iTunes with Podcasting, Cell Phones and iTunes Movies?

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

O'Reilly Radar reports (http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2005/05/podcast_support.html) on Steve Jobs participation at this year's D: All Things Digital conference.

Steve Jobs demonstrated a version of iTunes integrating PodCasting (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/02/20050208160242.shtml) support which should be available "within about 60 days".

Jobs also discussed the difficulty in working with wireless carriers with respect to integrated iTunes with cellular phones, noting:"Apple's never been very good at going through corporate orifices in order to get at the end users."

Finally, with the recent introduction (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/05/20050509215340.shtml) of music video sales on the iTunes Music Store, Jobs fielded questions about whether or not movies might eventually be on sale. Jobs reportedly answered: "I'm going to have to leave that answer to our actions in the future."

[wrldwzrd89]

Looks like typical Apple behavior to me - setting things up for the implementation of future plans. I support Podcasts and would like them in iTunes. The other things (iTunes cell phone and videos in the store) I would not use.

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

I couldn't care less for Podcasts.

Music videos in iTunes is not very interesting as long as the audio isn't streamed over AirPort (with all the problems of delaying the images that would involve).

My views on full length movies can be found in the [post=1476007]poll thread[post].

But cell phones might be interesting. But I really want an Apple cellphone, not just an iTunes enabled Motorola (or others). I'd buy a nice Apple branded cellphone that synced flawlessly (over Bluetooth and/or USB) with iCal, Address Book and maybe even Mail that could play iTunes purchased music as ringtones (which is funny for a very short time, but still...) in a second.

[macorama]

"I'm going to have to leave that answer to our actions in the future."
At any rate, you'd have to be crazy not to believe that they're working to make it happen as soon as possible. You'd have to think there would be a huge advantage for the first big player to offer comprehensive movie downloads.

[Daveway]

This is good news. I feel like Steve spilled the beans. ;)

[hob]

"Apple's never been very good at going through corporate orifices in order to get at the end users."What's he referring to there? (historically, I mean)

"I'm going to have to leave that answer to our actions in the future."
Damnit steve, couldn't you give a straight answer for once?! :rolleyes:

[VicMacs]

so we should expet the ipod movie soon?

[GodBless]

Finally, with the recent introduction (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2005/05/20050509215340.shtml) of music video sales on the iTunes Music Store, Jobs fielded questions about whether or not movies might eventually be on sale. Jobs reportedly answered: "I'm going to have to leave that answer to our actions in the future."
We know what this means. Recently Steve didn't even consider selling movies. This was clearly implied when Steve decided to not have an iVideo or iPod Video (or whatever Apple will call it) in the near future about a year ago. Expect movies on iTunes alongside an iVid -- soon!


The problems with Apple selling movies are:

- Where is the iVid? Will it come at WWDC?

- Also; are people willing to spend $10 per video as much as they are .99 cents per song? Ten times more is quite a bit. My guess is that many people who buy music from iTunes will still pirate movies.

- Are Apple's iTunes servers ready for selling long movies? Apple only lets you download your iTunes songs once and the videos they sell now are short in length. Movies are gigs in file size where songs are only in megs.

- People with 56k and other types of slow internet connections will not be to download movies.


If Apple can work out these kinks then they will be in good shape. Here are some solutions:

- H.264 makes the downloading server's speed easier to solve because the files are smaller.

- Slow internet connection users can download H.264 4 times faster than normal video codec.

- Pirates will pay just to get the video 4 times faster.

[longofest]

In other words... H.264 is more than just for movie trailers apparently :-).

We're still talking about HUGE movies to have to download though. That would be a big strain on Apple's servers. 9.99 for an album of less than 50 MB is one thing. Lets say Apple prices one movie at 9.99 (which would make sense). That would be 9.99 for probably close to 1 GB of information. And the music store already hardly makes a profit! Even if they price it at 14.99, I don't see how it can make business sense.

