SillyDog701

[Antony]

iTunes 4.5 for Mac and Windows released now.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/

It has CD case printing and new playlist shuffle.

Also, it's been one year since the opening of iTunes Music Store.

Still, the iTunes Music Store is only available in USA.

P.S. anyone lives in USA kindly enough to buy me iTunes Music Store Gift Certificates, please contact me

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[DJGM]

I'm installing it now.

Meanwhile, I wish they'd offer a version of the iTunes for Windows software, without
bundling QuickTime. I know iTunes requires QuickTime for some of it's functionality,
but then they should consider those that may already have QuickTime installed.

There should be an option on the download page to get a copy that doesn't have a
bundled copy QuickTime included. When setup is run, it would check the system to
ensure that a suitably upto date version of QuickTime is installed. If there is, then
the installation would proceed as normal. If QuickTime appear not to be installed,
then it would prompt the user to click a link on the installer UI that opens their
default browser to the QuickTime download page on Apple's website.

The iTunes installation would then continue once QuickTime has been installed.

Because a copy of QuickTime comes bundled with the Windows version of iTunes
this means I have two installations of QuickTime on my PC, but only one shows
up in the Add/Remove Programs. Now as good as both iTunes and QuickTime
are as media players, I wish Apple would think of these things first.

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[Antony]

Another two exciting new features of iTunes 4.5
• Automaically convert WMA to AAC.
  Ability to save AAC from unprotected WMA (Windows only)
• Apple Lossless, new lossless encoder to import music from CDs and achieve sound quality indistinguishable from the original.

Now, there are some problems with the new Apple Lossless, (as reported in Whirlpool Forums, Australian's broadband discussion forum)

Michael Kratz tested the file size...
(1411kbit) WAV Original - 40.9MB
320kbit AAC in iTunes 4.2 - 9.4MB
320kbit AAC in iTunes 4.5 - 9.3MB
1009kbit Apple Lossless - 29.3MB

The *huge* file size may create a problem for iPods as the buffer RAM is only 32Mbyte in iPod, you might get music interruption (paused) when buffer runs out.
Hans Blix has a nice explanation,

Typically, 32mb will allow for (roughly) 6 or 7 tracks to be pre-loaded into memory. Once the Ipod gets to the last song queued up in memory, it thinks "oh, I'll run out music in a few minutes, I should buffer up some more", so it goes ahead and cues up the next 6 or 7, making the buffering process seamless.

However, when playing an uncompressed file, such as an AIFF or WAV, the iPod can only fit, at most, 32mb of the file in. Therefore, if the song is larger than that, it gets to the end of the memory buffer before realising "oh dear, I need to buffer up some more".

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[Josh]

I have written my impressions of iTunes 4.5 in my blog...

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