Tag Archives: itunes

iTunes 11.0.3 Brings Revamped MiniPlayer & Better Album Management

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Forget its status as the iOS management suite; iTunes is among the most popular music players on desktops. After all, not many players let you purchase songs and albums from right within them. When it comes to features, iTunes is good enough to hold its own against any competitor. The only area where it was slightly lacking was the interface, but that issue was addressed pretty efficiently in the iTunes 11 visual overhaul. The MiniPlayer was among the features that got a complete makeover in the November update, and people liked it so much that there have even been attempts to emulate MiniPlayer view on iPhone and iPod touch devices. Apparently, even the existing MiniPlayer wasn’t good enough for Apple, despite its popularity, and that is why it has been tweaked a little more in the latest iTunes update. There can be no denying the fact that MiniPlayer changes constitute a large part of the iTunes 11.0.3 change log, but there are other changes as well, including more efficient management for albums with multiple disks and and a ‘Song View’ that looks better than ever. Read More

MiniPlayer Is An Always-On-Top Floating Music Widget For iPhone

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Looks like the developers over at the Cydia store are looking to fill the Home screens of all iPhone owners with interactive widgets today. The much-anticipated Velox came out earlier, and a unique (albeit less feature-rich) tweak by the name of MiniPlayer is sure to ‘wow’ a lot of people as well. Apple revamped the iTunes interface in its latest version 11, but the feature that has garnered the most praise is the mini player widget. The widget is great for controlling music if you are using multiple applications simultaneously, or are just too lazy to go to iTunes to merely pause playback. The MiniPlayer tweak brings the same widget to iPhone, letting users keep an eye on their playback even if they are playing a game or using an app on their device. The widget can be hidden when you are not using it, making it perfect for everyday use. Read More

Remotely Control Mac Brightness, Volume & Media Apps From Android

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There are quite a few apps available in the App Store that allow you to control your Mac. Likewise, there is an equivalent number of apps in the Mac App Store that allow you to control your iOS device. We have covered a fair number of both, but if your desktop computer is a Mac and your preferred phone runs Android, you might not find many apps to bridge this gap. Mac Remote is an Android app that lets you control iTunes, VLC player, iPhoto, Spotify, Quicktime, MPplayerX, and Preview on your Mac. You can also use it to put your Mac system to sleep, shut it down, and increase or decrease its brightness and volume levels. Mac Remote works over your Wi-Fi network and requires you to manually connect your Mac to the app. No Mac app is required in the process. Read More

Stream AirPlay Audio On iOS From iTunes, Apple TV & Other iDevices With AirFloat

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AirPlay has been around in iOS for so long that at times it tends to get ignored when people are showing off all the great things their iPhone can do. Siri, iCloud and even the chameleon status bar get mentioned more than AirPlay, but that doesn’t diminish its usefulness and importance. Apple has kept things pretty simple with AirPlay while keeping it quite efficient at doing its job of streaming media to other iDevices in the vicinity. Maybe this near-perfection is the reason not many Cydia developers have thought about making changes to AirPlay’s default functionality. AirFloat, however, goes against this trend and demonstrates that AirPlay can be improved. The app that was taken down from the App Store in 2012 has returned to iOS via the Cydia store to provide you with an easy way to convert your iDevice into an AirPlay receiver, allowing you to play audio streams from iTunes, Apple TV or any other iDevice. Read More

How To Create A Smart Playlist For Multiple Artists In iTunes

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A smart playlist in iTunes is better than several regular ones for the simple reason that you can set parameters for the list to update itself. As opposed to being dependent on you for manually updating it, a smart playlist will maintain itself automatically. It can be created based on multiple parameters and this post details how you can create a self updating playlist of your favorite artists. It requires nothing more than your music collection and iTunes. Any version of iTunes should work but we’re using iTunes 11.0.1, (the latest one) so if you’re on an older one, you might see options appear slightly differently. Read More

How To Bring Back The Shortcuts Sidebar In iTunes 11 For Windows & Mac

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Let's face it, iTunes hasn't really been known for changing with times and adapting to newer UI trends. So it came as a rather pleasant surprise when the new iTunes 11 finally shed all its extra baggage and came up with a neat interface. Having said that, many users have become so accustomed to the older way of doing things that this update has really left them feeling lost. The biggest change in the interface is iTunes’ apparent breakup with the sidebar view. By default, the sidebar that houses all the important shortcuts in older versions of the suite is no longer there in iTunes 11. If you are really missing it though, you will be pleased to find out that Apple has just hidden it instead of removing it altogether, and you can easily bring it back just the way it was before. Read More

Hands-On With New Features In iTunes 11 [Review]

