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Using iTunes Match - even when you’re not online

Subject: Using iTunes Match - even when you’re not online.

Date: July 17, 2012 3:43:48 PM EDT

If you’re an iTunes Match subscriber who lives where you can count on an Internet connection wherever you are, you don’t need to worry about what music is on the device you’re carrying—you can always access it via iCloud. But Internet connectivity isn’t always reliable, especially during the summer travel months. To see what music you have stored locally on your device, open Settings, go to Music, turn off Show All Music, then return to the Music app to browse your library. You’ll see cloud icons wherever there’s music in your library that’s not on the device. Tap the ones you want to add to your local library. For albums, scroll to the bottom of the list for a Download All button. That way you’ll have the music you want with you even in the remotest parts of the earth.

It’s finally here, the last of the technologies promised at this year’s watershed WWDC. It’s a little late, it’s a little buggy, but Mashable approves. To wit:

iTunes Match is now available and ready for sign-ups.

Apple introduced the service back at WWDC 2011; it’s a way to access all your iTunes music via the cloud, for a fee.

Similar to Amazon’s Cloud Player and Google Music, iTunes Match offers users the ability to access their music libraries — whether tracks were purchased via iTunes or not — from iTunes on a Mac or PC and from iOS 5 devices, including the Apple TV 2.

The service is $24.99 a year. For that $25, users can upload up to 25,000 tracks to the iTunes Cloud (past iTunes purchases do not count against that total) and access their tunes on up to 10 devices.

(via iTunes Match Has Us on Cloud Nine [REVIEW])

Move to iCloud on Flickr.

So here’s my answer about moving from MobileMe to iCloud.

Apple releases iTunes 10.5 | Music and Audio | Macworld »

What was just an announcement is now about to come to fruition.

by Dan Frakes, Lex Friedman, Macworld.com Oct 11, 2011 1:32 pm

The iOS 5 pieces are are beginning to fall into place. Just a day before Apple’s scheduled release of iOS 5 to the masses, the company rolled out iTunes 10.5, which customers will need to install before they can upgrade their iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads on Wednesday.

One of the hallmark features of iOS 5 is Wi-Fi syncing; coupled with iTunes 10.5, you’ll be able to sync your iOS devices with your Mac or PC without tethering them via a USB cable.

But even more prominent among iTunes 10.5’s new features is support for Apple’s new iCloud and iTunes Match services. With iCloud, much of your Mac- and iOS- focused data—contacts, calendars, photos, and more—gets stored on Apple’s iCloud servers, making it easy to both access that data and keep it synchronized between all your devices. With respect to iTunes, iCloud tracks all of your iTunes Store, App Store, and iBooks Store purchases, making them available from any device. (Interestingly, Apple says that over a third of music sold through the iTunes Store is purchased on an iOS device.) It also stores your iOS-device backups.

iCloud, like iOS 5, is set to make its debut on Wednesday.

The iTunes Match service, which will cost $25 per year, lets you also store music you didn’t buy through iTunes.…

While I don’t agree that the transition to iCloud will be rocky, I do like ReadWriteWeb’s summary of the history of Apple’s cloud-like services. In fact, it is my read of that history that makes me think the transition will be much more smooth. I’ve been using some of the same services—with the same e-mail address—since iTools. My experience of the transition has been smooth, though I will miss some services like the Gallery and iWeb. On balance, Apple’s not getting out of the photo-sharing business; even now, iPhoto integrates with Facebook and Flickr. Further, I rarely use iWeb now I’m on Tumblr, WordPress, and other services.

If you are an Apple MobileMe customer, now is the time to start planning your transition to Apple’s iCloud service as some parts of MobileMe are going away. While the move from MobileMe to iCloud is bound to be rocky, the good news is that there are third-party alternatives. However, there are some services that people have taken for granted which just won’t be available when Apple pulls the plug on MobileMe next summer. While Apple never really seemed all that committed to MobileMe anyway, many of its features didn’t keep pace with the competition. And with some planning and exploration of alternatives, other MobileMe users are likely to find they’ve wound up in a better place as well.