[Porchland]

Podcasting:

I'm glad Apple is getting on board -- not because I like Podcasting but because I DON'T like it. The interfaces are clunky, the content is blah and the whole experience is very high maintenance.

Apple podcasting could be: NPR's "Morning Edition" synced every morning for $5 a month, Letterman's top 10 list, a weekly comedy broadcast by David Sedaris, etc. Apple will be able to fully intergrate it into iTunes and do it with great content.

Music videos:

I'm scratching my head at this one. Apple lets you watch music videos for FREE right now on iTMS. (You can also watch music videos FREE on MTV, VHI, BET, etc.) If this doesn't port to the iPod, Apple will just expect consumers to pay for something they already get for free.

This doesn't make any sense unless the iPod or a new handheld video player is involved.

[GodBless]

In other words... H.264 is more than just for movie trailers apparently :-).

We're still talking about HUGE movies to have to download though. That would be a big strain on Apple's servers. 9.99 for an album of less than 50 MB is one thing. Lets say Apple prices one movie at 9.99 (which would make sense). That would be 9.99 for probably close to 1 GB of information. And the music store already hardly makes a profit! Even if they price it at 14.99, I don't see how it can make business sense.

My thoughts exactly. ;) Maybe they'll use bit torrent so they won't have to use their servers as much (just kidding). Maybe all their profit will come from their iVid and they'll lose a little money in their video store.

[narco]

What's he referring to there? (historically, I mean)


Damnit steve, couldn't you give a straight answer for once?! :rolleyes:

Yeah, I know what you mean. Asking Steve questions is like asking Jesus a question, or even Yoda. But it makes everything that much more exciting.

Fishes,
narco.

[freddiecable]

what if...Apple co-branded an exclusive brand with one of the biggest Mobile phone makers? Take SE, Motorola or Nokia for ex. Say that the plattform was developed with Motorola - but designed by Apple...in order to enhance the mobile phone vs. computer experience. No one could do this better than apple!

They would create a buzz throughout the industry AND all the mac-heads would pick one up and early adopters...which in turn will create an increased interest in apple computer products...

But - at the same time the cut out the other part of mobile phone industry...if the release iTunes mobile for nokia, SE's etc use they have an option of establishing a standard music-player. But then again...SE and the others will probably brand their own music-media-player...

Apple - give us an iPhone - with bluetooth, 1 GB Flashdrive, scrollwheel etc - syncable with .mac etc!

[chameeeleon]

What's he referring to there? (historically, I mean)
Damnit steve, couldn't you give a straight answer for once?! :rolleyes:

He was referring to Apple's inability to get their computers into Fortune 500 companies. That part of the quote was cut off in the transfer to here. It's on the O'Reilly website.
And does anyone who was in attendance have comments on the Podcasting interface? He did demonstrate this, didn't he? Was this also Steve's only conference-y appearance? No Airport Express revamp at D I take it?

[otter-boy]

Music videos:

I'm scratching my head at this one. Apple lets you watch music videos for FREE right now on iTMS. (You can also watch music videos FREE on MTV, VHI, BET, etc.) If this doesn't port to the iPod, Apple will just expect consumers to pay for something they already get for free.

This doesn't make any sense unless the iPod or a new handheld video player is involved.

Well, music is available for free on the radio and streamed on the internet, but people still want to own the music so that they can listen to whatever they want whenever they want.

I think music videos will have some success for the same reason. Anyway, why wait a week to catch the new Gorillaz video on MTV when you can watch it anytime you want, even if you don't have an active internet connection?

[jicon]

Of course, this might be cleared up at the same time that a video store is introduced...

But doesn't it make sense that Quicktime 7 be shipped to the PC masses before introducing a store? Iron out the big bugs, then unleash H.264 videos via iTunes 5.0(?)

[swissmann]

I think it is pretty safe to say that Apple is working on movie downloads through iTunes or something like that. This is indicated by iTunes new video features and by his "wait and see" answer. Whether or not we see the end result of it is another story.

