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EXCLUSIVES

SHHHHH! > Here are Some Not-So-Secret iTunes Secrets

by Jone Devlin

So you've got this iTunes thing down pat, right? Your playlists are organized by letter of the alphabet, release date, artist, and genre. You've got every song you've ever listened to and liked loaded and in multiple versions no less, and your visualizer is capable of going through more gyrations than an overheated lava lamp on a Saturday night. So what more is there for you to accomplish in this world of iTunes? Well, actually, quite a bit.

iTunes, like all of Apple's products, is a multi-faceted, easy-to-run application that knows no boundaries beyond which its users cannot pass. To those dedicated individuals who want more than just, well, more, iTunes can help you make sure that the coolest thing on your iPodor Mac goes way beyond your contents list.

The first thing we're going to tell you about is Advanced Audio Coding, or AAC. This mechanism enables users to compress files much more efficiently than they can by using MP3 or other, older compression systems, while still being able to hear clear, high-quality, uncompressed sound.

Getting your iTunes to AAC is pretty easy. First, open iTunes from your applications folder and then click on preferences on the iTunes menu bar. From preferences select Advanced, and then click on the Importing icon. Once in the Importing area change your Import Using setting to AAC Encoder. Save all future downloads as AAC files.

The good news is you'll have a lot more room for all the music, movies, videos and TV shows that you love. The bad news is, since AAC is a relatively new program, it might not be supported on some or all hardware platforms.

Now that you've got your downloads all neatly compressed and nicely set up, why not share them? iTunes 4.1 lets users share music between PC and Mac computers and, naturally, it's really easy to do! Select Preferences from the iTunes menu bar and then select Sharing. Click the Sharing textbox and you and your old school friends that still insist on using a PC are good to go!

So now you've got your stuff compressed, neatly sorted, and ready to share. Pretty cool, right? But how about how it's gonna look? Well, guess what, there are secret ways to do that that are pretty cool, too.

Click the Visual Effects button in iTunes main window and press H to see all the commands. You already knew that, you say? Well did you know this? If you press B you'll be able to see the Apple logo in the middle of your visualizer. To make it disappear press H. Pressing Q and W will add a new shape to your display, while A and S will change the wave shape. Z and X pressed together, meanwhile, will change your colors.

But wait, there's more! Plantronic (formerly Octiv) makes a Volume Logic plugin that is compatible with iTunes. This plugin enables users to automatically control the volume and balance of music played. Users claim this makes digital remastering a reality for all iTunes audio - as well as keeping you from having to adjust the volume on your iPod every time a new tune plays.

Some other cool "secret" effects users can generate on iTunes are: Go to About iTunes on the menu bar and hold down the Option key. This will make the credits reverse scroll.

In iTunes 4.7 or higher there is a feature called "Show Duplicate Songs" that allows users to free up space by getting rid of things they didn't remember they'd already downloaded.

Users can download a freeware program called "Fetch Art for iTunes" that will fetch album art for one or more songs using Amazon's XML interface. Best of all, this program allows user to preview the art that was "fetched" before downloading it. So there you have it - some not so secret secrets for maximizing your use of iTunes. Check them out, use them, amaze your friends, and, most of all, have fun!