The quickness, organization, accuracy, and simplicity of iTunes provide an avid music listener with the digital shelfs for their extensive musical library while also acting as a lightning fast librarian. The side bar on the left is the starting point for anyone using iTunes. The topmost section allows you to choose which media library to access. The next section down allows you to easily browse to the iTunes distribution store or view a list of purchased items from the iTunes store. The next section down allows you to view and even listen to music from people using the same network who have allowed sharing and have iTunes running. If you plug in your iPod, the next section would be the section that allows you to access your iPod and the final section at the bottom provides you with 'smart' playlists and allow you to create your own playlists.

Each section is clearly seperated from one anther by the different categorie's names in all- caps and bold font. The individual folders within each category are clearly defined by a simple name and even have small icons to help illustrate the function or content of the folder. The side bar allows the user to, with one click, easily navigate through their entire library of music, movies, TV Shows, browse for more to buy, listen to your neighbors, and create awesome playlists along with utilizing the 'smart playlists' provided in the application. The amount that can get done via the sidebar is unbelieveable considering only how small and not very distracting the sidebar is. Simple design, clear diction, and high functionality make the iTunes sidebar and iTunes itself the media application of choice for the modern day avid music listener, whether you have an iPod or not!

I was searching through some boxes for some clips for a resume I was sending out when, suddenly, the garage went dark. I said a bad word, and the lights came back on -- not because I said the word. I also slipped and almost landed on my tush.

(I was looking for clips because I am in career-change mode (read: I got laid off from my job at a daily newspaper) and needed proof that I had done some, well, mediocre at least work at another paper.)

I found the nice big flat-screen monitor of my pride and joy, my Dell XPS Gen 4, dark, and repeated attempts to reboot the system proved fruitless. The system decided there was no bootable hard drive in it, and that was that. My heart sank. I had resumes, financial records, computer games and more on that machine, and it was a doorstop.

I took it to a place for repair work, and almost begged them to back up the first hard drive to the second hard drive, restore the operating system and get my machine running again. It took three weeks-plus, but they did as I asked, and nothing was lost, and I have been restoring the computer to its former state slowly but surely.

I have had that computer for more than three years, and hard drives tend to accumulate a lot of stuff over that time frame. I admit that I'm no different. I have samples of games I downloaded, old e-mails, document files, some of which date back nearly 10 years and have been moved from PC to PC as I bought new systems, and financial records that go back 12 years and were moved from PC to PC.

Oh, and a couple of versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator and a lot of third-party software for it, which will all be reinstalled at some time, as well as The Complete New Yorker.

So what did I do during the three weeks that my main system was out? Well, I have a very nice HP laptop, and that became my computer during that time. I had an out of date backup of most of my resume files and some other needed files, so by week three I was almost fully operational and had sent out a number of resumes.

I read once that the Army has a "Lessons Learned" department, where it looks at past actions and evaluates them. I find that a good idea, so here is my lessons learned section:

• Buy a backup system -- Done; I bought an external hard drive and will back up my critical files to it. I may even back up the entire C: drive, just in case.
• Get an uninterruptible power supply -- Done; I bought one the same day I bought the above hard drive, and use it just for the computer's CPU.
• Have a backup machine ready to take on the workload -- Done; I actually have a couple of Gateways in another room that I use, too, plus an old Pentium 166 machine in the garage. And my trusty and always in use HP laptop.
• When the computer comes back from the shop, be patient. You'll have a lot of restoring and reinstallation to do, and it will take a while.

I found my iTunes files, for example, and moved them to the correct location, but iTunes refused to start. Downloading iTunes from Apple and running the installation program resulted in that version being upgraded, plus it wrote the registry entries that got me back into business with my iPhone.

Most of the critical stuff (e-mail, personal finance, Web surfing) is back on line, but I figure it will be a month before I'm completely finished with the restoration. I also have some tweaking of the Windows configuration to do. It's annoying when you get a computer back with a fresh installation of Windows to have to get rid of all those "helpful" things that are set up by default but that you forgot about.

Actually, the system is running a little faster and better without all that other software. But I have a huge pile of CDs in the "to-do" stack, so the work continues.