[aaroncd]

Podcasting:

I'm glad Apple is getting on board -- not because I like Podcasting but because I DON'T like it. The interfaces are clunky, the content is blah and the whole experience is very high maintenance.

Apple podcasting could be: NPR's "Morning Edition" synced every morning for $5 a month, Letterman's top 10 list, a weekly comedy broadcast by David Sedaris, etc. Apple will be able to fully intergrate it into iTunes and do it with great content.


Ok, there was this and another earlier post on podcasting. Neither of you get it. Yes some of the interfaces for the podcatcher software is clunky still.
Podcasting as a concept is still less than a year old, it has gone from one show to over 5000. That is one hell of a growth rate. And that is just the different shows being produced, that doesnt count the amount of people listening to them.

The content is far from blah, yes there are some blah shows, but its the concept of people being able to be their own broadcasters that is the exciting part. If you actually tried listening to a few shows, and do some checking about, there are lots of great shows out there, in almost all topics. They are done by people who love what they are doing and that is a huge driving force. It is giving people more content to put on their ipods.

For the short term, iTunes supporting Podcasts is the biggest news from this article. It will give more people easy access to podcasts which gives people more reasons to get ipods. And what is the cost for apple for this? Almost nothing, just the addition of podcatching software into itunes.

This is HUGE.....and completely awesome.

Aaron

[dejo]

You can also watch music videos FREE on MTV...

They show videos on MTV? ;)

[ijimk]

if they release iflicks on itunes that would be kool, but if they release an ipod to play em im gonna be mad. i just bought an ipod photo and i specifally remeber steve saying playing movies on an ipod isn't feesible.

[Dr.Gargoyle]

In other words... H.264 is more than just for movie trailers apparently :-).

We're still talking about HUGE movies to have to download though. That would be a big strain on Apple's servers. 9.99 for an album of less than 50 MB is one thing. Lets say Apple prices one movie at 9.99 (which would make sense). That would be 9.99 for probably close to 1 GB of information. And the music store already hardly makes a profit! Even if they price it at 14.99, I don't see how it can make business sense.
$/Gb has been dropping radically and will continue to do so. When Apple launches this service they will make money on it.

[Ugg]

if they release iflicks on itunes that would be kool, but if they release an ipod to play em im gonna be mad. i just bought an ipod photo and i specifally remeber steve saying playing movies on an ipod isn't feesible.

Ah, the one thing about Steve is that he is farily upfront about feasibility, AT THE MOMENT HE IS SPEAKING. Just because it's not feasible then, doesn't mean it won't be at some point in the future.

I'm sure they are exploring it but I for one, would never watch a movie on an iPod. What's the point? A music video maybe, especially if it's part of an album that I bought, but then the battery life is going to sink to the point where a handful of videos will totally deplete the battery.

[iWillard]

We're still talking about HUGE movies to have to download though. That would be a big strain on Apple's servers. 9.99 for an album of less than 50 MB is one thing. Lets say Apple prices one movie at 9.99 (which would make sense). That would be 9.99 for probably close to 1 GB of information. And the music store already hardly makes a profit! Even if they price it at 14.99, I don't see how it can make business sense.

How about episodes of TV shows....?? I'd pay $5-10 to have the latest episode of my favorite TV show instead of waiting for the season to come out on DVD... Only buy my favorite episodes, it'd be great... I'd buy last week's Family Guy in heartbeat! :D

[wrldwzrd89]

In other words... H.264 is more than just for movie trailers apparently :-).

We're still talking about HUGE movies to have to download though. That would be a big strain on Apple's servers. 9.99 for an album of less than 50 MB is one thing. Lets say Apple prices one movie at 9.99 (which would make sense). That would be 9.99 for probably close to 1 GB of information. And the music store already hardly makes a profit! Even if they price it at 14.99, I don't see how it can make business sense.
Apple uses Akamai's caching service for most of their QuickTime-based content. They'll probably enlist Akamai's help for the movie store too.

