Convert titles from the internal format to MP3(iTunes)

               You have purchased various songs in the iTunes store. As these are coded in Apple’s M4A or M4P format, the titles can normally be played only in iTunes or with an iPod.

               It’s possible to convert audio files in MP3 format directly from iTunes. For this, you only have to adjust the import settings. Open “Edit | Preferences” command and then select “General” category. Here, click the “Import settings” button. Now in the “Import using” combination field, change the setting to “MP3 encoder”. Confirm both open dialogs with “OK”. Open the media library or any playlist and select the desired title with the [Ctrl] key pressed. Then right click on it and select the context command “Create MP3 version”. For all newer files, this option should work, as Apple is doing away with the old and much criticized DRM protection of its files since some time. If some of the files cannot be converted, it probably concerns older DRM-protected M4P files. Collect these problematic cases in a separate playlist. Then right click to the left of this list and select the context command “Burn playlist on medium”. In the next dialog, make further settings for burning. As the format, select either “Audio CD” or “MP3 CD”.
                For the conversion process, you will however have to use the expensive disk. Or you can use softwares like NoteBurner or Virtual CD, to burn a virtual CD without a medium. After the procedure, you will either have an audio CD, a medium with MP3s or the images developed from virtual burning. Insert the disks or mount the images to copy down the music again, or to rip it.

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Upgrade Media Player with useful additional functions(Windows XP, Vista, 7)

              You use Media Player 11 to play your music files, but you still miss some functions, like the option to edit tags of the individual files comfortably.
              Despite its varied menus and functions, Windows Media Player does lack some useful features. These can be obtained with the free Media Player Plus plug-in. It is available for free download from www.softonic.com.

              To install it, close the Media Player and then start the program file ‘WMPPlus- 2.1.exe’ by double clicking its entry in Explorer. Follow the instructions of the setup wizard and then start Windows Media Player. You will immediately reach the settings of the new plug-in, some of which are already activated by default. In the ‘Library’ category, you will find the activated option ‘Enable find as you type’, with which you can directly type a search query like modern browsers. Besides, activate ‘Disable group headers in the Library Pane’ to view a continuous ungrouped list as in Media Player 10. In the ‘User Interface’ category, the display of the current title is already activated in the title bar, and can be individually configured here via variables. In the ‘Context menus’ field, all elements should be activated. With that, you will have access to an extensive ‘Tag Editor Plus’ in the Media Library in the future via a context menu.
              Furthermore, you can activate the ‘Restore last active playlist’ option in the ‘Restore Media at Startup’ category. The program properties can then be controlled more precisely with the other activated options. With that, the Media Player continues playing the files at exactly that location or a few seconds before the last ending point, when you start it next. This is mainly useful in case of videos and films, but can somewhat delay the start time. ‘Party Shuffle’ finally delivers a party mode with selectable random playing of files. Confirm the configuration with ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’.

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