Enquanto isso aumentam as expectativas em torno dos anúncios para a próxima terça, dia 9!

Another major new feature is the arrival of HD for TV shows, and Rose says customers will be able to download HD content to iTunes. This is very interesting when you consider the current state of HD in the iTunes Store, as only a small collection of movies are currently offered in 720p HD, and even then, only for the Apple TV.

If you're already burned out on the fancy Cover Flow mode for flipping through your artists and albums, Rose says a new Grid view is coming. It isn't hard to imagine what this will look like, but we certainly hope this new view isn't limited to just music. Lastly, a new music visualizer is also said to be on the way. Apparently, people still use music visualizers in iTunes." - Ars Technica, 2008

Although these new features are great, one more great feature would be some features for organizing music on multiple computers, or being able to watch a folder for files and add new ones to your library.

Ars Tecnica believes that iTunes 8 won't be available by September 9th when the new iPods will be announced.  I sure hope it is though!

The presence if Apple at the Yerba Buena Center For The Art can be seen through the giant poster for the event and Apple Security team all around the building.

The crews are putting some finishing touches on the venue. The camera crews are already put in place. Some closed circuit TV are being tested.

The products are said to be delivered sometimes in late Monday evening.

Can't really tell you what they are yet.

]]> http://hoffhinesproductions.wordpress.com/?p=4 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:47:55 +0000 hoffhinesproductions http://hoffhinesproductions.wordpress.com/?p=4

‘The Kreep’ Kreeps On iTunes, Static Multimedia, Myspace, YOUtube, 100% Of Nothing 

Hoffhines Productions, a Chicago-based production house specializing in social and viral media production have partnered with Chicago-based R. Productions, and publisher Static Multimedia (a division of Static Networx) to present Gothic poet ’The Kreep’ in all new media formats.   Popular Ezine Static Multimedia will publish the syndicated column on 100% Of Nothing, with a link to the iTunes Store which will offer the podcast download (a new poem about a classic horror film) for free.

The Kreep a.k.a. Brazillia R. Kreep is a forlorn Gothic poet that reviews classic horror films in epic verse.  Brainchild of actor/writer R. O’Donnell, The Kreep has made numerous social media appearances on Myspace, and Twitter, along with entertainment blogs Brain Raves and Only Gothic.  “Take a dash of Vincent Price and a dash of Edward Gorey with just a pinch of Doctor Seuss and you might understand The Kreep’s sensibility,” says creator O’Donnell, “He loves the macabre, sure, but what is he really? Just a big-hearted 100 year-old kid!”

"We saw it as a great opportunity," says Eric Hoffhines, CEO of HP, "we were already in the business of video and photography production, partnering with these two highly creative media producers was a natural fit in the move into new media.

The Kreep, which features kreepy poems amidst sprinklings of the latest horror film lowdown such as Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd starring Johnny Depp and Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist starring  Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams is something, street artist and Art Director Dull1 gets big-time, “I like all things horror, “ says the artist from a pay phone somewhere in Chicago, “because it’s a genre that I identify with. Growing up on creature features, Ed “big Daddy” Roth, and kung fu Sundays, the design elements were always elegant and striking and their use of color was reminiscent of 60s psychedelia.”

The Kreep can be found kreeping around 100percentofnothing.com on iTunes, with a new posting/podcast every Wednesday–if you dare to read and listen.  So what’s the future hold for The Kreep? “A book of children’s tales entitled Kreepy Bedtime Stories,” says O’Donnell with a smirk, “Something to put children to sleep akin The Brother’s Grimm, just like when I was just a squirt.”

