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MACDRIVE

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 17, 2006
1,695
3
Clovis, California
Seriously though, I really have no clue. I know they get stored in iTunes library, but I don't know how they get there. Apple says you can purchase songs for 99 cents, but how? :confused:
 
It's 50% voodoo magic and 50% 1337 intarweb haxx0ring.

iTunes installs 2 million songs onto your HDD but they're really, really compressed so they take up very little room. Then if you want to buy a song you open iTunes and tell Apple your credit card details. They then analyse your current music collection and determine whether you're worthy of owning that song. If you are they populate the empty bytes of the song on your HDD with real data and BAM, you have a song.
 
MACDRIVE said:
Seriously though, I really have no clue. I know they get stored in iTunes library, but I don't know how they get there. Apple says you can purchase songs for 99 cents, but how? :confused:


Um I think it's called downloading lol. All they have set up I pressume is a gate that wont let you download until you paid via cc which causes electric confirmation. Or it's somthing similar to that.
 
Chundles said:
iTunes installs 2 million songs onto your HDD but they're really, really compressed so they take up very little room.

So if they're compressed, does that mean they're poor sound quality?
 
MACDRIVE said:
So if they're compressed, does that mean they're poor sound quality?
I hope you realized he wasn't serious...

...but No. Song bought through the iTMS are compressed at 128 Kbps in AAC format.

According to Dolby Labs:
  • AAC compressed audio at 128 Kbps (stereo) has been judged by expert listeners to be “indistinguishable” from the original uncompressed audio source.
  • AAC compressed audio at 96 Kbps generally exceeded the quality of MP3 compressed audio at 128 Kbps. AAC at 128 Kbps provides significantly superior performance than does MP3 at 128 Kbps.
  • AAC was the only Internet audio codec evaluated in the range “Excellent” at 64 Kbps for all of the audio items tested in EBU listening tests.
Link
 
MACDRIVE said:
So if they're compressed, does that mean they're poor sound quality?

No, they're a special type of compression called "empty data." You know how all data is just ones and zeros and the computer knows how to interpret those to make it into something useful right? Well, empty data means that all those ones and zeros are there, they're just outlines of ones and zeros instead of solid characters. Because of all the space in there they can be compressed right down to almost nothing. When Apple grants you a song, it sends the selected song an order to start filling in the outlines - almost like colouring in a stencil - and the song begins to appear.
 
Thanks to everyone for the above information! :)

I just now got back from the Apple site, and I think they are telling me to purchase an iTunes music card. That way I won't have to use my credit card. Right now my cc is inactive. I'm trying to keep it that way. :)
 
That's easy, you just write the names of the songs you want on the CD neatly on the label-side of the CD and then hold the disc in front of the screen. The computer will recognise the songs and tell the empty data (yes, it's on the CD too) to populate it's stencilled binaries. Takes about two minutes.
 
Chundles said:
That's easy, you just write the names of the songs you want on the CD neatly on the label-side of the CD and then hold the disc in front of the screen. The computer will recognise the songs and tell the empty data (yes, it's on the CD too) to populate it's stencilled binaries. Takes about two minutes.

I think I'm starting to catch onto you Chundles. :p
 
Chundles said:
No, they're a special type of compression called "empty data." You know how all data is just ones and zeros and the computer knows how to interpret those to make it into something useful right? Well, empty data means that all those ones and zeros are there, they're just outlines of ones and zeros instead of solid characters. Because of all the space in there they can be compressed right down to almost nothing. When Apple grants you a song, it sends the selected song an order to start filling in the outlines - almost like colouring in a stencil - and the song begins to appear.

Your above quote made perfect sense to me. I hope you were serious about it; otherwise, I'm in trouble. :)
 
MACDRIVE said:
Your above quote made perfect sense to me. I hope you were serious about it; otherwise, I'm in trouble. :)

Trouble, right here in River City....

That post of mine was sheer, unadulterated bollocks.
 
MACDRIVE said:
I looked up "bollocks" at Wikipedia. They're saying the word means - nonsense. :eek:

And nonsense it is. Utter garbage. Extruded via my fingers, through the keyboard to the forums from the vast recesses of my mind.
 
Chundles said:
And nonsense it is. Utter garbage. Extruded via my fingers, through the keyboard to the forums from the vast recesses of my mind.
...And then converted into hollow ones and zeros to be converted into an image on your screen in empty data.

:)
 
thegreatluke said:
...And then converted into hollow ones and zeros to be converted into an image on your screen in empty data.

:)

Only if you're worthy.
 
*grumble grumble*
:mad:
iTunes service is not available in my country, and the largest music retailer/downloads do not support macs.
The bastards!

In fact, to use musica's download service you have to be running XP and IE.
No exceptions.

So, I have never downloaded/purchased musc online.

grrrrrrrrr :mad:
 
Cloudgazer said:
*grumble grumble*
:mad:
iTunes service is not available in my country, and the largest music retailer/downloads do not support macs.
The bastards!

In fact, to use musica's download service you have to be running XP and IE.
No exceptions.

So, I have never downloaded/purchased musc online.

grrrrrrrrr :mad:
By "RSA" you mean the Republic of South Africa, right?

Well, it's rumored that you guys will be getting an iTunes this year.

Hopefully Apple does this :)
 
MACDRIVE said:
Your above quote made perfect sense to me. I hope you were serious about it; otherwise, I'm in trouble. :)
Well, if you are serious about your computer illiteracy perhaps we should step back a second and start with the real basics.

Anyone have a copy of the System 7 Tutorial Disk (the Hypercard Interactive one)? MacDrive could really use it.
 
To the OP: It requires three things to happen....

1. An Internet connection
2. A rank of at least 20 in either the Magician or Priest classes
3. Selling your soul to Satan

Those are the minimums, it's a lot better with the recommendeds.
 
Chundles said:
It's 50% voodoo magic and 50% 1337 intarweb haxx0ring.

iTunes installs 2 million songs onto your HDD but they're really, really compressed so they take up very little room. Then if you want to buy a song you open iTunes and tell Apple your credit card details. They then analyse your current music collection and determine whether you're worthy of owning that song. If you are they populate the empty bytes of the song on your HDD with real data and BAM, you have a song.



Do I need to say it again....lol....you gotta stop crackin me up at work....people will think I'm not working.....lol...
 
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