Itunes

Facebook adds iTunes content to gifting platform

Looking to give your friend the perfect birthday gift, or want an easy way to give your kids a gift card for the holidays? Facebook announces Monday that it will be integrating iTunes gift cards and content into its digital gifts platform.

Player FM makes podcasts look cool again

Player FM. wants to make it easier to consume podcasts across different devices: The web-based curation and playback platform was launched by former Googler Michael Mahemoff just a few days ago, but Mahemoff is already thinking about bringing new ad formats and micropayments to podcasts.

Podcasting 101: Apple’s way of managing podcasts

The challenge is no longer finding a great podcast, but automating the subscription process on the device you intend to listen on. Here’s a step-by-step guide for all the different ways you can subscribe and sync your favorite podcasts to any device.

Why Amazon’s tablet can do well without being an iPad killer

Early details about a forthcoming Amazon tablet indicate it could have a potential success on its hands. Many have been quick to label it the first legitimate iPad challenger. But should Amazon have tablet success, it doesn’t mean Apple will sell fewer iPads.

Fox’s New Girl gets free, early debut online

In a somewhat uncharacteristic move, Fox has released one of its new fall shows early on the iTunes Store. You can now download the full pilot episode of Fox’s New Girl, a half-hour comedy starring Zooey Deschanel, for free with a U.S. iTunes account.

Miro 4.0 Launches With Android Media and App Syncing

The open-source media player Miro just received a major update: Miro 4 includes the ability to sync media with Android devices, buy Android apps and share files in your home network. Call it iTunes for Android, or simply an open-source challenge to DoubleTwist.

Kevin Smith’s Red State Experiment Has Already Paid for Itself

Thanks to an ambitious multi-city road trip in which Kevin Smith traveled to screenings of his latest film and spoke with audiences afterward, satirical horror film Red State has already made back the $4 million budget production company SMODcast Pictures invested in the film.

Hands on With Amazon’s Cloud Drive, Cloud Player

Amazon beat Apple and Google to the punch with an online music locker for storage and web playback, both on the desktop and on Google Android phones. I took the service for a spin to see how well it works for playback, purchases, and uploads.

Tim Cook Hints at iTunes Plans for NC Data Center

Speaking at the firm’s annual shareholder meeting, Apple COO Tim Cook addressed the company’s new data centers, worker mistreatment in China and Apple’s success thus far in that market. Shareholders also rejected a resolution requiring the board to disclose a detailed succession plan.

How to Fix TV Show Sorting on iOS Devices

If you acquire television shows from sources other than the iTunes Store for enjoyment on your iOS device, some of that enjoyment may be frustrated by a bug that inexplicably missorts shows and episodes. Luckily, the fix is simple, if a little illogical.

Apple Turns on 90-Second iTunes Song Previews

Apple made good on its promise to extend iTunes song previews to 90 seconds very early Thursday, Dec. 9. Only some songs 2:30 and longer will get the new preview length, though, with shorter tracks and some exceptions retaining the original 30 second preview length.

iTunes Song Previews to Triple in Length to 90 Seconds

In a recent email to music labels and providers, Apple announced that previews will be soon tripled in length. Song previews for tracks over 2:30 will now be 90 seconds instead of 30 seconds in the iTunes Store. Reaction to the change appears to be mixed.

A Call for Sanity: Are 300,000 Apps Too Many?

According to some reports, there are now 300,000 apps available for iOS devices. Whether or not the number is actually there yet, it will be soon, and that’s an impressive feat for Apple. But is it the best thing for Apple consumers and iOS developers?

iOS 101: Manage Your Family’s iTunes Store Spending

Even if your kids understand the value of a dollar, do they appreciate how quickly they add up when using an iOS device? Unprotected iDevices can lead to big accidental iTunes charges. Here’s how to stop that from happening to you and your family.

Orb’s Streaming Music Puck Shoots, But Will it Score?

Orb’s Music Puck, a $69 device that streams digital over a home network is launching just two months before Apple’s similar AirPlay functionality arrives in iOS devices. Music on Orb is controlled with a free smartphone app. Can Orb’s new hardware compete against Apple’s music juggernaut?

Publishers Should Be Careful What They Wish For

Apple is reportedly talking with a number of newspaper and magazine publishers about an iTunes-based newsstand that would allow them to offer subscriptions to readers. But while this seems like an appealing offer, publishers should be aware of how much they stand to lose as well.

Freakonomics Hits iTunes, Amazon & VOD Before Theaters

The film adaptation of the popular book Freakonomics will be hitting movie theaters on Oct. 1, but anxious viewers can watch it now if they want, with rentals of the Freakonomics film available for just $9.99 on Apple’s iTunes, Amazon Video On Demand, and cable VOD.

iTunes 10 Interface: Where Apple Went Wrong

Almost every year, Apple releases a new version of iTunes with some new feature. Last year it was Home Sharing. This year, it’s Ping. Apple also usually tweaks the UI, many times creating a backlash. This year Apple has outdone itself.

Quick Tip: Make iTunes 10 Window Controls Horizontal

iTunes 10 was released yesterday and brought with it a few UI overhauls. There currently isn’t a way to bring back the colored icons in the sidebar, but there sure is a way to get the window controls back to their former positions.