[Amygdaloid]

Why does downloading a moviehave to be such a big deal? I rent movies from my Digital Cable provider on demand, and I can pause, rewind, fast forward and watch it over and over for the next 24 hours. Plus with my DVR, I can watch a movie in HD, and capture to disk for replay at any time. This is all from the same cable that I use for my high speed internet to the Mac.

Why couldn't the same thing happen directly to the mac and iTunes

[Dahl]

Ok, there was this and another earlier post on podcasting. Neither of you get it. Yes some of the interfaces for the podcatcher software is clunky still.
Podcasting as a concept is still less than a year old, it has gone from one show to over 5000. That is one hell of a growth rate. And that is just the different shows being produced, that doesnt count the amount of people listening to them.

The content is far from blah, yes there are some blah shows, but its the concept of people being able to be their own broadcasters that is the exciting part. If you actually tried listening to a few shows, and do some checking about, there are lots of great shows out there, in almost all topics. They are done by people who love what they are doing and that is a huge driving force. It is giving people more content to put on their ipods.

For the short term, iTunes supporting Podcasts is the biggest news from this article. It will give more people easy access to podcasts which gives people more reasons to get ipods. And what is the cost for apple for this? Almost nothing, just the addition of podcatching software into itunes.

This is HUGE.....and completely awesome.

Aaron
I agree 100%.

The people that "don't get" podcasts are either people, who doesn't care for the many different subjects that Podcasts brings you or people who only know little about the available podcasts.
The RSS reader NewsFire is clean and beautiful, it looks like an original Apple app and now it supports podcasts and imports them directly into iTunes. But it would be even better if iTunes did that all by itself.

(now if iTunes only had a better radio section, that would be something. There's no reason why the section can't look more like the store with nice graphics and station info.)

btw. Check out http://www.stylusmagazine.com/stycast/ They have some great Podcasts.

[sPAULj]

Damnit steve, couldn't you give a straight answer for once?!

Never.

[Daveway]

Does anyone know if the event was video taped?

[SFVCyclone]

from appleinsider.com Bill Gates

At one point Jobs asked members of the audience to raise their hands if they owned an iPod. The attention of the room was almost immediately turned to Bill Gates, who was also present. As the video cameras panned his way, Gates smirked and shied away -- he owns a Rio.

i would have laughed SOOOOOO HARD if i was there. :D :D :D :D :D

[Dahl]

I want to see video of that! :D

[yankee77]

With the agressive hold that Apple has on the digial lifestyle market, I wouldn't put it past them to try a few more "think different" ideas.

With the advent of QT7 (H.264) and all the new direct recording into QT, iTMS (podcasting). Not only could we be getting audio podcasting, but eventually video podcasting as well. This could be bigger than any other internet offering, imagine, everyone being able to be an executive producer of a film, the possibilities are endless.

Having the interface to hold it all...this is almost giving me chills!

[jicon]

Why does downloading a moviehave to be such a big deal? I rent movies from my Digital Cable provider on demand, and I can pause, rewind, fast forward and watch it over and over for the next 24 hours. Plus with my DVR, I can watch a movie in HD, and capture to disk for replay at any time. This is all from the same cable that I use for my high speed internet to the Mac.

Why couldn't the same thing happen directly to the mac and iTunes

The Internet at some location, can be a bottleneck.

Your cable provider can better ensure fast download rates from their locally cached copies of the movie. The @Home portal pages from several years back worked in this manner, by caching movies and downloads for users to access a copy.

Phone lines, and other large/small networks put a big kink in that speed and availability.

A two hour HD Broadcast of CSI that has been encoded with Divx recently, ran 659MB.

Who knows what Apple would consider delivering one day, but 300MB for most Internet users takes a long time to download. Most likely doubling the playtime/download time of the movie/broadcast.

[enoch]

Surely the important part of this announcement is that iTunes will carry content created by iTunes users?

