Apple Computer Inc. on Wednesday encouraged users of its iTunes jukebox software to upgrade to the latest version, available from the company’s Web site. As of today users of iTunes 4.2 or lower will not be able to purchase or download songs from the iTunes Music Store, but Apple says the new innovative features are well worth the upgrade.
“As of today, customers will need to use one of the three most recent versions of iTunes — 4.7, 4.6 or 4.5 — to continue purchasing and downloading songs,” Apple said in a statement given to MacCentral. “iTunes 4.7 is a free download and includes innovative features such as iMix, Party Shuffle, CD Insert Printing, and support for the complete line of iPods including the new iPod Photo.”
According to statistics provided by Apple, the upgrade from version 4.2 affects very few users.
“Less than 5 percent of all iTunes customers are using the old iTunes 4.2 version, so asking them to upgrade to the free iTunes 4.7 is no big deal,” said Apple.
Apple last updated iTunes during last week’s iPod event with U2 in San Jose, Calif. The main new feature added support for iPod Photo, which was introduced at the event, but iTunes 4.7 also gives users the ability to show duplicate songs in the music library.
Users of iTunes 4.2 or lower will receive a message when they try to access the iTunes Music Store asking them to upgrade to the latest version. The page also lists many of the new features from the last few releases of iTunes including iMix, CD Insert Printing, Party Shuffle and more.