How-To: Join Audio Files Together Into Audiobooks

It can be a real hassle putting an audiobook into iTunes when it’s split into many different files. Lucky for you, I have a method, absolutely free, to make listening to books a pleasure again by combining all the separate files into one audiobook file.

The Onion Puts a Price on News From the Future

While The Onion News Network, delivering the Onion’s skewed POV on news, is typically free to watch, this month the network is experimenting with a premium offering available for $1.99. The justification for charging is this: This news broadcast comes from the future.

iPhone OS Got a New Name, So When Will iTunes?

By now, a lot folks with an iPhone have been running iOS 4, the new name for iPhone OS. But if Apple has seen the point in renaming the OS, at what point will it admit that iTunes is horribly named at this point in time?

iTunes Accounts for 28% of U.S. Music Sales

Apple’s iTunes now accounts for 28 percent of all music sales within the U.S. This four percent gain since Q1 2009 detail that Apple’s digital store still holds the top spot as the number one music retailer within the U.S.

TechUniversity: Smart Playlists

Ever wanted to listen to all your Rock music? Or wanted to hear only your recent music purchases? We’ll walk you through creating a Smart Playlist and how to set up different “rules” to control what songs automatically show up in your playlist.

Zinio’s New AIR App Shows the Future of Magazines

Digital magazines aren’t new, but the latest version of Zinio is. This new Adobe AIR application lets you read magazines on Windows, Mac or Linux computers and the experience is immersive. With dynamic content, live web links and interactive media, this is the future of magazines.

Apple’s iTunes LP 6 Months Later: LP What?

If Apple’s iTunes LP format was supposed to give music fans a new reason to buy albums instead of individual songs, its impact on record sales has been a major disappointment. Six months after its introduction, the format is more a curiosity than a game-changer.

The Path to 10 Billion iTunes Downloads

[digg=http://digg.com/apple/Apple_iTunes_Path_to_10_Billion_Songs_Sold_Infographic] Related GigaOM Pro Research (sub. required): Forget Syncing, Let’s Put Music in the Cloud How to Manage Access to Digital Content…

Will YouTube Begin Charging for TV Shows?

YouTube (s GOOG) is in talks with content providers to add a pay-per view element to its business, which would allow partners to charge end users to view some premium content on the online video site, say “multiple sources.”

Apple Launches iTunes Preview

This is one of those items I find so hard to get behind, rather like the infrequent (boring) updates to MobileMe. But…

Kindle Software Coming to the Mac

The competition is really heating up in the e-reader market. Hot on the heels of Barnes & Noble’s (s bn) newly-released Nook…

iTunes Tweets: How Spamtastic!

Right now, as you read this, there are five iTunes-flavored profiles over on Twitter, providing their followers with SMS-length dispatches on music,…

Patent Dispute Goes After iTunes

It just wouldn’t feel right getting through a month without another lawsuit. Apple (s aapl) is in the firing line this time…

Songbird Gets a New Set of Wings

Pioneers of the Inevitable, makers of Songbird, the open-source alternative to iTunes, has just secured a new round of financing, saving it…

iTunes Needs to Get Social

The Apple (s aapl) rumor mill never stops. This week, the Financial Times is claiming that Apple is working hand-in-hand with record…

AVG Antivirus Update Targets iTunes

It seems Windows users are not only at risk from software viruses, but also from antivirus software. Over the weekend antivirus software…

Become a Mac Power User: iTunes

We’ve posted Power User tips focusing on OS X as a whole (look for an update post for the not-far-off Snow Leopard)…

True Lies of Music Industry

Sometimes you can’t make this stuff up: “Music companies aren’t tech companies, although we depend on tech innovation for the evolution of…

Why Apple's iTunes Concessions Are a Double-Edged Sword

Apple finally acquiesced to the demands of the record labels and introduced variable pricing to its iTunes music store. That’s good news for consumers, who also get DRM-free music. The problem is, it won’t fix what ails the music business, which by agreeing to 69-cents-and-up pricing might be setting consumer expectations even lower. No one ever said record labels were smart.

RSS Feed of New Apps

Pinch Media is a small company that serves iPhone developers (and iPhone users). They are located in New York and get a…

9.5 Million Songs Per Day

On February 27th, Apple announced that it had sold 4 billion songs total in the iTunes Music Store. Today, Apple quietly announced…

iTunes And Alternate Endings

A Tumblr post by Truong Nguyen regarding an alternate ending for “I Am Legend” struck a serious chord in me today, and…

CoverSutra

I love iTunes (and my massive music library); if my MBP is open, there’s a 98% chance that it’s got music coming…

Lord of the Birds…Songbird

I have been playing around with the latest beta version of the Songbird multimedia browser based on Mozilla Firefox’s core technologies. It…

iTunes Gets The Led In

While the world was clamoring for Apple to add the Beatles to its offerings on iTunes, another classic digital music holdout, Led…

DRM-Free Tracks From iTunes on Tuesday?

It appears that we may be hearing from Apple in a few hours, on the topic of DRM-Free digital music downloads. Details…

Amazon MP3: Look out iTunes

Today Amazon launched its public beta of Amazon MP3. Amazon MP3 is Amazon.com’s foray into the digital music scene…and a it’s an…

Share Your iTunes — Simply

Thanks to innovative software Simplify Media, sharing your killer iTunes library has never been easier. In the good ol’ days before DRM…