For instance, we might see a bunch of podcasts about apple tech, from all sorts of different users. Or complaints about apple tech...

Almost certainly, this will be used to hype things from the store - every thursday, they send an email out. How much better would it be if it was a radio show, with clips from the songs on offer?

The movie issue is down the road, next to the big house of DRM. The podcasting issue is the next stop, and I think there will be a lot of people getting on board.

[runninmac]

Ok the videos would be cool but tonight i was planing on going to best buy to pick up a new iPod photo :D. Now after hearing this i dont no what to do :confused:. So does bestbuy have a thing where if something new/cheaper comes out you can trade it in. Or if apple introduces a new iPod for $349 should i complain about something then they would give me a new one. (i know this isn't the most "ethical" thing to do but im low on money)

[wdlove]

Yeah, I know what you mean. Asking Steve questions is like asking Jesus a question, or even Yoda. But it makes everything that much more exciting.

Fishes,
narco.

It's that we haven't been given all the knowledge to understand his answer.

Just make the approach of WWDC in two weeks, just that much more exciting.

[fawlty]

Ah, the one thing about Steve is that he is farily upfront about feasibility, AT THE MOMENT HE IS SPEAKING. Just because it's not feasible then, doesn't mean it won't be at some point in the future.

This is the Clinton defence - it depends upon the precise meaning of "is".

[ccool2ax]

First things first, people calling a video iPod the iVideo or the vPod should stop. iVideo sounds like a really stupid name for a VCR, and the vPod breaks apple's iModel (sorry, i had to...) iPod AV sounds much better...
Second, an iPhone is unnecesary. It's like asking a classical piano company to make MIDI switchboxes and FireWire interfaces.
Third, the whole freaking point of podcasting is that it is prerecorded radio aka FREE. I wouldnt pay $5 to get NPR 3 hours later. I can wiretap it from a RadioShark for free.
Apple should write a compression algorithm that keeps good video suitable for iPod AV playing but small, like AAC. H.264 Medium with 128kbps AAC sound is around twice as much as an AAC file, but it looks decent and is smaller than many other formats.
Apple should offer free podcast making programs, or at least plug it into GB.

Thank you.

[Ugg]

Second, an iPhone is unnecesary. It's like asking a classical piano company to make MIDI switchboxes and FireWire interfaces.
Third, the whole freaking point of podcasting is that it is prerecorded radio aka FREE. I wouldnt pay $5 to get NPR 3 hours later. I can wiretap it from a RadioShark for free.
Apple should write a compression algorithm that keeps good video suitable for iPod AV playing but small, like AAC. H.264 Medium with 128kbps AAC sound is around twice as much as an AAC file, but it looks decent and is smaller than many other formats.
Apple should offer free podcast making programs, or at least plug it into GB.

Thank you.

Erm, in regards to the iPhone, I think you're ignoring the fact that Apple is slowing moving away from solely being a computer company to being an entertainment company. The iPod and iTunes and Airport Express all point in that direction. Also, phones are used by virtually everyone and are an important source of information regarding our friends, family, work associates, etc, etc. Why not have a phone that can connect you with all the people around you and play a few favorite songs and synchronise flawlessly with your computer.

I am totally hyped about podcasting being built into iTunes, both making Podcasts and downloading them. I never seem to be listening to the radio when my favorite radio shows are on and can't ever be bothered to download them later. I would pay a small fee for NPR, maybe 5 bucks a month. I think a mix of pay to play and free is the way to go, that way some quality programming could be mixed in with the experimental stuff and possibly attract more listeners.

[Dahl]

I use iChat AV daily with my family on the other side of the world and don't really have a need for an iPhone. I think it's more likely that Apple will keep pushing the iChat concept. (and I hope they will continue to push it)

Unless the iPhone will be outstanding, I'm not sure how many would want it. I know several people who could buy an iSight, but prefer their privacy so video (iChat or iPhone) is not for everybody.

