Just a quick heads up to everyone who is concerned – the iTunes Store has collapsed and will not load globally as far as I’m aware.
According to forum results, the store has been offline for some time but Apple (as yet) has not issued any statement regarding the issue.
I suspect Mr Jobs is more concerned about the fortune he’s loosing in digital sales!
Update 5.29pm GMT: I can now access the iTunes Store again from here in the UK.
Manage your overnight downloads without running up the electricity bill!
Do you ever find it annoying when you know you’ve got so much overnight download allowance with your broadband, but don’t want to use it because you’re computer uses so much electricity.
I have that problem regularly. It’s all very well having tonnes of usage allowance between midnight and 9am, but I don’t really want to run my computer overnight as a) it’s a fire hazard and b) it consumes a large amount of electricity.
So, yesterday, I found a solution to the issue. I found an app that will download your files for you and store them on the iPod. Then, when they are done, it will open up a port (8080) that you can browse to on your computer and download the files back locally.
The screenshot below is the file server page that can be browsed to in any web browser on your local network once it is activated within the app (click to see larger size):
I find this app so useful because I can run it all night and it won’t make a sound and won’t cost the Earth. Perfect!
You can get the full version here at £1.19, or get the free version here – but bear in mind that with the free version you can only store 10 files at a time.
It’s not 3.2, but it’s something…
This appears to be a minor update from Apple, but it has a few important fixes. Wikipedia quotes the following:
Sadly, I won’t be able to download the update for the time being as my iPod Touch is out for repair for the second time!! Very annoying. I shall be complaining to Apple!
Anyway, head over to iTunes and see for yourself whether it is any good!
As most of you will already know, the Apple conference on the 9th of September brought a lot of news to iPod users. As well as the new iPod Nano and “new” iPod Touch (I can’t say it’s new, all they’ve done is made a bigger size), Apple also released the new iTunes 9. Sadly I wasn’t able to get it right away as I’m going through small problems with internet bandwidth, which also explains why I haven’t been able to post reviews on the new iPod Touch/iPhone firmware yet – don’t worry I will get round to it as soon as I get my unlimited bandwidth back which, as far as I know, should be next week.
Anyway, as for the new iTunes, I am surprised to say that I’m actually very impressed with the new release. The new features aren’t ground breaking, but the new performance upgrades have finally arrived.
The new iTunes packs new features such as Home Sharing, which allows you to share your music between other computers in your home, and a brand new redesigned iTunes Store. Both of which work very well. I haven’t checked out the Home Sharing yet but from what I’ve read online it looks very good. The new iTunes Store is certainly very tidy and works very efficiently and I much prefer it over the previous version.
But I’m happiest about the much smoother performance. The load-up time has improved dramatically and actually browsing through the application is much more speedy.
What used to be a misery is now much easier to use and much less time consuming. I still don’t think iTunes is brilliant, but the new version has definitely made syncing my iPod much less of a chore.
Well done Apple, this is a big improvement.
If you’d like to download the new version, open up iTunes and click Check for Updates in the Help menu. Otherwise, you can head over to apple.com and download a copy from there for free.
iTunes 8.2 will now be available on Apple Software Update.
The update adds compatibility for the upcoming iPhone/iPod Touch 3.0 software update, and apparently also adds “many accessibility improvements” according to Apple.
Apple iTunes 8.2 has been in discussion for quite some time since it was dispatched to iPhone 3.0 OS beta testers over the course of the last month.
Unless you have an iPod Touch or iPhone, I don’t think there is any rush to get hold of this update. Even if you do, the latest iPhone/iPod Touch OS release date hasn’t even been confirmed yet. Apparently, Apple are going to confirm the new OS release date at the Worldwide Developers Conference next week.