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In what might be the most delayed iTunes release from Apple ever, iTunes 11 was finally bumped to the users a few hours ago. The management suite’s major revamp was announced with the release of iOS 6, but it took a few months for it to actually become available. iTunes has always been unpopular, even with the most loyal Apple fans. With the recent update though, it is nice to see that almost all the issues that caused many horror stories of data loss and syncing failures have been addressed in the revamped interface. A lot of unpopular features (like Cover Flow and iTunes DJ) are gone and replaced by things that actually get the job done. Although still not perfect, iTunes’s iCloud integration is now much more comprehensible than before. In iTunes 11, Gift Cards can be scanned using a Mac or PC’s camera, which will surely save users a lot of bother in the upcoming holiday season. Read More

Retune Allows Remote Control Of iTunes Playback From Android

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The Digital Audio Control Protocol (DACP) introduced by Apple allows iDevice users to remotely control the desktop iTunes application from their mobile devices over a shared WiFi network. Wish you could do the same through your Android device as well? Fresh to the Play Store, Retune allows Android users to remotely control the iTunes desktop application. There’s no need to install any additional desktop server apps or bear the hassle of manually configuring extensive remote connection settings. All you need to do is make sure that your computer as well as Android device is connected to the same WiFi network. The app pairs both devices via a unique pairing code, after which you can remotely control music playback & volume levels on your iTunes, view playlists, iTunes U content & Genius mixes, select your favorite radio channels, control your iTunes DJ, make iTunes stream to Apple TV, and search your iTunes library for required media. Read More

Organize iTunes Library & Connect To Last.fm With Tune Instructor

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As a Mac user, you never really see an end to the iTunes apps that run in the Menu Bar and you probably have one installed too because it offers easy control. The question is, what does you iTunes controlling app do for you? If you’re really only interested in playing/pausing songs, a simple app with a bunch of buttons is really all you need. If you want more, you’ll never really get tired of trying a new app and Tune Instructor is worth a try at the very least. It is a free Mac app that offers extensive organizing and renaming functions for songs in your iTunes library, connects with your Last.fm account,  extensively supports keyboard shortcuts and allows you to customize them all, search iTunes artwork and lyrics, remove dead entries and/or correct them, and add songs to your iTunes library. Read More

Get A “Now Playing” Alert From iTunes In Notification Center

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A while back, we covered a little tip for viewing song alerts in the iTunes Dock icon. As useful as that tip is, with Mountain Lion’s Notification Center, alerts are handled differently. iTunes has been left out of though; with the release of Mountain Lion, there was no update for the iTunes app that would allow it to send alerts to Notification Center. iTunification is an app we covered that made up for this, but there were two problems with it. The notifications did not show up under iTunes in the Notification Center panel, and you also had an unnecessary icon in the Menu Bar. Working around both these problems is Now Playing, a free Mac app that does everything iTunification does, but without the Menu Bar icon. The alert you see when a song changes and the app’s notification in the side panel are also better, carrying no name of the app itself. Read More

iTunification Gives You Notification Center Alerts For iTunes [Mac]

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iTunes is a fully functioning media management suite, but the rate at which apps are being developed that let you control iTunes from the Menu bar, it seems we may as well forget the whole idea of having an app and just stick with something in the Menu Bar. That isn’t possible, however, since iTunes is more than an ordinary app that plays media files. What’s surprising is that, while there are a slew of apps available for controlling iTunes from the Menu Bar, Apple itself seems to think the minimized iTunes player is all that’s needed and has neglected to add, for instance, Notification Center support for iTunes. iTunification is a a free Mac App that makes up for this. Since iTunes does not support a notification system, this isn’t a question of re-routing Growl alerts to the Notification center. The alerts have to first be generated through a system and then sent to Notification Center, and iTunification does both that. The app also has a ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode that lets you turn it off temporarily. Read More

CloudPlay: Search & Play Music From iTunes, YouTube And SoundCloud

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Apps that control iTunes from the menu bar have to do much more than just playing/pausing songs to stand out or they fall in line with all the other apps (that are close to a million probably) that do this. It’s one of the most ordinary things an app is created for, and while a unique interface will earn an app a few brownie points with users, it isn’t enough to stand out. CloudPlay is a Mac app currently in open Beta that isn’t just for controlling iTunes from the menu bar. As the name hints, it’s developed for playing music from the cloud. Specifically, it will let you search and play songs from YouTube, SoundCloud, exfm, and BandSoup. You can enable a hotkey that will toggle the app’s menu bar panel or you can enable it to work with an Apple Remote. Read More

Music Player That Connects With iTunes & Tweets The Songs You Listen To [Mac]

