iTunes 4.9 With Podcasting Support

eakthecat writes "Hot on the heels of the 4.8 release, Apple has released the next version of its popular iTunes jukebox software. Version 4.9 incorporates several new features, most notable of which is podcasting. The front page and iTunes webpages have not been updated yet, but you can get your greedy little hands on it or through the new podcasting link in the music store! !"

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

"Mac-dotted"

[amichalo]

The iTunes Music Store has "Mac-dotted" themselves. After getting 49, I tried to download some podcasts but the store that can serve up hundreds of millions of tracks is a bit overwhelmed right now. Try again later.

In other news, Apple also modified its iPod line by removing the iPod Photo as a unique line:

20GB COLOR iPod $299
60GB color iPod $399
1GB Shuffle $129

Re:"Mac-dotted"

[FidelCatsro]

In the Euro market the Ipod 20GB colour costs 299 euros or 361 dollars.
All the Euro prices are identical to the dollar prices (which is very annoying considering the dollars value right now) except for the 1GB shuffle which is 139.

Gnomedex and the pod father

[Ghost-in-the-shell]

Adam Curry (yes that guy from MTV) is the father of Podcasting and as such he gave the keynote speech at Gnomedex this past weekend. The full keynote is also one of his many podcasts.

(Ok, if you don't know a podcast is basically an audio file. The term originates from the idea of Broadcasting and the iPod. The idea is take your content with you and listen when you want. The CBC has some of their radio content available as a podcast. So the concept is catching on!)

This keynote is well worth the listen. It is motivational, and it is focused. Users demand content and they don't care how the delivery method works (ATOM, RSS, etc). For the rest of the speech, go over to Adam's [curry.com] site for a link to the audio file. Listen, enjoy, and think about what he has to say.

Prompted by BadFruit's BadApple?

[Webs 101]

From the latest Netsurfer Digest:

BadApple Plug-in for iTunes Podcasts

At some point, Apple is going to add explicit support for podcasts to iTunes. Podcasts are really only long, often dull sound files, the 21st century equivalent of talk radio on cassette. Still, it's a fad, and since iTunes lets you look you for streaming broadcasts, why not podcasts, too? At least, so think the anonymous folks behind BadFruit, an outfit that just released the BadApple iTunes plug-in, ironically for the Windows version of iTunes only. The plug-in adds another link, called Podcasts, to the main iTunes window. Click on the link and you get a list of podcast categories. Drill down to download specific podcasts in iTunes and use them as you would any other iTunes sound file. BadApple claims to be pre-emptive insurance against any potential limitations Apple may place on the podcasts it may offer in future versions of iTunes. CNET speculates that MP3.com founder Michael Robertson, who now has a new site called MP3Tunes.com, is the anonymous author of BadFruit.
BadFruit: http://www.badfruit.com/ [badfruit.com]
CNET: http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5754227.html [com.com]
MP3Tunes.com: http://www.mp3tunes.com/ [mp3tunes.com]

Re:Podcasting mainstream?

[Chyeburashka]

When Rush Limbaugh [rushlimbaugh.com] is available via podcasting, it's mainstream. Regardless of your opinion of Rush, he's staying up with technology.

I just updated to iTunes 4.9, so I guess it's time to run out and get my first iPod. So many choices, but it looks like the $299 new color iPod will be the one I'll get.

iPod updates: no hardware support for podcasting?

[swissfondue]

Looks as if we will continue to need to use 3G iPod-Linux for recording audio at anything higher than 8kHz

Re:What about advanced configuration?

[Formula420]

You may be thinking of the "View Options" selection, as that only lets you select what columns are displayed. If you click "Preferences" then you can change things like Audio options, CD Burning, and Sharing support.

Re:Apple Getting Dumped By IBM

[lp-habu]

Apple getting dumped by IBM is going to put a quick end to the iPod fad.

In a year Apple is going to be struggling to survive as just another overpriced x86 OEM. Media companies know this, are going to start distancing themselves quietly and looking for new partners to take Apple place over the next year or two as revenues/profits start to dry up.

It was fun while it lasted, but Steve's tempertantrum/unwillingness to pay for a mobile PPC chip is going to be the death of the company over the next couple of years.

Care to wager a beer on any of that that?

Re:What IS podcasting?

[Jubii]

A better question is, "why should I care?" I understand that you visit people's sites, download their rants and listen to them on the go... but I still don't "get" it. Why is this useful to me? I see so many geeks excited about this, and I feel I must have missed out on something. Does this appeal to the whole blogger group... who enjoy hearing about a complete stranger's day, or listening to them voice their opinion? Because that's what podcasting seems like to me... again, I wonder if I'm missing something. If it was news or other information, I could see the usefulness, but podcasting seems like a fancy soapbox for people.

