV on iTunes.

Continue reading “TV networks continue to resist iTunes price cuts”

Tags: iTunes, iTunes Store, TV

Filed under: iTS, Software, iTunes, Developer, iPhone, App Store

Gameloft says they've got iPhone locked down

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Feb 20th, 2010

Gameloft is one of the bigger iPhone-specific (or at least mobile-specific) game developers out there, and in fact they're so big, they tell Mobile Entertainment that they're not scared of their development partner Ubisoft and other big game developers headed to the iPhone. Ubisoft developed the most recent Assassin's Creed game for the iPhone, but Gameloft developed the first, and Gameloft's Gonzague de Vallois says that their game had better ratings and sales.

To a certain extent, yes, the App Store creates a level playing field for game developers, and allows companies even smaller than Gameloft to get their games out to a mass audience and gain a following based simply on gameplay, not necessarily marketing or other factors. But despite Gameloft's bragging, some of the most popular titles on the App Store, from Rock Band to Call of Duty: World at War Zombies, are able to tie a successful brand into an app that features solid gameplay. Yes, Gameloft has been able to shine on the App Store. But I wouldn't count big developers out yet -- they're still learning how to use the iPhone's marketplace, and I think we'll continue to see big successes from bigger developer in the future.

[Via Slide-to-play]

Tags: app store, app-store, developers, gameloft, iphone, rock band, rock-band, RockBand, ubisoft, zombies

Filed under: iTS, Software, Internet Tools, iTunes, Apple, App Store

App Store categories get browser pages

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Feb 19th, 2010

Apple has apparently taken another step towards bringing iTunes to the browser, as you can now browse actual categories of the iTunes store right in regular HTML rather than having to click over into iTunes. There's still no support for television or movies, but you can dive in from categories to artists and then even explore and preview songs, right in your browser of choice. Assuming, of course, that your browser of choice is Firefox or Safari -- while Chrome or IE will probably work, we haven't tested them extensively yet.

All we need now is for iTunes to cut it out with the automatic jump into iTunes -- even though your browser will load up a real page in the background, the browser store still tries to throw an external link request out to iTunes. Our own Brett Terpstra found that when you copy or type a browser link directly into your browser, the store won't try to open, but if you click in from an external link (like those here on TUAW), iTunes will try to open. Apple may not want us just browsing iTunes outside of the official app, but it would be nice for those of us who are pointing out iTunes content to folks who may not actually have iTunes installed to have a link to share.

For more fun tricks you can do with do with browser-based app store links, look here.

Tags: apple, browser, categories, chrome, firefox, itunes, safari, store

Filed under: Multimedia, Retail, Software, iTunes, Apple, iPhone, App Store

$1000 iPhone law exam review app sends traditional publisher running for cover

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Feb 16th, 2010

You readers were skeptical that BarMax, the iPhone app that offered up a full law prep system for $1000, would make too big a splash in the law prep community. But apparently that's exactly what happened -- three weeks later, BarBri, one of the more traditional competitors to the new app, has made significant changes to their pricing and service that appear to be aimed at keeping law students away from BarMax. First, they've decided to offer complete online access for free to every student that takes their courses (we don't know how much they charged previously, but it used to be an additional cost). Second, in direct opposition to BarMax's "buy once, use forever" deal, they've allowed students to save at least $2000 every time they retake the test courses, by offering retakes for free as well.

That's pretty incredible. Just by offering up one much cheaper alternative through Apple's iPhone platform, BarMax has already started to revamp the entire business. Of course, I couldn't tell you anything about the quality of these two programs (and whether either BarMax or BarBri is worth using at all), but clearly BarBri smells danger in the wind. It's just not possible to publish content the old way when even one competitor has an alternative through cheaper channels, and the App Store model is as cheap a channel as you can get.

Just imagine what's going to happen when the iPad opens up iBooks and launches the revolution in education publishing that everyone's talking about. The next twelve months are going to be very interesting for textbook customers and/or publishers.

Tags: app, barbri, barmax, business, education, free, ipad, iphone, retakes, technology, thousand-dollars, updates

Filed under: Macworld, Hardware, iTunes, Music

Macworld 2010: Hands-on with Algoriddim's djay 3

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Feb 13th, 2010

DJ software tends to be hit or miss -- the ability to make a music player match beats on songs, even with different tempos, has been around for a while. For most software designed to allow you to mix and play music, the interface is the important part. What you want is a nice clean interface that's simple enough for almost anyone to pick up and use, but complex enough that DJs who know their stuff can take advantage of deeper features and functionality. Fortunately, that's exactly what Algoriddim has put together in the newest version of their app, djay 3. The app offers an excellent interface with quite a few nice touches of flash, and also offers up solid functionality for those who know their way around the ones and twos.

