“Though support for the feature was added to iTunes 7.4, iTunes Tagging remains one of the least-understood expansions of the iPod ecosystem—arguably, for good reason,” Jeremy Horwitz reports for iLounge.
“Developed by Apple and implemented in new iPod speaker systems by companies such as Polk Audio and JBL, iTunes Tagging enables an HD Radio tuner to record information about the currently playing track, save it to an iPod, and let the iPod’s user easily find that track in the iTunes Store for purchase,” Horwitz reports.
Horwitz takes a look at how iTunes Tagging works with Polk Audio’s new i-Sonic ES2, iTunes 7.6, and an iPod classic and explains, “Ultimately, iTunes Tagging’s obscurity is likely attributable to the high prices of HD Radio tuners, the lack of iPod family-wide compatibility, and the fact that the feature sidesteps what people would actually want—the ability to use iPods’ recording features to actually store songs—in favor of storing tags and pushing people towards purchases of iTunes Store music. But if this feature is something that interests you, it does work, albeit with a few small kinks. “
Full article here.
“A few small Kinks”,Tiny copies of Ray and Dave Davies maybe…
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Talk about a rat under your bed
I’ll bet that the four people that know about this, understand it and use it are happy with it. At this point, tagging almost qualifies as an Easter Egg.
On the small occasions that I’m in the car and listening to FM radio, if the stupid DJs would do their job and tell us what they just played, we wouldn’t need this.
It never amazes me that they play some brand new song and not tell you who it is.
To Think: From what I just read in the article, it’s primary use is to tag a song so that you can buy it later from the iTunes Store. And from what I read, there were quite a few hiccups. It sounded like a pain in the butt to use if you actually expected it to work.
I wish Internet radio would work with tagging like this.
The chances of radio playing something I would want to listen to are pretty low. That’s why I listen to my iPod contents.
It seems to me that the target audience for this product has already solved the radio problem by buying an iPod and ignoring radio.
I wish Apple would improve iTunes integration with Internet radio from all sources (who aren’t <a >Rush Limbaugh</a> or that pathetic list in the Radio Library, be they commercial radio stations, satellite radio station providers, internet streams, Live365, Yahoo, and everyone with a .FM domain.
I’m bored.
Not enough controversy today.
Uh, Rush Limbaugh uses tagging.
Obama Tagged Hillary.
Is Canada still attached to the U.S. or have we figured out how to squeeze out of the middle and let Canada and Mexico be together?
KOOL AID KOOL AID!!!!
suck on that mac dorks.
I caught my dog trying to tag my iTunes the other day. A rolled up magazine had him sorted out…
Apple will either further develop this in the future, or drop it.
Anyone heard HD radio?
I believe the kind of ‘tagging’ most people are dying to have in iTunes is more along the lines of Last.fm, Gmail, Del.icio.us, and Spotlight comments; we want descriptor tagging.
Frankly, I allowed this headline to get my hopes up, and the article dashed them again. :/
…Tag…. you’re it!
@ Ampar, about the Easter egg, one could almost get the impression that you looked at the calendar.
@theloniousMac
How about mentioning that constipated abortion called Ann Coulter. That usually gets a rise out of some people.
@Think
I couldn’t agree more about DJ’s who would rather hear themselves make a funny instead of telling you the artist and song you just heard.
I actually bought an album from iTunes because I finally realized who the artist was! I had downloaded a few free songs from a trial to eMusic (or whatever the site is called) from Vertical Horizon, and liked them. I decided to see what else the band offered on iTunes. Lo and behold, they had several songs on an album released in 1999 that I loved, but never knew who sang them. So I bought the album.
Perhaps the recording labels need to stop suing consumers and sue the DJs who won’t tell you the artist’s name. Isn’t that why they provide music to radio stations, so the artist can get free promo and sell songs?
My next car receiver will have HD and I’m hoping that tagging works as designed.
I also agree that Tagging should work with internet radio. That’s where I discover most of my new music.
” . . . one could almost get the impression that you looked at the calendar.”
Nah. Too easy.
Anne Coulter is a tagger!
“That ain’t no woman! It’s a man, man!”
Much ado about something. For all of that work for something that only a relative few will use, how about a few things I’ve been suggesting (I mean actually suggesting to Apple via warranty cards, online, etc.), for a very long time now:
1) More metering options, please, now. The Mac is, among other things, a multimedia machine and all I get are measly monochrome [essentially] undemarcated bars without much real dynamic resolution.
2) User definable dynamics tools utilizing Apple’s built-in core audio tools, from within iTunes.
3) Total rundown times for an entire list that changes to reflect what I uncheck. Having to remove a song from a list to see the total time at the bottom is not acceptable, and the static runtime at the bottom is all but useless anyway.
4) When I export a song let the duplicate show up in the playlist I’m working with instead of making me go to the master library.
Some or all of these are things that many people would notice right away, and probably really really appreciate. I know I would.
Hello! Anybody home in the Apple iTunes development department?
@think
@bizlaw
The true beauty of satellite radio, is knowing what you’re listening to. Purchased many songs from itunes after seeing the artist and title from satellite radio. AM/FM sucks after having had
both XM and Sirius.
Apple needs to better integrate the AMG database that powers the iTunes store. It would improve the linking between the radio metadata and the songs for sale in the store. Even better, they need to replace their current cddb service with AMG to allow better linking between the user’s own collection, iTMS, and radio tags.
Tagging songs you like on radio is definitely a cool idea. I’m with those before who like songs they hear but never find out what they are for a long time.
Of course this all has to interact properly with the iPod. I would go for an iPod add-on that could do HD radio. That way it would work seamlessly and would be portable in the car or when walking or running.
@Ampar
“That ain’t no woman! It’s a man, man!”
Your like a squirrel who has been playing with his nuts all by himself for too long. Do you have a “Hillary” fetish?
@Peabody
Dude those are pretty obscure requests, no offense. I’d find it hard to believe that they’d go to the top of the list, no matter how many warranty cards you’re filling out. (Apple has warranty cards? I must have set them aside with the sticker.)