“The developer of desktop software that lets users listen to their iTunes libraries from any broadband Internet connection now has a similar tool for the iPhone and iPod touch that eliminates storage limits,” Aidan Malley reports for AppleInsider.
“Called SimplifyMedia, the app by the company of the same name uses a companion app for Mac, Linux, or Windows systems to share iTunes songs and playlists from both the user’s own computer and any of 30 friends the user marks as friends,” Malley reports.
“Using the iPhone app itself is characterized as seamless and attaches visual song data as well, including album art and lyrics associated with each track,” Malley reports. “Importantly, the software isn’t limited to a Wi-Fi connection and will work (albeit not as quickly) over 2G and 3G cellular Internet access.”
Malley reports, “DRM-protected iTunes purchases won’t stream through the program.”
More info in the full article here.
YES! You guys need to get this now. It simply works period!!!
Get it while it still exists; this one won’t last once the music industry hears about it.
Sucks that it won’t play music purchased off iTunes though. That’s a bummer. Guess I’ll be shopping at Amazon from now on.
Great!
Oh, wait.
Why would I need to stream from my home computer when all my songs are on my 16 gig iPhone 3G already?
Not sure if this app is so great, unless you have a very large music collection that you purchased legally of course…..
it really works – it is effing amazing to tap into your home iTunes library via iPhone, even via EDGE
what is striking is the new ecosystem of iPhone and the range of apps that have been spawned
Poor deluded Growl?
You’re aware that MILLIONS of DRM free songs are available on iTunes, aren’t you?
Millions of other people are aware that you can buy DRM free tracks on iTunes, as millions of other people ARE buying millions of DRM free tracks on iTunes, so put your FUD back in your pants where it belongs.
@elgruga: The point is, with this, you no longer need to waste all that space on your iPhone holding songs you aren’t listening to at the moment.
Well unfortunately, NONE of the music I have purchased off iTunes happened to be DRM-free, and I’ve spent about $40 on music since buying the iPhone 3G. If I had known this would be a problem down the road, I would have bought the tracks off Amazon.
Maybe all of your songs are distributed under the EMI label…but none of mine are, so go fuck yourself with a rusty icepick.
Mmmmm- rusty icepick
yeah baby.
” … I’ve spent about $40 on music since buying the iPhone 3G …”
Whoa dude, what’s next? I Am Rich?
Couldn’t get this to work last night. It showed up as a shared library in iTunes, but the iPhone could never get past searching for the available computers. Maybe there’s some kind of Leopard-specific firewall issue.
Hmmm, the good news is that my ~40 GB music collection is finally available on my iPhone. The bad news is that a significant chunk of this is DRM protected music bought on iTunes. If the *$*%)*^^ music cartels would get their heads out of their collective asses and let me have my music sans DRM, perhaps I could listen to everything that _I bought_. Ahem….
I’m still getting over the fact that someone found $40 of songs worth downloading – oh hang on – they do at least have some Trivium. Man some people just got money to burn… (All sarcastic of course, though I do like Trivium)
Trivium?
I thought that was a new drug that simultaneously treats heartburn, depression and erectile dysfunction.
Can’t get it to connect…It just sits.
Disclaimer: Please do not perform the action with a rusty icepick that Growl has suggested above. It would be very unsafe and likely harmful to your health.
This has been a public service announcement from HelpfulCitizen. Over and out.
Why would anybody pay for compressed versions of compressed music stored on a fragile medium?
You have only yourselves to blame. Buy vinyl. Or at least don’t broadcast your stupidity.
pr
Sounds like you need some Trivium….
I should have said:
Buy vinyl, rip the record to 320kbps AAC files and store the album away someplace safe.
Or buy CDs. At least they sound better than AAC files.
At least when you tire of the music you can sell them. Ya know, like as in you paid for something real? Not just data.
I’ve never bought from the iTunes store. Bought hundreds of CDs through the years. Like to play them LOUD over my Sony system. Choose the tracks I like, put them on iPod, then shuffle, aahhhh. Collect requiems, kirtans, bhajans, mantra recordings. Have a Bose speaker dock for old iPod mini.
But when I really want to hear something great LOUD and FULL throughout the house I pop in the CD, ooooooooooo yeah!
raskol, in case you hadn’t noticed (and how would you when you’re spending so much time being all high-and-mighty):
Vinyl is a fragile medium.
Tape (whether reel to reel, 8 track, or cassette) is a fragile medium.
CD’s are a fragile medium.
