Hell Froze Over - Introducing iTunes for Windows

[EliteWeb]

I started laughing this morning when I saw Apple.com homepage stating that hell has frozen over announcing the release of iTunes for Windows. :) Has anyone tried it on their PC yet? Im downloading now for the PC. What is it missing that the Mac version has or are they identical?

[Strange]

I managed to grab this they day it came out. I have it running on a Win2k box at work and WinXP box at home.. No problems at all.

I have found this to be identical to the Mac version. And of course comparing it to what Winamp and MusicMatch has to offer, iTunes is the hands down winner.

And I don't think I understand where people are having problems right-clicking... I am right clicking fine on songs and library folders.

[dragonlady7]

I got 3 windows-using buddies to download it on the third day it was out-- they hadn't heard about it. i felt so clever. ;) a couple of them exclaimed over the nice, clean-looking, uncluttered interface. :D

[pleeker]

Looks like your three buddies are three out of a million, so says Apple [biz.yahoo.com]....

[OhMyPixel]

Does anyone else notice the large impact it has on system resources? I think its a little bit hefty for what it does.

[madmac]

I downloaded it for my PC (which is just collecting dust since I got my powerbook)... The only thing I noticed about the PC version is that on shared playlists on your local subnet (great at university here :) ), the PC version will not see the album artwork I've got in my AAC files on my mac iTunes, where other Macs can see the artwork when playing the songs.

We got all our PC friends on campus to download it... they all love the shared music streams from others on campus :)

[dragonlady7]

A million! That's awesome!
:D

[EliteWeb]

Windows users like itunes I have found out :)
Apple's Million Song Press Release [apple.com]

[pleeker]

As long as we're (supposedly!) here to discuss webmastering, did anyone else notice the iTunes Link Maker?

www.apple.com/itunes/linkmaker/

It spits out HTML that allows you to deep link from a web site directly into the Music Store. As I oversee a music-related web site, this could be pretty cool. I'd change that to "very" cool if they start an affiliate program. :)

[EliteWeb]

Good find pleeker, first i've seen it. If they offered an affiliate program that would get me to integrate their music into my sites but for a company doing a million songs in 3.5 days do they need to do it, would they?

[pleeker]

I think the two things that would keep them from doing an affiliate program are:

1. They (Apple) reportedly only make about 30 cents per download, and any further dilution of that revenue would probably kill the likelihood of them ever making a dime off the Store as a unique business unit. (Clearly, it's okay to lose money on the Store as long as it spurs sales of the iPod, which is a BIG profit-generator.)

2. I think Apple may just be a bit too arrogant to ever get involved with an affiliate program. Y'know, "iTunes is cool enough that we don't need to offer incentives for people to link to it (and use it)."

Supposedly that first piece of code they give you in the Link Maker is the iTunes "checker", and you have to use it so that an "appropriate" message is shown if the user doesn't have iTunes. "Appropriate", of course, would be a link to download it. :)

[madmac]

that linker things was created for the AOL deal (if you watched the movie linked to on the 2nd page of this thread)... they made it so that on AOL's music page, they can place links for each album, song, etc directly to it in the iTunes store...

[pleeker]

I'm sure the AOL deal is able to take advantage of the Link Maker, but I think it's made for anyone who wants to use it. They have a link to it right on the apple.com/itunes/store/ page -- lower right.

[madmac]

I don't really know what it was made for 1st... All I was saying is that if you watched the movie press release or whatever on the new 2nd generation itunes, the way Steve talks, he makes it sound like it was something they developed for the AOL deal. I didn't even know it was something anyone could use until it was posted here... That's all I know.

whether it was initially developed for the AOL deal or not I don't know... All I know is the way Steve talked it sounds like it was initially developed for the AOL deal. He speaks of it as buttons or something that they've created for AOL to link the music to the itunes store... he doesn't mention or indicate that anyone can create the links.. thats why I believe it was initially developed for the AOL deal.

[ThatAdamGuy]

I just downloaded and played with iTunes for Windows for a bit.

On the whole, I find it sadly underwhelming, particularly when compared with Napster 2.0, which I'm currently beta testing.

iTunes pluses:
- Relatively uncluttered interface
- Blazing fast search, plus the *ONLY* dang online music service for the PC that offers 'power searching'! Such an obvious feature, yet still... iTunes has it first.
- Really fast playing of 30 second samples. Almost no perceptible buffering time on most clips (I'm on DSL, btw). This is MUCH better than the other services, which often make you wait 2-5 seconds before samples play.
- Easy song ordering process (but no easier than Musicmatch or Napster)
- My mouse forward/back buttons work... seemingly a minor thing, but oh-so-nice!
- Tons of keyboard shortcuts. Absolutely tops among any online music services by far.
- Ability to purchase credits for friends. This, too, falls under the so-obvious-why-didn't-others-implement-this category
- There's a soundtrack category. YAY! :)

iTunes minuses:
- The 'radio' service is a joke. Poor selection, lousy bandwidth, no real value at all over ANY current Internet radio implementations.
- The iTunes application (not service) is very feature-poor, especially when compared with Musicmatch.
- No WMA support. Boo!
- Previews get cut off if you move to a different page :(
- Right-click options are very sparse throughout

and the biggie...

Only supports iPod!? Ack!

----------

Overall, Napster 2.0 provides far more value than iTunes, IMHO.
- Option of a la carte AND subscription pricing. This is key. I LOVE being able to sample as many tunes as I want, FULL-LENGTH, for just $10/month. Heck, I'd probably even pay double that.
- Much better selection of music than iTunes.
- Community features! I can right click on a track and see who else has downloaded it, then check out their library to get more ideas of what I might like :)
- Plus, via Windows Media Player and Musicmatch, Napster supports a TON of portable music players.

---

If anyone is more curious about Napster, I plan on writing one or more very detailed essays/reviews on my experience with the service in the next few days. Search for "Napster 2.0 Review" on google in a few weeks and you should find it :)

DISCLAIMER: I have no affiliation with any online music services, except as a user and/or beta tester.

[lgn]

After I downloaded the software, Im finally informed that I can't buy anything because im from Canada.

Wake up Apple, you are selling a digital product. Borders do not matter.

Anyways, I just used my brothers address in Florida, to solve that annoying problem.

[bcolflesh]

Borders do not matter

They do to the RIAA - coming soon to a Canadian law referendum near you.

[pleeker]

The latest MacWorld has a letter to the editor from a similarly frustrated Canadian, and MacWorld responds by saying it believes that the record labels are limiting Apple's service to the U.S.

[Brad]

There is a rumor that the Canadian iTunes store is already in the works - just don't know when.

[u4eas]

I read something also about Apple releasing iTunes for Canada and then next year to Europe.

[hazardtomyself]

I had to come back to this post because of my previous post on page 1. I felt like Napster would come and rule the Windows downloads unless Apple went on a massive TV and internet campaign...Well as of today I have seen numerous ads on prime time TV. I just saw another ad a couple minutes ago on Monday Night Football and noticed a week or so ago their ad on the home page of Yahoo! I have only seen two Napster TV ads so far. I guess I was wrong. It appears that Apple has the juevos to really go after the Windows downloads. Cool TV ad too!