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September 8, 2007 12:19 AM PDT
iTunes 7.4.1 released, disables ringtone trick
Apple has released iTunes 7.4.1 which appears to serve no purpose other than disabling the trick that allowed files renamed with an .m4r extension to be used as ringtones without separate purchase under iTunes 7.4 (released earlier this week).
Meanwhile, iToner -- a tool for transferring ringtones to the iPhone without hacking or jailbreaking -- has been updated (version 1.0.1) to resolve an issue where ringtones transferred by it were deleted by synchronization with iTunes 7.4.
UPDATE: The free transfer method works again. Here's how.
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I agree Apple is in the middle, and has to keep both consumers and the labels happy.
I disagree about paying twice for a ringtone. It's legal for me to make mix tapes or CDs out of songs I own, for my personal use. Customers expect it--iTunes burns mix CDs. It's also legal, under the same Fair Use rules, for me to make any song I own into a ringtone, again for my personal use. Apple has just shown it is highly motivated to block users' legal rights.
I wish I had known this when Steve was promising more features to come with future software releases. Even my old, non-smart phones would use my MP3 files as ringtones, so why not a $600 Apple phone?
What's next? iToner has already broken once, less than a week after its release, even though it was supposedly immune from software upgrades.
Apple has a business to protect with the copyright holders: iTunes sales. Other ringtone suppliers don't care about a long-term relationship with music companies. So Apple's position has merit. As to whether one should pay 99c twice, that's certainly open for argument.
As for iToner being "immune to software updates," that's just silly talk. Any update can cause iToner or any other app to fail, whether we're talking about iPhone, MacOS X, or Windows.
In addition to hamstringing users trying to enjoy their legally-obtained music (or sound) clips, Apple and their partners are being short-sighted on this issue. The average user is going to buy far more content from the iTunes store, compared to the potential number of ringtones. Why antagonize these customers for what amounts to a very minor percent of sales? My wife and I have bought well over a thousand dollars worth of content from iTMS. Why jerk us around trying to capture an undeserved profit on half a dozen ringtones?
Isn't it enough to be alerted by any sound available that someone wants to speak to you?
Isn't it rather immature to need a hundred different ways of being so alerted... a cult, fetish, trendiness?
And if it leads to system- or application-compromising weaknesses, actually to be deplored?
The appeal is that they are making money on it, there are tons of people buying them at $2.50, $3 and up for a 30 second snippet. It's all about the Benjamins.
I agree, most ringtones just ridicule the phone's owner. There are a few funny ones but their appeal quickly wears off. Maybe something natural like a sneeze or a cough would be unobtrusive enough.
I don't any "fancy" ringtones myself but if your in a room or whatever the location happens to be and there are many phones and your phone rings with the same ringtone as everyone else it is a little annoying you cannot tell who phone is ringing. I believe you should have the right to add some personality to your phone so you know which phone is ringing.
IMHO, I think Apple charging you for a song you have and paid for and then charging your for it as an ringtone is not right. You already paid for this song and the ring tone is converted melody of the song. I assume they are charging you for the conversion process but people like iTone should have the right also to convert the song you already have, again paid for, to make it a ringtone. It is up to the consumer to make a decision to give Apple the money or have iTones do it.
Anyone who has iTunes and music and Bluetooth and who has NOT figured out how to 'record' a 10-second clip of a song to use as a ringtone is just out of touch and deserves to be paying money for those ringtones that do not come with the phone.
Being able to identify who is calling by the ringtone is very helpful. It does not require one to have to read the name of the caller. Each 'welcome' caller has his own unique ringtone on my phone.
Anyone without the three required items (iTunes, music and BT) should learn to get along with what is installed in the phone. Why PAY $1 or more for ringtones?!
- by September 8, 2007 3:01 PM PDT
- http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=4152941&postcount=3
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