EXTERNAL LINKS

> XML Podcast Feed

> iTunes Podcast Link

Downloadable Desktop Wallpapers (click link, then rt click on image and choose ‘Set As Desktop Wallpaper’)

800×600	1024×768	1280×800

> Hoffhines Productions

> 100 % of Nothing

> ‘The Kreep’ PR

source: R. Productions

BattleAtSea ist eine geniale Umstzung des Spieleklassikers "Schiffe versenken" mit einer Spitzengrafik, super Sound und tollen Extra-Features. Wir beginnen mit dem Startbildschirm: Man kann auf der Leiste am unteren Rand in 4 Bereiche wechseln: Menu, Help, Scores und Einstellungen. Unter Menu kann man ein neues Spiel beginne oder aber auch ein vorheriges, durch einen Tippfeler, Anruf etc. unterbrochenes Spiel fortsetzen. Der Punkt Descriptions beschreibt und erklärt jedes kleinste Detail und jede Funktion klar und deutlich formuliert (auf Englisch) mit vielen Screenshots.

Nun zum eigentlichen Spiel. Nachdem man ein Spiel gestartet hat fragt das Spiel, ob man allein oder im Multiplayermodus spielen will. Der Multiplayermodus ist verfügbar, wenn sich 2 iPhones/iPod touch im gleichen Wi-Fi-Netzwerk befinden. Wenn man einen der beiden Modi ausgwählt hat, kann man seine Flotte aufstellen. Man kan die Boote an verschiedene Positionen bewegen und durch Doppeltippen zwischen vertikaler und horizontaler Position wechseln.

Die Regeln sind etwas anders, als es die meisten Oldschool-Gamer vermuten und kennen. Ich jedenfalls kannte es so, dass man pro Runde eines Schuss hat und wenn man trifft nochmal schießen darf und das so lange, bis man einen ins Wasser haut. Bei BattleAtSea hat man im Standardmodus eine bestimmte Anzahl an Schüssen, die von der Anzahl der verbleibenden Boote abhängt. Hat man 5 Schiffe darf man 5x schießen, hat man nur noch 3 Boote logischerweise nur noch 3 Schüsse. Wenn man aufs generische Feld schießt zeigt er dir mit Hilfe von roter Einfärbung die Punkte, wo sich Schiffe befinden, die du getroffen hast. Oben sind 5 Lampen, die mit Rot (geschossen), grün (noch nicht geschossen) und grau (nicht mehr verfügbar) den Status deiner Schüsse anzeigen.

Außerdem gibt es noch den Menüpunkt "Scores", welcher dir Statistiken deiner Kämpfe anzeigt. Man sieht die durchschnittliche Trefferquote, den Durchschnitt der

verbleibenden

Schiffe und dein

Sieg-/Niederlagenverhältnis.

Unter Einstellungen kann man die Sounds und die für´s iPhone limitierte Vibratonsfunktion an- und ausstellen und den "Classic Mode" anstellen. Beim Classic Mode hat jeder Spieler immer nur einen Schuss ohne Zugaben, wenn man getroffen hat. Außerdem kann man seinen Namen für Wi-Fi-Spiele zu zweit einstellen.

(Mein) Fazit: BattleAtSea ist ein sehr schön aufgemachtes Schiffe Versenken mit toll anzusehender Grafik und coolem Sound. Es hat viele Funktionen und einfach zu bedienen. Für manche mag der Preis von 4 € übertrieben sein, doch ich hätte auch mehr dafür auf den virtuellen Tresen gelegt.

5 von 5 Sternen.

PS .: Jeder, der auch gern ein Gamereview schreiben würd, kann dies gern tun, ich werde ihn mir durchlesen und vielleicht auch veröffentlicht. Dies gilt auch für andere Themem. Nachrichten auch gern über Twitter: Name: luke4sky

Nedelja kukr se spodobi. Ustala sm ob 10, pol pa pred TV z jogurtom. Zadnje čase prou presenečam sama sebe. RES sm začela delat za šolo.n Učila sm se mato.uLaLa.Zravn sm sicer gledala Gossip Girl (2.sezono) pa Hancocka nakonc pa še Wanted. Umes sm si zloudala še mau muzke. Sm si u Londonu kupla GiftCard za iTunse za 15 funtov ki jih zdej pridno zapraulam. Nou album od Jesseja (Departure), Katy Perry (I kissed a girl), Ne-ya (Closer) so že na mojem iPodu.

Ste opazl kšno spremembo? NE? Nou style. Tokrat tričert moie delo. Jap. Naslounica je moja last. Yes this is me on the picture. Hope u like it.

