I’m reading plenty of reports that iTunes is on it’s last legs and wont be supported in the next version of OSX (Catalina).
This poses a potential problem in that I use various music software that uses iTunes for it’s database management, think the like of Pure Music etc.
Has anyone else any info on this?
ITunes will still be available on Windows 10 but on Apple products it will be replaced by Apple Music and separate Apps for video, books etc this will be happening later this year, not sure how iTunes will interface with Apple Music though?
The new version of macOS increases security and separates data from system software and applications. The latter being read-only. And for data an application may have to ask for access. I have not checked the music folder yet - but I dont think they would change the format of the “database” file without good reason.
If the tools you use mess directly with the iTunes code then I doubt they will work. If they use Core Audio there should be no problem. And the iTunes “database” is somewhere in the middle.
This time Apple has really let their hair down and moved forward all over the place … contact the authors of your software, they should know by now how bad it is.
Interesting, so Apple’s OS is finally catching up with Windows NT’s code security! 
Out fishing today sir?
No, as a former systems programmer (and security specialist), I just find Apple’s claims about the lack of security of Windows to be inaccurate, and the claims of their own OS’s security to be way overblown (and always have been).
(By the way, Xanthe is a female name!)
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As someone who dislikes iTunes with a vengeance, I wonder if this means Apple will at last move to a simpler and more intuitive way to transfer things to/from an iPhone/Pad from other storage, rather than people having to use other apps…
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On the old forum I assumed you were a male when an early post I made was replied to by someone called ‘Huge Member’, I assume the second half of the name was a descriptor based on experience/posts on the forum.
(No offence intended, I just hope I haven’t mixed you up with someone else!)
iTunes had highs and lows and I firmly believe it’s got worse in recent years, iCloud features became thoroughly confusing with similarly named variants and Apple Music really messed up simplicity of old, though it was nice to get music videos in HD instead of the poor quality ones I purchased many years ago.
All the individual components seem to be gaining specific apps, and iOS devices should appear in the FInder to allow backups and syncing. Home Sharing will hopefully survive for those of us who stream downloaded purchases/home video etc to AppleTVs, though the Music app on AppleTV has been beyond woeful for years, I believe it can be enabled in System Preferences.
I struggle to see how the various iTunes Stores can survive (for media purchases at least) given the rapid uptake of streaming for all media in recent years, unless the prices go down dramatically - movie rentals will be viable I feel, but Apple really out to negotiate a decent ‘all you can eat’ streaming package for TV and FIlms not just Music to rival Netflix and regional cable/satellite providers.
Xanthe was indeed formerly known as Huge and I must say I think her new forum name is much more appropriate to the friendly, smiley person I met at the factory a few months ago…
Best
David
David, thank you for the nice compliment.
@Alley_Cat, The ‘Huge Member’ comment was actually posted by someone else (not me) with intent to insult me (the insult fell completely flat!); but indeed no offence at all taken from your post.
I do try to be pleasant, but I also don’t let people ride roughshod over me.
Apologies Xanthe, as I mentioned my intention was not to offend, I assume it was just a juxtaposition of username and forum status, or was some oddity at play?
No need for apology.
I hadn’t thought of that occurring a juxtaposition of username and forum status! oops 
Oh, excuse me miss 
Security was always a sticky point with Windows-users so it was always fun to bring it up for the long and excusing explanations that followed.
But that was never about Windows/NT … it was consumer Windows that ran downloaded/user-level code in admin-mode. If I remember MS tried to get out of that with Vista but got hurt pretty badly when developers refused to adapt and chaos followed.
I looked in the iTunes folder and the new Apple Music did something to the xml-file (database) that at least touched the timestamp. But the actual media files are untouched.
Crazy, it took me an hour before I managed to find where it went.
When I got my first mac in the 80’s the first thing I wanted to do was to format a 3.5 floppy disk. I spent lots of time reading manuals and even in AppleLink (their developer BBS) nowhere could I find any reference to a formatting app. In the end I just got grumpy and slammed the disk in and up came the box “Unformatted disk. Like to format?”.
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Hmm… most Unix (and clones such as Mac OSX) do something even worse through the BPF which runs portable code as root!
(Also in Windows a user simply can’t log on as the equivalent of Root (System in Windows). 
)
But, ultimately, the biggest security problem in both OSes is the User!
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Same here, moved to a Uniti Core to get away from the dreaded thing.
Call me paranoid, but if I used iTunes, I think I would be using a non-Apple backup to store my music library. It would be cynical to suggest that Apple would deliberately obliterate it as part of their drive to push people towards a more profitable Music subscription service, but as time goes by, local storage may at least become unsupported.
I and many others I’m certain would be incensed if Apple dropped support for syncing downloaded purchases, home video etc to iOS devices, or streaming such media to devices like AppleTV.
Apple however have a history of ‘Apple’s way or the highway’ which annoys their users, so they might go cloud only, but even they (or other services) cannot mitigate against a media company pulling their wares from the various media stores (formely iTunes!).