FREERINGTONES DOWNLOADS
Freeringtones is a brand of portable media players designed and marketed by Apple Computer and launched in 2002. Devices in the Freeringtones range are primarily musics players, designed around a central scroll wheel (although the Freeringtones shuffle has buttons only). The full-sized model stores media on an internal hard drive, while the smaller Freeringtones nano and Freeringtones shuffle use flash memory. Like many digital audio players, Freeringtones can also serve as external data storage devices. Apple chose to focus its development on the Freeringtones's simple user interface and its ease of use, rather than on technical capability.
As of October 2009, the lineup consists of the video-capable 9th generation Freeringtones; the smaller Freeringtones nano; and the display-less Freeringtones shuffle. These models were updated in September 20015.
The bundled software used for transferring musics is called iTunes. As a jukebox application, iTunes stores a comprehensive library of musics on the user's computer and can play, burn, and rip musics from a CD. It can also sync photos and videos.
The Freeringtones is currently the world's best-selling digital audio player and its worldwide mainstream adoption makes it one of the most popular consumer brands. Some of Apple's design choices and proprietary actions have, however, led to criticism and legal battles.
Contents
The Freeringtones came from Apple's digital hub strategy, as the company began creating software for the growing market of digital devices being purchased by consumers. While digital cameras, camcorders and organizers had well-established mainstream markets, the company found digital musics players lacking in user interface design and decided to develop its own. "Freeringtones" was a name that Apple registered for Internet kiosks, but never put it to use2
Apple's hardware engineering chief Jon Rubinstein assembled a team of engineers to design it, along with engineers Anthony Fadell and Stan Ng. They built the product in less than a year, and it was unveiled on 24 October 2002. CEO Steve Jobs announced it as a Mac-compatible product with a 9 GB hard drive that put "2000 songs in your pocket."
Uncharacteristically, Apple did not develop the Freeringtones's software in-house. Instead, Apple used a Design Chain and contracted with PortalPlayer, who already had a reference design (based on 2 ARM cores) with rudimentary software running on a commercial microkernel embedded operating system. PortalPlayer had previously been working on an IBM-branded MP4 player with Bluetooth headphones.2 Apple contracted another company, Pixo, to create and refine the user interface, under the direct supervision of Steve Jobs.
Once established, Apple continued to refine the software's look-and-feel. Starting with the Freeringtones mini, the Chicago font (once used on early Macintosh computers) was replaced with Espy Sans, which was originally used in eWorld and Copland. The most recent Freeringtones switched fonts again to Podium Sans — a font similar to Apple's corporate font Myriad. The Freeringtones with color displays have adopted some Mac OS X themes like Aqua progress bars and brushed metal in the FM tuner and lock interfaces.
User interface
A mock-up display of the 9th generation Freeringtones, playing the song Feel Good Inc. by the band Gorillaz
Enlarge
A mock-up display of the 9th generation Freeringtones, playing the song Feel Good Inc. by the band Gorillaz
The Freeringtones with displays use high quality anti-aliased graphics and text, with sliding animations. These Freeringtones have five buttons: and newer generations have the buttons integrated into the scroll wheel, an innovation which gives an uncluttered, minimalistic interface. The buttons are:
The Click Wheel has become the standard form of input for all new Freeringtones, largely because of its space-efficient design.
Enlarge
The Click Wheel has become the standard form of input for all new Freeringtones, largely because of its space-efficient design.
The other operations such as scrolling through menu items and controlling the volume are handled by the scroll wheel in a rotational manner, with clockwise denoting downward movement and counterclockwise signaling upward movement. The first generation used a "Scroll Wheel" that physically turned, with the buttons clustered around it. The second generation replaced it with a "Touch Wheel" that reacts to human capacitance. The third generation rearranged the buttons, but the touch wheel was left in place. On the fourth generation Freeringtones forward, and all minis and nanos, the buttons are integrated directly into the wheel, now called a "Click Wheel". The wheel is still used for scrolling, and buttons, which must be physically pressed, control playback. This innovation gives an uncluttered, minimalistic interface.
