Musings from Mars » iPod & iTunes

An Audiophile Listening Room with Apple’s HomePod

admin — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 15:12:35 +0000

Apple's HomePod has been the underdog in the "smart speakers" category since its introduction last year. It's more expensive than the offerings from Google and Amazon, and Siri doesn't seem to be as powerful. I haven't used Alexa or the Google AI assistant, so I can't say what the difference may be. But let me just say that HomePod is a revelation in audio quality, and its "smart" features are more than adequate for my needs. The most surprising aspect of HomePod is that it has finally let me put together an audiophile listening room without taking out a second mortgage!

Crystal Black for iTunes

admin — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 04:45:10 +0000

Last fall, I released an early version of Crystal Black for iTunes 10.1 on my deviantART site and have updated it once or twice since then. This post announces an update of the theme for iTunes 10.1.2 and adds a couple of minor enhancements for 10.1.1.

Crystal Black is a theme for Mac OS X "Snow Leopard" that I'm still refining and plan to release eventually. I published a preview of the theme last fall, and also migrated the theme to iTunes 10 when it came out. Since theming iTunes is quite a bit easier than theming the entire operating system, I decided to release Crystal Black for iTunes first.

This version of Crystal Black for iTunes continues to improve its usability when iTunes is set with the hidden "High Contrast Mode" option. High Contrast Mode effectively inverts white and black in the iTunes sidebar and playlist contents (see screenshot at right), and looks great with Crystal Black. The high-contrast option is accessible through various utilities you can download to customize "hidden" features of Mac OS X. I use and recommend the free, open-source Secrets for such customizing. Secrets installs an easy-to-use and auto-updated Preference Pane and includes hidden options for a wide variety of third-party apps, in addition to Mac OS X.

One more application-specific Crystal Black theme I plan to release soon will be of interest primarily to web developers: It's a theme for Safari's Web Inspector module. Stay posted for more on that, and for more about Crystal Black as a whole.

New Zunes Killing Themselves In Droves

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 21:23:25 +0000

An Intimate Evening With Two Dozen iTunes Controllers

admin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 01:46:50 +0000

One question that might pop into your head when you contemplate the fact that there are at least two dozen different software applications for Mac OS X that want to be your iTunes controller is, "So, why not just use iTunes to control iTunes?" If you've never used iTunes before, you might also be wondering, "What's wrong with iTunes that makes so many people avoid using it directly?" This is indeed a curious paradox at first blush. iTunes is the world's most popular digital music jukebox software. It has a screaming wonderful interface that just gets better with each iteration. Its innovative design practically defines "ease of use" in this category. So, why have so many developers expended so much energy and creative imagination on redefining how we interact with it? There isn't just one answer to that question, but here are a few possible ones:

Mac users are too impatient to switch applications in order to change songs. They want an application that can overlay whatever they're currently doing, providing immediate access. Call this a variation of the "Instant gratification" impulse.
Because the iTunes API makes building external interfaces to it so easy. You often get the impression that some iTunes controllers are their developers' first foray into xCode and/or Cocoa programming. Call this a variation of the "Because we can" impulse.
Because a programmer had a new idea that was too cool to pass on. Either the idea was really new, or it was building on someone else's idea. Some of the iTunes controllers are clearly attempts to improve other ones that already exist. Call this simply the "Urge to create."

Notice that none of these possible motives is an attempt to remedy a shortcoming in iTunes, or even to add significant functionality to the application. The only thing that comes close is the addition of tools to fetch album art from the web, or to integrate with a social music networking system like Audioscrobbler. Instead, they're simply tools that extend the iTunes interface into every aspect of a Mac user's workflow... making it practically ubiquitous as we work. A couple of weeks ago, I set out to survey the market to identify all of the iTunes controllers that are currently supported. (There are still old links to some phantom controllers on MacUpdate, but I won't tell you which.) Having found 24 of them, I clearly don't have the time to prepare a full snapshot of each as I've done for other software categories recently. In order to keep this workload sane for me, I have to skinny it down to the basics--my notes, a link, price info, a version number, and a recommendation.

Analyst Says Apple TV Could Overtake both TiVo and Netflix

admin — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 02:28:21 +0000

DasBoot: Freeware Utility To Turn An Old iPod Into Bootable Mac First-Aid Tool

admin — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 01:18:44 +0000

CoverSutra: A New, Elegant iTunes Controller Debuts

admin — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 00:40:05 +0000

Maestro: Music File Sharing Is Back!

admin — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 00:55:31 +0000

Tangerine!: Smart Playlist Maker Can Set The Right Mood

admin — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 07:31:49 +0000

youPod: Make Your iPod Your Home Folder

admin — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 02:04:14 +0000

The Ultimate iPhone FAQ’s from David Pogue

admin — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 00:17:01 +0000

iPhone: OK, I’m Impressed… Now Gimme The Goods!

admin — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 20:42:23 +0000

Mogopop: New Web 2.0 Publishing Tool for iPod

admin — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 04:49:29 +0000

Songbird: Cool New Web-Savvy Media Player Taking Flight

admin — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 02:11:59 +0000

iTunes Volume: An iTunes Controller That’s Louder Than It Appears

admin — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 21:55:08 +0000

PodStat: MenuBar Item for Your iPod

Leland Scott — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 01:48:22 +0000

MPFreaker: More Control of Your MP3 Tags, Lyrics, and Artwork

admin — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 02:54:03 +0000

krix: A visual music browser for Mac OS X

admin — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 00:57:04 +0000

GimmeSomeTune: Highly Rated iTunes Freeware Fails To Impress

admin — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 19:57:51 +0000

Ivy: Yet Another iTunes Controller, With Search

admin — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 00:42:01 +0000

QuickTunes: Another Cool Freeware iTunes Assistant

admin — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 19:29:39 +0000

MediaRage: Swiss Army Knife for Your Digital Libraries

admin — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 06:40:41 +0000

iTunes Statistician: Get Data on Your Music Collection

Leland Scott — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 19:53:48 +0000

Cast Life: A Stylish “Easy Podcast” Maker

admin — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 23:07:54 +0000

Podcaster: Easy Tool for Making Podcasts

admin — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 23:06:10 +0000