You're absolutely right, so if you have the patience, I'd like to make the reasons for my concern more apparent. I hope it isn't overkill.

I had downgraded to iTunes 6 -- I repartitioned my drive last month and used the opportunity -- because of the newest iTunes "feature" mentioned by tlarkin and you, above. The iTunes mini-store is absent from 6. (After loading the system from the DVD, I ignored Software Update's iTunes upgrade.)

I have never found iTunes cookies, probably because I have never purchased any songs from the store. (I also have the freebie search application EasyFind, with its invisible-file search turned on by default. I periodically use it to search for cookies, not necessarily invisible. But I doubt iTunes would plant invisible cookies, and I doubt invisible cookies would work, anyway.)

I keep my machine free of cookies automatically with AppleScripts. I use scripts to restart and shut down the machine, and other AppleScripts to quit Firefox and Safari. I've used such scripts since the days of System 7 or 8, not the built-in restart and quit commands, because in addition to quitting an application or restarting and shutting down the machine, each script automatically trashes and deletes the browsers' caches and cookies, histories and lists of downloads, as well as the cookies that are planted by Acrobat. These same scripts also trash and delete any "recent" files created by Stuffit, along with BBEdit Lite's clipboards. Each time my machine and the browsers start, all this detritus is gone. This is why I can be certain there were no cookies in my machine.

As well, cookies were not turned on when I visited Pandora because the site was an unknown. I do not turn cookies on unless I am posting a message or I am on other sites that require them, such as banks. I prefer Firefox because I use the extension PrefButtons that allows me to turn cookies on and off immediately from a toolbar at the top of the screen.

This is why I was so surprised when Pandora presented its offerings of such obscure songs of interest to so few people, and while running the iTunes application that has most of the songs in its library that Pandora played and all the long-gone bands that it suggested I try.

You're forgetting about Flash cookies. These are not stored with Safari's cookies or cache, but somewhere else entirely. Use this site to display and delete any Flash cookies you have on your computer: http://www.macromedia.com/support/do...manager07.html There should be one there for pandora.com. Delete that one and go back to Pandora and see if it really starts playing music without any kind of input.

Alternatively, you can see where these cookies are and delete them in the Finder: Navigate to user/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player

I have 2 folders in there, one saying "#SharedObjects" and the other "macromedia.com". Both contain a list of folders named after sites that use Flash, such as pandora.com and flickr.com, and inside these folders are Flash cookies/prefs. Obviously, Pandora is still using the Flash cookie it put there the first time you went to the site.

Delete that folder using Finder (or use the website link above to delete it), and go to Pandora again. It will be just like the first time you went there, and it should ask you to enter a song or artist you like. From then on, it will keep that information (stored in that Flash cookie) and start playing music you like everytime you go to Pandora again afterwards.

My guess is that you went to Pandora a long time ago and entered the artist you like, then recently went there again, and since you still had that cookie, it remembered what music you like, and it automatically started playing.

Hope that clears things up.:)

It is also absent from iTunes 6.04 (the latest version and the version I am running) if you click on the "hide" button or set it to hide in iTunes preferences.

FireWired, thank you for that! The Flash files mean more if-then-trash-it additions to the AppleScripts. I wonder if they'll load now without a dump truck. I'll have to look for the Flash cookies in my System 9 partition, too, and if there are any add the new if-thens to those scripts. I hope Shockwave doesn't use separate cookies. More searching.

That would explain it, but I'll swear on a stack that I'd never been to Pandora before, only since I discovered this thread. And I've wiped the drive and reloaded Tiger from the DVD a bunch of times since Panther, the last a month ago. Maybe there's some kind of link from it to other sites, such as redhotjazz.com, though that seems way left-field. Oh well.

hayne, I had set the iTunes store on hide and set Little Snitch to block the app, as it still does, but I feel more secure with the older version, as long as it will run with the system updates yet to come, thereby keeping all them paranoids at bay. :D

I am willing to bet your library is being tracked by the ITMS, simply for demographic purposes, and that is how it suggests music to you. Lots and lots of things are tracked that way these days, even when companies say they don't. Software updaters scan your HD all the time to get your configuration and versions so it can update needed software. It is also generating a report on the other end as well. Things like error logs and such that are meant to help the developers fix issues, but at the same time they are still tracking your information. On an enterprise level I don't mind at all really, on a personal level I don't really like any type of software doing that. It is a personal opinion.

Yes, I am aware of this.


I was guessing off of information given. He/she was asking for help and I clearly stated it was a guess, but I would need more info. It is part of the troubleshooting process, it is a process of elimination. Presented with more information one could better assume, or eliminate as a possibility. I clearly stated it was a guess, and that is how it should be taken, as a guess.


Of course it was a windows machine. QT and itunes already come natively in the OS and every mac users uses both. My new HP buisness class laptop is much faster than my ibook so I use it as my main mobile machine. Plus it is a 12" and I run windows/Linux on it (dual boot). Since both already come natively on Mac OS X, there is no reason to bundle the install, the mac users are already using it. However, all the windows users out there that aren't running either application natively are now forced to run both if they want to choose to run one. Which is why I installed the QT alternative instead, and it works great and takes up less resources. This is the same sort of thing MS and other large software companies do to users. I am totally aware of the seperate installer for the mac side.

How many users on this forum use a different media player that iTunes? Does anyone on this entire forum use a different audio player? I am pretty sure that is why the windows version is bundled, and I did not like that.

It isn't clear what you are talking about, but if you are referring to the iTunes MiniStore, then yes - that is what I meant about it being obvious. And here's what Apple says (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303066) about the MiniStore:
But in most cases you don't need to take their word for it - you can monitor exactly what is being transmitted to the company with something like Ethereal. And usage of Ethereal confirms that nothing is being sent to Apple when you make normal (MiniStore hidden) usage of iTunes.

Forced to install both perhaps, not forced to run both.
I personally don't care about Windows so I wouldn't really care if Apple forced you to buy an Apple-branded mouse to use QuickTime and/or iTunes on Windows or whatever. But there might have been good technical reasons for bundling these two installers on Windows - most users will want both and having them bundled makes it easier for that majority of users - e.g. maybe there are technical problems if iTunes is installed before QuickTime, etc. (Note that the QuickTime install supplies some system libraries, not just the QuickTime Player application.) I recall some problems earlier with the Windows iTunes install.

See this other thread: http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=49735

hmm interesting thread...

I am checking it out now, thx

what kinda music does it play??

Pandora determines what kind of music you like and plays that genre after you type in a song or artist name of your liking.

(Sorry about bumping this thread, just wanted to answer seapru's question.)

Use PandoraJam to stream your music.
 

It's not illegal! You may use PandoraJam, which is a really cool application.

http://www.bitcartel.com/pandorajam/

Yes, I'm aware the thread is more than 3 years old but I couldn't help myself. All threads need closures so they can RIP:)

bleh...only works in america