iTunes Match is quite possibly one of the best moves that Apple has made in the music realm. It is also one of the best uses of Apple’s new iCloud service.  If you are unfamiliar with iTunes Match, here is a quick summary of what it is:

iTunes Match is a feature of iTunes in the Cloud that allows you to access your entire personal music library from any computer with iTunes 10.5.1 or later installed or any iOS 5.0.1 or later device with an active Internet connection. iTunes Match requires an annual subscribtion of $24.99 a year. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of your subscription. Once you have subscribed to iTunes Match and matched or uploaded your eligible music, you will be able to access your music in iCloud directly from within your iTunes Music library, or the Music Player app on your iOS 5 device.

Also, if you are wondering about the specifics about iTunes Match, here ya’ go:

• iTunes Match is limited to 25,000 songs.
• iTunes Store purchases made with the same Apple ID being used for iTunes Match do not count towards the 25,000 song limit.
• Unmatched content will be uploaded as is; upload time varies depending on the amounts uploaded and local network speeds.
• Song files over 200 MB will not be uploaded to iCloud.
• Songs containing DRM (Digital Rights Management) will not be matched or uploaded to iCloud unless your computer is authorized for playback of that content.
• Songs purchased outside of the United States iTunes Store containing DRM (Digital Rights Management) will not be matched or uploaded to iCloud.
• Songs encoded in ALAC, WAV, or AIFF will be transcoded to a separate temporary AAC 256 kbps file locally, prior to uploading to iCloud. The original files will remain untouched.
• Songs encoded as AAC or MP3 with a bitrate lower than 96 kbps will not be matched or uploaded to iCloud.

To turn on iTunes Match

1. Simply download iTunes 10.5.1 or later
2. Choose Store > Turn On iTunes Match.
3. From the main screen, click “Subscribe for $24.99.”
   
4. Once you subscribe to the service, you will see the following screens:

Have you gotten iTunes Match yet?  If so, what do you think about it?  Comment below!

Recorded: October 28, 2011
It’s the all-Apple edition of “New Stuff”, where this month’s panel talks about the new iPhone 4S, the new iCloud strategy, and the life and death of Apple founder Steve Jobs.  The panel also speculates whether residing so close to the North Carolina Apple Data Center gives them any special “insight” into Mac rumors.

Show host Lee Yount (www.catawbacounty.gov) brings together a group of fellow “MESH-Heads” for this month’s episode, including MESH founders Mary-Margaret Baker and Alan Jackson (both from Jackson Group Interactive, www.jginteractive.com) and “Free Range Chicken Thinking” experts Houston Harris and Ryan Carroll (with Pixelspace,www.pixelspace.com).

Listen to the Show

We just may have a clue as to what the $1 billion, 500,000 square foot Apple Data Center in Maiden, NC will be used for. On Tuesday May 31st, 2011 Apple sent out a press release announcing that they will be unveiling “Next Generation Software” at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote on Monday, June 6th at 10:00 am PDT. In the press release, Apple announced “iCloud, Apple’s upcoming cloud serves offering”.

At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software – Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS® X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad®, iPhone® and iPod touch®; and iCloud®, Apple’s upcoming cloud services offering.

Read the full Press Release here

Without speculating too much, some of the rumors of this service have been, streaming music, syncing your media in air between all your devices, etc.  Is this something that you think will be useful?

Here is a flyover of the Apple Data Center in Maiden, NC:

On July 6th, 2009 Apple Inc. made an announcement in Maiden, NC that they would be building a large data center with plans to build a phase 2 data center.  I was there with my camera and here are the photos from that event:

The communities surrounding Hickory, NC and Lenoir, NC are ready for Google!  (and to let everyone know who we are)  Spawning from the Woogle Hickory-Lenoir initiative, some of the folks involved have decided to put together a web portal to highlight what our area has to offer.  If you are interested in the Hickory / Lenoir, NC area visit http://hickory-lenoir-nc.com.

Citizens of the Hickory / Lenoir, NC area are encouraged to tell their friends, family, and co-workers about http://hickory-lenoir-nc.com .  Visit the site often to view announcements, community events, and even leave a comment to let everyone know what you think about a post.