More iTunes 5 Info?

MacRumors · 01:08 PM

Last week, Page 2 of MacRumors provided some interesting but unverified reports of the upcoming iTunes release.

The anonymous Page 2 submission claimed that October 16th would bring iTunes 5 -- which was said to include WMA support, music store "listener loans", new encoding options and an all new interface.

New accessories for the iPod were reported to be "a recording device, a new dock to transfer and view movies and photos on a television and a bluetooth dock/headphone pair" with some tentative confirmation of plans for a photo-interface adapter for the iPod.

Today, AppleInsider claims to have some independent (but also unconfirmed) reports of similar upgrades planned from Apple.

Their report claims that Apple will be introducing a recording device, and a major update to iTunes and AAC Digital Rights Management to allow users to "borrow or preview full tracks or albums". (ed note: Listener loans?)

Both reports (Page 2 and Appleinsider) are tagged as unverified and could simply represent a common incorrect source.

iTunes last saw a major upgrade in April, 2003 and was released alongside the original release of the iTunes Music Store.

theipodgod16 · Oct 13, 2003, 01:06 PM

Listener Loans - Good!

WMA - Baddddd

Please, dont put microsoft on my ipod!

If they change one thing about itunes though, i hope that they make it so you can browse and edit your collection without having the music stop after every song. Anybody else know what i am talking about?

september29th · Oct 13, 2003, 01:08 PM

Quote:

and a major update to iTunes and AAC Digital Rights Management to allow users to "borrow or preview full tracks or albums". (ed note: Listener loans?)

Perhaps a perk for those who own an Apple Computer ???

.mCr.

G4scott · Oct 13, 2003, 01:09 PM

Listener loans would be awesome! It would certainly give the iTMS an edge over any other service. It would ensure that the iTMS will wipe out the competition.

And with these new iPod accessories... Anyone want a 2nd generation 10 gb iPod?

As far as WMA goes, Apple will have to do it to stay competitive. Many people already have their songs in WMA format, and this is what it'll take to get them to use iTunes. They'll also have to use iTunes to transfer WMA's from another online music store onto an iPod (if it's possible), so why not just use the iTMS? If you ask me, it's a pretty smart idea.

mactastic · Oct 13, 2003, 01:13 PM

It actually would be very nice to get a chance to listen to more than 30 seconds of a song before you buy it.

mainstreetmark · Oct 13, 2003, 01:15 PM

"Listener Loans", eh?

So, I guess a song must request permission from iTMS to play, and after, what, 5 times it self-terminates?

I don't use iTMS much, because they still don't have music I like. Not a complaint, i realize they have to work with people who like the songs on the radio and all that, but maybe in a year or so, they'll be plugged in to every minor record label and then weiners like me will have a reliable place to purchase Man or Astro-Man? (although, I guess I already own all their albums)

MacUser1 · Oct 13, 2003, 01:15 PM

interesting....
i feel the interface is excellent as it is, but i'm sure apple will find a way to make it even better

also the iPod peripherals seem a little off, some of the anyway...like the dock to view pictures and movies. i don't know if apple would do something like that right now. although i would definitely enjoy something like that!

Le Big Mac · Oct 13, 2003, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mactastic
It actually would be very nice to get a chance to listen to more than 30 seconds of a song before you buy it.

You mean, like make it on-demand listening for any song?

They're not about to let you listen to the whole thing.

although, I agree that it would be nice if they had two 30-second samples, each from different parts of the song, and if you clicked "listen again" (or something) it would give you the second clip.

mainstreetmark · Oct 13, 2003, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by theipodgod16

If they change one thing about itunes though, i hope that they make it so you can browse and edit your collection without having the music stop after every song. Anybody else know what i am talking about?

Yeah - that's the only part I have trouble with. I don't really know what 'playlist' it's playing. Or, if you search for a song you want to hear, and don't clear the search box, you get to hear that song over and over. There should be a "Current Playlist" Source listed, that lists what's coming up or something - even if it's just a mirror of one of your preset playlists. And it would be neat if you could add to it. Sometimes I want to hear 4 songs in a row, but don't want to create a 4-song playlist.

Freg3000 · 01:26 PM

I brought this up in a previous thread: How much sense does it make for Apple to release Panther next week, without the latest and greatest iTunes, supposedly released this week?

That aside, I am weary of Listener Loans, as I do not fully understand them. To me, it just complicates the process. Can someone tell me what we 'think" it is?

Edit: Obviously, something big is happening on Thursday. Most likely there will be a Steve Keynote, and he isn't just going to demo iTMS for Windows for an hour.

