Apple today released iTunes 9.1.1 which provides a number of important bug fixes, including:

• Addresses several stability issues with VoiceOver
• Addresses a usability issue with VoiceOver and Genius Mixes
• Addresses issues with converting songs to 128 kbps AAC while syncing
• Addresses other issues that improve stability and performance

For information on the security content of this update, please visit:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

iTunes 9.1.1 is available via Software Update and also as standalone installers.

More info and download links:
• iTunes 9.1.1 – (93MB)
• iTunes 9.1.1 for Windows (64 bit) – (93.9 MB)

Apple today announced that music fans have purchased and downloaded over 10 billion songs from the iTunes Store, the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store. The 10 billionth song, “Guess Things Happen That Way” by Johnny Cash, was purchased by Louie Sulcer of Woodstock, Georgia. As the winner of the iTunes Countdown to 10 Billion Songs, Louie will receive a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card. iTunes is the number one music retailer in the world and features the world’s largest music catalog with over 12 million songs.

“We’re grateful to all of our customers for helping us reach this amazing milestone,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services, in the press release. “We’re proud that iTunes has become the number one music retailer in the world, and selling 10 billion songs is truly staggering.”

Apple’s iTunes Store currently has a catalog of over 12 million songs, over 55,000 TV episodes and over 8,500 movies including over 2,500 in high definition video.

Apple’s iTunes Store passed the 10 billion songs downloads milestone today, February 24, 2010, at approximately 4:43pm ET.

Somebody has won a US$10,000 iTunes Store Gift Card!

We’ll let you know who won as soon as Apple announces the winner.

Apple has announced to iPhone OS devlopers that they can now distribute their apps to more customers with the addition of App Store support in 13 countries:

• Armenia

• Botswana

• Bulgaria

[Read more →]

“I just love watching what smart people come up with. The latest is an algorithm to figure out when Apple will reach its 10 billionth song downloaded,” Jim Dalrymple reports for The Loop.

“Barry Schwartz, Mike Butler and Alex Fierro came up with a way to predict when the company will reach the milestone,” Dalrymple reports.

Full article here.

Apple today released iTunes 9.0.3 which provides a number of important bug fixes, including:

• iTunes no longer ignores your “Remember password for purchases” setting.
• Addresses problems with syncing some Smart Playlists and Podcasts with iPod.
• Resolves a problem recognizing when iPod is connected.
• Addresses issues that affect stability and performance.

iTunes 9.0.3 is available via Software Update and also via iTunes’ “Check for Updates.”

One of the often requested features for iTunes has been the ability to set a folder for it to watch, automatically adding any items you drop in that folder to its library. In iTunes 9, Apple has quietly added this feature, although I wouldn’t blame you for not having noticed its existence. In typical Apple fashion, it’s not exactly what people were asking for, but Apple’s interpretation of what they want.

When you install iTunes 9, it automatically creates an Automatically Add to iTunes folder in your ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music folder (or under ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media if you created a new library after installing iTunes 9). When you put an iTunes-compatible media file in this folder, it will, as the name suggests, be added to iTunes automatically.

In my limited testing, I’ve found that it pretty much works as advertised. Whenever you drop any file into that folder, it’s instantly added to iTunes if the application is running. If not, it gets added the next time iTunes is launched. It even looks for files in subfolders you create and adds them to the library as well. And if you ever delete or rename the Automatically Add to iTunes folder, iTunes simply creates a new one for you the next time it is launched.

[Read more →]