Whether you're a seasoned Mac veteran or a brand new Mac user, chances are you use iPhoto to keep track of those precious memories. But regardless of your Mac user status, there's a good chance you're not using iPhoto to its full potential. We've gathered together 20 helpful tips and tricks to totally utilize iPhoto's features and become the ultimate power user. Your friends will never look at your photo albums the same way.

1. Full Screen Image Editing

Click images to embiggen

Use this feature to remove the clutter of the Desktop, Menu Bar, Dock and other photos by editing a photo in Full Screen mode.

To enter full screen editing mode, you have three options:

Option #1: Select a photo to edit. in the Menu Bar select View > Full Screen and your photo will grow to fill the screen. You have access to the photo slider when you mouse over the top of the screen, and when you mouse over the bottom of the screen you will gain access to the edit menu. Press the Escape key to return.

Option #2: Select a photo to edit. Right-click and select, "Edit Using Full Screen."

Option #3: You can set iPhoto to automatically open all photos you want to edit in Full Screen mode. To do this, in the Menu Bar select iPhoto > Preferences (or press Command + comma). Select the General tab and select “Using Full Screen” from the Edit Photo drop-down menu.

2. Creating and Using Multiple Libraries

When you’re dealing with large amounts of photos, it may be necessary to create multiple libraries to handle all of your photos. This can also be handy if you wanted to separate family photos from photos you might take for work.

To create a new library, hold down the Option key while opening iPhoto. A new dialog will popup asking if you want to choose another library, create a new library, or choose another library (including the default) that iPhoto already knows about. Click Create New and specify a name and save location in the box that drops down. iPhoto will now load and display the new library. To switch libraries, hold down the Option key on startup and click the Other Library button, navigate to the other library, then select Open.

3. Step Through Effects

When editing photos, iPhoto provides several effects that can spice up your collection. These effects include Black and White, Antique, Edge Blurs and others. You can apply the effects by selecting the Effects button at the bottom of the edit panel. To apply multiple effects, just click on the effects you want applied. But what if you want to step back through, or reduce the intensity of the effect, without losing the other effects.

Most effects will give you a number representing the level of the effect you have applied to your photo; to move backwards, hold down the option key while clicking the effect. The number will decrease, decreasing the effect level in your photo.

4. Edit Images side-by-side

Editing images can be improved when you can see multiple pictures side-by-side. iPhoto will greatly oblige, too. To open multiple pictures in edit mode, simply select two or more photos in an album and then select the edit button in the bottom toolbar.

The resulting edit window will display the three photos. The photo framed by the white box is the photo that you’re currently editing. You can move between the photos you’re editing by clicking the other photos. You are able to add up to eight images to the edit mode window.

5. Add Location Information Manually

Photos taken with your iPhone, a GPS-enabled camera or an Eye-Fi Card may contain location information about where your pictures were taken; however, if you have a camera without GPS functionality, this particular metadata will be missing from your photos.

There are three ways to add this information manually: by album/event, by photo, or by multiple photos. When you mouse over the lower-right corner of an event, album, or photo you’ll notice a small i. Clicking this will result in a popup panel that will allow you to specify metadata information like location. Type in a city in the location field and iPhoto will search to find your location. When you’re finished, select Done to save. You can select multiple photos, albums or events to change the location.

6. Use Time Machine to Bring Back Deleted Photos

Ever get that sinking feeling that you've deleted some important data on your computer? If you have Time Machine enabled, you can at least restore your important data, including photos, albums, events, and more from iPhoto.

To look for deleted items in iPhoto, simply open the iPhoto application and launch Time Machine from the menu bar or dock. When you do, iPhoto will open up in the Time Machine interface, letting you search for deleted items. Click an item and select Restore to restore it to your current iPhoto library.

7. Add Borders, Backgrounds, and Change Layout When Printing

You can instantly jazz up your photos when printing by adding borders and backgrounds when printing your photos.

To do this, select the photos you wish to print, and in the Menu Bar select File > Print, then in the resulting drop-down menu select Customize.

A new view will appear with your photo in the center. The new bottom toolbar will let you add a theme to the photos, enabling you to print a matte around your photo. You can also change the background color, border, and layout. When you’re done editing your photos for printing, select the Print button in the lower-right corner.

8. Confirm Multiple Faces at Once

Faces is a great way to instantly see every photo taken of a particular person in your iPhoto library, but it’s a pain to train the facial recognition engine. Luckily, there’s a way to confirm multiple Faces at once. To do this, simply navigate to the person in Faces you want to confirm pictures of, then in the area labeled “Person may also be the photos below,” drag a box around the photos you want to confirm. Then, select the Confirm Name button in the bottom toolbar.

9. Include Location Information in Exported Pictures

Want to put your photos on Flickr, Facebook, or just send them to firends or family, but want to include the location of where the photos were taken? This is easy to do in iPhoto with the export options. Just select the photos you wish to share, then select File > Export. In the resulting window, ensure File Export is selected, then check the box Location Information in the Include section. When you press the Export information, the exported file metadata will include location information.

10. Change Key Photo in Album

In iPhoto, you can change the photo that represents an event in the Events listing. This photo is called the key photo, and it's very easy to set. When mousing over events, you may notice a photo that represents the event more specificaly than the one iPhoto automatically picks. To change it to the one your mouse is hovered over, press the space bar. When you remove your cursor, you’ll notice that the key photo for the event has changed. Additionally, you can do this when inside of an Event by selecting a photo and navigating to Events > Make Key Photo in the Menu Bar, or right-clicking on a photo and selecting Make Key Photo.

11. Merge Events

Sometimes, event photos split up during import because of the date contained in the metadata. To merge two or more events in iPhoto, hold down shift and select the events that go together, then right-click and select "Merge Events." You can also drag one album into the other.

12. Set up an External Photo Editor

Sometimes you may want to edit your photos with more powerful editing tools than iPhoto can provide. iPhoto can oblige by letting you set up an external editor. This means that when you click the edit button in iPhoto, it will launch the photo in another application, like Adobe Photoshop for instance.

To do this, head to iPhoto > Preferences (or press Command + comma). In the General Tab, under Edit Photo, there are three options: Edit in Main Window, Edit Using Full Screen, and Edit in Another Application. We’ll choose Edit in Application. A dialog window willpop up to prompt you for the application of your choice; navigate to the application and select Open.

13. Share on Facebook, Flickr, and MobileMe

Sharing photos with iPhoto ’09 is a snap. The application lets you share photos with MobileMe, Facebook, or Flickr.

To share your album with MobileMe, select an album, event, or a group of pictures, then select MobileMe to the right of the bottom toolbar. If you are already signed into MobileMe, a window will prompt you to select your sharing options. You can choose who the album is viewable by, whether they can download a few photos or the entire album or upload their own photos through a web browser, and allow people to add photos to the album via email.

Optionally, you can show the photo titles. If you click the Show Advanced button you’ll get two new options: the ability to hide the album on your MobileMe gallery page, and the ability to adjust download quality (if you have downloading enabled). Once you select the settings you want, press Publish. When iPhoto is finished uploading the photos, you’ll get a notification with a link to view the photos in your MobileMe gallery.

Sharing with Facebook is similar. Select the photos you want, then select the Facebook button in the bottom toolbar. You may be prompted to sign in with Facebook and allow iPhoto to post pictures to your account. Once you do that, publishing is a snap. Simply select the security of your album and press the Publish button in the resulting window.

The best thing about using Facebook to share your photos is that if you have someone tagged in a photo, that information will get published, too. And if someone tags something on Facebook, the information will synced with your Mac when you fire up iPhoto again.

To publish your photos to Flickr, select your photos, then select the Flickr button in the bottom toolbar. Once you sign in, you can select the security of the photos (i.e. viewable by only you, your friends, your family, or anyone) and the photo size. When you press Publish, your photos will be whisked away to Flickr.

When you publish your photos to any of the services, you’ll get new albums in the sidebar with the service name. The albums contain the photos you’ve published and if you ever want to add more photos to a published album, all you have to do is simply drag more photos to the album under each service.

