14 DAY TRIAL // Apple recently launched iTunes 10.5.1, a highly anticipated update that delivered iTunes Match, a brand new service from Apple that lets you store your music library in iCloud and listen it anywhere on a variety of devices (including computers).
The release was not accompanied by any special announcement, nor did Apple immediately post all the documentation at the time of release yesterday.
Today, however, we have all the details we need on the release of iTunes 10.5.1, directly from Apple themselves.
A number of tech-notes on Apple’s Support Downloads area contain the official changelog for iTunes 10.5.1. These document the latest addition (iTunes Match), as well as the key additions in iTunes 10.5 for Mac and Windows:
About iTunes 10.5.1
Introducing iTunes Match. Store your entire music library in iCloud, including music you've imported from CDs, and enjoy your collection anywhere, anytime, on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, computer, or Apple TV.
It basically works like this:
· The software determines which of your songs are already in the iTunes Store, so any music with a match is automatically added to iCloud for you; · There are over 20 million song titles in Apple's venue so there's a very good chance most of your music is already there ready for playing - which means you don't have to upload entire gigabytes of music; · For the songs that aren’t there, iTunes will upload your title. However, for the music that 'matches', Apple lets you play it back from iCloud at 256-Kbps AAC DRM-free quality, even if your copy was of poorer quality.
iTunes 10.5 also included:
- iTunes in the Cloud. iTunes now stores your music and TV purchases in iCloud and makes them available on your devices anywhere, any time, at no additional cost. - Automatic Downloads. Purchase music from any device or computer and automatically download a copy to your Mac and iOS devices. - Download Previous Purchases. Download your past music, TV, app, and book purchases again, at no additional cost. Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer on the iTunes Store. - Sync with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 5. - Wi-Fi Syncing. Automatically sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iTunes any time they're both on the same Wi-Fi network.
Next up, “the security content of iTunes 10.5.1”.
Cupertino says it applies to Mac OS X v10.5 or later, Windows 7, Vista, XP SP2 or later and that it involves a man-in-the-middle attacker that may offer software that appears to originate from Apple. The full description, below:
Description: iTunes periodically checks for software updates using an HTTP request to Apple. This request may cause iTunes to indicate that an update is available. If Apple Software Update for Windows is not installed, clicking the Download iTunes button may open the URL from the HTTP response in the user's default browser. This issue has been mitigated by using a secured connection when checking for available updates. For OS X systems, the user's default browser is not used because Apple Software Update is included with OS X, however this change adds additional defense-in-depth.
The Mac maker credits Francisco Amato of Infobyte Security Research for reporting the flaw.
Users will download a 107.97 MB DMG file on Mac OS X, a 65.59 MB .exe file on Windows 32-bit, or one that weighs in at 67.29 MB on Window 64-bit.
The full list of system requirements is offered as such (Mac and Windows):
Software:
- Mac OS X version 10.5 or later - Safari 4.0.3 or later - QuickTime 7.6 or later; Support for HE-AAC requires QuickTime 7.6.4 or later - 200MB of available disk space - HD TV episodes can only be rented in the United States - Ping is available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States - Windows XP SP2 or later - Windows Vista 32 bit, Windows 7 32 bit - 64 bit editions of Windows requires iTunes 10.5 Windows 64-bit version:
Hardware: - Mac computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5 or G4 processor - 1.0GHz PowerPC G4 or faster processor is required to play Standard Definition video from the iTunes Store - 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or faster processor is required to play HD video, an iTunes LP, or iTunes Extras from the iTunes Store - 512MB of RAM; 1GB is required to play HD video, an iTunes LP, or iTunes Extras - Screen resolution of 1024x768 or greater; 1280x800 or greater is required to play an iTunes LP or iTunes Extras - Playing videos also requires at least 16MB of video RAM - Broadband Internet connection to use the iTunes Store - Apple combo drive or SuperDrive to create audio, MP3, or back-up CDs; some non-Apple CD-RW recorders may also work. - Apple SuperDrive to back up your library to DVDs; some non-Apple DVD-RW drives may also work.
Supported languages include: Deutsch, English, Français, Español, Italiano, Nederlands, Dansk, Norsk Bokmål, Polski, Português, Português Brasileiro, Pусский, Suomi, Svensk, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.