iTunes 6.0.2 and QuickTime 7.0.4 Released -- Alongside Mac OS X 10.4.4 last week, Apple also updated iTunes and QuickTime. iTunes 6.0.2 is now a universal binary and adds the capability to broadcast to multiple AirPort Express base stations, stability improvements, and a new MiniStore feature that displays the day's top purchases and specials from the iTunes Music Store in a pane at the bottom of the screen. It also displays suggestions based on what's currently playing. The MiniStore met with immediate criticism from privacy advocates that iTunes was improperly sending personal information to Apple; an unnamed Apple official stated to Macworld magazine that the MiniStore doesn't collect any information from users. A new button in the lower-right corner of the iTunes window can hide the MiniStore, which disables the feature and doesn't transmit any information about what's being played.

<http://www.apple.com/itunes/>
<http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/editors/2006/01 /ministore/>

According to Apple's download page for QuickTime 7.0.4, the update provides bug fixes, support for iLife '06, and H.264 improvements. The update is available via Software Update or as a 49 MB download. However, Apple also posted the QuickTime 7.0.1 Reinstaller for QuickTime 7.0.4 (a 20.4 MB download), which removes the latest version and downgrades to 7.0.1. The reasoning for the latter utility is a bit of a mystery (not helped by Apple's minimal release notes), but some discussions at Apple's support site indicate compatibility problems with DiskWarrior 3.0.3 and a few other issues. So, at this time we can't recommend upgrading to QuickTime 7.0.4 until we know more; hopefully, Apple will shortly offer detailed information or a fix. [JLC]

<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/ quicktime704.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/ quicktime701reinstallerforquicktime704.html>