Maria’s Guides

Support and additional material for readers of books, articles, and digital media by Maria Langer.


Random Book Cover #1Random Book Cover #2Random Book Cover #3Random Book Cover #4Random Book Cover #5Random Book Cover #6Random Book Cover #7Random Book Cover #8Random Book Cover #9

links for 2007-05-31

Posted on May 30th, 2007 at 11:17 pm · No Comments
Filed in: RSS Links Worth Following   

→ No Comments • Read 156 Times
Add to Del.icio.usAdd to Del.icio.us • Technorati ThisTechnorati This • Digg ThisDigg This • Stumble ItStumble it! • Twit ThisTwit This


DRM Removed, “Breadcrumbs” Added

Posted on May 30th, 2007 at 2:39 pm · No Comments
Filed in: RSS Mac OS Books   

A note about iTunes Plus music.

While browsing around the Web this afternoon, I stumbled across an article on Kirkville, “iTunes Plus: No DRM, but Breadcrumbs,” discussing the new iTunes Plus music files. It says, in part:

… However, while there is no DRM (digital rights management) in these tracks, there are breadcrumbs.

If you look into an iTunes Plus file–just open one with a text editor–you’ll see both your name and your iTunes account ID….

Article author Kirk McElhearn then goes on to display the code that he found.

Funny that this additional code wasn’t mentioned in the press releases…

Kudos to Kirk for using a text editor to open a song file.

But this begs the question: What kind of person thinks of doing things like that? Obviously, a very curious one

→ No Comments • Read 274 Times
Add to Del.icio.usAdd to Del.icio.us • Technorati ThisTechnorati This • Digg ThisDigg This • Stumble ItStumble it! • Twit ThisTwit This


9 Quick and Easy Steps to Upgrade Your iTunes-Purchased Music

Posted on May 30th, 2007 at 10:45 am · 7 Comments
Filed in: RSS Mac OS Books   

Using iTunes Plus.

A while back, Apple announced that it had entered into an agreement with EMI to sell DRM-free music in the iTunes store. It promised that iTunes shoppers would have access to this music in May 2007.

As May wound down to a close, Apple released iTunes 7.2, which adds iTunes Plus features. iTunes plus is a special area of the iTunes music store where you can shop for DRM-free music. It’s also where you can upgrade some of the music you’ve already purchased to the higher-quality DRM-free version.

Here’s how to upgrade the songs you’ve already purchased through the iTunes music store.

  1. Quick LinksOpen iTunes.
  2. On the left side of the window under STORE, click iTunes Store.
  3. In the iTunes Store Home page, click iTunes Plus in the Quick Links box on the right side of the screen.
  4. Upgrade my LibraryIn the top right corner of the screen that appears, you should see an Upgrade My Library box. (This box only appears if you have iTunes-purchased music that can be upgraded.) Click See Details.
  5. Set iTunes Plus preferencesA dialog like the one shown here appears. It asks if you want to enable iTunes Plus preferences so only the DRM-free versions of music appear (when available). Click iTunes Plus.
  6. A new version of the iTunes Store Terms & Conditions appears. Read this legalize if you like. When you’re ready to continue, click Accept.
  7. Upgrade my LibraryAn Upgrade My Library screen appears. It lists the albums, songs, and videos that you have purchased for which DRM-free versions are available. Click the Buy button to upgrade all music and videos for the price shown onscreen.
  8. If prompted, enter your login information for the iTunes Store and confirm that you really do want to complete the purchase.
  9. Keep or Replace?Anther dialog tells you that the new songs will replace the old ones and gives you an opportunity to save the old ones to a folder on your desktop. Click Move to Desktop or Delete Files as desired.

Monitor DownloadsThe download begins. You can monitor its progress in the Downloads screen. iTunes displays the iTunes Plus window again so you can do some more shopping.

It’s quick, it’s easy, and its reasonably priced. Let’s hope Apple makes more agreements with music publishers to sell DRM-free music. It’ll certainly get me shopping in the iTunes Store again.

One more thing — you may want to repeat this process periodically. As Apple signs up other music publishers, more songs will be available for upgrade. You can follow this process to upgrade more iTunes-purchased music in the future.

I look forward to converting the rest of my purchased library — all 500+ songs — to the DRM-free version.

→ 7 Comments • Read 1020 Times
Add to Del.icio.usAdd to Del.icio.us • Technorati ThisTechnorati This • Digg ThisDigg This • Stumble ItStumble it! • Twit ThisTwit This


iTunes 7.2 Now Available

Posted on May 30th, 2007 at 6:12 am · 2 Comments
Filed in: RSS Mac OS Books   

Information from Software Update.

With iTunes 7.2, preview and purchase iTunes Plus music—new higher-quality, DRM-free music downloads from participating music labels.

→ 2 Comments • Read 210 Times
Add to Del.icio.usAdd to Del.icio.us • Technorati ThisTechnorati This • Digg ThisDigg This • Stumble ItStumble it! • Twit ThisTwit This