14. Using Photo Feeds

A Photo Feed is an RSS feed for your photos. Many services such as Flickr and MobileMe Gallery give you a Photo Feed. iPhoto allows you to subscribe to these photo feeds, and just like an RSS feed, will download the latest photos from your friends and family right to an iPhoto library.

You can manually enter a photo feed address by going to File > Subscribe to Photo Feed (or by pressing Command + U) in the Menu Bar. You can subscribe to a Photo Feed by also going to a MobileMe gallery, opening a album, and clicking the Subscribe button in the toolbar. The result will be a drop-down asking if you wish to subscribe by RSS or open in iPhoto. Selecting iPhoto will check and download the photos in a Subscriptions section.

15. Copy/Paste Locations Among Multiple Photos

Adding location information to photos can be a pain as described above. If you want to shorten the time it takes to add location information to photos, then why not copy and paste the location amongst multiple photos?

To do this, simply press Command + C (or right-click Copy) on any photo containing a location. Then, select multiple photos needing the same location information and right-click. You’ll notice a new option: Paste location. Selecting it will do just that. Simple, but powerful, eh?

16. Delete Photo from Album and Library Simultaneously

17. Export Slideshows to iTunes for Syncing to iPhone/iPod

iPhoto slideshows are a really great way to show off your photos. Too bad they live only in iPhoto. Well, they do until you export them. With iPhoto ’09, you can export any slideshow to iTunes for syncing to an iPhone, iPod, or Apple TV, complete with music and themes.

To create a slideshow, select an album, event, or multiple photos and click the Slideshow button in the bottom toolbar. Select the music options and theme by mousing over the bottom of the screen and selecting the settings button. Once you’ve configured the slideshow, exit by pressing the ESC key on your keyboard. Then, go to File > Export and select the Slideshow tab. Check the boxes next to the platforms you want the video to play on (iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, Computer, etc.), then check the box labeled Automatically send slideshow to iTunes. When you’re ready to export, click the Export button.

18. Using Star Ratings with Smart Album

A great way to sort your photos in iPhoto is to use star ratings with Smart Albums. Every photo, album, or event can be given a star rating. To do this, right click on the photo and select Get Info. From the resulting view, give it a star rating by clicking the small bubbles below the photo date. When you’re finished, click Done.

To view photos with a certain star rating, in the Menu Bar select File > New Smart Album. In the resulting drop-down menu, select My Rating from the first drop-down list, then select "is" from the second drop down, then in the third box select how ever many stars you wish to view. Give your new album a name at the top, then click OK. Your new album will contain photos rated only with the rating you specified. As you rate more photos, the smart album will be updated automatically.

19. Using Keywords

Using keywords is another great way to sort your photos. Keywords allows you to narrow down searches in iPhoto and allows you to keep track of what's going on with your albums. To use keywords, point your cursor over to the Menu Bar, and select Window > Show Keywords. A new window will open with several predefined keywords such as “Birthday, Family, Favorite, etc.” To add a keyword, select a photo, or photos, in iPhoto, then click on any of the keywords. They will be added to the photo. You can also add your own by selecting Edit Keywords and even add shortcuts for adding certain keywords.

You can search through your photos by keyword by clicking the small search button next to the search field at the bottom of the iPhoto window. This will allow you to select keyword and consecutively narrow your search by keywords.

20. Hide Photos

Hiding photos is great when you want to show off your iPhoto collection to someone, but don’t want them to see certain photos (don’t worry, we won’t judge you). To hide a photo or group of photos, select them in your library and right-click to select “Hide Photo.”

When you want to show your photos again, in the Menu Bar select View > Hidden Photos at which point you can right-click the hidden photo and select “Unhide Photo.”

Got tip for iPhoto '09 we missed? Drop it in the comments below.

It might be the hardest-working app in show business, but iTunes can rock a lot harder when you tune it up with add-ons and AppleScripts--and learn how Smart Playlists bring more of your favorite songs to center stage.

iTunes started out as a smart, simple music player, but over the years, it’s evolved into one of Apple’s most important applications. Although it’s still used for managing and playing your music collection, iTunes now also stores apps, films, TV shows, podcasts, ringtones, and books--maybe “iStuff” would be a better name?--and of course, it’s the sole Apple-approved method for syncing content with iPods, iPhones, iPads, and Apple TVs.

But that doesn’t mean you should take it at face value. Like many of Apple’s applications, iTunes is multilayered. Underneath its simple, straightforward hood, it’s surprisingly feature-rich, offering many powerful configuration options. And it’s time to make that power work for you with our guide to tapping into iTunes’ lesser-known but highly useful features. We also delve into the add-ons that expand the iTunes experience, including the very best third-party applications and highly useful scripts. So fire up iTunes 9.1 or later (it’s currently at 9.2), and get ready to rock!

iTunes 9.2's Greatest Hits

If iTunes were a rock band, it’d only play stadiums. Besides storing and managing your music, the application has to deal with video, books, apps, ringtones, and more. To Apple’s credit, iTunes remains pretty usable, and much of its complexity is kept hidden under the hood. But don’t forget about these useful features.

Library Sources

Uncheck any media types you don't want cluttering up your sidebar.

To change the default media types shown in the Library section of the sidebar, use the checkboxes in iTunes > Preferences > General. If any sources are grayed out in that menu, they’re probably disabled via parental controls. Those settings can be adjusted in the Parental section of the Preferences window.

Import Settings

Set the import format here.

By default, iTunes imports audio using the AAC Encoder set to 256kbps, which is how iTunes Store music is sold. AAC is fine for iPods, but if you use a non-Apple player, you might prefer MP3--head to iTunes > Preferences > General, and click Import Settings. If you’ve got tons of storage, Apple Lossless is the best encoder, and iTunes 9.1 and later can automatically convert songs to space-saving 128kbps AAC when you sync an iDevice (in the device’s settings pane).

Multiple Windows

Open sesame.

Although primarily designed as a single-window app, iTunes lets you open most sidebar components (Music and Connected Devices being exceptions) in their own windows by Control- or right-clicking and selecting “Open in New Window.” If you’ve got a large monitor, it can be handy, for example, to view your music library and the iTunes Store simultaneously.

Sound Enhancement

Pump up the bass, yo!

The often-overlooked Equalizer (Window > Equalizer, or Command-Option-2) has sliders you can fiddle with to adjust the sound, along with presets in the drop-down menu. iTunes can save your custom settings if you choose Make Preset from the drop-down menu.

Keyboard Shortcuts

View Menu

As List - Command-Option-3
As Grid - Command-Option-4
As Cover Flow - Command-Option-5
Show/Hide Column Browser - Command-B
Show Artwork Column - Command-G
Show Genius Sidebar - Command-Shift-G
Switch to/from Mini Player - Command-Shift-M

Controls

Pause - [Space]
Next - Command–right arrow
Previous - Command–left arrow
Eject - Command-E

Store Menu

Back - Command-[
Forward - Command-]
Home - Command-Shift-H

Next page: Smarter iTunes Playlists >>

Smarter iTunes Playlists

Power up your iTunes playlists with minimal effort

Technology moves pretty fast. People used to spend entire Saturdays happily compiling a “mix tape” by carefully recording favorite tracks on a cheap cassette deck, but once digital music hit its stride, such endeavors were seen as a startling waste of time. With a music collection sitting on your hard drive, mixes could be made quickly thanks to the magic of drag and drop.

Select any track in your library, click the Start Genius button, and presto, you have a unique playlist!

iTunes easily creates static playlists, and always has. Click the invitingly large Plus button at the lower left of the main iTunes window (or go to File > New Playlist), name your playlist, and then drag in tracks from your library. Tracks can be reordered, and you can also drag songs from one playlist to another; note that the track also remains in the playlist it was dragged from--it isn’t removed. It’s also worth noting, in case you’re concerned, that playlists contain “shortcuts” to the original tracks. Delete a playlist or an item from a playlist, and the original track remains in your library. 