Hard drives, tape drives, flash drives. All are fragile. There are no guarantees. Your collection can be destroyed by fire, water, time or theft. Frankly, what method you use to store your collection is an individual choice.
Also, due to the modern destruction of the economic system, CD’s aren’t really worth much to sell anymore. You can get $3-5 for something that’s really in demand. Anything less than rare or in demand, you’re lucky to get the value of the jewel box.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my vinyl, and I love good sound. But like most people, I’m much more interested in convenience than elitism for the sake of perfect sound.
As for broadcasting my stupidity, I’m not too worried what a bunch of posters on a goofy website think of my intelligence, just as you don’t seem to care what they think of your personality.
Cheers
Cool app, I like the info and lyrics as well. Even if they charged $5 this would be a great app. I am using it over my LAN, it’ll be interesting to see how it works over the WAN.
Now, I’ll have to rethink my music library. I can offload the music on my laptop, and leave it all on a Mac harddrive connected at home, that serves as a Home Theater Mac.
“Sucks that it won’t play music purchased off iTunes though”.
So convert to mp3, or AAIF, Apple Lossless. whatever you want.
All you IDIOTS! who keep making DRM seem like a problem need to come to grips with how EASY it is to deal with this “problem” IF it ACTUALLY is a problem. Good lord, how long has the “burn it to CD and then re-import it back to iTunes” solution been out????!!!!???? For crying out loud! Again, if IF! you actually have so much DRM laden music that some wayyy cool app like this is hobbled by the playback limitation then burn it and reimport it! Sheesh.
(and BTW, don’t gimme any flack about havin’ to buy CD’s – like they’re all expensive and stuff…save a bit from this weeks allowance ya’ dweeb, and buy a stack. Burn and import once and poof you’re done – problem solved, have a good day.)
MDW – united
as in “United we Trolls and Ignoramuses will continue to trudge through life bitching and complaining about stuff and what’s more? NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT! WHEEEEEEEE!!!!”
great concept…i only wished it actually worked on 3G, Edge or WIFI…so far I am still watching it “buffering” which it has been doing for the last 5 hours. Ok, to be fair, I did get it to work for about half of a song 5 hours ago, now still buffering waiting for the next song.
@Sorry, gotta get harsh here… (and anyone else):
And remember, there are apps out there (can’t think of the name offhand) that will let you burn to a virtual disc then re-import. Wish I could give you the name, but anyway, look for it… then you don’t even need to waste a disk, and it’s super slick and automated!
If you use this over a phone network, doesn’t this eat up your data limit pretty quickly? I’m looking at the AT&T;iPhone site right now, and the two plans available are 20MB and 50MB. That isn’t very many songs a month!
Nevermind! I see now, that was _international_ data plans… US is apparently still unlimited.
Carry on then.
I don’t get it…why can’t they just require authentication with our iTunes passwords so that we can stream our purchases. Not just music, but video and apps as well.
Personally, my music isn’t the issue. I travel a lot and like to keep my TV shows with me for entertainment. I can only bring a limited number because of the 8GB size of my iPhone. And, as for apps, I don’t know what I am going to do because I have run out of home screens. All are used up minus the bottom row on each page. I don’t like icons there because it is extremely hard to switch pages.
This app would be great if they could get it to do this, but, until then, its pretty useless to me. All the music I have that is non DRM I can fit on less than a quarter of my iPhone.
This is really a killer app. I hope one day we can do video on this thing. This thing works great on Edge. Just remember to select one type preferred connection when moving out and about. Switching between WiFi/Edge/3G tends to bring the lengthy buffer around. Hopefully the excellent developers can work on getting that a bit more robust. Otherwise, this is a killer app.
Those having issues making it work: You have to install the companion app on your computer first. Also, if you have a large library, it takes a while for it to scan to see what’s shareable.
They will start demanding “broadcast” payments now. The music industry, that is. Like if you were a podcaster or radio station. So many pennies per song, every time it’s played. They see it less as a more convenient way to carry your property with you and more as a way of sharing their property. DRM or no DRM, who said you could share their property?
I’m not sure where I stand on this. With the sharers, I believe. They are not providing their buddies with a copy of the song they can play as they will, just allowing temporary access, like letting them listen to your CD in the comfort of your home.
Actually, DLMeyer is close to the bulls-eye. The Bronfman’s want you to pay every time you listen to a track. This is their grail, the “subscription from hell” model. They view the artist, the data, and your ears as their property.
Resistance is futile. Prepare to be assimilated.
Then again, Apple’s 1984 commercial comes to mind…