January 2024
AppleScript Bug or Feature in iTunes 7.7.1
I think I have found a rather unusual AppleScript bug (or perhaps feature; one never knows) in iTunes 7.7.1. It affects several scripts that may need to reference a track using a persistent ID. When attempting to reference a single track with a whose clause, the track reference is returned coerced as a list. This requires that an additional step be taken to extricate the single item (the track reference) from the list. I have filed a bug report. It is reproducible with this script:
tell application "iTunes" set t to item 1 of selection set p to (get persistent ID of t) log ("p: " & p) set the_track to (some track of library playlist 1 whose persistent ID is p) -- the result is a list (* {file track id 33083 of library playlist id 10591 of source id 46} *) log the_track end tell
iTunes 7.7.1 Released
Apple has updated iTunes to version 7.7.1. As many people have already noted, the information from Apple about what's new is particularly unforthcoming. However, this TidBITS article has a few findings.
Join Together v5.3 Released
I've just released Join Together v5.3. This AppleScript Studio application automates the process of joining the files of selected iTunes tracks together with QuickTime and exporting them as a single AAC Music or Audiobook file/track. Optionally, you can create a "chapterized" audio file of the exported AAC file with pointers to the individually joined tracks.
Join Together comes in two flavors:
The basic version of Join Together is free and always will be. It has the same or better features--and performs as well or better--as it ever has without restrictions. Most users will find the free basic version of Join Together satisfactory for their track-joining needs.
Join Together Plus is an optional shareware upgrade that provides additional pre-flight and post-op features that have been requested by power-users. You can upgrade to Join Together Plus from the free basic version for US$7. This is to cover development and support expenses, which, in turn, helps make Join Together work better for everybody. See Join Together's Help pages for more information on its Plus features.
Updated in v5.3:
- Added disc number and disc count tags for final track
- Added "Track Names to Chapter Names" menu item [Plus version]
- Fixed error in "Finished!" dialog [Plus version]
- Updated GUI
- Updated Help pages
- Performance enhancements
Visit the Join Together information and download page.
Buy These
I mentioned previously that we moved and I had to set up My Stuff in a new place. We're apartment renters and we are now on a second floor. Having been a first floor-er for thirteen years I know how unintentionally noisy the second floor people can be (although the guy who was compelled to pace back and forth while on the phone Must Die). In order to ensure as little noise as possible from my studio gets downstairs I have been investigating speaker isolation materials. I highly recommend these Auralex MoPADS babies whether you have sound encroachment problems or not. They will totally isolate your speakers from whatever you have them in contact with. Not only do they isolate your speakers from reverberating through the floorboards, wallboards, studs, rafters, and so on, they will improve the sound of your speakers. I use Behringer TRUTH B2031A as studio monitors and using the Auralex MoPADS not only reduces acoustical coupling but the damn things sound incredible--almost as if they were suspended from the ceiling, which is what we did at radio station studios. So, go to.
iTunes 7.7 Released
Apple released iTunes 7.7 overnight last night. This latest version is primarily designed to work with the new App Store. I had a quick look at its AppleScript dictionary this morning over coffee and found two new artwork properties: description and raw data. There could be other AppleScript changes and/or fixes, but I'll have to give it a better workout to find out.
Back In The Saddle, Nearly
My wife and daughter and I have just finished moving all our stuff from our place in Providence, Rhode Island to a new place in Newton, Massachusetts. Now that about ninety-percent of the move is finished we can proceed with the remaining ninety-percent: un-packing (can't wait to recoup that extra twenty-percent that must be floating around somewhere). I have yet to set up my studio/work area properly, so it will still be a day or two or three before all those emails I said I would reply to actually get thoroughly replied to.
On another note, a concern that some Correspondents have reported is that Apple's ChapterTool UNIX application that is required for some tasks with Join Together is no longer downloadable from the original Apple coordinates. I am working on getting more information about this and developing a suitable workaround. Just so you know.