An Automated Approach

With iTunes 8, Apple introduced its Genius technology, which tries to predict listening habits based on the collections of millions of iTunes users. This lets you create a playlist of tracks based on a favorite song. Select a track in your library, then click Start Genius at the bottom right of the iTunes window (or Control-click and select Start Genius). iTunes will create a 25-item playlist containing that track and similar songs. By using the controls above the playlist, you can extend it to 50, 75, or 100 items; refresh it; or save it.

Saved Genius playlists appear in the sidebar’s Genius section, but Genius Mixes are included by default. Select this to access mixes that are genre-based, randomized, and sealed. You can’t access Genius Mixes to see which tracks are up next, nor can you view a full list of albums and artists, but they’re still a handy “personalized radio” for those days when even starting up a Genius playlist seems a bit too much like hard work.

Smart Playlists

Introduced in iTunes 3, smart playlists are dynamic; they’re based on user-defined criteria. This same idea is used elsewhere on your Mac--smart folders in the Finder, smart mailboxes in Mail--although the iTunes implementation is the most advanced and flexible at the time of this writing.

File > New Playlist Folder adds a handy folder to the sidebar, into which you can drop static and smart playlists for easy access.

To create a new smart playlist, go to File > New Smart Playlist or use the keyboard shortcut Command-Option-N. This brings up the Smart Playlist dialog. To create a basic smart playlist, leave all the settings alone, but add your favorite artist to the empty field, and then click OK. Your new playlist will be added to the sidebar and highlighted. In the main iTunes view area, you should see a list of tracks from your specified artist.

An example of a nested playlist­--these can be as simple or as complex as you like, so go crazy!

Since they’re dynamic, smart playlists can be updated with new settings. Select your playlist and go to File > Edit Smart Playlist (or Control- or right-click it and select Edit Smart Playlist). Click the Plus button to add a new rule. The left-most menu includes many criteria you can pick from. Add as many rules as you like, and define specific values for them. The Match menu lets you choose whether the playlist includes tracks determined by all of the rules or any of them. The former could be used to create a playlist of tracks by your favorite band, not including that one lame album (Album > is not > [album name]), and only from the 1990s onwards (Year > is greater than > 1989). To remove a rule, click the adjacent Minus button, although be aware there’s no undo.

Advanced Rules

The Smart Playlist dialog has a few options that can further refine your playlists. The Limit checkbox enables you to set a specific track count and also a selection criterion (random, recently played, and so on). If the Live Updating box is checked, relevant tracks subsequently added to iTunes will be added to the playlist without you having to do anything.

With iTunes 9, Apple finally added a change that smart-playlist gurus had demanded for years: nested playlists. Before iTunes 9, complex playlists of the form “A and (B or C)” required you to make the “B or C” playlist first and then a second playlist to work with its output. Now, however, you can use the “…” (ellipses) button to create nested rule groups and therefore playlists with complex logic.

If this concept sounds tricky in the abstract, here’s a practical application for nested smart playlists. Say you want to create a playlist comprising tracks from 10 of your favorite bands, only using songs rated above four stars and that have not been played in over a month. Previously, this would have required two playlists, because the bands are an “any” match, whereas the other rules are an “all” match. With iTunes 9, you set up a single match-all smart playlist with the time and ratings rules, and nest a match-any set that deals with the band names. An example is shown above, but the sky really is the limit with smart playlists, and once you’ve set a few up, you can let iTunes do all the hard work of adding tracks. It’s a long way from waiting for a cassette to run out of tape!

Base Your Playlists on Ratings

This simple smart playlist finds favorite tracks you haven’t heard recently.

The best smart playlists are often the simple ones: If you rate your tracks, create a smart playlist where track ratings are greater than 3 and call it “4+ tracks.” For your very best tracks, create a smart playlist with tracks rated 5. If you’re always forgetting what music you’ve added over the past couple of months, create a smart playlist with the rule: Date Added > is in the last > 60 days, and where Media Kind is Music. Create a similar playlist, but change 60 days to 12 months to include songs you’ve added over the past year. Or if you’d like to unearth lost favorites, create a playlist called “4+ neglecteds” and set rules based around track ratings (Rating > is greater than > ***) and when the tracks were last played (Last Played > is not in the last > 30 days).

Target Your iPods

Unless you have a 120GB iPod classic, your Apple music player has a relatively limited capacity. That’s fine if your music collection is small, but if it isn’t, you can always create a playlist with nested rules to fill it full of favorite tracks.

In the example below, the Time rule dispenses with very short (under 40 seconds) and very long tracks (over 5 minutes), classical music, and anything with a very high bit rate (although you can automatically “downsample” audio during syncing in iTunes 9.1). The Media Kind rule restricts the playlist to music, filtering out spoken audio and the like.

If you’ve got an iPod shuffle, fill it with highly rated, short-ish tracks.

Our nested rules follow this logic: Tracks are only added to the playlist if they’re rated over 3--unless they’ve been added within the previous 14 days and don’t have a rating of 1. This means that you always get recent tracks (including all unrated ones) unless you’ve already decided to mark them as rubbish, but older tracks are filtered by your rating.

Next page: The Best iTunes Add-Ons >>

The Best iTunes Add-Ons

iTunes gets even better with one (or all) of these apps as its backup singers

I Love Stars

Once you set the preferences, the app stays in your menu bar.

Even if your library is modest, rating all your tracks can seem daunting. But a rated collection gives you more possibilities for smart playlists, and I Love Stars lets you rate as you go. The app sits in the menu bar and shows the currently playing track’s rating. To change the rating, click on the relevant star. Control-click to access the preferences and define systemwide keyboard shortcuts for rating tracks. I Love Stars can even alert you (optionally) when an unrated song is almost done playing.

iTunes Preference Pane

Tinker with these additional settings when iTunes isn’t running.

As with Mac OS X itself, Apple hides a number of iTunes preferences, not making them accessible via a graphical user interface. iTunes Preference Pane installs into System Preferences and provides options for tweaking iTunes. Perhaps the most useful setting is Invert Library Links, which turns the library arrows into links to your own library rather than the iTunes Store (Option-click for the default functionality). The ability to apply half-star ratings will benefit anyone who considers Apple’s default system too restrictive. Note: Make changes to the settings only when iTunes isn’t running.

iTunesMenu

iTunesMenu stays out of your way.

Plenty of iTunes-notification apps exist, but most take up valuable space on your screen, or get hidden by other windows. iTunesMenu uses your menu bar to display the name of the song currently playing in iTunes, along with other information, such as the artist and album. The drop-down menu also provides access to basic iTunes controls, although we recommend your Mac’s keyboard for those.

Bowtie

Bowtie has a few looks, and you can download more.

Bowtie is similar to iTunesMenu, but instead of displaying the current track’s name in text, it displays the album artwork. Preferences let you define the artwork window’s depth (Desktop level, normal, or always on top). Bowtie includes two alternate themes: one purely text-based, and one with a tiny vinyl record poking out from the artwork. Additional themes can be downloaded (search Google for “bowtie theme”), or if you have knowledge of HTML and CSS, you can make your own.

Lounge

Lounge resembles the Now Playing screen on Apple TV.

Lounge is an interesting mix of screen saver and iTunes kiosk, and it’s perfect either for parties or just as a good-looking screen saver for any Mac. Instead of iTunes-style visualizer pyrotechnics, Lounge displays the current track’s artwork and information. Options let you toggle keyboard controls for skipping tracks and adjusting volume without exiting the screen saver, flip the screen periodically to avoid screen burn, and even choose a screen saver to switch to when a playlist has ended.

Album Artwork Assistant

Match all your albums to their artwork in no time.

Album Artwork Assistant beats its artwork-seeking rivals by being comprehensive and offering plenty of choice regarding potential artwork to import. It also provides a queuing system for when you’d like to work through a bunch of albums, rather than immediately applying new art every time. To use this feature, switch Add Immediately for Add To Queue in our walkthrough below (Step 2), and when you’re done, open the Queue drawer and click Process Queue.