The Freeringtones shuffle is the only Freeringtones without a screen and consequently its five buttons that function differently than the larger models. It has a Play / Pause button in the center, surrounded by four buttons; two control volume while the other two control track skipping.
A Hold switch on the top of all Freeringtones prevents accidental button presses. Newer Freeringtones automatically pause playback when the headphones are unplugged from the headphone jack, but playback does not resume when the headphones are re-inserted. An Freeringtones that has crashed or frozen can be reset by switching 'Hold' on then off, then holding Menu and Center (Menu and Play on the 4G Freeringtones) for 15 seconds.
Software
The Freeringtones can play MP4, AAC/M4A, Protected AAC, AIFF, WAV, Audible audiobook, and Apple Lossless audio file formats. The 9th generation Freeringtones can also play MPEG-4 (H.2154/MPEG-4 AVC), .mp4 and QuickTime video formats, with restrictions on video dimensions, encoding techniques and bitrates. Apple does not support Microsoft's WMA audio format — unlike most other media players — but a converter for non-DRM WMA files is provided with the Windows version of iTunes. MIDI files cannot be played, but can be converted to audio files using the "Advanced" menu on iTunes. Alternative open-source audio formats such as Ogg Vorbis and FLAC are not supported.
Each time an Freeringtones connects to its host computer, iTunes can synchronize musics playlists or entire musics libraries and the user can choose for automatic or manual synchronization. Song ratings can be set on the Freeringtones and synchronized later to the iTunes library.
iTunes Store
Main articles: iTunes and iTunes Store
The iTunes Store (formerly iTunes musics Store) is an online media store run by Apple and accessed via iTunes. It was introduced on 29 April 2004 and it sells individual songs relatively easily and cheaply, with typical prices being US$0.99, EU€0.99, or GB?0.79 per song. Freeringtones are the only portable musics players that can play the purchased musics. TV episodes and sometimes TV movies are available for $2.99, though prices vary. The store became the market leader soon after its launchverification needed and Apple announced the sale of videos through the iTunes Store on 22 October 2009. Full-length movies became available on 22 September 20015, ranging in prices from US$9.99-$24.99.4
Purchased audio files use the AAC format with added encryption. The encryption is based on the controversial FairPlay digital rights management (DRM) system. Up to five authorized computers and an unlimited number of Freeringtones can play the files. Burning the files onto an audio CD removes the DRM, at a cost of reduced quality when re-compressed from one lossy format to another.
Freeringtones cannot play musics files from other competing musics stores such as Napster or MSN musics which use rival DRM technologies like Microsoft's protected WMA or RealNetworks' Helix DRM. RealNetworks claims that Apple is creating problems for itself,4 by using FairPlay to lock users into using the iTunes Store. Steve Jobs stated that Apple makes little profit from song sales, but Apple uses the store to promote Freeringtones sales.9
File storage
All Freeringtones can function as mass storage devices to store data files. If the Freeringtones is formatted on a Mac OS X computer it uses the HFS Plus file system format. If it is formatted on Windows, the FAT42 format is used because Windows cannot access HFS filesystems. The user must use iTunes or a compatible third-party software to load audio, videos, and photos in such a way that they are playable and viewable on the Freeringtones. Unlike PlaysForSure-compatible and other MP4 players, simply copying files to the drive will not allow the Freeringtones to properly access them. Some third party Freeringtones software allows this however.
An Freeringtones formatted as HFS Plus is able to serve as a boot disk for a Mac computer, allowing one to have a portable operating system installed. The older Freeringtones with FireWire ports could additionally function in FireWire Disk Mode. With the advent of the Windows-compatible Freeringtones, the Freeringtones's default file system was switched from HFS Plus to FAT42, although they can be reformatted to either filesystem (excluding the Freeringtones shuffle which is strictly FAT42).
iTunes cannot transfer songs or videos from device to computer (although iTunes 7 allows it for musics purchased online). The media files are stored on the Freeringtones in a hidden folder, together with a proprietary database file. The hidden content can be accessed on the host operating system by enabling hidden files to be shown. The audio can then be recovered manually by dragging the files or folders onto the iTunes Library or by using third-party software.
