Can you get iTunes for non-Apple products?

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

A band I like have just released their latest EP on iTunes and nowhere else. Can I use iTumes with my PC or Android phone?

[OldLadyKnowsNothing]

I have iTunes in my Windows PC, so yes.

[BadgersPaws]

Yes.

It's easiest if you Android phone can play MP4 (or AAC) files but even if it can't iTunes can convert the music into MP3 format that will play just about anywhere.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Thanks for that! Asked DH but he seems to think that EPs come on vinyl and you buy them from Woolworths .

Will be downloading the EP later .

[BadgersPaws]

"Asked DH but he seems to think that EPs come on vinyl and you buy them from Woolworths"

Is his name Gordon? And we all know what Gordon is :)

[Snorbs]

iTunes on Windows is a bloody horrible piece of software. When you start installing it watch out for it trying to also install Safari (Apple's own-brand web browser). It will also install loads of crap add-ons to allow it to discover anything else running iTunes in your home as well as to get it to work with an iPod/iPhone. If you don't need them then you'll probably want to disable all that. It will also try to associate pretty much any and all media file types with itself which can cause big problems.

Then when you have iTunes actually installed it will try to copy all your existing stored music files into its own format. If you're running low on disk space this is sodding ridiculous unhelpful.

For what it's worth, in the last few years of running Windows machines the only piece of software I've installed that crashed Windows entirely was iTunes.

I'd recommend creating a system restore point, installing iTunes, downloading what you want, copying it somewhere safe then restoring the system back to a time before you'd installed iTunes.

[BadgersPaws]

If iTunes were that shocking an experience on Windows then iPhones wouldn't be as popular as they are...

By all means give Apple a sound kicking when they do produce a pile of rubbish, and personally I'll put Safari on Windows under that category it's awful, but iTunes is the front end to the whole Apple experience for a lot of Windows people. It's good sense for Apple to make it at least semi-decent....

"It will also try to associate pretty much any and all media file types with itself which can cause big problems."

This is an option, it won't do this if you tell it not to and it's pretty clear about it.

"Then when you have iTunes actually installed it will try to copy all your existing stored music files into its own format."

It will only do this if you tell it to after the install, and even then the default settings are to leave the music where it is and to not copy it again.

if you want a slim iTunes install then just do this...

1. Download the installer from Apple and run it.
   
2. On Installation Options uncheck "Use Itunes as the default player for audio files" (unless you do want all music to play through it) and "Automatically Update".
   
3. Let it install and then open it, agree to the license.
   
   And that's it really...
   
   I really wouldn't worry about the restore business, I've installed and uninstalled iTunes a number of times and never had problems.

[Snorbs]

Fair enough. I found iTunes on Windows to be rude in what it tried to do, excessive in what it installed (have you seen all the Bonjour and iPod-related services and autorun-processes it silently installs?) and exceedingly fragile. It reminded me of the worst days of RealPlayer. But YMMV, of course.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Will be downloading it tonight now, we've got a car trip tomorrow so it would be good to listen to on the way. Well for a bit anyway, EPs don't really last that long do they? [hsmile]

[startail]

iTunes on my PC is a pain in the arse, it is forever wanting to update either it's self or the iPod software. It chanters for an hour and then times out. Sometimes it simply won't open at all. It deserves a < pile of shit icon>
(if only for the amount of moaning I have to listen to from DH when he has to fix it. He's a Unix hacker, he hates Windows and he's getting to hate Apple even more. Horrible nosy in deli able, in comparable pains pity my iPod touch is so sexy)

[startail]

You see iPod auto correct even knows when you are insulting it