[Dr.Gargoyle]

I wouldnt pay $5 to get NPR 3 hours later. I can wiretap it from a RadioShark for free.
Jobs said it would be free of charge... read the article
Both subscribing and downloading would be free

[thediesel]

iTMS video function does not necessarily have to be a service where you download movies forever. I do not have any statistics, but I'd guess pirating movies hurts rentals the most. I would think that an itunes movie store would involve downloading videos that would cost a few dollars and last about a week before they will not play anymore. So instead of going out to Blockbuster and renting the newest movie, you simply download it, put it on your ipod, which outputs video, plug it into a TV and watch your movie. This would destroy services like Netflix because there would be no shipping, only downloading.

I do not think a small screen to watch feature length videos would be cool. The next generation of ipod should have a video playing function, but that should be intended for music videos and such. The ipod video should be used to plug into monitors and TVs to display video. That makes the most sense in my mind.

If you're going to pay ten dollars to buy a movie, I'd rather pay the extra money for a DVD that I can transport easily and has packaging and extras.

[aswitcher]

Podcasting capture in iTunes sound great. Glad they acted fast on this one as I sisn't want to splash cash down on a 3rd party product.

[Dr.Gargoyle]

I do not think a small screen to watch feature length videos would be cool. The next generation of ipod should have a video playing function, but that should be intended for music videos and such. The ipod video should be used to plug into monitors and TVs to display video. That makes the most sense in my mind.

If you're going to pay ten dollars to buy a movie, I'd rather pay the extra money for a DVD that I can transport easily and has packaging and extras.
Since iPod photo can show pics on a TV, the jump to make the iPod show movies on a Tv isnt that big.
I doubt that many people would sit and watch a full length movie on a iPod, but who knows.... I might be wrong

[aaroncd]

Podcasting capture in iTunes sound great. Glad they acted fast on this one as I sisn't want to splash cash down on a 3rd party product.

No cash needed, go to ipodder.org and grab ipodder. Its free and adds all the podcasts to itunes for you. I personally use iPodderX, which has a free and pay version, I have the pay one.

And while u are all at it you can check http://celticmusicnews.com and check my podcast :)

Cheers lads and lasses,
Aaron

[ariza910]

Since iPod photo can show pics on a TV, the jump to make the iPod show movies on a Tv isnt that big.
I doubt that many people would sit and watch a full length movie on a iPod, but who knows.... I might be wrong


the Archos media player already does all of this, the new version can be used as a PVR to record your TV shows and watch them on any TV or on the go. It has a 7" 16:9 screen and 100GB hard drive, auto sync music/pictures/video and WiFi.

http://www.archos.com/

The technology is already there its just a question of wether Apple wants to put it into a video iPod.

[toughboy]

so we should expet the ipod movie soon?

The point underlying the selling of videos in ITMS is all about setting up the scene for iPod Video. Soon Creative and other crappy mp3 players will begin (some already did) offering Video support on their devices and Apple will need to answer that move.. But since you cannot sell the device unless there is legal stuff to play on it, ITMS is now beginning to sell videos and other stuff to be able to sell iPod Video later on..

[toughboy]

the Archos media player already does all of this, the new version can be used as a PVR to record your TV shows and watch them on any TV or on the go. It has a 7" 16:9 screen and 100GB hard drive, auto sync music/pictures/video and WiFi.

http://www.archos.com/

The technology is already there its just a question of wether Apple wants to put it into a video iPod.

The technology was there probably 5 years ago, but the market wasnt ready for it and there was no demand. Apple is now setting the scene to prepare the right environment to be able to make the right move on the right time.

By the way, that ugly brick can be a miracle but it looks nothing but a useless crap and waste of $$$ to me..

