Site is Slow to Load
My hosting company is experiencing some server trouble and as a result--so they report--access to the site will be slow through the day on January 18 while they effect repairs. Sorry about that!
iTunes 7.6 and QuickTime 7.4 Released
Apple has released updates to iTunes and QuickTime. I'll be on the lookout for AppleScript features and post info when necessary.
Interesting and Interestinger
This article at TUAW indicates an update for iTunes and possible details of iTunes-compatible files appearing on FOX DVDs. FOX has a site which seems to confirm it.
Lifehacker's 23 Best iTunes Add-ons
Thanks to Adam Pash at Lifehacker for including this site in their 23 Best iTunes Add-ons list. The list includes eleven Mac apps/utilities, eight for Windows, and four for Windows/Mac.
Macworld Deals With Dupes
Nice blog-post mench of Dupin by Mr. C. Breen over at Macworld.
Dupin v1.2 Released
I posted an update to Dupin on Monday, but wasn't able to get around to mentioning it here. Dupin, as you may know, is an application that helps you manage your iTunes duplicates. Updated in Dupin version 1.2:
- Added Preference to toggle Keeper designation as checkmarked (default) or un-checkmarked
- Added Preference to use bit rate rounding to account for ABR-encoded AAC files
- Added "Customize Toolbar..." menu command in View Menu; moved "Show/Hide Toolbar" to View Menu
- Added notification when updating Playlists popup
- Corrected error thrown by .MID files
- Revised code syntax interpreted ambiguously under OS 10.4 (Tiger)
- Revised label text in Filter Controls window
- Fixed problem during Purge if source Playlist had been re-selected
- Fixed rare problem causing hang-up while switching Spaces or applications during Purge
- Updated Help pages
- Minor performance enhancements
Many thanks to the Dupin beta-testers with the wicked pimped-out computer configurations.
Dupin v1.1.4 Released
Doug's AppleScripts for iTunes has released Dupin v1.1.4, the iTunes duplicates manager. Dupin is an application that assists with locating, sorting, filtering, and deleting duplicate tracks in iTunes.
See Dupin in action. Watch the Dupin video tutorial presented by ScreenCastsOnline.
Updated in version 1.1.4:
- Changed keyboard equivalent for "Delete" function to Command-Delete, added "Delete Selected from Dupin" menu command
- Added "Sort by Dupe Groups" toolbar button
- Redressed issues with AAC files encoded using ABR
- Fixed problem with moving files from striped RAID to Trash
- Fixed rare problem with listing playlists
- Fixed rare problem causing inaccuracies when filtering by "Volume"
- Fixed rare problem causing inaccuracies when filtering by "Shortest Filename"
- Minor performance enhancements
This update is free for registered users.
With Dupin you can:
- Quickly find all sets of duplicate iTunes tracks based on your choice of criteria
- Select the "Keeper" tracks from among a number of duplicates automatically using a variety of versatile filtering options
- Purge duplicate tracks from iTunes and send files to the Trash
- Manage intentionally duplicated tracks
- Copy tracks to new iTunes playlists
- View duplicates in non-loaded libraries created with iTunes' multiple library feature
- View duplicates in iTunes libraries on other machines on your local network
- Sort tracks and view track info
- Export a list of duplicates to a text file
- Locate tracks in the Finder and in iTunes
- Audition tracks
In addition, Dupin features:
- Familiar iTunes-like interface
- Robust Help
- Ample keyboard shortcuts
- Visual progress feedback during operations
- Customizable toolbars
- Optional update checking
Am I Being Ripped Off?
I invite regular visitors of this site to have a look at the descriptions for this app and see if they are not virtually identical to many of the scripts I offer here. I gave the developer of this app permission to use one single snippet of code in one script of mine. Do you think that they over-extended my generosity?
...And Until That Bug Is Fixed
I mentioned yesterday about the High ASCII bug in iTunes that prevents Chapter titles containing High ASCII characters from displaying in the Chapters menu of iTunes 7.5 (note that I still have yet to get a real confirmation on this). As far as Join Together is concerned, you can avoid the error caused by High ASCII in track titles by eliminating those kinds of characters in the track names in the Join Together Track List. As I mentioned yesterday, I have a fix for the error in Join Together, but because of the alleged iTunes bug, you won't have access to those titles in iTunes 7.5.
Join Together and High ASCII
I have gotten a couple of reports from users of Join Together regarding an error that occurs right when chapterizing begins. Turns out that ChapterTool was choking on High ASCII characters in the track names (?, ?, ?, ?, and so on). This error only occurs in Leopard, and I have fixed the problem. But I am hesitant to release an update just yet because it turns out that iTunes 7.5 willl not display titles containing High ASCII in the Chapters menu. At least not at my house. QuickTime will display the chapter titles, and iTunes 7.4.1 in Tiger will, but not iTunes 7.5 in Leopard.
I'd like to try to nail this down. Unfortunately, I don't have any joined files created in Tiger that have High ASCII characters in the chapter titles. What I need to know is if joined files created in Tiger display their titles correctly in iTunes in Leopard. If you can be of assistance, please email me.