No sej jz bom počas kr šla, ker morm itak še pod tuš, pol pa jump pred TV. Hvalabogu se nam jutr šola začne šele 20 do desetih. OUJE.

No fajn se mejte.

イベントではiPod全シリーズの新モデル、iTunes8、MacBook airアップデートに引き続きiPhoneのファームウェア2.1も発表される模様。ネイティブでコピペができるようになることを期待しましょう！

それにしてもジョブズの体調はどうなんでしょうか

Of course, those disappointing songs would've been less disappointing if there were some way to recoup my gift card credit from them. Enter Wednesday's CNN.com article on new internet music retailer Popcuts. Their business model is an unusual one, to say the least: a portion of the $0.99 revenue each time someone buys a track is split as store credit among people who've already purchased the track. As I see it, the system's an attempt to give people an incentive to try out completely new artists and make it easier for those brand-new artists to get a fan base.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the minuscule catalog (granted, they only started up in August, but there don't appear to be more than a few hundred) consists almost entirely of independent, unsigned, local- and garage- level acts. That may be what makes this work in the long-run. It may be what makes it fail quickly. I don't know. I do know that the Metal genre, as of this moment, has music from 10 artists, at least two of which just appear to be guys in their basement. I did, though, find one track that I liked the 30-second sample of enough to risk 99 cents on. After all, even if I don't like it, I can maybe get enough credit from it to try something else. And in the meantime, the aspiring musician and the aspiring music retailer both get a few cents, and the aspiring musician also gets his Last.fm playcount to go up from seven plays by two people to a minimum of eight plays by three people. Which is good for him, too.

So, I'll keep an eye on this Popcuts place, to see if their catalog grows in ways I like, but I don't expect it to ever supplant Last.fm as my main internet music source, what with its wonderful combination of internet radio, free downloadable demo tracks, and for-sale downloadable tracks.

Mi sembra giusto e doveroso segnalare questo singolo presente su iTunes. Il ricavato del singolo verrà interamente devoluto per la lotta al cancro. Diverse le star che hanno partecipato: Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus, Melissa Etheridge, Ashanti, Natasha Bedingfield, Keyshia Cole, Ciara, Leona Lewis, LeAnn Rimes e Carrie Underwood. 0,99 € il prezzo, partecipate numerosi.

Fonte

Link diretto ad iTunes

I am rich mag niet.
I am rich was een applicatie van $999, de applicatie had geen functie. Het enige wat je zag als je het installeerde was een icoontje met een diamant er op waaronder I am rich stond. Het was een ontzettende leuke grap vond ik want het spot een beetje met elitaire mensen die graag laten zien dat ze veel geld hebben. Apple dacht er blijkbaar niet zo over dus helaas, ik kan me hier wel wat bij voorstellen.
Ze hebben ook de pull my finger applicatie niet toe gelaten. Dat was een applicatie waarin je een plaatje had van een vinger en als je daaraan trok door je vinger over te halen hoorde je het geluid van een scheet. Ook hier kan ik me wat bij voorstellen, Maar....
Crazy eye laten ze wel toe.
hier wat plaatjes om duidelijk te maken wat dat is.

Ik vind deze applicatie helemaal nergens op slaan. Het is niet grappig. Het is belachelijk dat ze dit soort troep wel toelaten en de net genoemde applicaties niet. "Apple dit valt me zwaar van jullie tegen" 

Meer info; 

Pull my finger

I am rich

Ik zal zodra mijn account het weer doet dat hier melden.

Ben je het met me eens, of totaal niet? reageer!

One thing which always bothered me a bit was the audiobook format. They split an audiobook in dozens of mp3 files which are not the best solution if you use iTunes and an iPod.
iTunes and the iPod have the so called bookmarkable format, that is, the track will resume playing wherever you left off the last time you played it.
There is a lot of information on the net, but I could not find a step by step process for the Mac how to convert emusic audiobooks to iTunes audiobooks.

This is my procedure for Mac OS X.

