Serving Bread

Second in my countdown of favorite, must-have [tag]freeware[/tag] applications.

Apple was not the first developer to release a [tag]music player[/tag], but as far as music players go, Apple has created one that is simple to use with several neat features that earns it a spot in my countdown. I am sure that most people (i.e. most of you who are reading this post) are familiar with iTunes and you probably have an iPod that works with your iTunes software. I don’t have an iPod but find myself using iTunes regularly.

Here are some things I like about [tag]iTunes[/tag] and why (if it’s not) it should be your default music player:

1. It is easy to create playlists. In fact, there are options where iTunes creates automatic playlists based on the kind of music you listen to and what it finds on your computer.
2. When the music is playing, it has beautiful visualization.
3. The way music is sorted makes it easy to find what you are seeking.
4. iTunes’ integration with the Apple store makes it easy to purchase music and videos.
5. iTunes allows an easy way of sharing your music on the network. I love this feature. I have my iTunes running on my server (that has all of my music), and I can access my music on my other computer anywhere in the house
6. Create your own iMix. If you think you have the best playlist, you can publish it as an iMix and make it available in the iTunes store for the rest of us to enjoy. For example, I have an iMix of a Bible Study series I did–Faith and Hip Hop (looking at Jesus, faith and the message of Hip Hop), inspired by Jesus and the Hip-Hop Prophets: Spiritual Insights from Lauryn Hill and Tupac Shakur

If the above reasons are not convincing enough, try playing around with the latest version of Windows Media Player. I consider myself somewhat computer savvy and I am still at a loss as to how to get WMP 11 to work. There is nothing intuitive about it. And the worst part is that Microsoft took the things that were familiar and worked well in previous versions of WMP, and hid them or got rid of them.

iTunes will probably be my default music player for a while, and though there may be software like Winamp that are decent (with features and configurations not found in iTunes), iTunes’ integration of the music store gives it an edge over any of it’s competition.

Download here.

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