I heard, to my horror, the other day, that songs downloaded from i-tunes will only play on mac products such as the i-pod, and will not play back on non-mac players such as the "stick" style mp3 players produced by Toshiba, etc. that are quite common in Japan. If this is true (it was in a computer magazine, I forget which one) are there any similar compatibility problems regarding podcasts? I had always assumed that all podcast files were simply mp3 files that would play on anything and am hoping that this is the case.
Hi James,
I'm glad you started a new thread, the other one was getting too long. My daughter buys songs from itunes and I think they are just regular mp3s. Although she does have an ipod, I know she also can play then through Real Player, and can burn then to CD and play them on her portable CD player. And, as you probably know, they are PC compatible. Actually, Apple was smart here, I doubt they would be selling millions of songs if you had to have a ipod to play them.
But, I think that the iTunes player itself is set up to get RSS feed podcasting. But that brings up a question I have. When speaking of implementing podcasting--which I think is very exciting--I'm wondering, although I have nothing against iTunes, what will be the options for users? I don't know much about this yet.
I'm glad you started a new thread, the other one was getting too long. My daughter buys songs from itunes and I think they are just regular mp3s. Although she does have an ipod, I know she also can play then through Real Player, and can burn then to CD and play them on her portable CD player. And, as you probably know, they are PC compatible. Actually, Apple was smart here, I doubt they would be selling millions of songs if you had to have a ipod to play them.
But, I think that the iTunes player itself is set up to get RSS feed podcasting. But that brings up a question I have. When speaking of implementing podcasting--which I think is very exciting--I'm wondering, although I have nothing against iTunes, what will be the options for users? I don't know much about this yet.
Since RSS uses mp3 format, you will be able to play the file you download in any mp3 player, new or old(er). Any other program that can read RSS feeds will be able to download the music files. iTunes is really just a really popular (maybe the most popular) way of doing it.
But, you are right - this is very exciting.
But, you are right - this is very exciting.
Thanks Matt, that explains it well. So, if we create a podcasting forum (I guess we will be able to do this with 1.6), then users can subscribe and get the mp3s from the forum automatically in some program--similar to getting a regular forum post via email, right? (And then, I assume, someone could save them as mp3s to a portable player of some sort if they wanted--like an ipod).
And iTunes is one such "podcasting" program. Although, I do like the looks of the ipodderX program that you mentioned Harry. I'm wondering what program will be to podcasts as Acrobat Reader is to pdfs, and Macromedia Flashplayer is to swfs. I'm assuming that most of my users will not already have a program on their computer that can handle this (as opposed to an email program, which most everyone has) and will have to download something.
And thanks, Mark for the tip about the block--and a look at your site.
And iTunes is one such "podcasting" program. Although, I do like the looks of the ipodderX program that you mentioned Harry. I'm wondering what program will be to podcasts as Acrobat Reader is to pdfs, and Macromedia Flashplayer is to swfs. I'm assuming that most of my users will not already have a program on their computer that can handle this (as opposed to an email program, which most everyone has) and will have to download something.
And thanks, Mark for the tip about the block--and a look at your site.
iTunes music store songs are purchased in AAC format which will not play back on unauthorized devices if simply copied in that format. However, Apple allows you to convert that AAC files to MP3, AIFF, or many other formats you can choose from, you could also burn the songs to CD. Then take the converted song and use it without restrictions.
Careful about copyright and DRM 
There should be some Fair Use for educational purposes, but read this first:
http://www.info.apple.com/usen/itunes/policies.html
http://www.info.apple.com/usen/itunes/policies.html
CONTENT USAGE RULES
Your use of the Products is conditioned upon your prior acceptance of the terms of this Agreement.
You shall be authorized to use the Product only for personal, non-commercial use.
You shall be authorized to use the Product on five Apple authorized computers. [You can use iTunes to authorize a Windows PC.]
You shall be entitled to burn and export Products solely for personal, non-commercial use.