Ja Di ksw · Oct 13, 2003, 01:23 PM

I've been wondering when they were going to come out with the next version, and eagerly looking forward to it. The interface is the best out there by far, in my opinion. Hopefully they won't ruin it, but I don't think they will. Some slight improvement that 95% of the people will like, but nothing drastic. As far as the iPod, I would really, really like to see a recording device. Of course, I couldn't use it with my 1st gen 5 GB iPod, but I would still want to see it. Maybe I'll even upgrade if its good enough, though I'm still trying to decide if buying a powerbook is worth it. I've got a decent nest egg, but no job right now, so no money coming in.

cgmpowers · Oct 13, 2003, 01:23 PM

How will Audio HiJack be defeated via Listener Loans? This program just records whatever sound it hears and was one of the programs, next to iLeach, that stole songs via the original iTunes Sharing experiment..

I want listener loans too but wonder how long until that's closed down??

I'm not trying to be a downer but even the AAC can be bypassed to a point, if you make a CD and rerip it to MP3's...

Christopher

Makosuke · Oct 13, 2003, 01:27 PM

Adding WMA support to iTunes (maybe only on the PC) wouldn't be a bad idea at all, but I'd be a bit surprised if they supported it on the iPod. I'd be even more surprised if they supported Microsoft DRM on the iPod (and I think it'd be a bad idea), but I suppose even that's possible.

I'm skeptical of the whole thing, but hey, we'll see soon enough.

SiliconAddict · Oct 13, 2003, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by theipodgod16
Listener Loans - Good!

WMA - Baddddd

Please, dont put microsoft on my ipod!

No one is forcing you to do squat. You don't like it. Don't use it. Simple no?

blueBomber · 01:37 PM

wma support is a smart move IMHO. It may not be a standard, but it is a popular format, and if Apple wants to make inroads into the PC market, they have to go with the flow (but just this once)

SiliconAddict · Oct 13, 2003, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Macrumors
Yada, yada, yada

Anyone else have a **** eating grin on their face after this news? I can't wait for Thursday. I have about $50 burning a hole in my pants.

jaison13 · Oct 13, 2003, 01:39 PM

i think wireless headphones woud be great, i love the bluetooth accessories in general and being able to listen without wires would be awesome. charging the headphone would be the only downside.

arn · Oct 13, 2003, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by theipodgod16

Please, dont put microsoft on my ipod!

note: the rumor claims WMA on iTunes, not the iPod.

arn

dho · Oct 13, 2003, 01:42 PM

Freg3000:

They could have itunes 5 already in panther. They could have just not put it in the seed of the "gm". It really would not be hard to do.

Release it now and have a free online download and then ship it 2 weeks later in panther.

Or...
They could give you some sort of cryptic coupon like the g5 users got for panther

we will just have to wait 3 days

temptatino · Oct 13, 2003, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cgmpowers
How will Audio HiJack be defeated via Listener Loans? This program just records whatever sound it hears and was one of the programs, next to iLeach, that stole songs via the original iTunes Sharing experiment..

exactly.

there's no way that we're getting anything like true 'listener loans'. heck you can record your mac's audio source even without audio hijack just by running a cable from your speaker out to your line in. with the way the labels have been about licensing i don't seem them throwing caution to the wind with listener loans.

MM2270 · Oct 13, 2003, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ja Di ksw
I've been wondering when they were going to come out with the next version, and eagerly looking forward to it. The interface is the best out there by far, in my opinion. Hopefully they won't ruin it, but I don't think they will. Some slight improvement that 95% of the people will like, but nothing drastic. As far as the iPod, I would really, really like to see a recording device. Of course, I couldn't use it with my 1st gen 5 GB iPod, but I would still want to see it. Maybe I'll even upgrade if its good enough, though I'm still trying to decide if buying a powerbook is worth it. I've got a decent nest egg, but no job right now, so no money coming in.

I was just thinking the same thing. When I read about the "listener loans" I thought to myself that Audio Hijack would have a field day with it. It'll be interesting to see how Apple gets around apps like that. I imagine they have SOME plan or else they wouldn't be doing this.

temptatino · Oct 13, 2003, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by arn
note: the rumor claims WMA on iTunes, not the iPod.

and it should stay that way.. wma playback & conversion in itunes is one of things needed to pull in windows users. but apple probably isn't interested in letting users transfer wma from other download services directly to the ipod, or in trying to squeeze microsoft tech into a player that already kicks.

temptatino · Oct 13, 2003, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MM2270
When I read about the "listener loans" I thought to myself that Audio Hijack would have a field day with it. It'll be interesting to see how Apple gets around apps like that. I imagine they have SOME plan or else they wouldn't be doing this.

