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Having iTunes Authorization Problems?

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:00:14 +0000

The iTunes authorization system is pretty effective at controlling how many computers are associated with your Apple ID -- this is currently set to a maximum of 5. It is a necessary feature to make sure that the digital products that you have purchased from the iTunes Store are only accessible by you -- it also protects the rights of copyright holders by limiting any potential unauthorized distribution through the use of DRM. However, this authorization limit can eventually by maxed out; especially when you have had several computers die on you over time with no way of directly deauthorizing them. You then suddenly find yourself in a seemingly impossible situation where you can't authorize a new computer in iTunes because you've hit this limit.

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How to Listen to Internet Radio via SHOUTcast

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:00:55 +0000

Even though the SHOUTcast streaming music platform may have been developed by the makers of Winamp, there are a number of ways to access this service other than using the Winamp software media player. If you are not sure exactly what SHOUTcast is, then it is basically a streaming media software application that enables the broadcast of radio stations over a network -- usually this is the Internet. For the listener, all that is needed is a software program that can connect with a SHOUTcast server. You will then be able to choose a radio to listen to from a large list -- currently there are over 52,000 stations that are broadcasting all over the Internet!

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Google Rumored to be Working on Digital Music Home Entertainment System

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:14:31 +0000

Google is rumored to be currently working on an Android-powered home entertainment system that is presently in the prototype stage. Some reports in the blogosphere say that Google's entertainment device will be available by the end of this year and will be capable of wirelessly streaming your digital music library -- from the Google Music service too perhaps?

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Crossfading in Windows Media Player: Create Smooth Transitions Between Songs

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:00:32 +0000

Even though we are accustomed to having silent gaps between each song in an album or playlist, you can use an audio mixing technique called Crossfading in Windows Media Player (WMP) to eliminate this. Crossfading which is built into WMP is an enhancement feature that blends the end of one song into the start of the next; this creates a smooth transition between the two and effectively removes the silent pauses between songs.

DJ software typically makes extensive use of this to make professional sounding mixes, but you can do the same thing (albeit on a more basic level) without any fancy DJ hardware or software. If you've ripped your own audio CDs for example to create a digital music library, then you can employ automatic crossfading to enhance your listening experience. Any previously created custom-made playlists you have (for tracks purchased from online music services for instance), can also have crossfading applied to them which can make your mixtapes a lot more interesting to listen to.

If you like the idea of having professional sounding crossfaded songs, then these Windows Media Player tutorials go into more detail on how to achieve this:

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iTunes Match: Bug Causing Some Explicit Songs to be Censored

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:00:07 +0000

According to an article published by 9to5Mac, a bug in Apple's iTunes Match platform is causing certain explicit songs to be cleaned up! Instead of the exact version appearing in your iCloud storage space, a clean version from Apple's iTunes music catalog is incorrectly pulled -- effectively censoring your music collection. Rumors in the blogosphere point to the problem only affecting certain songs that haven't been purchased from the iTunes Store -- i.e. other online music services, ripped songs from CDs, etc. For some reason Apple's subscription iCloud add-on can't always identify an explicit version.

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New Report Forecasts Mobile Music Growth to Double by 2016

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:00:09 +0000

A new report by market research company, IE Market Research Corporation (IEMR), predicts that over the next 5 years Mobile Music will be the fastest growing sector in the mobile entertainment industry. Mobile Music is fast becoming a popular way to enjoy digital music on the move...

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Boost Your CD Music Listening Time by Creating an MP3 CD

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:00:15 +0000

If you're not sure what an MP3 CD is, then it's simply a normal data CD with digital music files stored on it -- most commonly in the MP3 format. Even though the compact disc is an aging format, it is still a very popular way for music fans to enjoy listening to their favorite artists.

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Creating Audio CDs: Are Your Discs Good Enough for Burning at Top-speed?

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:00:48 +0000

The compact disc may be getting long in the tooth now, but many computer users still use optical media as an inexpensive backup solution for digital music. For ease-of-use, burning ...

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Smart Uses of Playlists in Windows Media Player

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:00:17 +0000

Creating and saving playlists for your digital music library is essential if you want to enjoy listening to your collection time after time without having to repeatedly select individual songs to play. However, to get the most out of Windows Media Player (WMP), you can leverage playlists for other tasks too.

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Music Recycling: Turn old MIDI Files into New MP3 Tunes

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:00:52 +0000

If you've got a collection of old MIDI files, or have downloaded some from the Internet recently, did you know that you can turn them into MP3s? If you haven't come across MIDI music before, then it's simply a file format that contains musical information such as notes and types of instruments. This type of file is normally only readable on your computer by specialized music software applications, but you can easily convert them into MP3s. Doing this will enable you to use them on your iPod, MP3 player, or other type of portable for example too.

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