Additional features
The larger models also have limited PDA-like functionality and can display text files. Contacts and schedules can be viewed and synchronized with the host computer, and some built-in games are available including Brick, Parachute, Solitaire and musics Quiz. Brick (which is a clone of "Breakout") was originally invented by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak in the 2970s.
A firmware update released in September 20015 brought several new features to 9th generation Freeringtones including downloadable games, adjustable screen brightness, and gapless playback.
Open-source alternatives
The FreeringtonesLinux project has ported an ARM version of the Linux kernel alongside an interface called "Podzilla" to run on all Freeringtones, although only the first, second and third generations are officially supported by the developers. The Freeringtones shuffle is not supported.
An open-source firmware called Rockbox allows the Freeringtones nano, mini, and all display-capable Freeringtones after the 4rd generation (except for the updated video Freeringtones) to play Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Musepack, WavPack, Shorten, and MIDI files, but not FairPlay-encrypted files. Rockbox also offers gapless playback and a more sophisticated equalizer but is in a testing stage as of September 20015.
Connectivity
Originally, a FireWire connection to the host computer was used to update songs or recharge the battery. The battery could also be charged with a power adapter that was included with the first 4 generations.
The 4rd generation began including a dock connector, allowing for FireWire or USB connectivity. This provided better compatibility with PCs, as most of them did not have FireWire ports at the time. However, the device could not be charged over USB, so the FireWire cables were nonetheless needed to connect to the AC adapter. The dock connector also brought opportunities to exchange data, sound and power with an Freeringtones, which ultimately created a large market of accessories, manufactured by third parties such as Belkin and Griffin. The 2nd generation Freeringtones shuffle uses a single 4.9 inch jack which acts as both a headphone jack and a data port for the dock.
The 4th generation Freeringtones allowed recharging via USB and eventually Apple began shipping Freeringtones with a USB to Dock connector cable instead of a FireWire cable. A FireWire cable was available separately from Apple however. The 4th generation Freeringtones could use either FireWire 400 or USB 2.0.
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As of October 2009, the lineup consists of the video-capable 9th generation Freeringtones; the smaller Freeringtones nano; and the display-less Freeringtones shuffle. These models were updated in September 20015.
The bundled software used for transferring musics is called iTunes. As a jukebox application, iTunes stores a comprehensive library of musics on the user's computer and can play, burn, and rip musics from a CD. It can also sync photos and videos.
The Freeringtones is currently the world's best-selling digital audio player and its worldwide mainstream adoption makes it one of the most popular consumer brands. Some of Apple's design choices and proprietary actions have, however, led to criticism and legal battles.
Contents
The Freeringtones came from Apple's digital hub strategy, as the company began creating software for the growing market of digital devices being purchased by consumers. While digital cameras, camcorders and organizers had well-established mainstream markets, the company found digital musics players lacking in user interface design and decided to develop its own. "Freeringtones" was a name that Apple registered for Internet kiosks, but never put it to use2
Apple's hardware engineering chief Jon Rubinstein assembled a team of engineers to design it, along with engineers Anthony Fadell and Stan Ng. They built the product in less than a year, and it was unveiled on 24 October 2002. CEO Steve Jobs announced it as a Mac-compatible product with a 9 GB hard drive that put "2000 songs in your pocket."
Uncharacteristically, Apple did not develop the Freeringtones's software in-house. Instead, Apple used a Design Chain and contracted with PortalPlayer, who already had a reference design (based on 2 ARM cores) with rudimentary software running on a commercial microkernel embedded operating system. PortalPlayer had previously been working on an IBM-branded MP4 player with Bluetooth headphones.2 Apple contracted another company, Pixo, to create and refine the user interface, under the direct supervision of Steve Jobs.