how would you get around an app like that? you can't block audio services or recording... can you imagine having all of your audio apps screw up whenever you launched itunes or played a protected file? unless they locked the computer down (with a warning) ONLY while you were playing a 'listener loan' stream.

but then again.. listner loans really aren't all that different then streaming radio. so you never know. the main drawbacks to radio are quality and the lack of any way to preselect a song or predict when the song you want to record will come on.

i still don't expect to see 'listener loans' that are anything like what we've been discussing.

tny · Oct 13, 2003, 02:00 PM

WMA would be there for folks migrating from other music services or just from Windows Media Player so they don't have to rerip everything. Sooner or later they'll re-rerip everything to AAC (I used to have all MP3 on MusicMatch, and finally convinced myself that the slight diff in quality/compression was worth the time to rerip).

Listener loans: I'm not sure how they'd get around AudioHijack. Maybe iTunes would fail if AudioHijack is running? Or maybe listener loans would just be very low quality recordings, so noone would be tempted to rip them.

On the listener loans, you might get only 1 or 2 listens per song per account lifetime. Or you might pay $.50 for a file that would expire after a week, and you'd have to pay another $.49 to hear it after that.

Stella · Oct 13, 2003, 02:03 PM

Listener loans is excellent.

WMA Support:
hopefully you'll be able to convert music from wma to a proper open format such as AAC.

Oct 13, 2003, 01:03 PM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	More iTunes 5 Info? Last week, Page 2 of MacRumors provided some interesting but unverified reports of the upcoming iTunes release. The anonymous Page 2 submission claimed that October 16th would bring iTunes 5 -- which was said to include WMA support, music store "listener loans", new encoding options and an all new interface. New accessories for the iPod were reported to be "a recording device, a new dock to transfer and view movies and photos on a television and a bluetooth dock/headphone pair" with some tentative confirmation of plans for a photo-interface adapter for the iPod. Today, AppleInsider claims to have some independent (but also unconfirmed) reports of similar upgrades planned from Apple. Their report claims that Apple will be introducing a recording device, and a major update to iTunes and AAC Digital Rights Management to allow users to "borrow or preview full tracks or albums". (ed note: Listener loans?) Both reports (Page 2 and Appleinsider) are tagged as unverified and could simply represent a common incorrect source. iTunes last saw a major upgrade in April, 2003 and was released alongside the original release of the iTunes Music Store. Last edited by arn : Oct 13, 2003 at 01:08 PM.

Oct 13, 2003, 01:09 PM	#4
G4scott macrumors 68020 Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Austin, TX	Listener loans would be awesome! It would certainly give the iTMS an edge over any other service. It would ensure that the iTMS will wipe out the competition. And with these new iPod accessories... Anyone want a 2nd generation 10 gb iPod? As far as WMA goes, Apple will have to do it to stay competitive. Many people already have their songs in WMA format, and this is what it'll take to get them to use iTunes. They'll also have to use iTunes to transfer WMA's from another online music store onto an iPod (if it's possible), so why not just use the iTMS? If you ask me, it's a pretty smart idea. __________________ Hook 'em Horns!

Oct 13, 2003, 01:13 PM	#5
mactastic macrumors 68040 Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Colly-fornia	It actually would be very nice to get a chance to listen to more than 30 seconds of a song before you buy it. __________________ "Republicans, I think you are confusing tyranny with losing." -- Jon Stewart

Oct 13, 2003, 01:15 PM	#7
MacUser1 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: NJ	interesting.... i feel the interface is excellent as it is, but i'm sure apple will find a way to make it even better also the iPod peripherals seem a little off, some of the anyway...like the dock to view pictures and movies. i don't know if apple would do something like that right now. although i would definitely enjoy something like that! __________________ MacBook Pro, LED Cinema Display, iPhone 3G S⃣ 32 GB, iPod 40 GB, iPod shuffle

Oct 13, 2003, 01:20 PM	#10
Freg3000 macrumors 68000 Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: New York	I brought this up in a previous thread: How much sense does it make for Apple to release Panther next week, without the latest and greatest iTunes, supposedly released this week? That aside, I am weary of Listener Loans, as I do not fully understand them. To me, it just complicates the process. Can someone tell me what we 'think" it is? Edit: Obviously, something big is happening on Thursday. Most likely there will be a Steve Keynote, and he isn't just going to demo iTMS for Windows for an hour. __________________ FregTK This Is Momentum. Last edited by Freg3000 : Oct 13, 2003 at 01:26 PM.

