Sneaky Apple?

Remember the fuss over Sony and their sneaky placement of spyware in an audio CD?

Recently we updated our Windows PCs running iTunes to the latest version of iTunes 7 - another attempt to get back the ripping speed lost with the later version. All went smoothly, except there doesn't seem to be any significant speed increase.

This morning when I powered up the PCs I noticed that little Windows message saying a new program had been installed. I looked and found that Apple have created a Windows version of the Apple Update service we're familiar with from OS X. No problem with that, it's a helpful facility.

No, my issue is that I don't recall being asked if I wanted this feature on my PCs. I'm sure it's somewhere in all that small print nobody ever reads but shouldn't Apple have made this crystal clear? Seems like a very Microsoft tactic for the white knights of Apple to pull.

RIP DRM-free tracks?

Over the weekend there were news reports that US trade negotiators had linked success in WTO talks with Russia with the curailment of the popular music site allofmp3.com. An amazing display of lobbying muscle by the lawyers of the US music industry.

This was followed by a bullish response from a representative of Media Services, the Russian company behind allofmp3.com.

Today the BBC website and other news feeds are reporting that Visa and Mastercard (both US companies) have now decided not to allow cardholders to conduct transactions with allofmp3.com. Why? The publicly quoted reason is concern about the legality of allofmp3.com in Russia (although this has not really been questioned previously). Probably they're more concerned that if US lobbying goes the way of Kazaa the card issuers might find themselves jointly liable should the music industry start lobbing out lawsuits.

Will this be the final nail in the coffin of DRM free music? Well, there'll probably be other ways to pay - such as PayPal, but I guess its only a matter of time before that route to the loot gets choked off too.

A plentiful supply of digital music that you could really move from platform to platform, just as you though you could do with iTunes Music Store, and all at low prices. Those were the days, thanks music industry, your customers will endlessly thank you for this price hike.

Ripping Tortoises

When you rip as many CDs as we do you become hyper sensitive to the way computers perform. Little glitches, when you're up against a deadline, become massive headaches. Usually its just the user being a little cranky. Until iTunes 7.

I'll admit to being bowled over by the new facilities. So we put iTunes 7.0 on all our production machines. Soon it became apparent that this new platform isn't just slow, it takes slow to a new dimension. But here's the funny thing, maybe that should be funny in quotes.

iTunes on OS X (the Mac operating system) seems unchanged. Macs have for long been the fastest rippers, particualarly with freestanding CD readers connected via FireWire. But on Windows, well we're talking less than half previous ripping speeds. In practice we've had 60 min CDs take 90 mins to rip, 30 mins per CD became the norm solidly on one machine. Looking at the user support forums at Apple everyone has found the same problem with iTunes 7.0.

There have been suggestions that the suddenly released 7.0.1 would solve the problem, so we upraded again across the board. Here's where 'funny' gets to be 'fishy'. On two machines speed has definitely increased but not up to previous maximum rates, on the others there's been no noticeable difference, so later today all machines except one will be put back to pre iTunes 7.0. If you're experiencing the same issues I'd suggest you do the same, then when your ripping is done you can switch to the latest version for the clever new options.

But all this has set me thinking. Why did it happen? Surely someone in Apple's development team would have noticed this drop in speed and realise the outcry there'd be from the user base? The cynic in me says yes, they must have known, so why did they do it?

Well, it defintely hits Windows machines much harder than Apple's own platform, and the iLife suite (which includes iTunes) is a cutting edge tool in persuading Windows lovers to jump ship in favour of Macs. Second, there has been massive pressure on Apple from the music industry to avoid what music moguls see as piracy.

And that really set me thinking. In the original design of the iPod it was perfectly feasible to be able to drag music off an iPod onto any connected computer. The iPod is a special type of portable hard disc, so it would be possible for iPod users to drop off a copy of their music library at the computer of everybody they met. Following pressure from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) this was lopped off. Yes, there have been several companies offering after market software to do this (XPlay 2 from Mediafour.com is my favoutite), but no Apple feature for years. That is until guess what, yes - Release 7.0 neatly pops the feature back.

Have the RIAA forgotten all about this? Have they given up the witch hunt on piracy? Perhaps, or maybe there's another entirely innocent explanation.

Maybe I'm paranoid, but could it be that extra slow ripping is the price Apple had to pay to get this extra degree of music portability put back into iTunes? The industry here in the UK and America hate the idea of people ripping their own CDs. If I were in their position I'd know that extra slow ripping would discourage many users and make buying those tracks from iTunes Music Store so much more attractive. Well, that's my take on it. How would we know? Well just watch your speed of ripping in iTunes 7 and beyond. If it suddenly jumps back to normal, I'll eat my words.

But just to add to my conspiracy theory. Another popular piece of software used to 'rip' DVDs to play on iPods has seen an even worse reduction in speed. The RIAA works closely with its Motion Picture counterpart.

