Still Downloading
It’s been 24-hours and I’m still downloading files. 178 files have already download, which were mostly video files, but I still have 1632 left to go.
iTunes
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iTunes Rescued & Weighed
My external drive which was the home of my iTunes library crashed a few weeks ago and NO, I didn’t have it backed up. I need to get a Drobo, but the first order of business was to see if iTunes would allow me to retrieve any of my past purchases.
I sent an e-mail to tech support and after a few days they sent back a reply stating that they would make an exception and allow me to download my files on a one-time basis.
Michael, iTunes Store Customer Support will let you download (at no charge) all the titles you purchased on this account that are still available. This does not include any item that has been modified or removed from the store since you purchased it. Please note that you may download your purchases only once, so this is an exception.
So I’ve begun the process of re-downloading what is still available to me as you can see in the image below.
A screenshot of my iTunes software downloading 1812 items.
I’m extremely grateful that iTunes support made this exception and allowed me access to 1812 files, but it’s also a little disconcerting. There were an additional 637 that were modified in some way so that they are no longer available to me. What disturbs me is not the fact that there are 637 items that I lost, but that my total iTunes files equals 2449. In other words, I’ve spent over $2000 in the iTunes store.
Of course that’s not including the 900+ CDs I have, so I’m beginning to think that I might have a problem. 
Return of the “B-Side”?
Just last week, Dan and I were engaged in a little music trivia and the topic of “B-Sides” came up. I lamented that it was a shame to lose the B-side because I discovered a lot of music that way, but that there was no digital equivalent. Well, I guess I spoke to soon.
Today iTunes announced that they have added a new “D-45″ to the music section [iTunes Link]. Their prices range from $1.49 – $1.99, and you get two songs for that price. Right now there are over 20 different artists to choose from and the range is pretty wide.
Personally, I like this idea, but it seems kind of pointless. The B-Side died with the CD, so this seems like too little to late. What do you think?
The Future Of Download TV Looks Very Bright
I’ve written in the past how much I enjoy Broadcatching, but since that article it’s become harder and harder to use BitTorrent to successfully download content. On the other hand, it could also be that broadcatching has the same hurdles it always had, but I’m just now finding it tedious. Whatver the case, downloading TV isn’t what it use to be back in the day – like 9 months ago. Of course, I’ve also been a big proponet of the broadcasters selling their content online via download. In fact, for the record, I wrote about the viability of this content distribution channel back in May 2005. So you can imagine my elation and sense of validation when Apple announced that they were now distributing television via iTunes.
In case you missed the announcement, Apple released its next generation iPods and one of the new features was the ability to play videos. In addition, they announced that they were now making available for sale music videos and select television content from ABC and Disney. This was HUGE news, because it was the first step in what will probably become an avalanche of content. For now though, there’s only 3 shows from ABC (Lost, Desperate Housewives, and Night Stalker) and 2 from Disney (That’s So Raven, and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody), but with those two large networks signed up, it’s only a matter of time before other broadcasters belly up to the bar.
Now I could lose myself in the possibilities and the excitement of what’s to come, but given that the menu that is currently available for TV is fairly small, I think I’ll refrain. Why? Because it’s clear that the powers that be want to make sure that this model is viable. By releasing only three shows a piece, the broadcasters clearly want some proof before they go whole hog and provide more content. I was expecting to have to wait six months before the results came out, but Apple announced on October 10th that they had sold over 1 Million videos in 20 days. Whaaa?!? :O