Next page: How to Setup iTunesMenu & How to Find Artwork for Your Albums >>

How to Set Up iTunesMenu

1. Get Started

iTunesMenu communicates with iTunes to find out what the currently playing track is. The track artist is displayed in the menu bar, updating as new songs begin. Click the artist name to access the app’s menu. Choose Preferences to configure the display.

2. Configure the Display

Select General and decide what you want displayed in the menu bar. To show the title and artist, separated by a bullet and with a space afterward, type %Title • %Artist into the Status Menu Order field, then click Save Preferences. (Ensure Scrolling is set to None.)

3. Fonts and Hotkeys

To change the iTunesMenu font, click Select and choose a new one from the Mac OS X Fonts panel. If your Mac keyboard lacks media keys, use iTunesMenu’s Donate section to give $1.99, enter your activation key, and use Hot Keys to define iTunes controls.

How to Find Artwork for Your Albums

1. Install a Script

Quit iTunes and System Preferences. In Album Artwork Assistant, select Install iTunes AppleScript from the Application menu, then click OK. Select a track or album in iTunes to change its artwork. From the Script menu, select Find With Album Artwork Assistant.

2. Select Your Artwork

Album Artwork Assistant will display the tracks to be updated. Below this list, the search string used is displayed, along with image results with a resize slider. To choose new artwork for your tracks, select an image and then click Add Immediately.

3. Find Alternate Artwork

Album Artwork Assistant may not find artwork right away for obscure releases. Try changing the search string. Alternatively, select the Web Search tab to activate the browser area. Once you find artwork to use, Control- or right-click it and select Add Immediately.

Next page: Scripts Make iTunes Sing >>

Scripts Make iTunes Sing

AppleScript is something of an unsung hero. It easily automates repetitive tasks, but few users ever go near it. If you’re an iTunes power user, scripts are a must, but you needn’t hack away in AppleScript Editor--many prebuilt iTunes scripts are available online. All you need to do is download them, plonk them in the iTunes Scripts folder, wait a second or two, and the extra functionality is yours.

If you regularly use a script, apply a keyboard shortcut via Keyboard Shortcuts in System Preferences.

The walkthrough below shows you how to set up and manage scripts, so we’ll concentrate on the best available scripts. All of the scripts mentioned are available for free from the Doug’s AppleScripts for iTunes website (dougscripts.com/itunes).

Track Management

If you’ve got a pretty big music collection, keeping it in good shape can take time--way, way, way too much time. Scripts can assist you with management tasks, taking minutes or seconds to accomplish what might take you hours or more.

One of the best housecleaning scripts is Super Remove Dead Tracks. This finds songs in your library that are no longer available on your Mac. Every 500 tracks, it throws up a dialog to inform you of its progress, and the optional text-based log file at the end tells you which entries have been deleted. On our 13,500-track test library, this entire process took under a minute.

Tracks Without Artwork To Playlist is similar--you select a library, playlist, or an arbitrary bunch of tracks, and the script copies songs without artwork to a new playlist. On activating the script, all you need to do is click Proceed, choose a name for your playlist, and wait for a bit. On our iMac, the script took about 5 minutes to churn through our 13,500 tracks, finding about 1,500 that lacked artwork. With a No Artwork playlist in place, it’s simple to send these tracks to Album Artwork Assistant to grab artwork online.

Another great playlist script is Gather Up The One-Hits. It collects tracks where the artists are each represented in your library by just a single song. Chances are, this will mainly comprise content from compilations, but we found a bunch of one-offs we’d grabbed from the iTunes Store and subsequently forgotten about.

Track Info and Playback

Along with rapidly cleaning up your library, scripts can deal with metadata issues, and you don’t have to open a single Get Info window. Quite often, iTunes downloads inaccurate data when you import tracks from CDs by obscure artists--a common error is the artist and track name fields being reversed. The Swap This With That script from the This Tag, That Tag Scripts compilation can handle this. Launch the script, select a tag to swap from and another to swap to, and your songs’ data is amended. However, be aware that there’s no undo. If your metadata issues are subtler, investigate Track Names To Sentence Caps and Track Names To Word Caps (both of which reformat cases in track names) and Remove N Characters From Front or Back. The last of those enables you to remove a specific number of characters from the start (‘front”) or end (“back”) of a selection of song titles. So if some song titles have track numbers at the start or “disc 1” at the end, this script removes that information quickly and easily.

Scripts can also assist with playback controls. Needle Drop enables you to audition a selection of tracks in automated fashion, after defining playback length and an intro point. For example, you can play 10-second bursts from 2 minutes into every track from a specified playlist.

Another favorite script is Make Bookmarkable, which turns the file type of selected AAC tracks into M4B, thereby making them “bookmarkable,” so playback resumes where you left off. Make UN-Bookmarkable reverses the process.

External Considerations

Search Wikipedia and Google Video Search search the web for more information about your music, working in similar ways: You select a script, and a dialog asks whether you want to search based on the currently playing track or the currently selected track. You then select a category to base the search on. For Wikipedia, you can select the artist, album, or composer. For Google Video, you choose between song, artist, and album. The dialogs aren’t pretty, but they get the job done and save time.

Search for an artist or album on Wikipedia directly from within iTunes simply by using a little script.

Another set of scripts enables you to export track information from iTunes. Although this can be done using File > Library > Export Playlist, the resulting text file is complicated, huge, and unwieldy. Instead, we recommend Album-Artist To HTML Table, which exports a list of your artists and albums (and, optionally, associated tracks, although processing that information takes a long time, so we don’t recommend it) to an HTML document that you can open in a web browser. The script has a couple of quirks: you need to reorder your track list to Album By Artist for best results, and don’t let the script open a browser when it’s finished, or you’ll likely get an error. Instead, click Done and then manually open the HTML file it outputs.

Another export option worth a look is Playlist To Papercdcase.com. It lets you export up to 28 tracks from a playlist to papercdcase.com (the site opens in Safari), which cunningly formats the data into a PDF file that can then be turned into a CD case if your origami skills are up to snuff.

Back Up Your iTunes Folder

The add-ons mentioned elsewhere in this feature do relatively little to affect the content of your iTunes library. At most, they add a little data here and there, such as ratings and new artwork, and these things are easy enough to revert or delete at a later date. Scripts in iTunes can be a very different matter, because some of them automate complex and “destructive” processes, including reworking and deleting tracks. We’re not trying to scare you off--iTunes scripts can often be very handy timesavers--but we do suggest that you don’t just start using scripts blindly. Before you work with scripts that do anything major to your iTunes library, ensure that you first back it up. The iTunes folder--including your music, other digital content, and databases--lives in the Music directory inside your user folder.

How to Manage Your Scripts Folder

1. Create a Scripts Folder

If you haven’t installed scripts before, you won’t have a Scripts folder to use. To add one, quit iTunes, use the Finder to access ~/Library/iTunes (the Library folder that’s found inside your user account’s home folder), and if a Scripts folder isn’t present, create a new folder called Scripts.

2. Install and Remove Scripts

Managing scripts is a case of drag and drop. To install a script, drag it into the Scripts folder mentioned in Step 1. To remove one, drag it out of the folder or trash it. It’s best to do such management when iTunes is closed, but iTunes typically tracks script changes well.

3. Check Things in iTunes

Launch iTunes. After installing a script, you’ll see a script icon in the menu bar between the Window and Help menus. This is where you can activate the scripts. Scripts can even have keyboard shortcuts assigned in System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts, just like other menu items.

TUAWRumor: TiVo stock climbs on talk of deal with Apple for new Apple TV originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Haven’t caught all of the Appletell news this week?  Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles!

