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kennyc · 01-24-2010, 11:46 AM

And further, from: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/itunes1.htm

iTunes Compatibility
music on iTunes
Screenshot by HowStuffWorks.com
Music is still the heart of the iTunes store.

iTunes software lets you sort, play and add to a digital media collection on your computer and sync it to a portable device.

*iTunes compatibility in the realm of portable players is a bit of a quagmire, which is part of the reason why some people just avoid iTunes entirely. You can use the iTunes Mac software with, say, a Creative Nomad MP3 player (see iTunes for Mac OS X: Compatible Players for a complete list). But iTunes for Windows only supports the iPhone or iPod series -- if you connect a Creative Nomad to a Windows machine running iTunes, the software won't see it. And there's no version of iTunes for Linux machines, either. But there are ways around that -- just do a Google search for "iPod Linux hacks."

Since the introduction of the iPhone, Apple no longer provides iTunes support to new phones from other manufacturers. Apple's strategy is to convince consumers to purchase Apple products and use them with Apple services. The company doesn't make it easy for you to use iTunes with any non-Apple device. Some companies, such as Palm, have tried to get around Apple's closed system only to be shut down in subsequent iTunes updates.
System Requirements
Mac Mac OS X v10.4.11 or later
1 GHz or faster processor (G4 Mac or better)
QuickTime 7.6.4 or later
1 GB RAM to play HD video
16 MB of video RAM for HD video
Broadband Internet (to use iTunesStore)

Windows Windows XP service pack 2 or later
200 MB of disk space
2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or faster processor to play HD video, iTunes LP or iTunes Extras
DirectX 9.0-compatible video card with at least 32 MB of video RAM
Screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or greater
QuickTime 7.6.4 (included in download)
1 GB of RAM to play HD video, iTunes LP or iTunes Extras
Broadband Internet (to use iTunes Store)

So iTunes (or at least the Mac version) does support other players besides the iPod. But here it gets even trickier: Older music you downloaded from the iTunes Store is protected by the Apple FairPlay digital rights management (DRM) format, which is a proprietary, protected AAC file format that Apple doesn't license to anybody. The only devices that can play those files are ones with the ability to decrypt the Apple DRM, which includes your computer running iTunes, an iPod, an iPhone, an iTunes phone and your speakers connected to AirPort Express. (You can't play them on Roku's SoundBridge, because Apple licensed Roku the iTunes software minus the DRM decryption.)

To play iTunes Store files with DRM on a portable player besides an iPod, you have to first burn them to a CD or DVD as MP3 files. The DRM encoding doesn't make it to the disc. You then rip the now-unprotected files back into your iTunes library and download them to the player.Songs purchased from the iTunes Store in the iTunes Plus format don't carry DRM, which means you won't have to go through this step.

So now we know which devices will and won't work with the iTunes software. Next, we'll find out what you can do with the software if you've got the right hardware (or the wrong hardware with the right hack).

01-24-2010, 11:46 AM	#172
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,918 Karma: 119747553 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	And further, from: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/itunes1.htm iTunes Compatibility music on iTunes Screenshot by HowStuffWorks.com Music is still the heart of the iTunes store. iTunes software lets you sort, play and add to a digital media collection on your computer and sync it to a portable device. *iTunes compatibility in the realm of portable players is a bit of a quagmire, which is part of the reason why some people just avoid iTunes entirely. You can use the iTunes Mac software with, say, a Creative Nomad MP3 player (see iTunes for Mac OS X: Compatible Players for a complete list). But iTunes for Windows only supports the iPhone or iPod series -- if you connect a Creative Nomad to a Windows machine running iTunes, the software won't see it. And there's no version of iTunes for Linux machines, either. But there are ways around that -- just do a Google search for "iPod Linux hacks." Since the introduction of the iPhone, Apple no longer provides iTunes support to new phones from other manufacturers. Apple's strategy is to convince consumers to purchase Apple products and use them with Apple services. The company doesn't make it easy for you to use iTunes with any non-Apple device. Some companies, such as Palm, have tried to get around Apple's closed system only to be shut down in subsequent iTunes updates. System Requirements Mac Mac OS X v10.4.11 or later 1 GHz or faster processor (G4 Mac or better) QuickTime 7.6.4 or later 1 GB RAM to play HD video 16 MB of video RAM for HD video Broadband Internet (to use iTunesStore) Windows Windows XP service pack 2 or later 200 MB of disk space 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or faster processor to play HD video, iTunes LP or iTunes Extras DirectX 9.0-compatible video card with at least 32 MB of video RAM Screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or greater QuickTime 7.6.4 (included in download) 1 GB of RAM to play HD video, iTunes LP or iTunes Extras Broadband Internet (to use iTunes Store) So iTunes (or at least the Mac version) does support other players besides the iPod. But here it gets even trickier: Older music you downloaded from the iTunes Store is protected by the Apple FairPlay digital rights management (DRM) format, which is a proprietary, protected AAC file format that Apple doesn't license to anybody. The only devices that can play those files are ones with the ability to decrypt the Apple DRM, which includes your computer running iTunes, an iPod, an iPhone, an iTunes phone and your speakers connected to AirPort Express. (You can't play them on Roku's SoundBridge, because Apple licensed Roku the iTunes software minus the DRM decryption.) To play iTunes Store files with DRM on a portable player besides an iPod, you have to first burn them to a CD or DVD as MP3 files. The DRM encoding doesn't make it to the disc. You then rip the now-unprotected files back into your iTunes library and download them to the player.Songs purchased from the iTunes Store in the iTunes Plus format don't carry DRM, which means you won't have to go through this step. So now we know which devices will and won't work with the iTunes software. Next, we'll find out what you can do with the software if you've got the right hardware (or the wrong hardware with the right hack).