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PC / Mac iTunes sharing

rye9

rye9

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 20, 2005
1,347
77
New York (not NYC)
My brother has his iTunes library on a Dell laptop, and I have my library on my iBook. Both iTunes libraries are under the same credit card account. Occasionally, we want to get the same song, however I wouldn't want us both to pay the $.99 where virtually the same account is purchasing the song twice... so how can I and/or he download the songs from each other once it's purchased on a single computer? AFAIK, there's something called file sharing but I'm not sure how to do that, can someone please help me?
 
If both computers are on the same network you can share the library. Go to preferences, under the sharing tab, enable "Share library..." and "Look for shared libraries..." on both computers.

sharing-20070920-075440.jpg



It will show up in iTunes' side panel.

itunes-20070920-075620.jpg


You will need to authorize both computers to play purchased content however. You may authorize up to 5 machines per iTunes Music Store account.
 
This just shares the music I believe, but how would either him or I download the music onto our respective computers? Thanks for the help by the way... the pictures make it much easier to understand. :)
 
rye9 said:
This just shares the music I believe, but how would either him or I download the music onto our respective computers? Thanks for the help by the way... the pictures make it much easier to understand. :)
Click to expand...

There's loads of ways - you can copy files from one computer to another by:
connecting them wirelessly
connecting them with an ethernet cable
burning the files to a CD or DVD
putting the files on a pen drive
emailing them to each other
etc etc
 
if both computers are authorised on the same account, you can just copy the music files...

use "show in finder/windows explorer" to find the actual file, and copy that to the other computer, where it can be imported into iTunes :) job done... but! if you already both have purchased music on different accounts, then i think you may be stuck :(
 
fredsherbet said:
if both computers are authorised on the same account, you can just copy the music files...

use "show in finder/windows explorer" to find the actual file, and copy that to the other computer, where it can be imported into iTunes :) job done... but! if you already both have purchased music on different accounts, then i think you may be stuck :(
Click to expand...

Right I thought so... however this is what I want to know how to do. lol. I'd imagine the steps are slightly different for differing OS's, and in my case it's Mac OSX and Windows XP... does anyone know how to set up both to copy files?
 
Yes. It can be done. I've done it, but I don't remember much about how I finally got it to work (it was a lot of trial & error before it really worked).

I know you want to open some folders on the Window machine to file sharing over your network, then you want to go to Finder on your Mac and select "Go" then "Connect to server".

finder-20070920-201149.jpg


Then you want to enter a path to the shared folder. I think it's something like "smb://IP ADDRESS OF XP MACHINE/NAME OF SHARED FOLDER".

This is the part that took some trial & error for me iirc.

Here is a great guide that I'm sure will get you going.

Good luck! It's handy once you get it going.
 
Thanks so much! That link hepled so much and I got it done. Now I'm just curious, do I have to undo any of it for security reasons? Or is my data ONLY accessible by the other computer?
 
Bump? Sorry if it's a silly question but security is just something everyone worries about these days. With "shared folders" being accessed on limewire and stuff... I just wanna know if any of the steps I followed i that link need to be undone to ensure security. Just in case I unchecked "windows sharing" so it would stop... but idk if I need to do anything else
 
Ok, as long as your network is locked down (with a firewall, preferably a hardware router / firewall) you should be fine.

Of course if you're worried about security and system integrity at all, you need to stop running apps like Limewire.
 
RumMunkey said:
Ok, as long as your network is locked down (with a firewall, preferably a hardware router / firewall) you should be fine.

Of course if you're worried about security and system integrity at all, you need to stop running apps like Limewire.
Click to expand...

How do I know if I have one of the above? Also, I don't have any apps like Limewire.... but I might in the future. :eek: All I know about that is that stuff downloaded would go into a shared folder which you should delete. I don't know... for now I don't have it anyways so I won't worry about it. lol
 
bump.

Also, I just noticed that in System Preferences "Firewall" is off. I thought firewalls are good and should be on? Should I have it on or off, and/or what is the purpose? Thanks :)
 
You should probably turn your firewall on, unless your router is handling your firewalling for you... I really can't say what your setup is like.

Check the documentation that came with your router to see if it's acting as a firewall as well.

Then, maybe go to your local library or bookstore and find a book about basic networking or network security.
 
Well I'm guessing my firewall is off as well considering I just checked my router and found this...

Picture1.png



Being I have a Mac, I don't necessarily worry about viruses and such; but what risks does not having a firewall leave? I ask because apparently I've been running without one. Now my brother with a Dell using the same router and internet as I, is he at risk of anything as well?
 
rye9 said:
Well I'm guessing my firewall is off as well considering I just checked my router and found this...

Picture1.png



Being I have a Mac, I don't necessarily worry about viruses and such; but what risks does not having a firewall leave? I ask because apparently I've been running without one. Now my brother with a Dell using the same router and internet as I, is he at risk of anything as well?
Click to expand...

In the Windows world, being on the internet without a firewall is like having unprotected sex with a lot of strangers. It's just a matter of time until you catch something you don't want.

On a mac, it's maybe not as serious, but still a "best practice".

Viruses shouldn't be your only worry. There's hackers who could get onto your system and find your credit card info, or other personal info on your computer. People could manipulate your internet connection and use it as an untraceable (to them) means to do illlegal activity, I can't even imagine what else.

So in short, I recommend a firewall for those using Macs (though I'm sure others may not), but with a Windows machine on your network it's an absolute necessity.
 
Alright thanks. So for the router I should put it on what setting would you reccomend? Like I don't understand what changing it from nothing to let's say "high" would do exactly... if it would limit me in any way or something. And I also don't know what to do exactly on my Mac since the firewall pane has many boxes I can check.
 
rye9 said:
Alright thanks. So for the router I should put it on what setting would you reccomend? Like I don't understand what changing it from nothing to let's say "high" would do exactly... if it would limit me in any way or something. And I also don't know what to do exactly on my Mac since the firewall pane has many boxes I can check.
Click to expand...

Trial & error.
 
Ok well I turned the router's firewall on. On my Mac I still don't have the firewall on... because I don't know exactly what it will do. It says it will prevent incoming traffic, but I suppose it's fine off, right? Anyways, all I'd like to know is what one should do in order to prevent someone stealing information or gaining access to my Mac or PC... I've got viruses, etc under control. :)

Also, what do I need to "turn off" on the Mac or PC when I transfer files between the two. Or does this action not leave me vulnerable to others since it's just between these two computers?
 
Honestly, I'm not a really networking genius, so I don't know that I can be much more help.

I really do suggest you maybe check a book about network security out from the library or pick something up at a bookstore.
 
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