Editor's note: After installing iTunes 4.9, we lost our iTunes library, playlists and ratings. If you also experience this, copying a file called "iTunes 4 Music Library.itl" from \My Music\iTunes\Previous iTunes Libraries (for Windows) into the iTunes folder should restore your settings. If you have experienced problems during installation, please e-mail us and let us know.
If you are in Australia and looking to purchase music over the Internet, look elsewhere -- Apple has not announced an Australia version of its online store, despite selling its iPod music player locally for years. If you need a good way to play and organise your digital music though, iTunes is a great option. However, it's only available for Mac OS X, Windows 2000 and XP.
Version 4.9 adds a podcasting section that features a rich, graphically appealing directory that makes it simple to browse, subscribe to, and publish podcasts. Meanwhile, the nonstore portion of the application works great for ripping, encoding, creating playlists, smart shuffling, and even streaming your music to other computers on the same network or the AirPort Express Base Stations -- all for free. And, of course, you can use iTunes to transfer music onto the iPod.
Getting started is a simple matter of downloading and installing the latest version, a major advantage over more-convoluted programs such as Musicmatch. After that, you can start ripping your CDs and importing songs into your library. In typical Apple style, the iTunes interface is clean, friendly, and intuitive, even for beginners, but a help file is included.
The iTunes Library reflects any compatible video that has been imported or downloaded. Users can view video files in the album artwork window or in full-screen mode.
Click a song title, and you can edit its ID3 tag information, submit your own rating (1 to 5), and add it to a playlist or Party Shuffle (an automatically generated on-the-fly playlist). You can also customise iTunes by selecting new columns of information that should appear for each song. For instance, you could add Genre for sorting purposes.
There's even a menu of free streaming Internet radio, and it includes a decent selection of stations, categorised into 19 genres to make them easier to find, with a visualiser that displays graphics moving in time with the music.
The previous version (4.8) added support for MPEG-4 and QuickTime video playback. You can now import video from your hard drive then watch it within iTunes or in full-screen mode. Each video file in your library is represented by a camcorder icon. Though you can sort by Kind to easily access your QuickTime files, we hope that subsequent versions of iTunes will have an option for video and other media files, as currently seen in jukeboxes such as Windows Media Player.
The latest addition to the interface is the Podcasts option under the Source menu. Clicking this opens up a podcast library that includes all subscriptions. This sortable window lists relevant information such as time, release date, and description and includes a link to the Podcast Directory as well as buttons for reporting a concern, unsubscribing, and settings. The Podcast Directory allows you to browse, sample, and subscribe to more than 3,000 podcasts for free. The podcast interface is rich with graphics and includes easily digestible sections such as New and Notable, Public Radio, Morning Shows and Talk Radio, and Top Podcasts. Highlights includes feeds from ABCNews, Adam Curry, ESPN, and Engadget, with local podcasts like Triple J also available. Once you subscribe to a podcast, iTunes automatically downloads content as it becomes available, and you can listen to it whenever you want. Users also have the option to automatically sync podcasts to their iPods, which makes for an appealing, hassle-free, and fresh source of content.
The iTunes Podcast Directory has been seamlessly integrated into iTunes so that you don't have to use third-party software to browse, subscribe to, or publish a homemade podcast.
Features
The iTunes application can play MP3s, AACs, Apple Lossless, and Audible files, as well as QuickTime and MPEG-4 video files. It also lets you convert unprotected WMA files ripped with other programs into unprotected AAC files so that iTunes (and the iPod, if you have one) can play them. The program offers an equally healthy set of options for ripping CDs; you can choose between MP3, AAC, and the Apple Lossless codec, which compresses files in half without losing one bit of CD information. Additionally, those with Mac OS 10.4 or higher can set iTunes to automatically synchronise Address Book contacts and iCal calendars with their iPod.
Apple iTunes really shines in the area of playlists. You can create a playlist by manually adding songs or by specifying certain parameters, then having the program create a Smart Playlist. There's also a feature called Party Shuffle; when you click it, iTunes creates a spontaneous playlist from your music library or any playlist. If it's not what you want to hear, you can reorder the songs and add more tunes from your library via drag and drop. An Autofill feature (created especially for the iPod Shuffle) allows you to populate an iPod with a specific playlist. This convenient one-step process allows you to "refill" any iPod with completely new content, and you have the option to select songs randomly and/or choose higher-rated songs more often.
A few generations ago, Apple added a feature that allows iTunes users on the same network (say, at work or in a dorm) to listen to -- but not download -- each other's music. Unfortunately, users of iTunes 4.9 cannot access the libraries of those running older versions and vice versa. However, with the help of the handy AirTunes-enabled AirPort Express Base Station (AU$199), iTunes allows you to stream you music wirelessly to any part of your room. Simply plug your AirPort Express into a power outlet, connect audio cables to a stereo, click the remote speakers option, and select your music.
This is the podcast subscription page. The user can set podcast preferences such as when to check for new episodes, which episodes to download, and which episodes to keep. As with music files, you can opt to automatically update your iPod with podcasts.
Another new feature is iMix, which allows you to share your favourite playlists. After creating an iMix playlist, you receive a link that you can send to anyone else who uses iTunes. They'll be able to see the songs in your playlist and listen to 30-second samples of each.
We'd still like to see a line-in recording feature that would allow users to capture external audio sources into AAC, MP3, or any other supported format. Also, while applications such as Musicmatch Jukebox have a built-in album art retrieval service, you have to find your own with iTunes.
Should you run into an issue with iTunes, Apple offers a variety of support options. If you've purchased another Apple product (such as an iPod) and its phone help is still valid, you can call for free iTunes-related support. Otherwise, Apple's Web site has info in the form of FAQs, material on upgrading and using the products, links to discussion boards where questions can be answered, and e-mail-based exchanges.
CNET.com.au's Jeremy Roche contributed to this review
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