• Appletell reviews Packing Pro for iPhone, iPod touch
  “Category: Travel Seller: Quinn Genzel Requirements: iPhone OS 2.1 or later Compatibility: iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad File Size: 0.8MB Version Reviewed: 4.1 Price: $2.99 ($0.99 Packing (+To Do) version available) MORE »
• Rumor: iPhone 4G screen to be 960x640
  ” A report from the Czech site SuperiPhone.cz claims the iPhone 4G will have a 960x640 IPS display that comes in at 320 pixels per inch. In comparison, this is much more than the HTC HD2 (217 ppi), the Verizon/Motorola…” MORE »
• Appletell reviews CoPilot Live HD for iPad 3G
  “Category: Navigation Seller: ALK Technologies Requirements: iPhone OS 3.2 or later Compatibility: iPad 3G File Size: 1.34GB Version Reviewed: 8.2.0.139 Price: $29.99 Age Rating: 4+ An iPad 3G GPS guidance app was inevitable, someone just had to be first. And that someone…” MORE »
• Steve Jobs takes the stage at the D8 Conference [video]
  “For three days following June 1, the Wall Street Journal’s All Things D conference takes place, where some of the most influential people in technology are interviewed on stage. There are many great interviews happening this year, including Steve Balmer from…” MORE »
• AT&T adjusts data plan offerings
  “Today, AT&T announced their new tiered and capped iPhone (and iPad) data plan subscription options.  New options include Data Plus, $15 per month for 200MB of data, and Data Pro, $25 per month for 2GB…” MORE »
• Supreme Commander 2 coming to Mac OS X
  ” Supreme Commander 2—developed by Gas Powered Games and released this March for PC and Xbox 360 from publisher Square Enix—will be storming its way onto the Mac later this year. The real-time strategy game involves the construction of…” MORE »
• Sims 3: Ambitions now available for Mac and PC
  ” EA, maker of popular lifestyle/torture simulator The Sims 3, has announced that their latest expansion—which allows players to follow their characters into the workplace—is available today for both Mac and PC for $39.95. And seeing as how the game has…” MORE »
• Appletell reviews Toy Physics for iPhone, iPod Touch
  “Category: Games Seller: Athos Requirements: iPhone OS 3.0 or later Compatibility: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad File Size: 14.2MB Version Reviewed: 1.0.1 Price: $1.99 (free lite version available) Age Rating: 4+ In terms of physics-based games, this one is in…” MORE »
• Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad product news - June 1, 2010
  “Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for June 1, 2010:  Macintosh iPod Macintosh Pogoplug has rolled out some new business features today targeted…” MORE »
• Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad product news - June 2, 2010
  “Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for June 2, 2010:  Macintosh iPod Macintosh Boinx Software has announced the release of FotoMagico 3.5, the…” MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

We’re less than 24 hours away from Steve Jobs’ keynote at WWDC 2010. Rumors regarding products and features have been circulating for months now, so we thought we’d help you all catch up on what to expect (or at least hope) to see come out of San Francisco tomorrow. As expected, the majority of rumors surround the iPhone HD, but Apple TV has had some fun discussion as well.

iPhone

• April 12 - Rumor: iChat coming to iPhone OS 4.0?
  With the recent findings made within the iPhone OS 4.0 SDK, rumors are pointing to Apple’s iChat coming to the iPhone platform in the near future.
• April 16 - Rumor: Verizon iPhone by December 2010?
  Well, we’ve certainly heard this rumor time and time again. This time around, it goes as follows…
• April 20 - The iPhone 4G story: Mindless mistake or planted PR?
  Gizmodo made quite a commotion with their purchase of a stolen/lost iPhone 4G for a rumored 5K-10K, but there are plenty of layers to this story that can be debated.
• April 29 - iPhone 4G launch day to be June 7th?
  Will June 7th be the day Apple not only announces the new hardware (as it did with the 3G and 3GS) but also actually makes it available for sale?
• April 29 - Rumor: Next iPhone to have upgraded 5MP camera sensor with flash
  Online sources suggest the next iPhone—which is pretty much guaranteed to be almost identical to the prototype that Gizmodo paid for—will have an upgraded 5MP camera sensor along with a flash.
• May 6 - iPhone HD will record video at 720P
  Someone decided to take a peak inside of the iPhone OS 4.0 beta 3, and they found that there are some pretty telling bits of code concerning video.
• May 11 - iPhone HD coming to AT&T on June 21st?
  Mobile Crunch is speculating that AT&T might be getting the next revision to Apple’s iPhone around June 21st as a result of some recent changes to current iPhone 3GS owners’ upgrade eligibilities.
• May 12 - More next gen iPhone images emerge
  It appears Apple is having a hard time keeping their signature death grip on all of their prototype next generation iPhone units.
• May 23 - Even more next gen iPhone images leaked, this time in white
  Apple’s a lot like BP these days, except when Apple’s products start leaking, we get happy. Apple’s taken the black and white color options from the iPhone 3GS and taken it to the next level.
• June 1 - Rumor: iPhone 4G screen to be 960x640
  A report from the Czech site SuperiPhone.cz claims the iPhone 4G will have a 960x640 IPS display that comes in at 320 pixels per inch.
• June 5 - iPhone HD parts video leaked, more images
  This new image displays a white iPhone HD we’ve seen before, but also gives us a view of the back. However, there are even more images of iPhone parts past the break.

Other Apple Products

• March31 - Rumor: 27-inch LED Cinema Display coming in June?
  Rumors are starting to surface that Apple has plans to release a 27-inch LED Cinema Display later this year, as prices for LCD panels are finally starting to drop in price.
• May 28 - Rumor: Next Apple TV to be $99, foster cloud storage, use iPhone OS 4.0
  Some interesting rumors about what the next version of the Apple TV have surfaced, including 1080p HD, Time Machine compatibility, and a price drop to $99.
• May 30 - Signs point to an App Store for your TV
  Is Apple readying an app assault on your TV? A new rumor purporting a new Apple TV suggest Apple very may well be. From the hardware to the software to the price, this could be an interesting hobby Apple’s got going.

Be sure to follow all the product announcements and unveilings as they happen during our WWDC 2010 Keynote live blog.

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Well, we’re finally here. After months of the traditional speculation and rumor mongering, Apple’s 2010 Worldwide Developers Conference is finally upon us. The lead up to this one has been a bit more eventful than most, what with all of these iPhone HD images coming out of Vietnam and that entire Gizmodo iPhone brouhaha.

Be sure to check out our full coverage of the WWDC 2010 Keynote announcements.

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Last week, Steve Jobs took part in a 90 minute interview with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. Throughout the interview, he talked about the origin of the iPhone, AT&T’s network, and plenty of other fascinating topics. Short clips of the Steve Jobs interview have been available on the internet for quite some time now. However, just recently, the full, uncut interview video has become available.

As someone who watched the short clips that were posted later last week, I’d highly recommend checking this out. Steve Jobs has some pretty fascinating responses to the questions from these reporters, and there is some nice humor in there as well.

You can watch the full video now at the All Things Digital website.

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Along with a fourth-generation iPhone, 4.0 iPhone Software Update and possible new versions of Apple's Safari web browser and Apple TV, Steve Jobs and co could be about to unveil a completely new Mac device.

TUAWThe FaceTime promo video that's not what you think originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple has made a significant alteration to the terms of its developer agreement, opening up the market for in-app ad sales by third party ad networks, a promise Apple boss Steve Jobs made at D: All Things Digital last week.

The move was a response to an April-made change to the dev deal, in which the company appeared to ban third party ad networks, leading to much speculation Apple intended locking its growing platform down.

The notion that Apple may deny access to its mobile ecosystem to competing ads networks was bound to attract attention, particularly in view of the extent of that ecosystem.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs yesterday confirmed the company expect to sell its 100 millionth iOS-powered device in the coming few days. The change of name for the OS -- from iPhone OS to iOS -- is also indicative that Apple’s mobile plans are extensive and will see the eventual creation of a forest of devices, perhaps including the mythical Apple TV upgrade...

With this in mind Apple yesterday revised its developer agreement to make the point that collection of user data in order to sell ads is acceptable, so long as customers get the chance to give or to deny permission.

The US mobile ad market is expected to reach $120 million in value this year, with Apple yesterday claiming to have already booked around half that value for its new iAds network.

Jobs explains the reason for the original ban in the video below.

For three days following June 1, the Wall Street Journal’s All Things D conference takes place, where some of the most influential people in technology are interviewed on stage. There are many great interviews happening this year, including Steve Balmer from Microsoft, Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook and of course, Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs.