Any burning or exporting capabilities are solely an accommodation to you and shall not constitute a grant or waiver (or other limitation or implication) of any rights of the copyright owners of any content, sound recording, underlying musical composition or artwork embodied in any Product.
You agree that you will not attempt to, or encourage or assist any other person to, circumvent or modify any software required for use of the Service or any of the Usage Rules.
Your use of the Products is conditioned upon your prior acceptance of the terms of this Agreement.
You shall be authorized to use the Product only for personal, non-commercial use.
You shall be authorized to use the Product on five Apple authorized computers. [You can use iTunes to authorize a Windows PC.]
You shall be entitled to burn and export Products solely for personal, non-commercial use.
Any burning or exporting capabilities are solely an accommodation to you and shall not constitute a grant or waiver (or other limitation or implication) of any rights of the copyright owners of any content, sound recording, underlying musical composition or artwork embodied in any Product.
You agree that you will not attempt to, or encourage or assist any other person to, circumvent or modify any software required for use of the Service or any of the Usage Rules.
Thanks Daryl and everybodyelse! A few more questions though!
How do you convert the AAC files to MP3 format? Is it necessary to install i-tunes to do this, or can you do it in the download process? And why do they provide them in this AAC format rather than just as MP3 files?
Ah! Just had a bit of a nose around and found this:
"The ACC format does include DRM (Digital Rights Management), but it's non-intrusive and reasonable. You can use the downloaded songs on up to three computers at once, burn songs to CDs as much as you want, and burn a playlist to CD up to ten times."
Apparently ACC is part of the MPEG4 specification.
How do you convert the AAC files to MP3 format? Is it necessary to install i-tunes to do this, or can you do it in the download process? And why do they provide them in this AAC format rather than just as MP3 files?
Ah! Just had a bit of a nose around and found this:
"The ACC format does include DRM (Digital Rights Management), but it's non-intrusive and reasonable. You can use the downloaded songs on up to three computers at once, burn songs to CDs as much as you want, and burn a playlist to CD up to ten times."
Apparently ACC is part of the MPEG4 specification.
James,
It is neccessary to use iTunes to download the music files, so it's trivial to use iTunes to do the conversion. A more direct answer - yes, you would need iTunes since it is needed to even read the file.
The files are provided in AAC format because they're able to include their "FairPlay" DRM bits inside the AAC wrapper format. AAC is also a smaller file size for comparable quality in MP3 format. AAC is an open format, Real uses AAC for their music store as well, but Apple's DRM which is included in these files is proprietary.
To convert your purchased song to a different format:
Open iTunes pereferences and modify your Import settings to the format you want. MP3 128kbps, whatever.
Highlight your purchased music.
Click the Advanced menu and choose Convert selected tracks to .
Enjoy.
It is neccessary to use iTunes to download the music files, so it's trivial to use iTunes to do the conversion. A more direct answer - yes, you would need iTunes since it is needed to even read the file.
The files are provided in AAC format because they're able to include their "FairPlay" DRM bits inside the AAC wrapper format. AAC is also a smaller file size for comparable quality in MP3 format. AAC is an open format, Real uses AAC for their music store as well, but Apple's DRM which is included in these files is proprietary.
To convert your purchased song to a different format:
Open iTunes pereferences and modify your Import settings to the format you want. MP3 128kbps, whatever.
Highlight your purchased music.
Click the Advanced menu and choose Convert selected tracks to .
Enjoy.
i-Tunes isn't an issue with podcasts at all, just, as mentioned, an issue with music you buy from an i-Tunes Music store.
The only real issue with podcasts (once they are implemented in Moodle
of course) is choosing which aggregator you use to get them.
A couple of the more interesting ones (IMHO) are iPodder X and FireANT . . . both of which can handle text, audio and video.
The only real issue with podcasts (once they are implemented in Moodle
of course) is choosing which aggregator you use to get them.A couple of the more interesting ones (IMHO) are iPodder X and FireANT . . . both of which can handle text, audio and video.
Don't forget Moodle's RSS block can aggregate them I've got my students' podcasts in an RSS block at: http://moodle.snevets.com (top right column).