Apple just celebrated the 10th birthday of its famed iTunes, which is easily the most popular source for buying digital content. Still, I regularly field questions from my family and friends about how iTunes works. These range from basic questions about syncing to storing music in the cloud and sharing music with family. And iTunes also has a lot of features most people don’t know exist. This week, I rounded up some ways to improve the way you use iTunes.
Digital AllowanceIf you aren’t thrilled at the prospect of setting your credit-card number as the default payment on your kid’s iTunes account, a monthly allowance might be a better solution. From the iTunes Store home page on your computer, select “Send iTunes Gifts” on the right, then “Learn More About Gifting” and scroll to the bottom to find allowance settings. You can set the allowance in amounts ranging from $ 10 to $ 50.
Recipients must have an Apple ID, but you can set up an Apple ID for them at the same time. You can decide to send the allowance right away or wait until the next month, on either the first or the day of the month you set up the allowance. You also can add a personal message.
Redeeming Gift CardsSome people are thrilled to receive iTunes gift cards, but they just don’t know how to redeem them. A simple shortcut on a computer or mobile devices is to open iTunes, navigate to the iTunes Store, scroll to the very bottom of the store’s home screen and click Redeem. (On a computer, this is under Manage. In the iOS app, it’s in the bottom, center of the screen.) You’ll be asked to enter your Apple ID and then to enter your gift card or download code. If you accidentally scratched letters or numbers from your code like I did once, call or email Apple Support and they’ll help you figure it out.
Gifts Without the Gift CardAnything in the iTunes Store or Apple’s App Store can be given to another person via an email. On your computer, select the arrow beside the price and click on “Gift this.” If you’re using an Apple mobile device, select the share icon (a small square with an arrow pointing right) at the top of the screen from the store and choose “Gift.” Then enter a personal message and choose Now or Other Date to decide when the recipient gets it.
This is especially helpful for favorite games or TV shows that you want friends to start playing or watching.
Sharing LibrariesMany family members or friends may find themselves frustrated by how their digital content is stored in individual libraries associated with individual Apple IDs, making it harder to share this content. While you can’t merge Apple IDs to combine libraries, you can turn on Home Sharing within your home Wi-Fi network to let various devices share content while they’re within range of the network. Turn on Home Sharing from the Advanced menu in iTunes and enter the same Apple ID on up to five computers. Likewise, you can stream content from other shared computers, or drag it onto your computer’s local library.
You also can see this shared content from iOS devices and Apple TV. Within the Music app on iOS, click the More tab in the bottom right. In the Videos app, tap the Shared button at the top. On your Apple TV, go into Settings, Computer and turn on Home Sharing, then open the Computer icon in your Apple TV’s main menu to access libraries and stream content.
iCloud vs. iTunes MatchOwners of Apple products surely have heard of iCloud, but they may not use it. Some people aren’t sure how it works with music and how it differs from iTunes Match.
ICloud is a handy insurance policy against losing your iPod and all of your iTunes content along with it. Once you set up iCloud using your Apple ID, any content that you buy from the iTunes Store will show up on other devices without any syncing. Any past purchases from the iTunes Store will show up on all of your devices, too. Tapping a tiny cloud icon beside each file will pull it onto your device.
To replicate all of your content across devices, including stuff you haven’t bought from iTunes (like CDs you imported or bought elsewhere), iTunes Match will do the trick. This costs $ 25 a year and matches up to 25,000 songs. From iTunes on your computer, open the Store menu, select “Turn on iTunes Match,” enter your Apple ID and password and click Subscribe. On iOS devices, open Settings, Music and turn on iTunes Match.
ITunes Match will work on up to 10 devices, and it auto-scans for newly purchased content so you have it on all devices.
Getting Rid of ContentIt may seem like everything in your iTunes library is stuck there for good. But if you’re tired of keeping unwanted files, like episodes of Season 2′s “Mad Men” or irritating tunes from a Christmas party playlist, the process to delete them is painless.
From your iTunes library on the computer, click the item to select it, press the delete key and click Delete Item. From here, you can opt to remove the item only from your iTunes library, which keeps the file on your computer though not in iTunes (click “Keep File”), or delete the item from your computer permanently (click “Move to Trash” and empty the Trash).
When you know how all of its features work, iTunes can be a real pleasure to use. But if you’re confused, syncing content can be a dreaded experience. If you know people who tiptoe around how to use iTunes, share this guide with them.