Oct 13, 2003, 01:06 PM	#2
theipodgod16 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Aug 2003	Listener Loans - Good! WMA - Baddddd Please, dont put microsoft on my ipod! If they change one thing about itunes though, i hope that they make it so you can browse and edit your collection without having the music stop after every song. Anybody else know what i am talking about?

Oct 13, 2003, 01:15 PM	#6
mainstreetmark macrumors 68000 Join Date: May 2003 Location: Saint Augustine, FL	"Listener Loans", eh? So, I guess a song must request permission from iTMS to play, and after, what, 5 times it self-terminates? I don't use iTMS much, because they still don't have music I like. Not a complaint, i realize they have to work with people who like the songs on the radio and all that, but maybe in a year or so, they'll be plugged in to every minor record label and then weiners like me will have a reliable place to purchase Man or Astro-Man? (although, I guess I already own all their albums)

Oct 13, 2003, 01:23 PM	#11
Ja Di ksw macrumors 65816 Join Date: Apr 2003	I've been wondering when they were going to come out with the next version, and eagerly looking forward to it. The interface is the best out there by far, in my opinion. Hopefully they won't ruin it, but I don't think they will. Some slight improvement that 95% of the people will like, but nothing drastic. As far as the iPod, I would really, really like to see a recording device. Of course, I couldn't use it with my 1st gen 5 GB iPod, but I would still want to see it. Maybe I'll even upgrade if its good enough, though I'm still trying to decide if buying a powerbook is worth it. I've got a decent nest egg, but no job right now, so no money coming in.

Oct 13, 2003, 01:23 PM	#12
cgmpowers macrumors member Join Date: Mar 2002	Audio HiJack... How will Audio HiJack be defeated via Listener Loans? This program just records whatever sound it hears and was one of the programs, next to iLeach, that stole songs via the original iTunes Sharing experiment.. I want listener loans too but wonder how long until that's closed down?? I'm not trying to be a downer but even the AAC can be bypassed to a point, if you make a CD and rerip it to MP3's... Christopher

Oct 13, 2003, 01:27 PM	#13
Makosuke macrumors 68040 Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: The Cool Part of CA, USA	Adding WMA support to iTunes (maybe only on the PC) wouldn't be a bad idea at all, but I'd be a bit surprised if they supported it on the iPod. I'd be even more surprised if they supported Microsoft DRM on the iPod (and I think it'd be a bad idea), but I suppose even that's possible. I'm skeptical of the whole thing, but hey, we'll see soon enough.

Oct 13, 2003, 01:33 PM	#15
blueBomber macrumors regular Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Minneapolis, MN	wma support is a smart move IMHO. It may not be a standard, but it is a popular format, and if Apple wants to make inroads into the PC market, they have to go with the flow (but just this once) __________________ "I am a ninja. My life is lonely and difficult." "Fry to the rain forest and save the nature!" "Yes Sir!" - a Neo Geo Classic Last edited by blueBomber : Oct 13, 2003 at 01:37 PM.

Oct 13, 2003, 01:39 PM	#17
jaison13 macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: pittsburgh	the bluetooth is what i'd like i think wireless headphones woud be great, i love the bluetooth accessories in general and being able to listen without wires would be awesome. charging the headphone would be the only downside.

Oct 13, 2003, 01:42 PM	#19
dho macrumors 6502 Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: California	Itunes 5 could be in panther already Freg3000: They could have itunes 5 already in panther. They could have just not put it in the seed of the "gm". It really would not be hard to do. Release it now and have a free online download and then ship it 2 weeks later in panther. Or... They could give you some sort of cryptic coupon like the g5 users got for panther we will just have to wait 3 days __________________ "Dont do schoo Stay in milk Drink your drugs" ~Mr. T

Oct 13, 2003, 02:00 PM	#24
tny macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2003	WMA would be there for folks migrating from other music services or just from Windows Media Player so they don't have to rerip everything. Sooner or later they'll re-rerip everything to AAC (I used to have all MP3 on MusicMatch, and finally convinced myself that the slight diff in quality/compression was worth the time to rerip). Listener loans: I'm not sure how they'd get around AudioHijack. Maybe iTunes would fail if AudioHijack is running? Or maybe listener loans would just be very low quality recordings, so noone would be tempted to rip them. On the listener loans, you might get only 1 or 2 listens per song per account lifetime. Or you might pay $.50 for a file that would expire after a week, and you'd have to pay another $.49 to hear it after that.

Oct 13, 2003, 02:03 PM	#25
Stella macrumors 68040 Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada	Listener loans is excellent. WMA Support: hopefully you'll be able to convert music from wma to a proper open format such as AAC. __________________ iPhone: The cell phone for communists and censorship

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