iTunes: Is It Worth It?

iTunes is one of the most convenient ways to get music. We all know that. It's as simple as getting on your computer and clicking some buttons. Yet, since 2007, Apple has charged up to $1.29 on some songs. The reason behind this is a feature called "iTunes Plus". What iTunes Plus does is raise the bitrate on songs, leading to a higher sound quality. If you have older songs that were not downloaded in the iTunes Plus format, then you can upgrade those songs for as little as 30 cents.

Now this doesn't really sound too bad, but the problem is the songs. This may sound odd, since I just said a bunch of nice things about them, but I don't mean the sound of the songs, I'm talking about the choices. If you go over to the top ten most downloaded songs chart on the iTunes store home page, you will notice that the price of each song is almost always $1.29. However, if you look at the more indie or just unpopular songs, they are usually 99 cents. Well, doesn't this make sense for Apple to do this? If you have something that will make you money, why not try to get the most out of it? Personally, I don't think this is bad at all. If I was the person in charge, I would probably do the same thing. But in the view of the consumer, they may not be getting the best value towards their music.

Most average users assume that since iTunes is meant for iPods, they shouldn't use some other downloading site. Yet, if people explore their options a little more they may find that iTunes isn't the best fit for them. Sites like Rhapsody allow users to download and listen to as much music as they want for a monthly rate. If you listen to a lot of music, maybe you should consider ditching iTunes. 

Being an iTunes user that is considering switching, I also want to hear what you guys have to think! Does anyone reading use Rhapsody or other music downloading sites? If so, leave a comment saying how you like it!

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iTunes Won't Back Up iPhone/iPod Touch

I recently noticed that my iPhone 4 was not being backed up. After a little while, I realized I wasn't the only one with this problem. To see if your device is being backed up and to fix the problem:

1. Open iTunes with your device connected.

2. Right click on your device- If you see Back Up on the list of options, you're fine. If you don't, then continue following these steps.

3. Quit iTunes.

4. Open Terminal and paste this: defaults write com.apple.iTunes DeviceBackupsDisabled -bool false

5. Restart your computer

As of right now, I don't have a fix for PCs. If you do have this problem and you're on a PC, first try reinstalling iTunes. If that doesn't work, try emailing or calling Apple support.

Is iOS Saving Video Games?

Remember those days when you just couldn't beat your video games? Struggling for hours and hours to get past that one level, or boss? Games like Pac-man or Space Invaders that became impossibly difficult for ''casual'' gamers?

Well, if you have played games more recently you may have noticed that there is next to no challenge and somebody with very little experience will glide through the entire game in a day or two only to feel you have wasted your money and haven't got as much enjoyment from game you first expected!

However, Have a quick browse through the app store and you will be treated to a vast amount of games that will not only challenge your gaming ability, but will hold your interest for long enough to complete them (as we all hate having that game hanging around we just cannot beat!). For example: Angry Birds, a favourite to everyone and their grandmother! It has a strategic (and luck) style of game-play with a ''castle smasher'' genre.

Or maybe Plants vs Zombies (a personal favourite of mine) which is almost like the old playground game "british bulldog" but offers hours of fun and strategic game-play.

All in all I believe that iOS and the app store is pretty much saving and making up the much needed gaps for the game industry as a whole, offering a lot more bang for your buck than many full priced console games (lacking some aspects obviously).

Feel free to comment your opinion on the subject or put forward some of your favourite downloadable games, for iOS or other service.

Feel free to check out my Youtube channel for more game and tech info! youtube

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iLife '11 — the all new iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand

Apple recently announced their latest upgrade to the iLife suite during the “Back to the Mac” event in October. iLife ’11 includes new releases of iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand. Apple did a great job in adding more advanced features while maintaining their trademark simplicity. The upgrade is priced at only $49 USD and is definitely worth the price.

The incredible new iPhoto has added support for Facebook/Flickr and sharing photos through email. The changes to the full-screen mode allow you to utilize every pixel of your display to its fullest. Apple has also improved the slideshows feature with new transitions and themes. Their book/card-printing service has been updated and now allows for more customization of photo albums and holiday cards. iPhoto continues to keep its “Faces” and “Places” features, as well as its great image retouching tools.

The album view in iPhoto's full-screen mode looks amazing.

iPhoto's face recognition automatically recognizes faces in your photos and allows you to tag then.

The biggest change in the suite is in iMovie. Apple has added a “movie trailers” feature that makes producing short teasers for your films a breeze. Choose a series of clips you would like to use, fill in the credits, and choose a theme and iMovie will automatically stitch together a professional-grade trailer for you next movie.

Apple has also included more advanced audio editing tools in iMovie ’11. Audio clips are now color-coded and provide options for adding fades and filters. Another new feature is what Apple calls “one-step effects”. With the dozens of new effects, such as “instant replay” and color correction, your iMovie project will definitely stand out from other home videos.

iMovie ’11 has also included more exporting options, including iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, QuickTime movies, and more. You can also publish your videos directly to YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, and even CNN’s iReport. You can also create a video podcast and send it directly to Podcast Producer.

iMovie '11 give you more control over your audio.

Making professional trailers has never been easier.

Making great music in GarageBand has never been simpler. The iLife ’11 upgrade introduced Flex Time, a function that fixes timing issues when something sounds a little off.  Flex Time allows you to manually move, stretch, or shorten individual notes without changing the rest of your recording.GarageBand ’11 adds more guitar amps the Apple’s library and allows you to reproduce the sound of foot pedals with new stompbox effects. Apple also included many new instrument lessons with the update.

Flex Time makes it easy to fix timing errors in your music. 

Apple's instrument lessons make learning the piano or guitar fun.

More lessons can be downloaded or purchased from the Lesson Store.

iLife ’11 allows you to do more with your photos, video, and music than ever before. In iPhoto, you can enjoy your photos in the new full-screen modes. You can turn your home videos into professional films with the latest iMovie and create the perfect soundtrack within GarageBand. iLife ’11 is included with every new Mac, but every existing user should consider the upgrade. If you enjoyed this post, please check out MacDesign, a blog centered around graphic design and video production on the Mac platform.