ITUNES for Windows is great IF your a MAC user

[arcorob]

But if you are a WINDOWS WINDOWS user, its no better than paying for radio.

I like the interface, nifty mechanisms, search, etc. Does everything I want in a PAY PER TUNE store EXCEPT store the damn thing in a readable windows format.

Hey, let me guess ? Buy an IPOD ? I think not. Or take the oh so joyful route of buring to a CD and then ripping back to your hard drive....Where it resides to f&&*^&#E begin with but they had to pooch the things.

Sorry, on to the new Napster for me.

What a lame attempt to drum up business for Mac.

Hey Apple, how about a CODEC for WINDOWS !

[mikepenn]

Over a million itunes downloads and over a million song downloads in the first 3 days. Sounds like windows is the one that better get on the ball. Maybe they will between viruses. LOL

[AarontheRipper]

Pretty stupid response, mike. Please think before you spout off on your Windows hate trip. Apple came out with a Windows version of iTunes in an attempt to get more business because it realized that most of the world are PC users. This was not an attempt to convert them to OS X. But, as arcorob was saying, if they want that business, they will have to cater to Windows users by using a format that is Windows compatable. Otherwise they are wasting their time. iTunes was a great idea, but if they want to expand their market to PC users, they've got a lot of work to do.

[mike_hawth]

How are AAC files not windows compatible? The files play just fine on my winxp box, and if I want an mp3 of the file, I just burn it to a CD and rip it. If you own an ipod itunes is the way to go (I do not own an ipod at this time), however I think that it is a great player and service regardless.

We shall see how napster with its wma files compares to itunes.

Later

[tgpo]

What a lame attempt to drum up business for Mac.

And Office V.X is a lame attempt to drum up business for PC

Hey Apple, how about a CODEC for WINDOWS !

I must be missing the point. You're using Windows. You can play aac files in Windows. The codec is obviously working on Windows. So what's the problem??

[arcorob]

Sorry folks, you are mistaken. They are not STRAIGHT AAC files. You can play them using the APPLE player, or I believe WINAMP, but not media player. You also cannot get them as an MP3 if you have an MP3 player.

Thats where the NEW IPOD comes in.

Do a search on M4P and find a converter. There isn't one. Thats because its an AAC file with a protection scheme.

I can even play them with quicktime....But I want to copy them off to another device, not leave them on my computer.

Its like buying a CD you can only listen to in the store.

[manosteele12]

Screw the store. Itunes is just a great mp3 player period. If your having a problem with the music there selling just get it somewhere else. I'm a PC user and I love it.

[tgpo]

I can even play them with quicktime....But I want to copy them off to another device, not leave them on my computer.

Then you'll have to buy the CD. The protection isn't in place because of Apple, it's because of laws set by the RIAA that companies have to follow. All companies have to follow these rules.

Don't kill the cops for enforcing rules set by the higher ups.

Will downloaded .wma files from Mapster 2.0 or Pressplay or any other "legal" P2P play in quicktime?? iTunes?? Winamp??? Or are they only playable in WMP??

Its like buying a CD you can only listen to in the store.

Wrong. It's like downloading music that you can't freely distribute to everyone in the world.

Did you really think that there wouldn't be any DRM?? Even your precious .wma files will have those, sorry. Just because you know what you want, doesn't mean the RIAA will allow it. So you'll either have to buy the whole CD or deal with it, but why waste your time blaming Apple for what the RIAA enforces??

[Faustus]

Sorry folks, you are mistaken. They are not STRAIGHT AAC files. You can play them using the APPLE player, or I believe WINAMP, but not media player. You also cannot get them as an MP3 if you have an MP3 player.

Thats where the NEW IPOD comes in.

Do a search on M4P and find a converter. There isn't one. Thats because its an AAC file with a protection scheme.

I can even play them with quicktime....But I want to copy them off to another device, not leave them on my computer.

Its like buying a CD you can only listen to in the store.

As was pointed out in a recent story online, you are correct, iTunes music store files cannot easily be converted to MP3s. They took an open codec and put a special DRM wrapper around it so that they could release the songs to the public. This made the labels comfortable enough to make it happen.

Of course until recently on the PC your only option was to sign up to a service with monthly fees, download all the music you want but then pay to burn them... and a large number of the specific songs wouldn't even let you even pay to burn them. That right was disabled. Apple is just trying to give as a far as a deal as they can.

Of course if your still angry over not being able to buy actual mp3 files online, well then don't use the iTunes music store... use one of the others and download your... uh... your... WMAs. Now thats a closed codec right there.

