11.3. iTunes: The Digital Jukebox
iTunes, in your Applications folder, is the ultimate software jukebox (Figure 11-5
). It can
play music CDs, tune in to Internet radio stations, load up your iPod music player or
iPhone, and play back digital sound files (including the Internet's favorite format, MP3
files) and other popular audio formats. It can also turn selected tracks from your music
CDs into MP3 files, so that you can store favorite songs on your hard drive to play back
anytime—without having to dig up the original CDs. If your Mac can burn CDs, iTunes
lets you record your own custom audio CDs that contain only the good songs. Finally, of
course, iTunes is the shop window for the online iTunes Store ($1 a song).
iTunes can also burn MP3 CDs: music CDs that fit much more than the usual 74 or 80
minutes of music onto a disc (because they store songs in MP3 format instead of AIFF).
Not all CD players can play MP3 discs, however, and the sound quality is slightly lower
than standard CDs.
The first time you run iTunes, you're asked (a) whether you want iTunes to be the
program your Mac uses for playing music files from the Internet, (b) whether you want it
to ask your permission every time it connects to the Internet, and (c) whether you want
the program to scan your Home folder for all music files already on it. (You can decline
to have your hard drive scanned at this time. Later, you can always drag it, or any other
folder, directly into the iTunes window for automatic scanning.)
Figure 11-5. When the Library icon is selected in the Source list, you can click the
Browse button (upper-right) to produce a handy, supplementary view of your music
database, organized like a Finder column view. Itlets you drill down from a
performer's name (leftcolumn) to an album by that artist (right column) to the
individual songs on that album (bottom half, beneath the browser panes).
Tip: The following pages present a mini-manual on iTunes. For the full scoop, plus
coverage of the iPod and the iTunes Store, consult iPod: The Missing Manual.


"When you insert a music CD" pop-up menu).
Then all you have to do is make sure iTunes knows to begin playing
automatically once it launches. Choose iTunes Preferences, click the
Advanced icon, and then click Importing; from the On CD Insert pop-up menu,
choose Begin Playing. Click OK.
From now on, whenever you insert a music CD, iTunes will open automatically
and begin playing. 11.3.3. The iPod and iPhone
Unless you're just off the shuttle from Alpha Centauri, you probably already know that
the iPod is Apple's tiny, elegant music player. It, and its cellular pal the iPhone, are
designed to integrate seamlessly with iTunes.
All you have to do is connect the iPod or iPhone to the Mac via its FireWire or USB 2.0
cable. You'll see the gadget's icon show up in the iTunes Source list. Click its icon to
view its contents—and click the tabs (Music, TV Shows, Podcasts, and so on) to specify
what Mac material you'd like copied over to it.
11.3.4. The iTunes Music Store
The iTunes Music Store is incredibly easy to figure out. Right from within iTunes, you
can search or browse for over 6 million pop songs, classical pieces, and even comedy
excerpts—and then buy them for $1 apiece. Then there are the TV shows (episodes for $2
a piece, with no ads, from over 350 series), movies (500), free podcasts (65,000),
audiobooks (20,000), music videos (100,000), iPod games, and more. Sure, you may go
broke, but at least you'll be entertained.
Besides, there are no monthly fees, and your downloads don't go poof! into the ether if
you decide to cancel your subscription, as they do with some rival services.
Start by clicking the Store icon in the iTunes Source list. You go online and land on the
home page, which looks and works like a Web page. Use the Search Music Store box
(top right corner) to find the songs or performers you're interested in. Doubleclick a song
or video to hear or view a 30-second excerpt. (For audio books, you get a 90-second

"playlist" in the Source list for convenient access.
11.3.4.2. Restrictions
Most songs from the iTunes Store are copy-protected—gently. For example:
•
Maximum offive computers. Apple lets you play your Store–bought songs on up
to five computers at once. However, to prevent you from becoming a rampant
music pirate, you must prove your honesty by authorizing these five machines.
You authorized your first machine when you signed up for an Apple Account for
the iTunes store. To authorize a song to play on another computer, copy it over
from the first machine. Then, in iTunes, select the song and click the button.
Type your Apple Account user name and password in the box that appears. This
second computer is now authorized to play that song—and any other songs you
bought using the same Apple Account.

Tip: Thinking of putting that older computer up for sale? Before you wipe the
drive clean and send it on its way, be sure to deauthorize it (choose Advanced
Deauthorize Computer), so that you're not wasting one of your five "authorized
computer" slots. Erasing a hard drive, by itself, does not deauthorize a computer.

•
Maximum of10 CDs per playlist. You can also burn purchased tracks to blank
CDs, so you can listen to them in the car or the big stereo rack in the living room.
Here's another tiny form of copy protection: If you've added store-bought songs to
a given playlist, you can't burn more than ten CD copies of it in a row without
making at least one change to that list. Changing the song order slightly will do.
Music publisher EMI now offers its songs without any copy protection (at $1.30 instead
of $1.00); Apple hopes to score similar deals with other record companies. Well, we can
dream, can't we?
11.3.5. Playing Music
To turn your Mac into a music player, click iTunes' Play button or press the Space