How to use myTunes

The best way to describe it is that it�s basically like a D.C. for iTunes. Before you do anything though, you have to agree that you will not download music illegally from myTunes. The program ensures that this message is read because it has a ten second time delay with this message before it allows you to use the software, but that�s only a minor inconvenience.

It�s also simple and to the point. The same startup menu tells you all the instructions you�ll need to get the music that you want. The same startup screen also gives you a crash course in using myTunes (which is more like a soft landing course since there really isn�t much to know). Two blue arrows means it�s currently connecting, a green check means a successful connection and a red X means that no connection could be made.

The speed is that of what you�d expect when downloading from a network, so there�s no major drag time and I couldn�t really find anything that bugged me about the program.

The GUI�s intuitive and not unlike your typical file sharing program. It�s separated into four main window panes. The connected computers are showed on the left while your download directory�s shown on your right. The large middle window pane displays the songs of the computer that you�re connected to and underneath shows your downloads and the approximate percentage time.

I liked the fact that you can also add songs to your iTunes once you�ve gotten them by just ticking a checkbox on the bottom right (which also launches iTunes directly after you�ve downloaded the songs). It�s got a useful search bar on top that works great and I liked the fact that myTunes doesn�t clutter things up. It keeps everything simple.

iTunes sharing made easy

Before I test out any software, I typically tend to look at the producer�s website to get a feel for what their product�s scope and goals are. After reading about Cow Pimp�s website, I was pleasantly chuckling at how he responds to his many FAQ�s. Here�s a guy that�s made a piece of software that�s completely free, small, and spyware free.

What more could you ask for? You can also hope that it works well, but that�s aside the point. I also let out a happy chuckle when I read that he isn�t making a MAC version.

myTunes Redux is a program that lets you download music made available by iTunes on your local network. It�ll work with every version of iTunes from 4.1 through 4.7. A lot of people have compared this software to ourTunes. Although it�s very similar in function, it�s essentially different in construction (since myTunes is C++ based while ourTunes is Java based).

The Good

It�s got a nice, clean interface that�s easy to use. The search functions are good, along with everything else. It does what it says it does.

The Bad

I really had no qualms about this program other than it needs to give you a choice of which computers you want to connect to, not all at once. Since iTunes typically allows only five myTunes users to connect per day, this might screw up your ability to share music for the rest of the day. Maybe expand it to fit more than two operating systems?

The Truth

Cow Pimp himself doesn�t care whether or not you use his software as long as you give it a try. It�s a good program that deserves a shot, but make sure it�s not a popular program at your work since you won�t be able to look at iTunes shares if more than five people are using it.

Check out the pics below.