August 28, 2012
When you connect an iOS device to your computer in order to sync it, the device will appear in the left-hand column in iTunes. Select it and you can then use the tabs that will appear across the top in the iTunes window to customize the content you want on that device. You can choose all of a content type (all movies for instance), particular items, or use particular rules (for example, "3 most recently unwatched movies") to determine what gets synced. iTunes will remember the settings for each device and use them when they're connected, even if they belong to users with different Apple IDs who are using the same library. And of course, you can change the settings whenever you select the device in the left-hand column.
August 21, 2012
The free iTunes U app gives you access to the world's largest online catalog of free educational content on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch--more than 500,000 lectures, videos, books, and other resources on thousands of subjects from Algebra to Zoology from education and cultural institutions in 26 countries--including Stanford, Yale, MIT, Oxford, UC Berkeley, MoMA, the New York Public Library, and the Library of Congress. Now in version 1.2 you can take notes while watching or listening to video and audio content, and the notes will automatically remember where you were when you took them. (And the playback speed can be changed with a tap.) In addition you can now search among and within all the courses in your iTunes U library by swiping down to reveal the Search icon, tapping it, and entering what you're looking for. You can also share your notes and latest course discoveries with friends using Twitter, Mail, Messages, and Printing via the Share button.
August 14, 2012
Not so long ago, you needed your computer and portable devices to be directly connected to the speakers and screens you wanted to play their content on. AirPlay frees you from that need, allowing you to stream audio and video via Wi-Fi from your iTunes library to AirPlay-enabled devices--like Apple TV, audio systems from a variety of manufacturers that have AirPlay built-in, and systems connected to an AirPort Express on your Wi-Fi network. iTunes on the computer and the Music, Video, and other apps on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch automatically detect AirPlay-enabled devices on the local Wi-Fi network and present them for you to choose from. Tap or click it and pick the system you want to send the stream to. You can even pause while you're in one room, then tap AirPlay again to pick a different system in another room and tap Play.