Continue reading “Macworld 2010: Hands-on with Algoriddim's djay 3”

Tags: algoriddim, app, dj, hands-on, itunes-dj, macworld, software, tuaw

Filed under: iTunes

Apple's iTunes nears 10 billionth song download

by Michael Grothaus (RSS feed) on Feb 11th, 2010

Apple has announced it is nearing the 10 billion mark for iTunes music downloads.

iTunes changed the way you buy music, making songs and albums available for download, day or night. Seven years later, we're about to celebrate our biggest milestone for music, yet -- 10 billion songs downloaded.

In celebration of this, Apple is running a promotion that awards a $10,000 iTunes gift card to the person who downloads the 10 billionth song.

The promotion is open to residents (age 13 or higher) of all fifty States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada (excluding the Province of Quebec), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

You can enter up to 25 times a day by buying songs. Alternatively, Apple doesn't require you to purchase a song to qualify for the promotion: they've set up a handy "No Purchase Necessary" form which you can fill out up to 25 times per day.

From the tally on their counter, it looks like they come 1,000 songs closer to the 10 billionth download every eleven seconds. At the time of this writing, that means they should hit the 10 billion mark in a little over two weeks.

Apple has posted the Official Rules here.

Tags: 10 billion songs, 10BillionSongs, giveaway, itunes, itunes gift card, itunes music store, ItunesGiftCard, ItunesMusicStore, promotion

Filed under: iTunes, iPad

Apple rolling out $1 TV shows for iPad launch?

by Kent Pribbernow (RSS feed) on Feb 11th, 2010

According to a story posted by the Financial Times on Wednesday, Apple may be in talks with studios to bring $1 TV shows to iTunes, as part of the official iPad launch. Apparently this will be a test to model for the company to see whether cheaply-priced content will spur sales. Given yesterday's news about declining iTunes music growth due to higher prices, I'm betting it will.

The story goes on to claim that Apple has been engaged in secret talks with major networks for the past few months, to cut prices on standard definition TV shows in half -- currently priced at $1.99. The reason behind this move is the iPad's 4:3 aspect ratio, ideally suited for standard def content which Apple hopes consumers will eagerly download at a buck a pop.

True or not, I just hope we see this long-rumored $30 subscription model we've been hearing about, so I can finally tell the nice folks at Comcast where they can put their cable. Hint: not in my home.

Tags: one dollar, OneDollar, sd, TV

Filed under: Accessories, iTunes, iPhone

Make your iPhone hands-free for less than the price of a ticket

by David Winograd (RSS feed) on Feb 10th, 2010

In most states it's illegal to drive while holding an iPhone to your ear, with the average price of a ticket coming in at at least $100. Personally, I'm lucky since my Lexus 400h, like many cars, allows me to make and take calls through my car stereo. My interaction is limited to receiving calls by pressing a green button, and then pressing with a red hang up button on the steering wheel to end the call. Now Parrot has provided that same functionality to any car for less than the price of a ticket, namely US$99.99.

The Parrot Minikit Slim is an ingenious device that clips onto your sun visor. After Bluetooth pairing to your iPhone, installation is complete. It automatically downloads your iPhone contact list and then voice-enables that list. Push the green button and tell it who to call, and it dials the number for you. If there are two numbers associated to your contact, you'll be prompted for either 'home' or 'mobile', similar to the Voice Command function on the iPhone.

The Minikit Slim is self-contained including a microphone and speaker. When your call is done, you simply push the red button and disconnect the call. The idea is simple, but the functionality is incredibly useful since you can move the Minikit Slim to any car. Outside of its obvious use as a hands-free kit, I can see it being quite valuable at the intersection of road warriors and rental cars. If your iPhone is synced with a Windows machine, it will download the address book, so it's fully cross-platform. The Minikit Slim won't weigh you down, either -- it weighs only about three ounces.

Continue reading “Make your iPhone hands-free for less than the price of a ticket”

Tags: bluetooth, car stereo, CarStereo, parrot, parrot minikit slim, parrot MKi9000, Parrot MKi9200, Parrot Rki8400, ParrotMinikitSlim, ParrotMki9000, ParrotMki9200, ParrotRki8400

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Filed under: iTunes

Boo Hoo! SimplifyMedia dropping products and changing direction

Report: RIAA pressured Apple into creating iTunes LP

Apple pressuring music publishers over Amazon Daily Deal

Boston creates app to report road problems

Apple announces winner of the 10 billion songs promotion

Mac 101: How to use the iTunes parental controls

Apple sells 10 billionth iTunes download

TV networks continue to resist iTunes price cuts

Gameloft says they've got iPhone locked down

App Store categories get browser pages

$1000 iPhone law exam review app sends traditional publisher running for cover

Macworld 2010: Hands-on with Algoriddim's djay 3

Apple's iTunes nears 10 billionth song download

Apple rolling out $1 TV shows for iPad launch?

Make your iPhone hands-free for less than the price of a ticket

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