Write to Katherine Boehret at katie.boehret@wsj.com
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Question by smarth: does windows phone need zune to connect it to pc like itunes for iphone? can we files system like in android or is it locked to zune like iphone is locked to itunes?
Best answer:
Answer by Cindyyeah, WP7 requires sync to a phone via Zune software, similar to iOS and Android. You can enable wireless sync over your internal network – just dock it within wifi range and you’re good to go.
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Short Version
Mophie caused a bit of a double-take by introducing not one but two rechargeable external battery cases for the iPhone 5 within a few days of each other. The Juice Pack Helium offers a sleeker body, but the Juice Pack Air, announced later, offers more stamina. I’ve been testing the latter for nearly a week now, and it lives up to Mophie’s good reputation, with a single trade-off that may or may not influence your buying decision.
Long Version Info- Battery size: 1,700 mAh
- Available colors: black, white, and red
- MSRP: $ 99.95
- Dimensions: 2.60 in x 5.54 in x 0.63 in
- Weight: 2.68 oz
The Juice Pack Air for iPhone 5 will look and feel familiar to owners of previous Mophie Juice Packs. It has a rubberized texture that makes the matte back extra grippy, a smooth black plastic band extending around the entire sides of the device, and a button on the back that lights up indicators showing how much battery is remaining. Some of the elements have shifted to make up for the new iPhone’s design: the battery indicator and activation switch are on the back, not the bottom, and the micro USB port is on the bottom surface where the Lightning port would be on an iPhone 5 without a case.
One of the few unfortunate changes caused by the iPhone 5′s redesign is the shift of the headphone port to the bottom, which is where the business end is on Mophie’s battery pack cases. That means that on this Juice Pack Air, there’s around a half-inch hole any headphones have to go through to get to the iPhone’s 3.5mm stereo port. Mophie includes an extension cable to make sure your headphones will work no matter their design, but it’s an extra bit to keep track of and potentially lose, and that’s never good.
Overall, the Juice Pack Air feels like a quality accessory, however, and all the pass-through switches and buttons work well. There’s even mesh on the front-facing speaker ports, which do enhance sound to my ear, and an appropriately wide opening on the back to accommodate the camera lens and flash without impeding mobile photography.
The Juice Pack Air claims to be able to provide around 8 more hours of 3G talk time and Internet use, 8 more hours of LTE browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi web, and up to 40 more hours of audio playback or 10 more hours of video. Mophie says that’s up to 100 percent the normal battery life of your iPhone 5. I happened to be able to test charging a dead iPhone 5 from a drained state with a fully-charged Juice Pack Air, however, and it only got the iPhone up to around 80 percent charge. Your mileage may vary, however, and 80 percent from a cold, dead battery that has lain empty for a while is still pretty impressive, and in everyday use I found it was as close to doubling my iPhone 5′s life as made no difference.
The Juice Pack Air gets warm while charging, but that’s nothing new and I mention it more to make new users aware than to cite it as an issue. New users should also note that the Air features pass-through charging via the supplied micro USB cable: You can plug it in overnight and the iPhone inside will charge first, with the case getting its fill afterwards. One thing missing in this version is pass-through syncing, however. That could be a problem for some, but I can’t remember the last time I’ve done a wired sync of an iOS device, so it doesn’t bother me.
The Juice Pack Air is a solid performer, which isn’t surprising, given its pedigree. It has the same general downsides as its predecessor (mostly that it adds bulk to the iPhone), and loses a few tricks. But most won’t miss the lack of pass-through syncing now that iPhones are much more autonomous devices than they were in the past. And the Air for iPhone 5 is slightly thinner than the version for iPhone 4/4S. If you need the extra power that a battery case provides, the Juice Pack Air remains the case to beat.
Question by DeAndre: How do I sync iTunes with my windows 7 phone? I have a Focus with AT&T and i want all my music on my phone. i have about 800 songs on my itunes library. is there a simple way to do this? does doubletwist work with this phone? I dont want to pay for all those songs on zune. somebody help me please.
Best answer:
Answer by VomitYou don’t sync iTunes with it. You can put all the music on it, but you’ll need to use whatever software is included and import your iTunes music into that. It’s all in your My Music/iTunes folder.
And there’s no need to convert them to MP3. The Focus will play AAC files just fine. The only problem that might arise is if you have some tracks that were purchased prior to March 2009 (I believe) when Apple still had DRM on the music tracks.