Re:What IS podcasting?

[lucifuge31337]

A better question is, "why should I care?"

I'll tell you why I care: after having a tivo for years now, I like my entertainment time shifted. The few things I listen to on the radio are mostly NPR broadcasts, and mostly on an inconvenient times for me. So I get the podcast versions of those. Done.

I don't listen to lame ass rants made by some kid in his mom's basement, and I'm guessing that few adults do. Podcasting has been going on a lot longer than you think. Take for example Audible [audible.com]. They've been doing it since way before it was trendy, and I've been downloading (and in the earlier days paying for) NPR content from them. Simply because it's convenient for me.

Podcasting Laws?

[randomErr]

Here is something that I've been wondering: What are the legal guidelines for podcasting? I know the ones that are talk and original music are fine. But what about people who play their favorite song or remake of existing songs?

I listen to a couple of podcasts where people play their favorite songs and I was wondering if that is legal? I know this is offtopic but this one question have yet to find an answer too.

Re:I, for one...

[Chicago Wolves]

I always disliked one thing about iTunes, and that is that you must install the Quick Time codec/player in order to use it. I remember on old versions they did not do this... Is there any open source software out there that has an iTunes-esque type of music store? I buy a lot of music from Magnatune.com I like them for their unique taste in music and support of open source formats. I also like the fact that they don't buy into this top-40 chart nonsense.

Re:What IS podcasting?

[Goth Biker Babe]

More importantly some of the major broadcasters are supporting it. There is one reason why I want to update iTunes to the one that supports Podcasting and that is In Our Time [bbc.co.uk]. A wonderful programme on BBC Radio 4.

Re:So with this new found power...

[philbowman]

The Top Podcasts list on the right of the iTunes Podcast store looks like it's shaping up with a good selection. This could be the death of PodcastAlley and other riggable voting schemes (duck). Personally I recommend:

• Coverville (cover music)
• The Tartan Podcast (great selection of Scottish Music - no Bagpipes (ok, there was one once)
• Today (BBC Political interviews - deep!)
• In Our Time (BBC - hard to describe, really deep chatshow?)
• Radio Adventures of Dr Floyd (fun serial)
• Slacker Astronomy
• Teknikal Diffikulties (surreal comedy show)
• Biddycast
• Accident Hash (Music from the Boston area)

This isn't all I listen to, but there's good stuff in there. You can listen to Daily Source Code (Adam Curry), but that's mostly podcasting about podcasting - the above are the meat.

Re:Annoying installer

[DigitalVolume]

Okay, I don't get this. Everytime I hear someone saying 'I would buy Apple' there's always a 'but' inserted in there.

First it's that you're used to Windows. Now that OS X makes it pretty, and makes things that used to be hard for a Mac to do compared to Windows (SMB nwtworking, and others), that argument has been largely dropped. Add in lack of spyware and virus' at the moment and you have a winner.

Then it was petty excuses like a multi-button mouse, when you can buy one for like $20 to $30 easy for a decent multi button mouse. That one subsided.

Then it's on to games. If you love games that freaking much buy a console (Xbox, GameCube, PS2). Not happy with that solution, buy a Mac and keep your PC. What's stopping you from taking on both platforms at once? If all you do is game with your computer, perhaps you should look at finding something more productive to do with your time. Pick a low impact sport and get in shape. Maybe a martial-art, since most dojo's now don't allow contact between the students because martial-arts are becoming so sport oriented and moving away from the arts of war. Games are good, but maybe you should re-evaluate your priorities.

There was the complaint about price as well. Apple dumped this complaint into a hole when they released the Mac mini in January for $499. Is it less powerful than you would like, probably. However, so is any Dell, HP, Lenovo/IBM, knockoff or homebrew you could build for that price. Face it, there will always be bigger better faster machines out there and you'll need to get on right away, because you just have to have it.

If you think you like something and want to try it out. TRY IT OUT! WHat are you waiting for? Making excuses? You'll never know which is better for you until you try it. Don't like it, sell it off to someone else who wants to try it.

Please explain to me exactly how this works.

I can't help but feel that anyone making excuses now, is going to be making excuses the entire way along, and that they'll never buy what they say they will when the time comes. Perpetual complainers are the bane of my existance.

[Mod me down if you like, my opinion is that of my own, we all have those idiots in our offices that complain that they would do this or do that if the process was easier, when in truth all they want is for everything to stay the same]

Re:Playing with it for a few minutes

[killjoe]

Tim O'Reilly pointed their mistake during WWDC. Apple should tie garageband into the iTunes flow. Make a song, opload it into the music store, let apple sell it, the customer downloads it into the ipod/mac.