Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, El Capitan Edition

iTunes

iTunes is the ultimate software jukebox (Figure 19-22).

The first thing to understand is that iTunes is three apps in one. It’s designed to organize all the music, videos, apps, and ebooks in three places: (1) on your computer, (2) on your i-gadget, and (3) in Apple’s online store.

Apple loves to play with the design of this program; every couple of years, it gets another overhaul. The following pages describe version 12.

Figure 19-22. iTunes can play music CDs; tune in to Internet radio stations; load up your iPod, iPhone, or iPad; and play music files (including those in the Internet’s favorite format, MP3). It can also turn selected tracks from your music CDs into MP3 files, so that you can store favorite songs on your hard drive to play back anytime—without having to dig up the originals.

In this version, it’s not always clear when you’re looking at the stuff that’s already on your computer—or the stuff that’s on the iTunes Store. The icons at top left (, , and , and so on) affect what kind of file you’re viewing; the buttons at top center affect whether you’re looking on your computer ...