iPod/iTunes

Now that DRM (within the music industry at least) seems to be on the wane, there is speculation that paid music downloads might be following as well. Fueling the speculation is the launch of Qtrax (which has all four major labels (EMI, SonyBMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group) signed). The front page of their website boasts availability of over 25 million songs, but a big initial drawback (IMHO) is that the downloaded songs are not compatible with iPods and have to be played via a proprietary player. Another drawback is that the service is Windows-only (at least for right now) . A P2P music tangent, is a nice TechCrunch article on the some of the music download search engines available. Update (1/29/08): Well, it seems like QTrax really messed up it's initial launch. For other prospective small businesses, it is usually wise to do the launch after getting signed contracts with your partners (especially if they are key to your success). Evidently, QTrax pulled the grand move of launching before getting signed agreements from 3 of the 4 records labels (the unsigned three say only that "talks are in progress").

Over at TUAW, there have been some additional reports of miscellaneous problems with the latest 1.1.3 firmware update. Some of the user reported issues: • Loss of sound from the speakers • Less stable than the 1.1.2 update • Bluetooth devices that worked with 1.1.2 no longer work For some of the issues, users have found work-arounds (i.e. for the loss of sound, simply plugging and unplugging headphones into the iPhone seems to do the trick. Update (01/19/08): According to iLounge, there have been several user reports of the 1.1.3 firmware update actually fixing phones that were bricked by previous firmware updates. Update (02/01/08): It looks like there is an (updated) jailbreakme.com to jail break the 1.1.3 firmware version. Yeah!

At last, iPhone firmware 1.1.3 has been released. Among the new features: • Google Maps "Locate Me" feature (as well as the cool hybrid feature) • Re-arranging of iPhone home page (including dock) • Can drag and drop applications onto the home page • Webclips (essentially MobileSafari bookmarks on the home page) • Multiple SMS messaging (Note: if you own a iPodTouch, you need to purchase the software update for $20). However, there have been some bumps with the latest release. Among the issues is a problem with GMail. Essentially, the GMail protocol on the iPhone has been changed from POP to IMAP, causing a sync of GMail folders (which can be good or bad, depending on how you have your main GMail account set up). To work around this behavior, you can manually configure POP or manually configure IMAP. As for me, despite the cool Google Maps features, I still can't quite part with my free 3rd party apps, so I'll be waiting for the jailbreak for this firmware, which is not yet available, but there is this status page up to track when one becomes available. As a (unannounced) side note, with iTunes 7.6, you can finally manually manage music and videos on your iPhone -- hallelujah! (still no official iPhone disk mode, but getting closer ). Update (4/17/08): It looks like IMAP support has been pulled from GMail (not sure yet if this is temporary or permanent).

From over at the TUAW site comes a neat article on a app called Listen. It allows you to look up the artist and name of a song playing on the radio by holding your iPhone close to your radio while the song is playing. Definitely one of the more cool iPhone hacks that I have come across. Disclaimer: this software is very much in beta (as the author clearly states) - use at your own risk.

In yet more proof that Apple iTunes has significant muscle in the online music business, Sony has decided to stop using DRM. According to BusinessWeek, it is so that Sony can compete more effectively against the Apple iTunes store in what is being called the "lucrative downloads market".
(Excuse me, haven't a significant amount of music listeners been saying for years that this is how they wanted their music? )

This could be potentially dangerous for me, but evidently Apple is going to have a "Black Friday" sale. Hopefully, I can hide out with my grand-nephew and grand-niece and stay away from all computers to ensure I don't go crazy during this period. Update (11/21/07): For the hard-core Black Friday shoppers, this site has a downloadable spreadsheet with sortable columns.