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Both independent media players, and those that work with your iTunes library, focus on making it easier to listen to your music. Free apps that you find in this regard are functional, but the interface is rarely good, and when you pay for such an app, you will get a few more features and a shinier interface. MUSIC Pub is a Mac app that is available in the Mac App Store for $4.99 (definitely on the pricier side) that is a music player built for your eyes. The app plays audio from music and video files in your iTunes library, and at the core, is an alternative controller for iTunes. Its interface, however, is what sells it. Unlike your typical player that rests in the Menu Bar or is a boring window, MUSIC Pub looks like a tall glass of foaming malt (or beer, or whatever). Shaped like a glass, the music player cleverly uses its aesthetics to incorporate its functions, which include a rating system, play/pause, next/previous song, volume, lyrics panel and Twitter controls. Read More

Create Hyperlinks To Any Part Of An iTunes Song, Video Or Podcast [Mac]

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iTunes is more than just a media player; it’s a media manager, lets you listen to and download podcasts, keeps your movies and music collection organized and backs up & transfers files to and from your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. TunesLinker is a Mac app worth $1.99 that will help you get more out of iTunes than you would have thought possible. The app lets you create hyperlinks to any part within a song, a movie or podcast. While it doesn’t sound terribly useful if you only have music in your iTunes library, it provides a way for you to ‘bookmark’ portions in a podcast or a movie. These bookmarks, or hyperlinks, can be saved to any text editor and played from any app that supports the link format. Read More

Downgrade iOS 6 Beta To iOS 5.1.1 On iPhone, iPad & iPod touch

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iOS 6 is not yet available to the general public for a reason: it’s not ready for everyday use as of now. However, despite all the broken things within the OS, there would still be those out there who’d venture to try out the new version as soon as it became available – whether through legitimate means or otherwise. Perhaps you’re a developer who installed iOS 6 beta on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad to ensure the compatibility of your apps with the 6th major iteration of iDevice operating system, or you may be a tech enthusiast like me who just had to install the operating system to see how it felt. If you belong to the latter, chances are high that you’d be looking for means to go back to the 5.1.1 firmware version, for many reasons. The good news is, it’s very much possible, and fairly easy. Interested? Continue reading. Read More

Tracks: iTunes Menu Bar Controls With Growl & Last.fm Support [Mac]

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Tracks is a Mac app worth $2.99 in the Mac App Store that controls iTunes from the Menu Bar. When launched, it automatically starts iTunes in the background and adds a play icon to the Menu Bar, clicking which opens a search bar that allows you to query your iTunes library. Of course, this isn’t why you’re paying $2.99 for the app. Tracks has excellent and fully customizable universal shortcuts for controlling iTunes. You can play/pause, move to the next or previous track, increase/decrease volume and rating and open the current song in iTunes. It gives you Growl notifications when a new song is played or changed, and allows you to connect with your Last.fm account. Read More

The Easy Way To Change Hidden iTunes Preferences In Mac OS X

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Apps and tweaks for iTunes aren’t rare to come by. Most iTunes apps allow you to control Mac's native music player from the Menu bar, while other, more advanced ones, let you access your library and even create playlists. These apps exist because it’s often annoying to have to switch app windows to change which song is being played, and also because iTunes itself is pretty heavy on system resources. As far as tweaks for iTunes are concerned, they are mostly for hidden preferences, i.e., things iTunes can do, but in Apple’s wisdom, should not be done, or something like that. The iTunes defaults are set to disable these hidden preferences, and to get them to work, you normally have to poke around in Terminal. Change Hidden iTunes Preferences is an excellent script for iTunes that is free to download and provides a GUI for managing some common hidden preferences, like enabling half-star ratings for songs, enabling Option+click for the mini player, globally setting the song/album view for all tabs, hide ‘Ping’ (which is now near extinction anyway), and more. The script does nothing more than modify existing options in iTunes, and doesn’t install additional apps. Read More

Simplayfy: Search Music & Control iTunes From The Menu Bar [Mac]

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Apps for controlling iTunes aren’t rare, and they are mostly free. A typical iTunes control app lets you stop/resume music playback, most of them sporting one-click operation and functionality. Simplayfy is a free Mac app that, despite putting the play/pause function two clicks away, lets you search your iTunes library as well. The app supports extended controls for iTunes and gives you on-screen notifications when a new song begins or changes in iTunes. The app is free for a limited time, without actually specifying the duration the "limited time" entitles to. Read More

Mashduo: Compare iTunes Libraries & Export List Of Missing Songs [Mac]

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Creating a good music library takes a lot of time and effort. One scenario, the more common one, is where you just keep adding music files randomly to iTunes, but an organized library requires more than that. If you’re out to create the best music library ever, or just a reasonably good one that you can brag about, it might be a good idea to take a look at what you friends listen to and start off with the songs they have. Mashduo is a free Mac app that will help you do just that. The app compares iTunes library XML files. You can, at any given time, view the differences between two XML files, both graphically and in a list. You may then export the complete list of songs that aren't common between the two. Read More