• Download two Applescripts scripts from Doug's AppleScripts: Track Splicer and Make Bookmarkable. Install them as described.
• Add the emusic audiobook files to iTunes. They will be stored somewhere under music.
• Select the audiobook mp3 files. Make sure they are ordered correctly and run the Track Splicer script. This will create one big mp3 file.
  If you like to split it in a couple of 1 hour files, like an iTMS audiobook, then select a smaller number of files and repeat the procedure.
• Select the mp3 audiobook and convert it to an aac (m4a) file with iTunes. (Right mouse: Convert Selection to AAC). Use a bitrate
  applicable for audiobooks, since 256kbps or so seems like a waste of disk space.
• Select the aac audiobook and run the Make Bookmarkable script. This will convert the m4a file to m4b file. When you look under
  Audiobooks you will see your converted book.
• For nicety find a cover and add it as album artwork.

Enjoy!

Kurze Zeit später kam mir dann die Idee! Wenn ich doch nun mehr und mehr Musik vom iPhone höre, kann ich direkt an meine "Ohrwürmer der Woche" erinnern. Jede Woche gibt es ein oder zwei neue Songs die mir in den Sinn kommen und nicht mehr raus wollen.

Fangen wir mal an mit "Michael Jackson - They Don't Care About Us"! Nicht zu vergessen, ist der Hintergrund des Liedes!

［New Apple iPod coming soon | Andrew Mager］

アップルイベントまで余すところ数十時間となった。リーク写真をはじめウワサマシンも全開だ。

しかし今年のアップルイベントを迎えるアップルファンにはこれまでになかった気になる雰囲気があると Macworld 誌が書いている。

Macworld: "What's at stake for Apple at Tuesday's iPod event" by Philip Michaels: 05 September 2008

　　　　　＊　　　　　＊　　　　　＊

いつもと違うなにか・・・

iPod をテーマとする来週火曜日のアップルのスペシャルイベントについての読者のチャットを見ていると興味深い変化が感じられる。いつもなら、予想される製品についてクパチーノから発せられる片言隻語をもとに様々な憶測、願望、熱望で溢れかえるのが常だ。確かに Macworld.com にはそんなスレッドも沢山ある。しかしその一方、いつもとは異なるスレッドも繰り返し投稿されている。通常ならこんなイベントの前には見られないアップルユーザーの態度を示すもだ。

There was an interesting undercurrent to the reader chatter surrounding Apple's announcement of a special, presumably iPod-themed event for this coming Tuesday. Normally, the news that Apple's planning to unveil something inspires speculation, wishcasting, and open covetousness from the folks who hang on ever word to come out of Cupertino—and to be certain, there was plenty of that in the Macworld.com forum thread on Apple's September 9 event. But there was another recurring theme to some of the comments posted in that thread—an attitude one doesn't normally see from Apple's customers in advance of one of the company's media events.

それは「アップルに対する慎重さ」（Wariness）［用心深さ、慎重さ、警戒心から生じる油断のなさ］だ。

Wariness.

９月９日イベントについて最初に投稿したフォーラムメンバーは「これまではすごく興奮したものだが、もうそうじゃない」と書いている。さらにいくつか後のスレッドで別のメンバーも「私からアップルの輝きが失われてしまったと認めざるを得ない」と書いている。

"I used to be excited about these, but not anymore," one forum member wrote in the very first post in the September 9 event thread. "I must admit the shine is off for me as well," another forum member agreed just a few posts later

　　　　　＊　　　　　＊　　　　　＊

「不満多き夏」

こういうことなのだ。この夏にアップルは数多くの重要な製品を発表した。それぞれの発表日程が詰まり過ぎたため（Steve Jobs も誤りだったと従業員に対して認めたほどだ）、いくつもの不手際がおき、本来持っている筈の魅力も影が薄くなってしまった。さら重要なことには、度重なるミスによってアップルユーザーの一部が相当に気分を害してしまったことだ。

The upshot: Apple delivered a number of significant products this summer. But the launch schedule was so compressed—a mistake Steve Jobs acknowledged to his employees—that the pros of these new offerings were overshadowed by the assorted missteps. More important, the assorted glitches have left a segment of Apple's customer base feeling a little put out heading into the fall.

