Stephen Withers
Thursday, 12 March 2009 07:45
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 2
iTunes 8.1 delivers speed improvements, security fixes and a couple of minor feature changes along with support for the new iPod shuffle.
The main feature of iTunes 8.1 is support for
the new iPod shuffle's VoiceOver feature that lets the displayless device announce songs and playlists.
The reason an iTunes update is required is that the shuffle needs its host computer to generate and transfer the voice data along with the actual tracks and playlists.
But Apple's implemented some other new features that may be of interest to a broader audience.
The default setting for importing tracks from CD is now 256Kbps AAC, matching purchased iTunes Plus songs. A lower quality setting was the previous default.
Parental Controls has been revised to disable access to the iTunes Store except for iTunes U (Apple's catalogue of educational and academic materials from universities and cultural institutions).
And the Autofill feature originally intended to takes a selection of songs to fill an iPod shuffle will work with any iPod. That's a sensible change now that the shuffle has as much storage space as some older models.
What else is new? See
page 2.