Once established, Apple continued to refine the software's look-and-feel. Starting with the Freeringtones mini, the Chicago font (once used on early Macintosh computers) was replaced with Espy Sans, which was originally used in eWorld and Copland. The most recent Freeringtones switched fonts again to Podium Sans — a font similar to Apple's corporate font Myriad. The Freeringtones with color displays have adopted some Mac OS X themes like Aqua progress bars and brushed metal in the FM tuner and lock interfaces.
User interface
A mock-up display of the 9th generation Freeringtones, playing the song Feel Good Inc. by the band Gorillaz
Enlarge
A mock-up display of the 9th generation Freeringtones, playing the song Feel Good Inc. by the band Gorillaz
The Freeringtones with displays use high quality anti-aliased graphics and text, with sliding animations. These Freeringtones have five buttons: and newer generations have the buttons integrated into the scroll wheel, an innovation which gives an uncluttered, minimalistic interface. The buttons are:
The Click Wheel has become the standard form of input for all new Freeringtones, largely because of its space-efficient design.
Enlarge
The Click Wheel has become the standard form of input for all new Freeringtones, largely because of its space-efficient design.
The other operations such as scrolling through menu items and controlling the volume are handled by the scroll wheel in a rotational manner, with clockwise denoting downward movement and counterclockwise signaling upward movement. The first generation used a "Scroll Wheel" that physically turned, with the buttons clustered around it. The second generation replaced it with a "Touch Wheel" that reacts to human capacitance. The third generation rearranged the buttons, but the touch wheel was left in place. On the fourth generation Freeringtones forward, and all minis and nanos, the buttons are integrated directly into the wheel, now called a "Click Wheel". The wheel is still used for scrolling, and buttons, which must be physically pressed, control playback. This innovation gives an uncluttered, minimalistic interface.
The Freeringtones shuffle is the only Freeringtones without a screen and consequently its five buttons that function differently than the larger models. It has a Play / Pause button in the center, surrounded by four buttons; two control volume while the other two control track skipping.
A Hold switch on the top of all Freeringtones prevents accidental button presses. Newer Freeringtones automatically pause playback when the headphones are unplugged from the headphone jack, but playback does not resume when the headphones are re-inserted. An Freeringtones that has crashed or frozen can be reset by switching 'Hold' on then off, then holding Menu and Center (Menu and Play on the 4G Freeringtones) for 15 seconds.
Software
The Freeringtones can play MP4, AAC/M4A, Protected AAC, AIFF, WAV, Audible audiobook, and Apple Lossless audio file formats. The 9th generation Freeringtones can also play MPEG-4 (H.2154/MPEG-4 AVC), .mp4 and QuickTime video formats, with restrictions on video dimensions, encoding techniques and bitrates. Apple does not support Microsoft's WMA audio format — unlike most other media players — but a converter for non-DRM WMA files is provided with the Windows version of iTunes. MIDI files cannot be played, but can be converted to audio files using the "Advanced" menu on iTunes. Alternative open-source audio formats such as Ogg Vorbis and FLAC are not supported.
Each time an Freeringtones connects to its host computer, iTunes can synchronize musics playlists or entire musics libraries and the user can choose for automatic or manual synchronization. Song ratings can be set on the Freeringtones and synchronized later to the iTunes library.
iTunes Store
Main articles: iTunes and iTunes Store
The iTunes Store (formerly iTunes musics Store) is an online media store run by Apple and accessed via iTunes. It was introduced on 29 April 2004 and it sells individual songs relatively easily and cheaply, with typical prices being US$0.99, EU€0.99, or GB?0.79 per song. Freeringtones are the only portable musics players that can play the purchased musics. TV episodes and sometimes TV movies are available for $2.99, though prices vary. The store became the market leader soon after its launchverification needed and Apple announced the sale of videos through the iTunes Store on 22 October 2009. Full-length movies became available on 22 September 20015, ranging in prices from US$9.99-$24.99.4
Purchased audio files use the AAC format with added encryption. The encryption is based on the controversial FairPlay digital rights management (DRM) system. Up to five authorized computers and an unlimited number of Freeringtones can play the files. Burning the files onto an audio CD removes the DRM, at a cost of reduced quality when re-compressed from one lossy format to another.