　　　　　＊　　　　　＊　　　　　＊

果たして額面どおり信じていいのか

この期待とは、新 iPod に画期的な大変化があるか、それともちょっとした化粧直し程度かといったこととは関係ない。Don Reisinger は今週の CNET の記事「Why Apple's event next week won't 'rock' at all」で、「iPod イベントでは、みんなを魂消させるようなビッグアナウンスメントはほとんどなく、概していえばありふれたものだろう」と書いている。これだけでは重要な点でピント外れだと思う。アップルに必要なのは、息をのむような新しい音楽プレーヤを取り出してみせることなどではない。アップルに必要なのは、特にこの「不満多き夏」（Summer of Discontent）のことを考えれば、発表されるものが何であれ、ちゃんと予定どおりに出荷され、ちゃんと宣伝されたとおりに動く、そういう発表をすることが大切なのだ。

Those expectations, by the way, have nothing to do with coming out with a ground-breaking or evolutionary new take on the iPod. Cnet's Don Reisinger wrote a piece this week dismissing the chances of anything exciting coming out of Tuesday's event—"An iPod event may have a few big announcements that will make some swoon," he wrote, "but by and large, it's nothing more than another run-of-the-mill day at the Apple office"—which, really, seems to miss the point by several dozen zip codes. Apple doesn't need to take the wraps off some breath-taking new music player on Tuesday. What it does need to do, especially after the Summer of Discontent, is announce something that—whatever it turns out be—ships when it's expected to and works like advertised.

　　　　　＊　　　　　＊　　　　　＊

大切なことは何か

新しい iPod の発表だって？　それなら iPod をファンが期待する品質と性能のレベルまで高めることだ。iTunes の手直しだって？　それならアップデートにはバグがないようにすることだ。iTunes Store の楽曲についてサブスクリプションを導入するって？　それならそのサービス開始をこの夏の MobileMe とはまったく異なったものにすることだ。

Unveiling new iPods? Make sure they measure up to the quality and performance that iPod enthusiast have come to expect. Rejiggering iTunes? That update had best be free of any major bugs or blemishes. Launching a subscription-based version of the iTunes Store's music offerings? Then that launch needs to be the polar opposite of MobileMe's summer debut.

　　　　　＊　　　　　＊　　　　　＊

「弾をまっすぐには撃てないギャング」

いまやアップルは「間違いを犯すことなど考えられない会社」（The Company That Can Do No Wrong）から「弾をまっすぐには撃てないギャング」（The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight）［Jimmy Breslin の同名の映画から］にまで成り下がってしまった。これを変えるには、たとい目を見張らせる製品ではなくても、ちゃんとした製品をスムーズに発表することだ。そうすれば、これまでにない慎重さで来週のイベントを眺めているファンにもなにがしかの興奮をもたらすことが出来るかもしれない。

Right now, fairly or unfairly, Apple's narrative has shifted from The Company That Can Do No Wrong to The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight. A smooth launch of a solid if not overly spectacular product stops that. And maybe it restores some of the excitement about the company among customers eyeing this Tuesday's event with unaccustomed wariness.

　　　　　＊　　　　　＊　　　　　＊

どうやら Steve Jobs の「現実歪曲空間」に頼るだけでは事が済まなくなったようだ。

本来なら一番アップル寄りのはずの Macworld 誌からこんな記事が出ること自体大きな変化といえるのではないか。

★ →［原文を見る］

Technorati Tags: Apple, Apple Event, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, MobileMe

The thing that the RIAA and many artists, filmmakers, etc. fail to realize is that if they make their product available for a reasonable fee in a reasonable format (DRM Free Please!) and it's reasonably convenient they get some money. If they don't then some people resort to "alternate" ways of getting it while others just do nothing. There was NEVER a possibility that I was going to go to the store and buy the Kid Rock CD. If I had paid .99 on iTunes it technically would have been a waste of money as I would have soon tired of it and not listened to it but I don't mind paying .99 for short term entertainment. Congratulations Kid Rock - you lost my 8 cents or whatever you would have gotten from iTunes.