Bless those industrious developers. Over at the TUAW site, there is a story on the exploits of Jailbreaking the latest 1.1.2 Firmware upgrade from Apple - no sexy GUi yet; this is being hacked out on the command line (but you know that the GUI interface can't be far behind). (Note: Currently, I don't see the 1.1.2 Firmware update available yet from iTunes, although other users are claiming that they can see it). On the upside, according to this Apple Forums post, support for user-generated (firmware version 1.0.2) ringtones now works again with 1.1.2 and there have been some murmurings that some users' iPhones seem to run faster.

iTunes 7.5 has been released. Looks like this is a fairly minor release, adding support for the international release of the iPhone on November 9th. For those interested, iLounge has a more detailed description of changes.

Microsoft has revealed the next Zune player to be released around the holiday season. Needless to say, Microsoft faces an uphill battle with Apple, especially with the release of the iPodTouch. May the best multimedia player win!

iTunes 7.4.3 has been released for Windows only. This update appears to update issues for the iPodTouch for some Windows International versions.

Apple has finally released firmware update 1.1.1 for the iPhone. Of course, folks around the web have been in a tizzy trying to find out if it actually does brick your unlocked iPhone, as Apple has threatened that it would do. Gizmodo and Wireless blog sites (among others) have been running tests to see how badly the new firmware update will break any unlocked or modified iPhone. As for me, since I have Installer.App (otherwise known as Tapp.App) installed and they haven't released a new version that will work with the new Apple firmware, I'll be waiting to do this update. Here is a list of the new features: iTunes WiFi music store support Louder speakerphone and receiver volume Home button double-click shortcut to phone favorites or music controls Space bar double-tap shortcut to insert a period. Mail attachments viewable in portrait or landscape Stocks and cities in Stocks and Weather can be re-ordered Apple Bluetooth Headset battery status in the Status bar Support for TV out Preference to turn off EDGE/GPRS when roaming internationally New passcode lock time intervals Adjustable alert volume Here is a list of the "undocumented" features (compliments of iPhoneAtlas): There is now the ability to change your voicemail password directly from the iPhone. Tap “Settings,” then “Phone,” then “Change Voicemail Password.” You can now change the sound that is played when a new text message is received. Tap “Settings,” then “Sounds,” then “New Text Message.” There is now a “Debug console” for Safari, which shows HTML errors when rendering Web pages. Tap “Settings,” then “Safari,” then “Developer” There are new options for Video playback. You can start playing videos where they left off or from the beginning, and you can use closed captioning. Tap “Settings,” then “iPod.” Update (09/28/07): ArsTechnica also has a detailed article on what works and what doesn't with the new iPhone 1.1.1 firmware update (among other things, allegedly non-iTunes store ringtones are busted).

Yet more rumors of a new iPhone in Q1_2008 that will have both GPS and 3G support. Also, AT&T is set to upgrade their network to 3G as well.

I have had my iPhone for almost a month now. Below is the summarization of the good points and bad points of my first true smart phone. The good points: User Interface Google Maps (of course would be even more impressive      with an embedded GPS) Web browsing experience (even with Safari crashes)      much better than any other mobile device. The bad points (rough edges ): No 3G Support Missing GPS No cut-n-paste Unstable Safari browser (still crashes entirely too much for      my liking) (temporarily corrected by power-cycling the unit) No easy way to sync notes or pictures taken with the iPhone      (although you can attach the pictures in an email). Without question, I think Apple has made a step in the correct direction with this new phone, despite the obvious shortcomings. Coming soon: some of my favorite iPhone links...

Since September 30th (release date for the iPodTouch) is rapidly drawing closer, here is a good article detailing some of the differences between the iPhone and the upcoming iPodTouch. (Here is another article that one of my co-workers sent me as well).

iTunes 7.4.2 has been released. It looks like in addition to fixing the issue with creating ringtones out of iTunesPlus music, it looks like you'll have to do some more extension flipping in order to get your own ringtones to continue to work (supposedly, iToner is still supposed to work). The battle continues.... (and for those who doubt just how greedy the RIAA can be, just read this article. I particularly like the fact that the RIAA doesn't have to pay the artists royalties, but still wants to be able to collect the royalties)