Technics: Sound: How to make your iTunes, podcasts, earphones and other sonic techs for better listening

Here's a heavy-loaded write-up with two videos (I don't know whether they'll actually work), but I found that Don Bell's write-ups and still-graphics do.  I do have iTunes but these days I don't use it miuch, as I like to find out what my world-wide circle of friends are listening to.  However, this info piece makes me interested in getting my iTunes Library to work for me.  Bell, a CNET How To specialist, offers a lot of clues and info-bits to make for better listening.

— Technowlb, refWrite Backpage technics newspotter, analyst, columnist
     with Musikos, rW4 music

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• How to make iTunes sound better

How to make iTunes sound better

Learn some quick and easy ways to squeeze better audio quality from Apple's iTunes music software.

by Donald Bell

 August 27, 2012 4:38 PM PDT

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Apple's iTunes software takes a lot of criticism from CNET readers. It's a gigantic memory hog of a program that attempts to do everything from downloading iBooks (e-books) to synchronizing apps with your iPad. For a piece of software named for its music playback capability, that feature seems to be a diminishing part of iTunes' appeal.

But groan all you want, iTunes is still one of the most popular ways to play music on your computer.

If you're one of the millions who get your daily music fix through Apple's ubiquitous software, here are a few simple tips for making your songs a little sweeter.

The equalizer that's available in iTunes.

(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET)

Add some EQ
Outside of CNET's software-savvy readers, I'm willing to bet that most people are unaware of the 10-band equalizer built into iTunes. Apple doesn't flaunt it the same way your boom box did back in the '80s. Instead, it's tucked under the Window menu. With it, you can dial in a personalized EQ setting, or select from one of the many presets.

Sound enhancement settings available in iTunes.

(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET)

Kick in the enhancer
Have you ever seen those car stereo buttons marked "Loud"? They punch up the sound with a little boost to the bass and treble and even make the stereo effect a little more dramatic. Well, Apple has one of those, too. It's buried in the Preferences menu under Playback settings.

You don't have to spend a lot on headphones to get a big improvement in sound quality.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Upgrade your headphones
The weakest link I see in most computer listening setups is the headphones, and it is the last link in the chain before the sound hits your ears. You could be doing everything else above and beyond, playing lossless audio files output through an audiophile-quality USB audio card that was hand-wired by Gregorian monks -- but if your headphones are crud, then none of it matters. Flip the situation around, and even a modest headphone upgrade will make the worst system sound significantly better.

For some buying advice, check out CNET's best headphones under $50, as well as our overall list of best 5 headphones.

Topics:

Computers and hardware

Tags:

music,

How To,

iTunes,

software,

AAC,

settings,

EQ,

Equalizer,

Apple,

MP3,

Enhancer

Read the full CNET Review

Apple iPad (March 2012, 16GB, Wi-Fi, black)

The bottom line: With a host of improvements--faster graphics, 4G wireless options, a better camera, and a gorgeous high-res screen--the latest iPad cements its position at the head of the tablet pack.Read Full Review

CNET Editors' Rating

4.0starsExcellent

Priced At: $484.88 to $528.88 

Review Date: 3/05/12 

Updated on: 1/05/13

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Technics: Apple press release: 40 billion downloads, 20 billion in 2012