Now rumors are going above and beyond making this event to be larger than life. Apple has even told reporters that it will be a "big deal" and even put a huge banner up. Could this "big deal" just mean there will be a bunch of really good deals or just a lot of new stuff? Nobody knows. Rumor even has it that the iPhone 2.1 update will be released and that there might be secret features in the update also. Rumor is that they took many features out of the betas for developers to keep them secret. Everyone expects new iPods at this event and even the new iTunes 8. So on Tuesday September 9th expect many great new things from Apple and hold off on buying any iPods til then.

]]> http://ipodmac.wordpress.com/?p=488 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 04:01:52 +0000 gomezm http://ipodmac.wordpress.com/?p=488

The only iTunes extension you'll ever need.

I honestly believes it comes pretty close. GimmeSomeTune is a controller app for iTunes that does some pretty cools things outside the realm of "iTunes controller". It works like CoverSutra in that it displays song information - artist name, album name, cover art, etc - for every song you play on iTunes in an information window that fades in and out. It also does the whole SizzlingKeys business - control your iTunes remotely without having to open it. GimmeSomeTune however goes further than just the basics. GimmeSomeTune is highly customizable, innovative and just plain usable! It can fetch lyrics for your now playing songs and it's missing album art, because isn't that what a computer is supposed to do? The little information winodw that pops up whenever you play or switch a song is customizable. Change everything: the background colour, alpha level (transparency), text colour, font, and more. The remote hotkeys are of course changeable so it won't conflict with any pre-existing keyboard shortcuts you already have in place.

GimmeSomeTune also works great work with other apps and services. It can work with iChat to display the song that you're listening to as your status, as well as use the song's album art as your display pic. The Remote Control you got with your Mac can also be received by this app to relay that info to iTunes and now you can control iTunes with that little Remote. Finally, a last mention of features - full integration with you Last.fm account: instantly scrobble your tracks to your profile!

Don't skip out on this one and if you haven't been sold already, here's a reason why you should: it's free! Well, technically it's donationware so you should really consider making a donation if you love it even half as much as I do! They deserve it for sure!

Check it out!

1) Pandora - This online personalized radio station that allows you to listen to just your kind of music (live streaming, that is) does support few mobile phones in AT&T and Sprint networks. Well, iphone is one among them. You can create your own radio station per your taste or Genre. If you select "Backstreet Boys" and save that radio station, you get to hear songs of Genre a la Backstreet Boys. This one has become quite popular. This was the first application I downloaded in my Iphone.

2) Shazam - You hear a good song at Starbucks but do not know the name of it? Well then, Shazam helps you figure it out. Not just this, you can even download the song from iTunes. The application shows it all for you. Cool one, isn't it? The next time I need not have to desperately search in the You Tube from the only few broken words of the song I remember.

3) Remote - This is one of the coolest applications that allow you to control your Mac or iTunes library on your PC  using your iPhone. You heard it right! Your iPhone acts as a remote. You need to connect to a Wi-Fi network though. You can play any song in your iTunes library, pause it or stop it from  anywhere in your home. All this through your iPhone.

4) Fuzzyshot - This is a mobile photo blog. Want to share that oh-so-wonderful photo that you just captured in Los Angeles to your family in India right on the spot? This application helps you. The images you click on your iPhone get automatically updated into your Fuzzyshot blog in seconds.

5) YouNote - This application allows you to make a picture note or an audio note or the one that is drawn or just that normal text notes. All in one, it is! What more, you can even tag the note to a location in Google map.

6) VoiceNotes - Why 'write' a note when you can 'record' it! This application helps you record a note. The next time I want to remember an address, I would say it aloud and record it rather than type it.

7) Tap Tap Revenge - This a game based on music and rythm.You find three coloured beams that rattle ocassionally with power. So what/ Patience, I say! A song keeps playing and bubbles start dropping down through the three beams. Now, these bubbles trickle down with speeds based on the beat and the rythm of the song being played. You got to tap on these bubbles at the bottom of the screen. The more acoustic beats the song has, the more is the fun. You actually end up tapping your fingers in rythm. You have to play and experience it! There are also points for tilting your iPhone left/right/up/down as per the arrow marks that ocassionally pass through the beams. Such a fun!

