Apple to develop iTunes for Windows

Apple Computer is developing a version of its jukebox software for Microsoft Windows-based PCs. According to a job posting on the company's Web site, it is looking for someone to design and build "Apple's newest Consumer Application, iTunes for Windows."

The Mac maker said on Monday that it would extend its music service to Windows-based machines by the end of the year, but did not explicitly say that it would do so through a Windows version of its iTunes. The service, named iTunes Music Store, is currently only available to Macs.

When Apple released its iPod for Windows, it chose to bundle jukebox software from MusicMatch with the portable MP3 player rather than to release a version of iTunes for the Microsoft operating system.

Nonetheless, the iTunes application is an integral part of the Mac version of the music service, being the software that allows people to play music, buy songs and transfer them to an iPod. In order to sell music to play on Windows machines, Apple clearly needs either its own software or another program to fulfill these functions and to manage copying restrictions.

News source: ZDNet UK