Oct 24

iTunes, the proprietary digital media media player from Apple, was first released in 2001, performing mainly as an organiser and player of music. Now, I resisted the temptation to get involved with the Apple love-in that had started perhaps 5 or 6 years ago, that was, until, this year.

I have never owned a iPod, and don’t suspect I ever will, but I have reverted to an iMac for work, and no doubt I’ll be buying my iHouse soon with my iMortgage, and relaxing with an iPint at my iLocal. I digress, my point is this: I have no allegiance to Apple or any of their products, so it was with entirely equitable eyes that I came to love iTunes.

As a side-note for those that are interested, the ‘i’ in their branding originated with the iMac, which was released at just about the time the internet started to truly spread its appeal, and thus stood for ‘internet’, as it was an ‘out-of-the-box’ ready-to-go machine for web-surfing (among other purposes of course). Now it holds no meaning, but does tie their products together nicely, and has proven to be a hugely successful branding.

Having used iTunes now for 6 months, I can safely say I am a fan. Over the past month or so I have started exploring its features, and much to my delight I now get the Adam and Joe podcasts updated automatically for my listening pleasure, I can tune in to an eclectic choice of radio stations, from rock and metal, classical and jazz, to sports and comedy. Even when I add my own music to the library, it manipulates the files in to m4a’s, which require less memory, and can be transported to any portable media playing device of any worth.

The navigation is superb, and even the most laymen of….men, will always understand what action their iTunes is performing, and how to get to their desired area should they not be there. A simple, clean design, very much in keeping with Apple’s virtues of design.

It’s to my detriment that I was too lazy to try the various functions available, and as a comparison to its main rival, WMP (Windows Media Player), it simply blows it away. I’m sure there are areas of performance that WMP out-wits iTunes, but I won’t be the one to find that out, as I am now married to iTunes, and have no intention of changing my election in the foreseeable future.

WMP serves it purpose as a music player, but iTunes has endeavored to unite your media playing needs in to one extremely simple interface, and boy did they succeed. Available to download for free from the Apple website, with versions for all major operating systems, there’s no reason not to let Apple massage your ears.