What’s New With iTunes?
Tech Talker has 5 tips on how to use the new iTunes to improve your digital life
I’ve had many listeners write in with questions about Apple’s new iTunes and iOS 5 release. So today I’ve got 5 Quick and Dirty Tips to improving your Apple iDevice experience with iTunes.
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But first, let me start off by saying: Update your iTunes! The newest version has a ton of new features and critical bug fixes that will make your life a lot easier. My favorite is the return of the “Get All” button for podcasts. It’s an easy way to download all your favorite podcasts with a single click. I’ll explain all about it later, but now, here are my 5 Quick and Dirty Tips on the coolest features in iTunes:
Tip #1: Genius
Do you ever get into one of those moods when you just need to hear a little country twang…only to realize that you would have to make a whole new playlist from scratch, which would mean searching your entire iTunes library for the perfect songs and adding them one by one? And suddenly, a little country craving becomes a huge, time-consuming task! Too bad there isn’t some way for the computer to know what you want to listen to and just create the playlist for you…oh wait, there is! Simply select a single song, and a new feature called Genius will then create a playlist for you based upon what other songs would go well with it from your library. It may take a little tweaking, but from my personal experience it does a pretty good job creating my custom Taylor Swift playlist!
Tip #2: Podcasts
Recently iTunes has made it even easier to get all of your podcasts quickly and easily. The other day, I was having a problem trying to download a bunch of podcasts from one of my Quick and Dirty Tips colleagues. I had to click and download each episode individually. What a pain! But then I updated my iTunes and discovered that my favorite button has returned – the “Get All” button is back! It’s a huge time saver because it lets you download all of the podcasts that are available for a given show with one simple click! I love doing this before a long road trip because while iTunes downloads my favorite podcasts, I have plenty of time to pack. Get-It-Done Guy would be proud of the multi-tasking. So don’t delay and update your iTunes asap.
Tip #3: Wireless Syncing
On my way to work the other day, I remembered that I downloaded a bunch of great new songs to my iTunes library and then I realized that I forgot to sync my iPod before I went to sleep the night before. Shoot! Luckily, with the iOS 5 that was released earlier this fall, you can set up your supported iDevices to sync wirelessly via Wi-Fi, instead of a physical USB connection. This means no more having to remember to sync your devices after you make changes to iTunes. Check out an easy tutorial on how to set up your wireless syncing, courtesy of Lifehacker.
Tip #4: iCloud
Tip #4: Another great feature to come along with the newest updates of iTunes and iOS 5 is called iCloud. If you have multiple iDevices, it can be a hassle trying to keep all of your stuff organized between them. Thanks to iCloud, this issue is a thing of the past! If you buy a song, take a picture, or set a reminder, iCloud will make the appropriate changes across all of your devices, automatically. Say you just went on a hike and took some great pictures with your iPhone. When you got home later that night, you want to show off your pictures on your iPad without ever having to sync either device. Thanks to iCloud, now you can.
Tip #5: Library Sharing
If you have a household in which multiple people use iTunes on different devices, I suggest setting up library sharing in iTunes. I happen to be a die-hard country music fan (in case you didn’t get that from Tip #1). Country comprises about 97.6% of my music library. But although I’m devout about my musical preferences, there are times when I feel like branching out and listening to something different. This is where library sharing comes in handy. Once sharing is enabled on your computer, you can listen to the iTunes library of anyone who is on your local network. So whether you want some of dad’s classic rock, or a maybe a little bit of your sister’s Justin Bieber, you won’t have to download a thing, it will all be shared over your home network!
Have a question about anything in this episode? Or a suggestion for a future podcast? Send me an email at techtalker@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email or post it on the Tech Talker Facebook wall. I’ve been covering a lot of Apple products lately, so if you want to hear more about Windows, Linux, Android, you name it, I’d be happy to cover any digital query! Just drop me a line.
Until next time, I’m the Tech Talker, keeping technology simple!
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About the Author
Tech Talker demystifies technology and cutting edge devices so that even the most tech illiterate can understand what’s going on with their computer or gadget — and what to do when something goes wrong.