The other point often missed is that you can use itunes, and never pay for a single file. Its a great player application thats been around WAY longer then the music store has. If you use MP3s then use the iTunes app and enjoy its playlist management and auto sorting of your files (Which is the best part to me) . Heck I think you might even be able to make the store link on the left go completely away.

[The village idiot]

Just relax, if it is here to stay, someone will break the DRM. No sense getting all mad at it, just wait a week or so, someone will give you a hacked codec and you'll be on your way. There are also many newer portable players that support the AAC format, don't know if it supports the DRM version of AAC or not though.

[arcorob]

I'm not mad at all but it seems like some folks in prior posts don't get the point. Its the old proprietary garbage all over again having NOTHING to do with the cops. That one was really reaching. Must work for the music industry.

Its about COMPATABLITY. Why come out with windows version if you have to BUY an apple product to fully support it ? My analogy still stands.

Proprietary format that you can only listen to in the store UNLESS YOU BUY their handy dandy IPOD at 400+ (to support the new wrapper).

You call that windows support ?

But Village is correct. Give it two weeks and a codec will be out there.

[Conquest10]

you can get an ipod for $300.

[mrtristan]

It's your option to but the ipod or not. Listening to a file that you download to your computer on your computer is fully supported, to me. If you had to buy the ipod to listen to the files at all, then I would understand where you're coming from, but that's not the case.

Apple isn't wrong, or greedy in any way, for making their downloadable music compatible with their own portable player. It's good marketing and protecting their interests. No company is out to lose money.

They don't make the files easily convertible to mp3, because that would make it easy for a person in a trading ring to pay 99cents and share the file with thousands of other users.

However, you can burn the songs as many times as you want and rip mp3's off of the cds that you burn.

[Faustus]

Apple doesn't plan to make a killing off the music store, it hopes to do a little better then break even, and they don't understand how any company things its gonna rake in cash selling music for ~$1 a track.. iTunes sales iPods (aka to many the best player out there, but because of that the most expensive) thats way PC people have it now, their primary customers on the PC side no longer have to use the horrible music match, or another product just to use their nifty iPod.

But you as a non iPod owner dont HAVE to use the music store. If you want buy another MP3 player. Just use your standard ripped MP3 files in itunes and you'll be fine, just don't rip them to AAC with it, use MP3 instead. Then the files will work fine with your player of choice. Or save up and get an iPod, or get no portable player at all.

If I wasn't going to get an iPod eventually I'd just buy a car player that plays MP3s and not use the store myself. iTunes burns MP3 CDs great.

[arcorob]

And how does IPOD burn MP3 CD"s ? When I click BURN I get CDA format. From there I can do what I want. So protection is not the issue.

I am just somewhat MIFFED, that I cannot store on hard drive as MP3 and when I have enough burn it as such. I would have to burn them as CDA's, then convert , then burn. Sort of a waste.

Oh well, two sides to every coin and two (or more) opinions for every subject.

[tgpo]

And how does IPOD burn MP3 CD"s ? When I click BURN I get CDA format. From there I can do what I want. So protection is not the issue.

I am just somewhat MIFFED, that I cannot store on hard drive as MP3 and when I have enough burn it as such. I would have to burn them as CDA's, then convert , then burn. Sort of a waste.

Oh well, two sides to every coin and two (or more) opinions for every subject.

You mean iTunes burn MP3 disks?? Just change the preference for it. It's under the preference menu.

[Greg12]

I'd rather have an AAC file than a WMA file. I think Itunes is easy to get around the copy protection, i'm sure that other WMA DRM's will make it impossible to do anything with your music. I knew Itunes wouldn't be completly drm free.

BTW, I haven't found many WMA converters either.

[tgpo]

I've been reading about a lot of the business plans for other online music sellers, and a lot won't even let you burn a cd. Some force you to listen to it only on that computer, with IMS, you can stream it from any computer on the network and put it on up to 3 computers.

[galactica]

You mean iTunes burn MP3 disks?? Just change the preference for it. It's under the preference menu.

that or just have your music list be over the limit of a single audio cd and a message will come up saying something along the lines of do you want to burn this as mp3 disk..... and clicking OK will automatically make it burn mp3 disk.

at least the Mac version does this.

does the PC version also?!?

[Hardcoreruss]

Must diagree with the title of this thread.

Downloaded it last night it is the absolute b@ll@cks. Started converting my entire library last night to AAC 64kpbs (no differnece from 128 mp3). That means my 30gb laptop will hold around 15k songs