Apple
CategoryRegain some privacy on your iPhone by blocking Carrier IQ
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The Carrier IQ controversy that’s been swirling the tech circles recently has left everyone rightfully a little paranoid. If you are unaware, Carrier IQ is a software service found on seemingly most smart phone devices that collects information about you the user – such things as the current location, phone calls, or even keystrokes – all under the guise of collecting performance metrics. If it sounds horrendous and scary all in the same breath – it’s because it is. While details are still ever-changing, suffice to say it’s probably something you want to rid … Continue Reading
Keeping your clock correct on your dual boot Mac
Apple’s Macbook is a perfect laptop for computer enthusiasts. Why? Simply, by using dual or tri boot a single laptop can run all the most relevant modern operating systems – Windows, OS X, and Linux. Power on the laptop and choose which OS to load. Configuring this type of setup though is not the intent of today’s tip. Instead, if you’ve already got a similar situation you’ve no doubt noticed a highly annoying problem. When booting into Windows, for example, you will find your clock is wildly offset and plain wrong. This is because of … Continue Reading
Bring keyboard shortcuts to iTunes with CD Art Display
Reluctantly, I’m a card carrying member of the iTunes User Group. iTunes is an example of a piece of software that works just well enough that you don’t actively go out looking for an alternative. Very few would argue that iTunes is the best music library manager available yet; some would go as far to say it’s one of the worst. As an iPhone user, I feel more or less tied to iTunes as I’m sure many others do. While iTunes is not the only media player that can sync with your iPhone or iPod, … Continue Reading
Using multiple iTunes libraries on one account
Were you aware that it is possible for iTunes to use multiple libraries under the same computer account? I wasn’t – but then again, I never had a reason until lately. iTunes creates and stores it’s library database in your user profile folder so it makes sense that one profile = one iTunes library. This proves not to be the case, it is possible to tell iTunes to use a different library upon launch but it is in no way obvious for some reason. There are many reasons why multiple iTunes libraries would be welcome. … Continue Reading
Exporting iTunes Playlists with iExporter
iTunes is likely the top music library manager available for Windows and OS X, unfortunately it’s generally not because of the quality of the product – especially on the Windows platform. Rather, the iPod’s dominance in the portable music player market dictates iTunes success. Savvy users may be aware that the iPod is not exclusively bound to iTunes but for the general populace it’s the only application in town. iTunes works well enough that most don’t actively seek out alternatives but that also isn’t typically a glowing endorsement of the product either. A glaring omission … Continue Reading
Say Goodbye to Bonjour with Au Revoir, Bonjour
We all like clean and well maintained systems right? One of the most annoying tendencies of all software vendors is the installation of additional programs and system services that are not core to the main application. Two such vendors are Apple and Adobe. If you’ve installed iTunes, or other Apple software for the PC, you may notice a strange process named mDNSResponder.exe running in Windows Task Manager. Not to be overshadowed by Apple, Adobe exhibits the installation of the same rogue process. In all actuality, mDNSResponder is the Bonjour service that is responsible for the … Continue Reading
Return Album Covers to iTunes 8 List View
iTunes 8 has arrived with limited fanfare even though it’s been given a full point increment. Much of the disappointment is centered around Genius, Apple’s answer to popular music recommendation engines such as Pandora and Last.FM. Selecting a song from your library and clicking the Genius button results in a playlist of songs that are ideally similar in nature to the currently selected track. The execution and implementation is slick and easy, however the results aren’t nearly as impressive. The second most talked about addition is a new graphical view of your iTunes library – … Continue Reading
Using iTunes With Other MP3 Players
iTunes is an acceptable music library manager and if you own an iPod, it’s arguably the best thing for you. It is hard to find fault with the yin and yang iTunes+iPod behemoth. But what if you wanted to use the functionality of iTunes to manager your music library, but you owned a Creative ZEN? Apple has led us all to believe that iTunes will only hold hands with the iPod – but this isn’t entirely the case. Enter iTunes Agent! iTunes Agent is a free download that runs from your system tray, constantly looking … Continue Reading
Fixing the Artwork on your iPod
So the other day I was doing some massive reorganization/tagging work with my iTunes library. So much, in fact, that when I went to update my 30GB iPod it practically needed to reload the entire device. Normally this is not a big problem, but this particular day I didn’t have the time to let the full sync run (it’s USB1, don’t ask) - I was heading out the door. Instead, I gave it a good 30 minutes before cancelling the sync and ejecting the iPod. During my commute, it wasn’t long before I noticed the … Continue Reading
Quick Review on iTunes Movie Store Download Experience
I thought a few people may be interested in a bullet point review of the new iTunes movie store experience announced today. The movie I purchased is about 1.30 GB, and took around 35 minutes to download. It is possible to stream the movie while it downloads; as well as seek and scan. The content is protected by “FairPlay Version: 2″. The bitrate is 1.5Mbps at 24fps. The audio is Protected AAC, stereo, 128kbps, 44.1kHz. The video is Protected H.264/AVC0 640×272 – this is a widescreen ratio. The video actually does look “near DVD quality.” … Continue Reading
