Apple iTunes 10.5.3

With Apple's push to get into the textbook business came the latest update to its world-leading media playing and device-syncing software, Apple iTunes 10.5.3. The textbooks, which can only be read on Apple's iBooks 2 on an iPad, offer the advantages of being instantly updateable, don't require tree carnage, and weigh down backpacks less than all those tomes. They also offer multitouch viewing of not only text, but color images and video as well. But that's just the latest capability Apple has added to iTunes, which is a veritable Swiss army knife for media consumption.

In version 10.5.1, Apple released the last piece of the iCloud puzzle?iTunes Match, and the 10.5.2 updated addressed problems with that service. For $25 annually, iTunes Match will store any digital music you own on Apple's servers and make it available to any iTunes-capable device or computer. If Apple already has your music in its cloud, you don't even have to upload it, as you do with other services like Amazon's Cloud Player or Google Music. This comes on the heels of another cloud feature?iTunes in the Cloud, which ironically, removes some of the need for iTunes itself. Users of iPads, iPhones, and iPod touches will no longer need to sync to a PC running iTunes in order to sync music, Apps, or e-books. And if iDevice users still do want to sync to a computer, iTunes lets them do so over Wi-Fi. Though you can play music and video in other apps, iTunes remains the media software to beat.

Part of the reason for this is that Apple just keeps improving on iTunes. Version 10 added Apple TV integration, TV show rentals, better app management and Ping, a Facebook-like music-oriented social network that lives inside the media player software. Version 10.2 added support for the iOS 4.3 operating system on iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad 2, along with support for Home Sharing's streaming video to those devices. The wireless streaming feature, AirPlay lets you send music to compatible third-part audio devices?which are finally showing up. In version 10.3, Apple added the piece of iCloud called iTunes in the Cloud, which makes downloading music, apps, and books to multiple apps easier.

Other recent innovations still worthy of note include Genius playlists and Genius mixes. They automatically create playlists based on song styles and moods. iTunes LP is another, giving you liner notes, photos, and video to go along with an album. Its DJ feature lets you create a live mix in which friends can make requests and vote on songs. This is in addition to what other players give you?an equalizer, Internet radio, and podcast subscriptions.

Setup and First Impressions
iTunes is, of course, available for Mac OS X (version 10.5 or later), as well as Windows 7, Vista, and XP. If your PC is running a 64-bit version of Vista or Windows 7, you'll need to download the separate 64-bit installer. By default, the installer makes iTunes your default player for audio files, though you can uncheck this if you prefer Windows Media Player, Winamp, or another player.

After you install the software on a Mac, a setup assistant asks you questions that help it customize your installation. The Windows version asks you whether you want to add all songs, audio, and convert and add Windows Media Audio (WMA) files. You can also have iTunes organize your library by renaming files and moving them to the folders that match. A final privacy check asks if you want the app to download album art.

After you first launch iTunes, you're offered nine tutorials that cover topics ranging from the Ping service to iTunes U; these offer a good, simple way to get you started with unfamiliar features. One disappointment in starting up and signing into iTunes is that there's no easy way to switch among multiple accounts. Another is that features keep piling up, making the program more and more complex. For guidance on how to tame it, check out our Get?Organized: Clean Up?iTunes?Part 1 and Part 2.

Apple doesn't add new file format support with this release, but I should note that the player software no longer requires a separate QuickTime installation to play media. You're still more likely to be able to play that difficult file in the excellent VLC media player (Free, 4 stars) media player, which supports over 20 video formats alone, compared with iTunes' seven.

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