[rlreif]

First things first, people calling a video iPod the iVideo or the vPod should stop. iVideo sounds like a really stupid name for a VCR, and the vPod breaks apple's iModel (sorry, i had to...) iPod AV sounds much better...
Second, an iPhone is unnecesary. It's like asking a classical piano company to make MIDI switchboxes and FireWire interfaces.
Third, the whole freaking point of podcasting is that it is prerecorded radio aka FREE. I wouldnt pay $5 to get NPR 3 hours later. I can wiretap it from a RadioShark for free.
Apple should write a compression algorithm that keeps good video suitable for iPod AV playing but small, like AAC. H.264 Medium with 128kbps AAC sound is around twice as much as an AAC file, but it looks decent and is smaller than many other formats.
Apple should offer free podcast making programs, or at least plug it into GB.

Thank you.


thanks... my thoughts exactly.... lots of stupid posts in this thread... and you pretty much spoke my mind about everything.... though i was too lazy to post my thoughts myself

[SiliconAddict]

Coolness. I actually downloaded my first podcast on Saturday. It was from engadget.com. It was an E3 wrap-up and discussion session from the folks at Joystiq. I very much enjoyed it. Even more so when I figured out you CAN make custom genres in iTunes by typing it out in the field. (e.g. PodCast)

[dizastor]

They show videos on MTV?


Not since about 1989.

[Panoctopi]

They show videos on MTV? ;)

videos are so 80's, there should be a 'reality tv' itunes video-streaming channel... :rolleyes:

[Machead III]

An online movie store is going to happen for sure, it's just a matter of time. The challenge is for Apple to pull it off with the technology we have today, and with the greedy bastard studious that own the rights to the movies that would be sold.

Now, this is all very exciting, but it's almost certain that the films would be released on the store once available on DVD. Now, if Apple could swing it so you could watch box office flicks (streaming or whatever), on demand, then that would be so huge it's just silly.

[dobbin]

I've lost track of what free and what we have to pay for these days. Is iTunes free, or is it part of iLife? Will I have to pay for the new version (due within 60 days) or will it be a free download. I feel like I've spent enough on Tiger and iLife recently so hopefully this will not cost me. I'd like to be able to manage podcasts, especially as BBC are getting into this more and more with their radio shows.

[wrldwzrd89]

I've lost track of what free and what we have to pay for these days. Is iTunes free, or is it part of iLife? Will I have to pay for the new version (due within 60 days) or will it be a free download. I feel like I've spent enough on Tiger and iLife recently so hopefully this will not cost me. I'd like to be able to manage podcasts, especially as BBC are getting into this more and more with their radio shows.
In answer to your first question - the answer is both, actually. It's part of iLife, yet it's available to download for free - the only part of iLife that can be freely downloaded. iTunes 4.9 should be as free as any previous version was, since Apple would rather give iTunes away if doing so means more sales at the iTMS.

[agentkow]

Okay, okay, this is all very important discussion, but the really big questions is this:

Will iTunes 4.9 have folders?

With all those podcasts in there, we're really going to need them now (unless of course they make another category like the store, radio, party shuffle or whatever, which I actually think I read somewhere they did). Does no one have a screenshot or photo of the presentation or anything? I need to know about those elusive folders...

[ariza910]

Okay, okay, this is all very important discussion, but the really big questions is this:

Will iTunes 4.9 have folders?

With all those podcasts in there, we're really going to need them now (unless of course they make another category like the store, radio, party shuffle or whatever, which I actually think I read somewhere they did). Does no one have a screenshot or photo of the presentation or anything? I need to know about those elusive folders...


What about just making a smart playlist and have it look for any file with 'podcast' as the genre, that works well for me now

[Dahl]

What about just making a smart playlist and have it look for any file with 'podcast' as the genre, that works well for me now
It works to a certain extent, but it's not the best solution.
Many Podcasters give little or no info with their files, while others list all the important features. So you wouyld have to do it yourself, not an easy way to do it in the long run.

btw. Does anybody know if it's possible to make "chapters" in a Podcast file (mp3 file) just like you can with a QT movie. So you can fast forward or rewind in your long mp3s.