8 ) iMazeLite - This is a full "paisa vasool" timepass game. Got stuck up in the airport with delayed flight? Feeling lazy at the same time? This one helps you pass the time. This is a maze game and you got to show a small pin ball the way to its groove. Well, the fun part here is that the ball moves only by tilting your iPhone in the direction you want it to move. You have a choice to select an easy or a hard maze.

There are many other good applications that I am yet to explore. I will keep updating as and when I find something so interesting.

Before I sign off, here is a list of glitches that your iPhone can create during a normal use. I faced these problems as I used it during this three weeks of time:

Glitch 1: My 'Safari' browser showed its dead pan expression (I mean, got stuck) when I tried to navigate a link from an application. I had to "restart" (true blue software term - Switch Off and then On, I mean) the Iphone to bring the browser back to use.

Glitch 2: Application crash! Now this seems to be something major. I guess many people faced this problem. You download an application and when you click on its icon, it displays a black screen. Your eyes balls pop out with excitement, but alas! It exits and comes back to the previous screen. Well, for now, if you face this problem, delete the application, restart your Iphone and then install the application again. This should solve the problem in many cases. However, if your dame luck smiles (dont take the literal meaning), you might have to 'restore' your iPhone settings to the deafult, or worse, you might even have to check your iPhone's firmware. I am lucky here! We only hope that Apple comes up with a fix for this soon!

And finally, though not sure, an interesting tidbit of sorts, that I heard from a friend is that 3G is not supported everywhere in the US. There seem to be some areas even like in few parts of New York where 'EDGE' replaces 3G. This is not a first hand information and so I might even be wrong.

EDGE is something like 2.75G (That is 0.25 less to 3G). Well, if you ask me more about EDGE, then your guess is as good as mine. What are you doing here? Go check out in Wiki. My iPhone's calling me!

Tap Tap Revenge's Image Courtesy: Apple's App Store.

Locly (Acknack Ltd)
Localy is an all in one location program that when opened, uses a built in browser to display a fantastic menu of location based search results. These include: Flickr images, Local Twitters, Wikipedia Articles, Local Events, Local News, Restaurants, Pubs, Cafe's, Shops and Supermarkets, Taxi Firms, Films and Movies, Hotels, Gas stations, Banks and ATM's, and Museums. When you click on these categories, another screen will be displayed with all local items and from there you click a map link for Google Maps, or the number and it will call the business (only on the iPhone of course). Locly is FREE.

Ambiance (Matt Coneybeare)
My sister uses one of those "noise" machines to fall asleep to. It's basically an alarm clock with sounds that you can play while you fall asleep, and put it on a timer, or of course let it play all night. She uses the sound of a fan. Ambiance is an application that is just that....it's a sound machine. It is constantly getting updated, and right now has: Birds, Blue Noise, Cicada, Clock, City, Coast, Creek, Crickets, Fan, Fan-oscillating, Fire-big, Fire-small, Frog, Heartbeat, Light Saber, Machine, Owl, Pink noise, Rain-light, Rain-thunder, Rain-tin roof, Rain-wind, River, Shower, Stream, Subway, Train, Vinyl, Violet noise, Waterfall, Waves, White noise, Wind, Wind-haunting. Most sounds are loud enough to play from your iPhones speakers at your bedside, or you could use any type of iPhone/iPod Touch speaker docking devices (of course headphones too). Ambiance is $0.99

Data Case (Veiosoft, LLC)
Data case is a wireless USB thumb drive...basically. When you launch this application, it will appear as a device in the side bar of your Finder (you must be on the same wireless network). If you click on it in the Finder, a message will pop up on your iPhone asking you if you allow the connections. After you accept the connection, you can drag any type of file (pretty much) to the Shared Files folder on your iPhone. Anyone on your network also can view and copy this file. PDF, files, .Doc files, MP3 files, JPEG files, and pretty much every other type of file can not only be stored on the iPhone in this folder, but can also be played on the iPhone. Data Case is $6.99

All of these applications can be found in the iTunes App store.