match

How to use iTunes Match to upgrade audio quality

Accessing your iTunes library from other computers and iOS devices is the chief benefit of iTunes Match, but it's not the only benefit. You can use iTunes Match to upgrade the low-bit-rate tracks in your library to 256kbps AAC files.

After subscribing to iTunes Match and letting it back up your library, all you need to do is create a Smart Playlist to round up all the songs in your library with bit rates less than 256kbps, take the leap of faith of deleting those files, and then use iTunes Match to download 256kbps versions of the songs you just deleted. Here are the steps required to perform this audio upgrade:… Read more

The 404 949: Where we drop the SOPA (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 Podcast episode:

Google Music takes on streaming services like Spotify, iTunes Match, and Amazon Cloud Drive with music encoding at 320Kbps, cross-integration with Google+, and an Artist Hub site for bands to promote their original content. Fans of Hootie and the Blowfish already denouncing the service for its lack of content from Warner Music Group. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus lands in the U.K., powered by Google's Ice Cream Sandwich software for Android phones. Cool upgrades in the OS include facial recognition, voice typing, and Android beam for contact exchange by NFC.… Read more

How to enable cellular playback for iTunes Match

If you subscribed to iTunes Match and got the service set up and running on an iOS device, there might be one more step required before you find yourself rocking out from the cloud.

Yesterday, I got iTunes Match set up, but I did so while all my devices were on my home Wi-Fi network. Today, I ventured to my local bagel shop and tried connecting to iTunes Match from my iPhone. When I tapped on a track to begin playing an album, I received an abrupt message: Cannot Play. It instructed me to connect to Wi-Fi network or enable cellular playback in Settings. Enable cellular playback? This was not a setting with which I was familiar.… Read more

How to use iTunes Match

After weeks of speculation, Apple finally launched iTunes Match yesterday. For $24.99 a year, iTunes Match grants you access to a copy of your iTunes library stored in the cloud. Subscribing to and setting up iTunes Match is a snap; all you need is patience commensurate with the size of your iTunes library.

First, make sure you are running the latest version of iTunes. On a Mac, go to iTunes > About iTunes to see which version you are running. If it's not version 10.5.1, go to iTunes > Check for Updates to download and install the latest version. On a PC, you can access the About iTunes and Check for Updates menu options from the Help menu.… Read more

The 404 947: Where we are the keyboard cowboys (podcast)

Apple's update to iTunes 10.5.1 brings a new scan-and-match service for music that gives users a way to stream their entire collection across multiple devices in the Apple family.

Even better, Apple will actually fill in the blanks of your files' metadata and replace your "matched" files with high-quality 256k-encoded AAC files--an audiophile's dream!

The three of us are so excited that it sounds like we're hosting an infomercial, but check out today's episode to hear more details about iTunes Match.

Also leaked from today's episode: LivingSocial gets into home food delivery with Room Service, PETA puts Mario and his Tanooki suit in its crosshairs, and more events unravel in the ongoing War Against Infographics!… Read more

Should lying online be a crime?

Google lets you remove your Wi-Fi info from its location database, iTunes Match goes live, and the Department of Justice pushes Congress to make it a felony to use a fake name on a social network or lie on a dating-site profile.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

iTunes Match: A solution for a problem Apple helped create

Do you have digital baggage? Apple wants to help...again.

Apple's iTunes Match service, which went live in iTunes 10.5.1 today and costs $24.99 a year, tackles a problem users run into as time goes on: music libraries continue to grow, as do the ways users want to listen to their music, but there's still the pesky issue of where to store that library of songs, and keep it safe.

Streaming music services like Spotify and Rdio have solved this by pushing the library and purchase mode to the back seat, offering monthly paid subscriptions … Read more

Apple releases iTunes 10.5.1 with Match feature

Apple this morning released a new version of iTunes that adds the company's new scan-and-match service for music.

iTunes 10.5.1 includes iTunes Match, a feature that scans a user's library to find music that wasn't purchased from Apple. If it finds a match in Apple's own Music Store library, Apple provides a user with a cloud-based version at the same quality they'd find if they bought it off iTunes--at least so long as they're a paid subscriber to the matching service, which costs $24.99 a year.

The feature made its debut … Read more

Apple queuing up launch of iTunes Match?

Apple may finally be ready to launch iTunes Match, the subscription offering that will let users play ripped songs via Apple's iCloud service.

Apple has sent an e-mail to developers who are testing the beta version of Match, informing them that their stored songs would be wiped from iCloud servers and reminding them to back up their libraries on their computers. It's not the first time such a data reset has taken place, but the wording of the e-mail may suggest the service's debut is nigh.

"As we prepare for the launch of iTunes Match, we … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1565: Google is falling apart, iPhone battery fix is coming, and Apple gets a Spanish smackdown (Podcast)

On today's show, how Google biffed the Gmail app big-time, RIM is the saddest little wounded puppy you ever did see (and hear), and CNET News' Jay Greene joins us to talk about his two-part series on Microsoft killing the Courier tablet and what it means for the company's future. Plus, when the heck is the Galaxy Nexus coming? Seriously, now?