Steve Jobs was interviewed for well over an hour on several hot topics, including Flash, the origin of the iPhone, the future of Apple TV, Apple’s relationship with Google, and the recent news surrounding Foxconn. At no point did he look out of his element; every answer was succinct and honest. It very much felt like it was Steve Jobs himself answering the questions, and not just Apple’s CEO—he was sharing his own personal thoughts and feelings on popular issues, not just the thoughts and decisions of the company.

Video highlights of the interview can be seen over on the All Things Digital website, and TUAW has a great collection of text highlights of the event which are worth a read, too.

All in all, it was a great interview, and I even learned some things I never knew about Apple, such as the fact that multi-touch displays weren’t first prototyped for a mobile phone device. I wont spoil the best bits for you—if you’re interested, take a look at the video highlights. A couple of my favorites can be viewed below. The origin of the iPhone is particularly interesting.

Steve Jobs on the Gizmodo story

Steve Jobs on the iPhone’s origin

Steve Jobs talks about Flash

Steve Jobs on Apple’s relationship with Google

Read [D8 Conference]

Full Story » | Written by Ed Parry for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

As previously announced, Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage Tuesday night to kick off the eighth annual D: All Things Digital conference (aka D8), and he chatted with his hosts on a range of topics past, present and future.

9to5Mac has collected what they call “the seven revelations of Steve Jobs” from Tuesday night’s D8 interview, complete with video clips for each (ironically, the videos are in Flash, which was one of the topics of conversation).

The first video on deck discusses Gizmodo and the lost/stolen iPhone prototype, which Jobs makes it quite clear that he’s none too happy about.

The second video discusses the CEO’s recent missive on Adobe Flash and other “obsolete tech.”

The third video brings up the subject of Google, which Jobs mostly refuses to get nasty over, then discusses the origin of the iPad, which supposedly came before the iPhone.

The fourth video goes over Apple’s relationship with AT&T, which is more defending the telco rather than criticizing them.

The fifth video goes into Jobs’ thoughts on cracking into the living room with the Apple TV and other such devices.

The sixth video goes deeper into Google and Android and how Apple’s relationship with the company has been affected now that they’re competitors.

Finally, the seventh video discusses the forthcoming iAd platform and analytics firm Flurry, who appears to have made an enemy with Apple.

Fascinating stuff, but we were disappointed that there wasn’t something new shown off, like Jobs did in 2007 with an update to Apple TV. Guess we’ll have to wait until Monday for his WWDC keynote…

(Image & video courtesy of AllThingsD and 9to5Mac)

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Hello? Is this thing on? Is there anyone out there? Echo! Echo! Echo!

Okay, okay, we get it. It's Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of the summer. No one's sitting inside on their computer, are they? Heck no, they're grilling up fun, lounging in the sun, putting a dog in a bun. Well, just in case you're not one of those people, or you're not from the States, here's the week's best stories from the vacationing kids of Mac|Life.


Features:

- Seven Hidden Features of the iPad Camera Connection Kit - Sometimes cliches exist for a reason, like the saying "good things come in small packages." In this case, the tiny Camera Connection Kit for the iPad. At just $29, this wonder gizmo gives you USB keyboards, headphones, and microphones, as well as importing photos from other sources, even your iPhone. No doubt some enterprising techies are hard at work maxing out that doodad dongle.

- 15 Things We Might See at WWDC 2010 - Sure, everyone is expecting the fourth generation iPhone, but what else? What else? There's so many sweet things Apple could pull out of their bag, from high quality upgrades to improved services to hardware refreshes. Here's our guesses as most likely to be unveiled.

How-Tos:

- 57 Ways To Supercharge Your Browser - Extensions, add-ons, scripts, and bookmarklets -- oh my! Your browser is pretty much your most important piece of computer software. If you can't find something in this list of 57 pieces of genius tweaks to make it even sweeter, than you have our respect.

- iPhone and iPad Tips of the Week - The start of a regular feature to fill in the gaps of your knowledge, our Pros show you some hidden functionalities and tips and tricks to bring a smile to your mobile-lovin' face. 

Reviews:

- Pacific Defense - Just be glad this app wasn't responsible for winning World War II. A killer idea with a few weak execution points, Pacific Defense feels like a game that would have benefited from a couple more months of tweaks and refinements.

- Fitbit - While the device itself was pretty slick, the website interface of this fitness gadget had way, way, waaaaayyy too much junk in the trunk. Sure, you can know exactly how many steps you took and how much you tossed and turned in your sleep, but what's the organizing principle that makes all of this data hang together? We're still wondering.

News:

Hardware seemed all the rage lately, what with iPad's shipping internationally, it seemed the domestic news turned to other gadgetry. First there's the rumor that Apple TV might finally shift from "hobby" to "serious product" as Engadget drops a hot item in our laps...hardware and software are all the rumors for the upcoming WWDC...not a rumor, repeat, not a rumor, Apple once again begins its annual back to school push to get Macs (and iPod touches) into the hands of first year students...and students of gadgets, hardware, and mechanized geekery of all kind were out in full force at Maker Faire, where robots stole our hearts...just like Elgato's EyeTV, which is no Apple TV, but is a lovely, sweet little hookup for our favorite shows right there on our computers. Now we just need to decide in which room we want to watch our summer reruns...


Even though Apple and Adobe keep sniping at each other, the software maker still wants to cozy up to Apple devices, and they're asking users if they'd like PSDs on the iPad. What do you think?...also getting some iPad love lately? Our friends overseas, as sales of the must-have gadget go global...and for a little multinational friendly advice, try Velcro if you want your iPad to stick around...you know who really loves the iPad? The Japanese, with fans lined up around the block, sleeping on the street, days before the release. That's right -- days...perhaps they're just as excited as we are for the classic arcade game Karate Champ coming to the iPad in HD glory...I mean, it's not like they're lining up just because Barnes & Noble just released their e-reader app for the iPad is it?... Whether it's for kicks or books, we can't say. What we can say, is it is definitely not for NBC or Time Warner shows, as both companies nix the idea of content on the iPad. Another killer decision from NBC execs, and they make so many of them...It's not like the devices are all that popular right? I mean, Apple's only ramping up production to 2.5 million units per month, so how much could NBC lose out on? Never mind, we don't want to know.


In other corporate news, according to AT&T a whopping 40% of iPhone sales are going to corporate accounts, positioning the device to really make serious headway in the enterprise sphere... of course, they could end up losing 40% of their total customers if a Verizon iPhone shows up any time soon...of course, the recent class action lawsuit the carrier settled unlocks tons of AT&T phones, just not iPhones or Blackberries... because the rumor mill is in high gear again, predicting Verizon and Sprint iPhones this very year; we'll believe it when we see it...in a quick one two, first Morgan Stanley predicts that the iPhone 3GS will sell for $99 this year, then a tiny bit later, Wal-Mart announced they'd begin selling the 3GS for $97; if that's not a fourth generation iPhone announcement, we don't know what is...finally, in less pleasant business news, Apple finally speaks out about the spate of suicides at the plant of their Foxconn manufacturing partner. Enough talk, we'd like to see some action, Cupertino.

A source Engadget claims is very close to Apple has tipped them that Apple has provided some interesting details about what the next version of the Apple TV may include. According to the source, the device has been built to tie in much more closely with their mobile offerings and will contain internal components much like that of the iPhone—from the A4 chip to only 16GB internal memory. However, it will also be capable of 1080p HD as well as connecting to a Time Machine to add storage space. Furthermore, it has been described as “an iPhone without a screen,” with only power and video out ports on it and coming in at the size of an iPhone.

And yet, the best part may be the rumored price drop to $99 upon launch (down from $229.00). Who knows, perhaps that launch will be at the Steve Jobs WWDC keynote.

Apparently, this device was in the works before Google released details of their Google TV platform at this year’s Google I/O conference. Furthermore, the Apple TV update may be more for cloud storage of media rather than on the device itself, rivaling Google’s device. The extent to which this will be true is still uncertain, but either way, the TV may have now become the next platform war.