International Protest by Anti-DRM Group

Consumers are often unenthusiastic about digital protections, but one group is diabolically opposed to it. DefectiveByDesign, a group that first grabbed attention in June, has targeted the use of DRM protections by companies like Apple. On Tuesday, 3rd October Defective coordinated a series of protests in cities around the world, including Lisbon, Tel-Aviv, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Milan. The group proclaimed the occasion "Defeating DRM Day," and asked its supporters to raise awareness both online and off.

The group, which points to DRM as a shackle on digital freedoms, is hoping to discourage companies from using protections in future technologies. "DRM is more than a nuisance," Defective by Design declared in a recent statement. "The film and music industry are setting the agenda to increase their control," the manifesto continued. The group has urged consumers to
stay away from products like "Blu-ray and HD-DVD, iTunes, Windows Media Player, Zune, and Amazon Unbox." Meanwhile, digital music and media fans are often aware of the issue, and actively avoid DRM-protected content - not by
staging protests, but by simply avoiding assets like paid downloads. Pricing is also a factor, though major labels are starting to experiment with MP3-based downloads, something unthinkable even one year ago.

Tesco

Stopped off at Tescos on my way back from London today. Nothing remarkable in that.

What caught my eye was a range of £1 items including a very good semi translucent skin for an iPod nano. Yes, just £1.

If they can make money on this item why was my (albeit somewhat larger and fancy packed) skin for my 20Gb iPod nearly £20?

Sad iPod?

There's little more annoying than the sight of the sad Apple symbol on your iPod when you were expecting music. Does it have to go back to Apple? Here are a few things to try before recourse to the manufacturer.

In my experience most iPod misbehaviour is down to low power. You can overcome many issues simply by connecting your iPod to an external charger and giving it a good few hours. Sure the USB port does supply some juice, but nothing is better than a proper feed from an external charger.

If USB is your only option then make sure it is connected for many hours. Don't be fooled by the full battery logo, give it a good feed.

You might find that suitably charged your iPod can be restarted. You can do this by holding the centre select button and the Menu part of the clickwheel at the same time, for a few seconds. This should prompt the iPod to go through its start-up rountine and hopefully restore normal service.

If this doesn't work connect your iPod to your computer. Does it appear in iTunes source panel?

If it appears then you might want to try to kick start the iPod's operating system. Using iTunes 7 click on the iPod panel and you'll see two restore options. One leaves your music in tact, the other resets your iPod to factory status, this means you'll lose all your music. Try the first option before a full restore. Alternatively you can try to force a synchronisation (an option found under the File menu).

If the iPod doesn't appear in iTunes you need take another tack. Does the computer recognise your iPod? Look in My Computer or Finder on a Mac. If the iPod is there that's good news, in all probablity if you wait a few minutes iTunes will decide to talk to your iPod. You can force a disconnect, then re-connect - it does sometimes work.

If My Computer or Finder doesn't show a fully charged iPod it is possible that you have a problem with your computer, or the cable you're using. Look at the iPod screen, if you see a spinning icon the chances are that the cable and computer are working OK. If you don't see that try another cable or attach to another computer. Ideally try another cable and another computer until you isolate the problem.

Don' forget the old IT Help Desk favourite - switch your computer on and off to see if that makes any difference. Sometimes it does. Sometimes all that's needed is to close then re-open iTunes.

What if none of this work? Well don't be in too much of a hurry to contact Apple. Coaxing life back into an iPod can be a frustrating experience and if you haven't given this task a good few hours you're wasting money. Leave the iPod connected to your PC over night, then try these steps again.

If you need more specific advice please feel free to contact me (ju@podserve.co.uk); jeffunderwood on Skype or ring 01277 222398.

iTunes 7

You can hardly have failed to notice the new version of iTunes announced last week by Apple. In the past I've advised my clients to think twice about upgrading to new versions but this time I'm in no doubt.

iTunes 7 is a must. Why?

First there's a cute new way to see album art called Cover Flow. It has the practical benefit of helping you spot albums you've not noticed for ages.

Then, for registered iTunes Music Store account holders, you can now have iTunes automatically add missing album art. Although you need to have a store account, there's no charge for the service. It's reasonably comprehensive (images taken from the store's collection) and compared to the software we've been using, very fast.

The previous free standing iPod Update program is a thing of the past, that functionality (plus more features) is now built right in to iTunes.

Gapless playback should do exactly what the name implies, backed by some (unexplained) intelligence. iTunes will now scan your library looking for albums in which tracks should flow seemlessly from one into the next. How does it do this - I've no idea, but it does seem to work. Alternatively you can edit track info to force an album in your collection to be 'gapless'.

There is a downside to gapless playback. The formware needed to listen gapless is only supplied on the very latest iPods.