itunes

Syria goes dark

Early this morning, Syria went offline.

Some more scary news is coming out of Syria early this morning. Apparently the entire country has gone dark, completely vanishing from the Internet over the course of just a few minutes. According to Renesys, a company that operates a real-time Internet-monitoring grid, all of Syria's IP connectivity has become unreachable.

Today Google has announced the acquisition of Incentive Targeting, a maker of coupon programs that tailor to users' behaviors and likes. The company has worked with retailers to design trackable coupons that help gauge their performance and usefulness.

CNET has a review of the Jawbone Up … Read more

Access all your iPhone functions with JailbreakMe, a tool to unlock your phone

JailbreakMe is an app that jailbreaks (unlocks from a specific carrier) your iPhone. It allows full access to all functions built into the iPhone, as well as some apps that are not available through the App Store. JailbreakMe is itself not available through the App Store but is on many download sites including the authors' sites.

Before running JailbreakMe you should make a backup through iTunes so you can restore the iPhone to its original state should you have problems with JailbreakMe or any app installed once broken. Installing the app is as simple as running the download and then … Read more

iTunes now accepts donations for Hurricane Sandy relief

Hurricane Sandy's damage toll is rising, and charities including the Red Cross are doing what they can to assist.

Dozens of deaths have been reported, countless homes have been destroyed or damaged, public transport is only slowly getting back into service, and financial losses are reaching into the billions of dollars.

Government agencies and private organizations are pitching in to the relief effort for those impacted by the super storm. The Internet has a role, too, with Apple's iTunes serving as a hub to accept donations from users across the United States.

When you sign in to your … Read more

Fix your music library with TuneUp, your music companion

If you've ever had to transfer your iTunes library to a new computer, you know it can be quite a painful process. These days, Apple has made it easier than ever before to transfer your music library from one computer to another, but some years ago, it was not easy. I tried to move my entire iTunes library to my new computer via the external hard drive and failed miserably. After some consolidating of files, clicking through the hidden folders, importing/exporting the xml file, a good portion of my music library turned into gibberish. See below and you … Read more

Duplicate music woes? Let iTunes Match clean up the mess!

Years ago, I went digital with my music. I ripped all my CDs, bringing everything into Windows Media Player. I didn't start with the iPod. The Rio Karma was my main MP3 player. Over the years, my music library moved from computer to computer. It migrated into iTunes (and into iPods, iPhones, iPads....). It gained new music from purchases or the occasional rare CD that I'd buy. And my music got really messy.

I shouldn't really care that somehow, I ended up with two or three different copies of the same songs. What does it really matter, … Read more

Apple secures 25 patents, including iMac, iPad Smart Cover

Apple made out well on a number of its pending patents today. The iPhone-maker was granted 25 new patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, according to Patently Apple.

Time Machine, iTunes Store, iMac, iPad Smart Covers, and Apple Store displays are just a few of the products that this round of patents cover. Many of the other patents are for items like connectors, security, and networking, according to Patently Apple.

Some of the patents are exclusively for different applications of Apple products, for example, the iTunes store patent, which is called "Content Rental System" and … Read more

Apple's iTunes for Windows: Should you bite?

Apple's iTunes is one of the most popular music-managing programs available for Windows. It can organize thousands of songs and play them back in a high-quality audio format. It also makes it easy to buy music from Apple's huge online store. Is it the best choice for Windows users? That depends. If you own an iPod or similar Apple device, iTunes is probably the easiest way to link your device to your Windows PC. But it's a large program that not only manages your tunes but also wants to manage your videos, podcasts, audiobooks, and other media. … Read more

Facebook's Timeline spells success for apps

A couple of months ago, most people had no idea what Viddy was. Since getting its start in April 2011, this app -- which is like Instagram but for video -- tallied 60,000 monthly active users. Then, in February, Viddy launched its Facebook Timeline app and it's been smooth sailing ever since.

Now Viddy has more than 1.7 million monthly active users and averages about 300,000 new registered users per day. Since its Timeline launch, there have been more than 15 million interactions with Viddy content on Facebook. Also, for the first time ever, it's … Read more

Instagram takes the title of No. 1 free app on iTunes

Instagram has terminated Draw Something's long-time reign over the No. 1 free app spot on iTunes' download charts.

"Instagram is #1 in the @AppStore for the first time ever! Thanks everyone!," Instagram announced on Twitter today.

Most likely this has something to do with Facebook's acquisition of the photo sharing app yesterday. With widespread news that the social networking behemoth laid down $1 billion for Instagram, people who weren't familiar with the app must have gotten curious.

It's been a big last few days for the 2-year-old startup. Not only did it cash in … Read more