Via [Engadget]

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Could the next Apple TV be right around the corner? According to a tip that Engadget received, the next Apple TV is a "doozy." Apple's new set-top box is apparently rumored to have been in the works for longer than Google TV.

TUAWRumor: Next Apple TV will be $99, feature cloud storage originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 May 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAWSome further thoughts on the rumored next Apple TV originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 28 May 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAWNBC and Time Warner in no hurry to say farewell to Flash originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 29 May 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Engadget got the goods (and it sounds exactly right to us) on AppleTV, Take 3:

..the device will be based directly on the iPhone 4, meaning it will get the same internals, down to that A4 CPU and a limited amount of flash storage -- 16GB to be exact -- though it will be capable of full 1080p HD (!). The device is said to be quite small with a scarce amount of ports (only the power socket and video out), and has been described to some as "an iPhone without a screen." Are you ready for the real shocker? According to our sources, the price-point for the device will be $99.

Apple is moving away from the model of local storage, and will be focusing the new ATV on cloud-based storage (not unlike Amazon's streaming scheme). For those still interested in keeping their content close, there will be an option to utilize a Time Capsule as an external storage component, but the main course will be all about streaming

Google's TV is thankfully forcing Apple hand here and man are we glad to hear about some movement in this category.  Engadget wasn't sure if the 200,000 apps would be 'coming along for the ride' but with the GoogleTV pulling in 50,000 Android apps, it would seem pretty tempting even if the touch interface made a lot of these apps cludgy.

We're really loving this new Apple-Google competition.  The obvious winners are consumers.

Apple TV is coming back and it will most definitely be the best it has ever been. Engadget has received a tip that the new Apple TV will tie in greatly with Apple's mobile offerings--think iPad and iPhone. Additionally, rumors are circulating that the innards of the device will greatly emulate that of the iPhone 4, meaning it might come equipped with an A4 processor and a smaller amount of flash storage--more like a very limited 16GB. The new Apple TV will also be capable of a full 1080p, and the size of the device is actually quite small with only a power socket and a video out.

The reason that the device will have such a tiny amount of internal storage is because Apple is looking to move its loyal patrons into the clouds, with a cloud-based storage system that can instantly play videos in 1080p. The new Apple TV will also eliminate the slim version of OS X and adopt the iPhone operating system for an easier experience with the device, though there is no word on whether or not the App Store will follow with it.

The real kicker is that the device is only going to cost $99, which should make it accessible to just about anyone willing stay locked in with iTunes for their media. There will be no official Apple TV news at WWDC, though we're definitely looking forward to what Apple has in store for our televisions.

After search giant Google hurled a barrage of not-so-subtle spears in Apple’s direction at the Google I/O developer conference, all eyes are now on the World Wide Developer Conference that Cupertino will be launching June 7 with a keynote from CEO Steve Jobs.

While a fourth-generation iPhone is a given at this point after an absurd number of leaks in recent weeks, Apple CEO Steve Jobs himself promised an inquisitive e-mailer only a few days ago: “You won’t be disappointed.” So we put our thinking cap on and came up with this list of cool stuff we might see when WWDC 2010 kicks off June 7 and wraps up on June 11.

Safari 5 (or maybe 4.5)

We think Safari is still pretty great, even against more recent challengs from Google Chrome and Firefox 3.6. But with the Chrome browser finally out of beta this week, Apple may have to work harder to pound out Safari’s remaining limitations.

Among them: No API for extensions, as noted this week by Daring Fireball’s own John Gruber after Google’s announcement that Chrome is now officially “stable.” That means that great third-party software like 1Password and Evernote has to resort to kludgy hacks to work intimately with Safari. Heck, even good ol’ Adobe Flash might work better with an API (stranger things have happened). Gruber also calls out Apple for not empowering Safari with a true ability to automatically reopen pages left open when the app was closed. Yes, please.

New Mac Pros -- Finally!

The poor Mac Pro has certainly gone neglected, with its last update more than a year ago. Worse yet, the desktop behemoth still carries a form factor borrowed from the Power Mac G5 before it -- and in computer years, that makes it a veritable dinosaur.

Although we’ve heard plenty of rumors about Intel’s new six-core Core i7-980X processor landing in a refreshed Mac Pro as far back as January and February of this year, the summer has arrived and there’s still nothing official on the radar. Creative professionals are likely worried about Apple’s silence with regard to such new hardware, but that could all change with one presentation.

Mac OS X 10.7

Many developers are also rightfully worried that this year’s WWDC is too focused on iPhone OS, and many questions remain as to when Apple might shed some light on their intentions for Mac OS X 10.7. Granted, Snow Leopard 10.6 was released only last September, but that update was more about optimizing Leopard 10.5 than adding hot new features to the Mac (unless you count getting back a bunch of hard drive space as a “hot” new feature).

Our prediction is that Mac OS X 10.7 will get at least a cursory mention at WWDC 2010, and we won’t get a real preview of a new desktop operating system until WWDC 2011. Thankfully, Snow Leopard 10.6 runs like smooth, creamy butter most of the time -- and Apple keeps the updates coming regular enough to squash anything that comes up, with a 10.6.4 patch already in beta testing.

iPhone OS 4.0 for iPad

We’ve already seen all of the cool stuff that’s presumably coming next month with iPhone OS 4.0, such as Folders, multitasking and threaded e-mail. But we were bummed to hear that the fresh new iPad won’t get the 4.0 love until sometime this fall, by which time Apple will likely be on 4.1 or so.

Here’s hoping that Apple will give us at least a peek at iPhone OS 4.x for the iPad at WWDC -- after all, developers will certainly appreciate a longer lead time to rework their apps for the tablet device after having to rush them together between late January and early April for the U.S. iPad launch. The rest of us will just have to wait… and weep.

The Real Apple TV Take 2

Remember back in January, 2008 when Apple took the wraps off “Take 2” of its “still a hobby” Apple TV? Despite a price drop, closer ties with iTunes and the ability to purchase content directly from the box itself, the Apple TV has continued to bore most everyone who sees it, except for the die-hard hackers who continue to squeeze as much as possible out of the device’s anemic processor and (gasp!) Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger operating system by way of unsanctioned apps like nitoTV and Boxee.

We figure the time has come for a truly revolutionary overhaul of Apple TV, especially now that arch-nemesis Google is breathing down Apple’s neck with Google TV, slated for release this fall. Rumors abound that Apple TV may get iPhone OS-ified and will adopt the tiny A4 architecture that will come standard in the next iPhone. Additionally, the new Apple TV will have 1080p HD and 16GB of storage, as well as be a part of Apple's rumored new cloud storage network. The best part about these rumors is that the device is slated to sell for only $99, which will make die hard Apple fans with a tight budget extremely happy.

MobileMe: Now With More Free!

Recent rumors have speculated that Apple may take a cue from Google and start offering their cloud-based MobileMe service absolutely free to all users. While that would no doubt raise the ire of longtime .Mac users who have paid good money each year to stay with the often-questionable service, it’s really the only recourse Apple may have to keep up with Google now.

MobileMe itself isn’t spectacular as it exists now, save for its awesome push e-mail, Find My iPhone, contacts and calendars. The recent web-based Mail beta shows that Apple is taking baby steps toward improving the service, but they’ve got a long ways to go yet. Let’s see that acquisition of Lala start moving iTunes into the cloud, for instance, and speaking of that...

iTunes in the Cloud

Since Apple purchased Lala.com, pundits have been short-circuiting their craniums trying to guess exactly what Cupertino plans to do with the technology -- and equally as important, when that fateful day might arrive. We’re not so sold on the idea of having iTunes “in the cloud” -- call us old fashioned, but it’s kind of nice to actually feel like you own your music, especially now that it’s finally DRM-free.

Be that as it may, Apple now appears late to the cloud-based music game, with Google stepping up to the plate to make Android such a cloud-centric experience. We’re not sure that WWDC is the right forum to finally reveal what the company is doing with Lala’s brains, but surely Apple will have to play their hand soon enough.