Change is in the clouds.

By AppleInsider Staff
Published: 04:00 PM ESTApple on Friday offered some additional transparency on its MobileMe to iCloud transition, specifying which features will safely make the jump to the new service and which will be lost forever — namely iDisk, Gallery and iWeb.

In an FAQ on the matter, Apple reiterated that it’s depreciating its MobileMe service, noting that customers who owned an account as of June 6, 2011 will see their service extended through June 30, 2012, at no additional charge. After that date, the MobileMe service will be shuttered forever.

Though there had been some concern over the fate of MobileMe’s web applications, Apple also confirmed that it will be transitioning web mail, contacts, calendar, bookmarks, Find My iPhone, and Back to My Mac to iCloud.com this fall.

However, features such as iWeb publishing, MobileMe Gallery and iDisk will not make the cut. Also axed from the new service will be syncing of Mac Dashboard widgets, keychains, Dock items, and System Preferences — though these will remain accessible until MobileMe shuts down next year.

In place of these missing features, Apple will offer users of its free iCloud service iTunes in the Cloud, Photo Stream, Documents in the Cloud, Automatic downloads and purchase history for apps and books, and Backup and restore.

MobileMe users who retain me.com or mac.com email address will be able to keep those addresses and move their mail, contacts, and calendars, as well as their bookmarks, to the new service. Instructions on how to do so will be provided closer to iCloud’s launch this fall.

Some ‘splainin’ to do?

By Neil Hughes
Published: 09:40 AM ESTAs Apple plans to push its iCloud service to consumers this fall, a new survey has found that most people don’t even know what the term “cloud computing” means.

Most U.S. consumers do use some form of cloud computing, which refers to a software application or process accessed from the Internet rather than a local hard drive. But a new survey from the NPD Group also found that just 22 percent of consumers are familiar with the term “cloud computing.”

Unfamiliarity with the term exists despite the fact that 76 percent of U.S. respondents reported using some type of Internet-based cloud service in the last 12 months. The leading cloud services for users were e-mail, tax preparation and online gaming.

“Whether they understand the terminology or not, consumers are actually pretty savvy in their use of cloud-based applications,” said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for NPD.

“They might not always recognize they are performing activities in the cloud, yet they still rely on and use those services extensively. Even so, they are not yet ready to completely give up on traditional PC-based software applications.”

I think that iWeb is particularly becoming doomed with Apple’s recent announcement about iCloud. Right now, iWeb publishes to MobileMe out of the box, and that service will be fully transitioned to iCloud in a year. Fortunately, I’m hip to these other platforms like WordPress and Tumblr.

by Steven SandeApr 21st 2011 at 9:00PM

I like iWeb. Apple’s website creation tool is easy to use, creates great looking sites, and has been installed on just about every new Mac since 2006. In fact, I’ve written about iWeb for Take Control Books, and I often recommend iWeb to Mac users who are seeking a powerful website tool but don’t want to face a tough learning curve.

However, I have a nagging feeling that we may have seen the last of iWeb. The app wasn’t updated as part of the iLife ‘11 release, and Apple remains mum on the future of iWeb.

I’ll be the first to say that I hope I’m wrong, but there are three factors that probably point to the demise of iWeb.

Facebook

CMS

Mobility

It’s always been all about the thoroughgoing infrastructure. It’s not just bits cobbled together to look cool.

Apple has published an update on the software it will be unveiling at its Keynote Address at its WWDC event in San Francisco on June 6, highlighting updates to its Mac OS X and iOS operating systems for desktops and mobile platforms.

The company also references for the first time its new iCloud service, a cloud-based storage platform that will likely incorporate its current MobileMe service and take its music service onto the web, so that users no longer need to physically sync their iOS devices with iTunes on their desktop computer.

The keynote will be delivered by Steve Jobs, despite being on sick leave from his position as Apple’s CEO.

We have long speculated that Apple’s next iOS update will include a drastic overhaul of the notifications system, possibly introducing voice control and incorporate social elements into the core of the operating system, without the need to download third-party applications.