iTunes Corner

Updated: 09/11/08
Welcome to my new iTunes Corner where you can get maximum use out of your iTunes program on the Mac or PC and your iPod with some step by Step instructions on enjoying the most of music.

0. Where can I get iTunes from and for which Computers?

You can download iTunes from Apple's iTunes website. It is available for Windows 2000, XP or later or the Apple Mac 10.3.9 or later computers.
For Linux users, try the nearest equivalent is called Banshee or RhythmBox.
To sync your iPod with Linux music collection, try Libipod.
You can download any old version of itunes between 4.1 and 7.0.2 from the Oldversion website.

1. How do I get access to Music from the Internet?

You need to enable the Music Store from apple which will turn iTunes into a kind of 'browser'. To enable it:
a) Load iTunes
b) Select Edit then Preferences.
c) Enable Show links to -> Music Store.
d) Click OK
e) Click on the new Music Store link to load iTunes store.
f) You can then use the Search or Browse features to search for music you like.

2.What is a Playlist and how do I create and use them?

A playlist is just of group of music tracks and given a specific name. Be default, iTunes has a few playlists listed under the Music Store link on the left hand side, these are dynamically updated for you depending on what music you play often, whether you purchased music, when the music was published and so on.
To create a playlist:

a) Select File, New Playlist.
b) Enter a new name for the list in the left hand side of iTunes.
c) To add songs to the Playlist, select Songs from the Library and drag them over the new Playlist name on left hand side.
d) If you wish to play songs, in a specific order, you can select a song and drop it over a play position in the list, for example, place a song over the number 1 position.
e) You can also ramdomise the list by enabling the Shuffle option on the Controls menu.
f) Once all the songs are played, the list ends, you can enable it to repeat by enabling Repeat All or Repeat Once on the Controls menu.
g) To play your playlst, select the first or a specific song and click on Play (from the > arrow or on the Controls menu).

3. How do I add album art and graphics to my music?

In iTunes or on your iPod, a picture will appear along side your Song. In iTunes it will appear at the bottom left corner of the iTunes window.

a) Scan the album picture with a Flatbed scanner or a digital camera.
b) Save the picture as a JPEG, it should be no bigger than 200 x 200 pixels, and save it in the same directory as your song preferably to keep them together,
c) Click on the song (or songs) to apply the picture to and select Get Info.
d) If an individual song, click on the Artwork tab, click on Add and select the picture you saved earlier.
e) If more than one song selected, select the tick box next to Artwork, then double click on the Artwork box and select the picture you saved earlier.
f) Click OK to apply the changes.

4. What is BPM and what is it for?

On the Get Info window, there is box for BPM which is for Beats Per Minute which is worked out by tapping along with the music. Most songs purchased from the iTunes
Store or read from CD will not have this information. There is a tool for MacOS users at BlackTree.com and MMartins.com.

5. Where can I get Lyrics for my songs?

A lot of music has lyrics, some songs are hard to follow, so it would be nice to know what the lyrics (or words) are for the song, these can be stored for each song. There are
a number of web sites for song lyrics including: www.lyrics.com, Lyrics and Songs, Lyrics Beat.

6. Can I play iTunes music on other players?

Music that does not have DRM (Digital Rights Management) encryption can be played on other players such as Windows Media Player, Real Player, VLC and Winamp. You may have to
open the file with the Any file (*.*) filter if the files do not show in the open dialog box due to the unusual file types. e.g.

*.MP3 - Standard MPEG 3 Music file which can be played anywhere.
*.M4A - Advanced Audio Encoding (AAC) or MPEG4 which supports high quality music with minimal loss. Used when extracting music from CDs.
*.M4B - Advanced Audio Encoding (AAC) or MPEG4 for Audiobooks.
*.M4P - Advanced Audio Encoding (AAC) which is used for purchased software.

iTunes uses DRM called FairPlay which is mainly exclusive to Apple and is a big money making source in Music. You can play iTunes music on the Motorola SLVR mobile phone and
possibly HP Digital Music systems. See the Made for iPod developer website for other devices compatible with the iPod.

7. What is Deauthorize Computer on the Advanced menu?

iTunes will allow you to play purchased music on upto 5 computers. If you repair, upgrade or sell your computer then you should deauthorize it beforehand to free up that
computer and allow you to authorize another computer to play your music (authorization is done when you first purchase music from the iTunes Music Store). More information
about this is available on Apple website.

8. I cannot install iTunes. It says 'Visual Basic Script' (vbscript) is not installed?

Windows includes functionality to run .vbs scripts. To enable this feature, run from a command prompt: regsvr32 C:\Windows\system32\vbscript.dll . To test that vbscript is working, create a file called test.vbs in notepad with the line: Msgbox "This is a vbscript program" and save it. Run it by typing CScript test.vbs. Try reinstalling iTunes again.

9. How do I create an iTunes remote using just my mouse?

You need to use a progam called Quick Macros and few scripts using Apple's SDK.

10. Where can I down a Software Development Kit for iTunes (and Quicktime)?

You can download an SDK from Apple which has a number SDK kits for Windows to create scripts to control and manage your music and movie collections.

11. How do I copy content from my iPod to my computer or other storage device without using iTunes?

It is possible to copy content using various programs (or write your own using the SDK) including: ephPod.

12. How do I restore my iPod back to its original settings and clear out any data on my iPod?

Attach the iPod to your computer, on the Summary window click on Restore which will data all data on your iPod and restore iPod back to what it was and with either your existing or latest iPod software installed. You get four restore options:

Restore Option 1: Restore - Restores with same iPod Software version already on iPod.
Restore Option 2: Use Same Version - Restores with same iPod Software version already on iPod even though a newer version is available.
Restore Option 3: Use Newest Version - Restores with the latest iPod Software on your computer.
Restore Option 4: Restore and Update - Restores with the latest iPod Software on your computer.

13. How do I check my Apple ID or AOL account details?

Click on iTunes Store on the left, then click on your account at the top right. Enter your password details and it will display the following information:

* Name and address
* Payment details
* Number of authorized computers including iPods
* History of your most recent purchases
* Your nickname
* Whether 'My Alerts' and 'My iTunes' are enabled or not.

14. I disabled the warning dialogs boxes for purchasing songs, how do I re-enable them?

Click on iTunes Store on the left, then click on your account at the top right. Enter your password details and it will show an Apple Account Information
window with your details. At the bottom click on Reset Warnings to enable the dialog boxes again.

15. How do I turn off Apple Software Updates?

In Windows XP go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, Scheduled Tasks (or in Windows Vista, Start, Administrative Tools, Task Scheduler) and disable or delete the Apple Software Update task.

16. I have exceeded my 5 computers/devices for my purchased music?

You must deauthorize any computers you are not using or you can deauthorize all computers via your account information (see iTunes store, account info at the top right).

17. How does the 'Genius' playlist work?

Genius playlists generates a new playlist based on a selected song from your iTunes Library. The song has to be available from iTunes. To generate a playlist, select a song, right click it
and select Start Genius and a new playlist is created. You can export the song list to a xml file or copy to play order. For more control, use the Smart Playlist feature instead.