What do you think? Answer below!
Related Posts:Question by Gunther Mercedes: Is there a computer application that works the same as iTunes but is for Android phones? I’ve always used an iPod as my music listening device but now I recently got a new phone which id rather listen to music from. I was just wondering if there is a application like iTunes that works the same but it for Android phones. I have the Galaxy Prevail for boost if that makes any difference.
Best answer:
Answer by s0pitUnfortunately not yet. Android has their website though where you can buy apps.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Related Posts:Question by Helena B: How do I transfer apps from iTunes to iPad?
I’ve just updated my iPad to IOS 5, and I transfered all the apps I had on there to the app section in iTunes. However, when I try to drag the apps into the selected iPad in itunes, it doesn’t do anything and doesn’t sync them to the ipad.
Is there anyway I can move the apps from itunes to my ipad? I’ve tried the transfer option, dragging, everything.
PLEASE HELP! 
Best answer:
Answer by JohnI assume you selected your iPad in iTunes and clicked the Apps tab at the top, then checked the Sync Apps checkbox?
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Mediafare Link Download on Your Product is ready From here :www.medlafare.com Scanned For Virus :- virustotal.com Scan it Yourself if You Feel As if it’s Not Safe. ====================================================== Have you ever heard of the all code generator? Well code generator is a unique and program that enables players to most code generate all for free. Well just that little bit of info makes it evident that this particular gadget of the code generator is going to be a lot more than just popular and admired among all the hundreds and thousands of freaks all around the globe. Market research says that the code generator will just create an all-new trend with its functions.
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Download Link : fileurl.me Scanned For Virus : Virustotal.com Scan it Yourself if You Feel As if it’s Not Safe. —————————————————————– iTunes giftcard generator 2012 iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, saving, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop or laptop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. iTunes can connect to the iTunes Store to purchase and download music, music videos, television shows, iPod games, audiobooks, podcasts, movies and movie rentals (not available in all countries), and ringtones (only available on iPhone and iPod Touch 4th Generation). It is also used to download application software from the App Store for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. iTunes has been criticized for not being able to transfer music from one portable device to another. iTunes was introduced by Apple Inc. on January 9, 2001.[3] The latest version, 10.6.1, is available as a free download for Mac OS X v10.5 or later, as well as Windows XP or later. In June 2010, Apple released a new privacy policy pertaining to the capture and collection of users’ real-time location information.[4] The information had been included in various device-specific EULAs since 2008, but was not included in Apple’s general privacy policy until 2010.[5] Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Features 2.1 Media management 2.1.1 File format support 2.1.2 File metadata 2.1.3 Genius 2.1.4 …
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Dies Hard, get it?! My God I’m probably the fourth funniest person I know.
UPDATE: Has since been denied by his wife (who isn’t Demi Moore anymore — news to me!) on Twitter. God, I just don’t know what to believe.
Bruce Willis is sizing up potential legal action against Apple to ensure his massive iTunes music library can be passed to his children when he dies instead of being returned to Apple. “But daaaaaad, we hate your music,” I imagine all his daughters crying in unison.
Willis has discovered that, like anyone who has bought music online, he does not actually own the tracks but is instead ‘borrowing’ them under a licence.
Most purchasers do not bother to read the details of the terms and conditions they agree to when buying an album but the small print makes it clear that music bought through iTunes should not be passed on to others.
One approach he is reportedly considering is to ask his legal team to establish family trusts as the ‘holders’ of his downloaded music.
Another option is to support ongoing legal action in five US states to give downloaders more rights to do what they want with their music.
Alternatively, Bruce, and I’m just throwing this out there — wait for your daughters to start dating deadbeats and then cut them all out of your will. “Haha, the ol’ disapproving dad maneuver — I like it!” Yippee-ki-yay, problem solved.
Thanks to Atommix, Roberta and cylontehlion, who agree if we’re really just borrowing music then it shouldn’t cost nearly as much. Just saying, the library let’s me have four books at a time for free.
Question by : My bro gave his Motorola Xoom to me and i has 4 music videos from iTunes, Now i want to put these iTunes video?
Best answer:
Answer by Andy HuaI stumbled upon an article about how to convert iTunes videos, DVD movies, HD videos to Motorola Xoom. I think it may be useful for you, check it out …
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