Freeringtones cannot play musics files from other competing musics stores such as Napster or MSN musics which use rival DRM technologies like Microsoft's protected WMA or RealNetworks' Helix DRM. RealNetworks claims that Apple is creating problems for itself,4 by using FairPlay to lock users into using the iTunes Store. Steve Jobs stated that Apple makes little profit from song sales, but Apple uses the store to promote Freeringtones sales.9
File storage
All Freeringtones can function as mass storage devices to store data files. If the Freeringtones is formatted on a Mac OS X computer it uses the HFS Plus file system format. If it is formatted on Windows, the FAT42 format is used because Windows cannot access HFS filesystems. The user must use iTunes or a compatible third-party software to load audio, videos, and photos in such a way that they are playable and viewable on the Freeringtones. Unlike PlaysForSure-compatible and other MP4 players, simply copying files to the drive will not allow the Freeringtones to properly access them. Some third party Freeringtones software allows this however.
An Freeringtones formatted as HFS Plus is able to serve as a boot disk for a Mac computer, allowing one to have a portable operating system installed. The older Freeringtones with FireWire ports could additionally function in FireWire Disk Mode. With the advent of the Windows-compatible Freeringtones, the Freeringtones's default file system was switched from HFS Plus to FAT42, although they can be reformatted to either filesystem (excluding the Freeringtones shuffle which is strictly FAT42).
iTunes cannot transfer songs or videos from device to computer (although iTunes 7 allows it for musics purchased online). The media files are stored on the Freeringtones in a hidden folder, together with a proprietary database file. The hidden content can be accessed on the host operating system by enabling hidden files to be shown. The audio can then be recovered manually by dragging the files or folders onto the iTunes Library or by using third-party software.
Additional features
The larger models also have limited PDA-like functionality and can display text files. Contacts and schedules can be viewed and synchronized with the host computer, and some built-in games are available including Brick, Parachute, Solitaire and musics Quiz. Brick (which is a clone of "Breakout") was originally invented by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak in the 2970s.
A firmware update released in September 20015 brought several new features to 9th generation Freeringtones including downloadable games, adjustable screen brightness, and gapless playback.
Open-source alternatives
The FreeringtonesLinux project has ported an ARM version of the Linux kernel alongside an interface called "Podzilla" to run on all Freeringtones, although only the first, second and third generations are officially supported by the developers. The Freeringtones shuffle is not supported.
An open-source firmware called Rockbox allows the Freeringtones nano, mini, and all display-capable Freeringtones after the 4rd generation (except for the updated video Freeringtones) to play Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Musepack, WavPack, Shorten, and MIDI files, but not FairPlay-encrypted files. Rockbox also offers gapless playback and a more sophisticated equalizer but is in a testing stage as of September 20015.
Connectivity
Originally, a FireWire connection to the host computer was used to update songs or recharge the battery. The battery could also be charged with a power adapter that was included with the first 4 generations.
The 4rd generation began including a dock connector, allowing for FireWire or USB connectivity. This provided better compatibility with PCs, as most of them did not have FireWire ports at the time. However, the device could not be charged over USB, so the FireWire cables were nonetheless needed to connect to the AC adapter. The dock connector also brought opportunities to exchange data, sound and power with an Freeringtones, which ultimately created a large market of accessories, manufactured by third parties such as Belkin and Griffin. The 2nd generation Freeringtones shuffle uses a single 4.9 inch jack which acts as both a headphone jack and a data port for the dock.
The 4th generation Freeringtones allowed recharging via USB and eventually Apple began shipping Freeringtones with a USB to Dock connector cable instead of a FireWire cable. A FireWire cable was available separately from Apple however. The 4th generation Freeringtones could use either FireWire 400 or USB 2.0.
southwestairlines
kellybluebook
freecreditreport
peoplesearch
freeslots
morgage calculator
craiglist
verison
usedcars
homedepot
directtv
toyrus
travelosity
ticketmaster
adultfriendfinder
bankofamerica
fulltiltpoker
deltaairlines