NEXT: iPhones, iTunes and the MacBook Air>>

A Fourth-Generation iPhone No One is Expecting

What if Steve Jobs got on stage for his keynote on June 7 and presented an iPhone that was totally different from what Gizmodo and others have leaked? A new report this week from Digitimes has posed just such a possibility, and proposes that the project, codenamed “N91” -- the leaked iPhone we’ve already seen is “N90” -- may exist as “a parallel product to back up the N90 in case there are major delays due to significant modifications in casing, display resolution, digital camera support and so forth.” The report goes on to describe the backup product as more similar in style and form to the existing iPhone 3GS.

At this point, everyone is expecting the leaked iPhone (which has been dubbed “iPhone HD” by pundits) to allow some kind of video chatting thanks to the widely exposed leaks of the device with a front-facing camera. Would you be disappointed to see the equivalent of an “iPhone 3GS Plus” at this point? We would...

Final Cut Studio 4

Sure, we know that the third generation of Final Cut Studio was only released last year, but the update offered little in the way of new features and seemed to take away more than it gave (especially for PowerPC owners, who are now permanently relegated to Final Cut Studio 2, as the newest version requires an Intel processor). The biggest problem with Apple’s pro video suite is that, despite the big 64-bit push with Snow Leopard 10.6, none of Final Cut Studio is 64-bit native -- and those applications could use it.

It might be out of character for Apple to unveil a new Final Cut Studio at WWDC, but given the recent hysteria among video professionals upon hearing rumors that the high-end software might be “dumbed down” to make it more consumer-centric, any news on its future would be good news.

iTunes 10

Speaking of apps that could use a 64-bit kick in the pants -- Apple, what’s going on with iTunes? Despite being the center of the known universe for all iDevices, iTunes continues to be upgraded on top of molasses-like legacy code. It’s like living in a parallel universe, knowing that the Windows version of iTunes is actually faster than it is on the Mac -- that speaks volumes.

While cool new features would be welcome also, the reality is that iTunes hasn’t grown all that much over the last few major releases -- does anyone really use the Genius feature, for instance? Where is the built-in lyrics feature for music? (Apple added a section for such metadata several versions back, but you have to do the footwork yourself.) Or how about better media management capabilities, now that we’ve got ever-bigger video files to sync to our iPad but are running out of space on our internal hard drives?

iTunes 9.x feels pretty kludgy by this point, so anything is welcome here -- but keep in mind that most big iTunes updates tend to come later in the year, often coupled with the release of new iPods.

iLife ’11

Maybe we’re starting to sound like a broken record here, but iLife ’09 is another Apple package that’s getting long in the tooth, and could also use a much-needed 64-bit transfusion. We can’t be the only ones who notice that iPhoto, for example, starts to bog down the more we throw pictures at it, so… there’s that. And don’t get us started about iMovie, which for all of its simplicity is an absolute speed dog when you actually have to use it.

Hey, perhaps we’re just impatient -- but it seems to us that for all the advancements in the processor and graphics speed of our Macs, it doesn’t take long before all this great software starts to bog down. iLife ’11 might be a few more months in the oven, but it’s never too early to request that Apple slow down on the new features and pull a Snow Leopard here: Let’s see some performance tweaks!

iPhone OS + Jailbreak = Love

If Apple really wanted to make heads spin at WWDC, they’d put down their swords and start playing nice with the jailbreak community. You know, those guys (and gals?) who tirelessly work to free iPhone OS from Apple’s shackles so we can install stuff that Cupertino wishes didn’t exist in the first place, including a GSM unlock for our iPhone (which also frees us from AT&T’s heavy ball and chain at the same time).

Frankly, the “cat and mouse game” (as Steve Jobs himself has referred to it) has kind of landed in favor of the jailbreak community anyway of late, with even the latest iPhone OS 4.0 beta build being easy prey for the jailbreak geniuses. Maybe it’s time for Apple to stop worrying and love the jailbreak, officially opening up the device to other apps beyond their gated App Store walls. We can dream, can’t we…?

MacBook Air, Redux

Now that the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines have gotten a souped-up refresh and the iPad is on the scene, the MacBook Air is beginning to look a little more overpriced and underpowered than usual. Even though the device is barely two and a half years old, it may be time for Apple to either put it out of its misery or rework it as a touchscreen-enabled, lust-worthy member of Cupertino’s notebook lineup.

It’s not hard to imagine that one day soon, the MacBook Air might very well become the “iPad Extreme” -- think of an iPad with attached hardware keyboard, maybe even capable of dual-booting both Mac OS X and iPhone OS so you can get the best of both worlds. We might line up for that one!

iPhone Goes CDMA

Will they or won’t they? An iPhone compatible with the CDMA networks used by Verizon Wireless and Sprint here in the U.S. has been rumored and desired since the device took center stage at the Macworld 2007 keynote, and here we are more than three years later and AT&T continues to have an exclusive clamp on the GSM-only device.

Of course, rumors have run rampant in recent months that AT&T’s exclusive contract is about to end, and that possibly both Verizon and Sprint will finally get in the iPhone game -- to the detriment of AT&T, who is reported to lose possibly as much as 40 percent of its customer base as they defect to one of the CDMA carriers. No better time to announce such a device than at WWDC, where an annual refresh of the iPhone hardware is expected to be a lock.

All we ask is that Apple make it an “all in one” device -- meaning both GSM and CDMA, so we can sign in blood with Verizon, Sprint or AT&T here and then have the freedom to buy local GSM-based SIM cards for international travel. Is that asking too much?

Presenting… Something Totally New?

Apple has had a busy year refreshing its Mac hardware, announcing and subsequently launching the iPad and prepping for the rumored fourth-generation iPhone expected in June, but what if we’ve all overlooked something totally new? Cupertino would seem to have all of the bases covered, from laptop and desktop computers, portable media devices, mobile phones and peripherals -- but that doesn’t mean they can’t still sneak in a curve ball to “shock and awe” us.

The question is, what might that be? Only Steve Jobs and maybe a handful of others in Cupertino presumably know the answer to that question, but Apple has a way of dazzling us by reinventing something we’ve always taken for granted, such as the cell phone (with the original iPhone in 2007) or even our very definition of “portable” music (the original iPod in 2001).

Whatever it might be, you’re almost certainly guaranteed to have never needed it before, but you’ll surely have to have it once Steve Jobs whips it out. That’s just how Apple rolls.

*****

Of course, WWDC isn’t simply about hot new Apple products -- it’s about the company intimately working with third-party developers to create the next generation of software that we’ll all swoon over. One thing that the iPhone OS-based devices have shown us: The future is less about hardware and more about the software that runs it.

Viewed in that light, the developer conference isn’t simply a “gee-whiz” keynote with fancy new toys from Apple, but rather a plentiful seeding of developer talent that will grow over time and continue to harvest wonders for years to come. We can’t wait to see what Apple helps them create next!

While we wait for Google’s introduction of some of its plans for television at its developer conference, a new Apple patent filing today shows that company continues to develop its Apple TV.

This particular patent covers Apple TV's proposed function simply called "Learn Remote." Apple TV will be able to be controlled by future HDTVs from Sony, Samsung and Hitachi or even a DVR from DirecTV.

The patent also describes ways by which the Apple TV will be able to present a “Simulated iPhone” on the HDTV screen, enabling users to play with (ahem) iPhone apps. As predicted here.

“Apple tries to hide this feature by illustrating its presence on an illustration (see above) yet refusing to elaborate on this point. That's fine, I just did and I'm sure that your imagination could think of other interesting spin-off possibilities for this powerful marketing twist,” writes Patently Apple.

The report informs us, “Apple discussed this [iPhone simulation] in an August 2009 patent application. It was my hunch at that time that iPhone simulation would go far beyond being a tool for developers and become a means of being a simulated on-screen iPhone for consumer devices such as the iMac.”

Most exciting to ponder all those many iPhone apps working on an Apple TV. Also quite interesting to imaging them working like Dashboard on a future Mac. Isn’t OS X lovely? It’s so flexible.

TUAWWhen Steve says "No" we hear "Maybe." Here's why. originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 18 May 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAWiPad app prototype is a wicked big remote for Comcast originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 17 May 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.