| iTunes was launched on 10th January 2001 as a solution for playing and organizing digital music and other video files. Over the years, the program has developed and included new functions to provide media solutions for all the apple ipod as well as the latest iPhone. Later versions of the iTunes software include the ever-popular iStores online application that allows you to download stuff of the internet for a charge. The software gives the user complete control over your music and allows him to modify his library according to his needs. Users can create playlists to manage their music according to their needs, moods, activities etc. many people have created libraries such as “romantic songs”, “gym”, “sessions” and “party songs”. The latest Smart Playlists allow users to create live updates on their playlists using as many criteria that they want. This is ideal to optimize the memory storage on your apple ipod as well as the iPhone. In addition to the playlists, the software also creates a library of all the songs that you have. The library contains all the metadata regarding a song like artist, genre as well as technical data such as how many times a song has been played. Other software such as iDVD, iMovie and iPhoto also access the library for their purposes. Other features include the cover flow app that has the album art regarding each song; and the iMix that creates playlists that are published on the iTunes Store. Over the years, several updates and plug-ins have been created to cater to the increasing level of development of the apple ipod in the market. With the launch of the video ipod, video supported was added to the iTunes in version 4 which let the users manage their videos with as much control as the audio files. With the visualization plug-in, you can create music-driven visual displays; and with the device plug-ins, you can get support for additional devices. Another innovative and useful feature is the podcast which can be subscribed to using iTunes Stores. Podcasts (the video podcast is referred to as a Vodcast) can also be managed using smart playlist options. It was initially used to share music and playlists; but now new ways of using are being discovered e.g. disseminating information around the office, imparting education and communicating with other users. iTunes is also very useful if you want to sync apple ipod with other players. There is the option of automatic syncing can be used if you want to transfer all the contents of the library onto your device. The option of manual transfer is ideal if you don’t have enough space on your device and want to transfer only selected songs. The range of file formats that the iTunes software support is diverse including Mp3, AIFF, MPEG-4 and AAC. This software is kind of a must-have if you have an iPhone and a iPod. In other words, your apple device absolutely useless unless you have this software to optimize its performance.
| 