I can't recognize the Apple corporation's output of branded products, and the hype that lifts the whole deal into the stratosphere of ideal consumerism.  In the past, Apple was reputed, even by those who loved our Macs and iTunes and all, to be really shoddy in relations with its developers — oh, the bitter wails we heard in our online Mac-consumer magazines.  Not just 3rd-party app development companies and freelancers, but also consumers.  So, I take much of what I read below with a grain of salt — except for the astronomical statistics — that I can believe, given the day and age and Apple's consummate inventiveness.  But, hey, what I'm reading about in Apple subcontracting companies abroad, as in China, does not give Apple's outsourced manufacturing operations very hi marks, rather very low marks.  Apple will not discipline its supply chain, which includes the notoriously labour exploitative Foxconn and its closed campuses and dormitories where it packs China's internal immigrants from the former farm areas, many coming from remote places where the farm families no longer can survive and the next generation swarms from agrarian subsistence to wage-labour in factories of monotony.  Foxconn become famous for its series of suicides among young workers.  And Apple has been taking the heat.  With grandiose condescension and some elegant PR hype, Apple announced a small tokenistic program of manufacture in North America where new young workers in its plants coud get the itch to organize themselves into labour unions.  But that woud be a dangerous strategy, as long as Apple coud quickly pull the plug on the home-grown manufacture of its  of-so fabulous products.

— Technowlb, refWrite Backpage technics newspotter, analyst, columnist

App Store tops 40 billion downloads 

with almost half in 2012

Record-breaking December with over two billion downloads

 CUPERTINO, California―January 7, 2013―Apple® today announced that customers have downloaded over 40 billion apps*, with nearly 20 billion in 2012 alone. The App Store℠ has over 500 million active accounts and had a record-breaking December with over two billion downloads during the month. Apple’s incredible developer community has created over 775,000 apps for iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch® users worldwide, and developers have been paid over seven billion dollars by Apple. 

“It has been an incredible year for the iOS developer community,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “Developers have made over seven billion dollars on the App Store, and we continue to invest in providing them with the best ecosystem so they can create the most innovative apps in the world.”

In 2012, the husband and wife team at Imangi Studios saw their game Temple Run downloaded more than 75 million times; Backflip Studios and Supercell, two emerging game development studios, brought in over $100 million combined for their leading freemium titles DragonVale and Clash of Clans; and emerging services including Uber, Flipboard, HotelTonight, and AirBnB attracted millions of users on iOS. Companies including Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Autodesk, Marvel and Major League Baseball continued to expand their iOS offerings, while developers like JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot Interactive and Bottle Rocket Apps continued to push the boundaries of what iOS apps can do. 

“The success of our game Temple Run in 2012 was nothing short of astonishing,” said Keith Shepherd, co-founder of Imangi Studios. “We were simply looking to create a game that was fun and easy to play, but once it hit the App Store, the game took off. This past year, we saw more than 75 million downloads of Temple Run on iOS.”

“Our success on iOS has been incredible,” said Samir Hanna, vice president of Consumer Products for Autodesk. “We set off with the modest goal of bringing SketchBook to iPhone users as a way of introducing them to Autodesk. Fast forward three years, we now offer 20 apps to iOS users that have achieved more than 50 million downloads, and we continue to roll out new creativity and design tools that appeal to both professionals and consumers.”

“The App Store provided us with opportunities beyond our wildest dreams,” said Bad Robot Interactive’s JJ Abrams. “Our app Action Movie FX was designed to bring Hollywood special effects to anyone’s self-made video, whether that be on an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, and we’re just thrilled that millions of fans around the world were as excited as we were about the possibilities that this app brings.”

“Bottle Rocket Apps now employs over 100 full-time employees, dedicated to nothing but building great apps,” said Calvin Carter, president of Bottle Rocket Apps. “In my 20 plus years in technology, I have never seen such a vibrant marketplace for software like the App Store.”

Apple offers developers a wealth of resources and tools to help them make great apps, plus a robust ecosystem and marketplace which provide customers a safe and easy way to discover them. Apple also provides developers great ways to monetize apps including in-app purchase, subscriptions and advertising, and helps market and support developer efforts in the App Store and beyond. 

The revolutionary App Store offers more than 775,000 apps to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users in 155 countries around the world, with more than 300,000 native iPad apps available. App Store customers can choose from an incredible range of apps in 23 categories, including newspapers and magazines offered in Newsstand, games, business, news, sports, health & fitness and travel.

*40 billion unique downloads excluding re-downloads and updates. 

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.