How to install iTunes 10 without all the additional bloatware

One of the most popular posts I wrote in 2008 was a set of step-by-step instructions to help you do what Apple doesn’t want you to do with iTunes for Windows (see Slimming down the bloated iTunes installer). Now that iTunes 10 has been released, it’s apparent that nothing has changed in Cupertino. Apple still gives its customers a monolithic iTunes setup program with absolutely no options to pick and choose based on your specific needs.
Why is that important? When you run the iTunes setup program, it unpacks six Windows Installer packages and a master setup program, which then installs nearly 300MB of program and support files, a kernel-mode CD/DVD-burning driver, multiple system services, and a bunch of browser plugins. It configures two “helper” programs to start automatically every time you start your PC, giving you no easy way to disable them. It installs a network service that many iTunes users don’t need and that has been associated with security and reliability issues.
And you wonder why I dislike iTunes with a passion that burns like the fire of a thousand suns?
That’s where this post comes in. It contains detailed, up-to-date instructions for cracking open that gigantic iTunes installer and installing just the pieces you want and need. I’ve also updated my advice for individual scenarios so that you can make intelligent choices instead of simply settling for Apple’s defaults.
To get started, you need a copy of the iTunes Windows installer, which comes in x86 and x64 versions and is available via this download page. You also need a third-party file extraction utility. WinZip and WinRAR work fine, but I recommend the free and extraordinarily versatile IZArc utility. Use the File, Open menu to extract files from iTunesSetup.exe (or, on x64 Windows machines, iTunes64Setup.exe). This screen shows the contents of the 64-bit iTunes 10 installer.

Extract those files to a local or network folder and you can run them individually, using command-line switches to control their behavior. On the next page, I describe what is in each of those installer packages.
When you run the master iTunes setup program, it extracts the following files to a temporary folder and then begins installing all of them in sequence. In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, it interrupts you for two UAC prompts.
Here’s an unvarnished description of each installer:

• QuickTime is Apple’s multimedia framework, a collection of codecs, plugins, DLLs, and several players designed to help you play back digital media files in most popular formats. The big selling point is support for the QuickTime movie (.mov) format, via the standalone player or an embedded ActiveX control. QuickTime is required if you want to use iTunes. If you don’t have an iPod or other Apple-branded device and all you want is the ability to play QuickTime files, go to Apple’s QuickTime download page and choose the QuickTime-only option (don’t select the QuickTime with iTunes option, which includes the full, bloated iTunes installer). If you’d prefer an even lighter option, try the unofficial QuickTime Alternative, which runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.
• iTunes (iTunes64 on x64 systems) is Apple’s all-purpose media player/device sync application. It is the only officially supported way to sync music, videos, and other content with Apple-branded devices, although third-party alternatives are available. iTunes also provides access to the iTunes store. If you own an iPhone or a 3G iPad, you must use iTunes to activate your device. For an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, you must use iTunes to update its firmware and sync its content with your PC.
• Apple Application Support was added in iTunes 9 as a framework for managing applications on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. It is a required component for both iTunes and QuickTime. If you remove it, or if you install iTunes without also installing this package, you’ll see the following error message.

That is, of course, a bogus error message. If you know where the individual installer package is located, you can install just that piece without having to go through the tedious full install.

• Bonjour (Bonjour64 on x64 systems) is Apple’s implementation of the open-source Zeroconf, a multicast DNS responder used to discover services on a local area network. It is installed by default with the iTunes download. I strongly recommend not installing Bonjour unless you need it. Bonjour has required patches for security issues in the past and has been known to cause a complete loss of network connectivity on Windows networks. (Yes, I’ve seen Bonjour disable local and Internet connections on Windows networks. It was not a fun troubleshooting exercise.) And a search of the Apple support forums finds dozens of recent complaints from Windows users struggling with iTunes 10 and Bonjour. Adding unauthorized peer-to-peer services on a corporate network is a distinct no-no, as a number of customers have told Apple on their support forums. (The response? Crickets.) If you want to share iTunes libraries over a network or use Apple TV, you need Bonjour. If you have a printer attached to an AirPort device, you should use Bonjour. It’s also required with AirPlay speakers and some remote control apps. However, if you simply want to play media files and sync your iTunes library with your iPod, you do not need Bonjour. iTunes will throw up an error message if Bonjour is missing. You can safely ignore that message, which will not reappear.
• Apple Mobile Device Support (AppleMobileDeviceSupport64 on x64 systems) is the synchronization framework for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad family of “mobile devices.” This package is not necessary if you use another member of the iPod family, including the Classic, Mini, Nano, or Shuffle, which sync just fine using just the basic iTunes app.
• Apple Software Update is a utility that checks for new versions of Apple software installed on your PC. It also pushes new Windows-compatible Apple software programs. Understanding how this utility works is crucial; it can and will install software you have explicitly rejected if you don’t monitor its actions carefully. Just today, for example, I updated iTunes on a Windows 7 system and Apple Software Update selected Safari and Mobile Me for installation, even though I had specifically hidden them previously. This is a behavior that Apple has been guilty of for years. It doesn’t happen on every system, but for some reason it’s an issue on this one.

The seventh file in the list is SetupAdmin.exe, the monolithic installer. You don’t need it, obviously. Oh, and thankfully, the MobileMe component, which was previously included with a full iTunes install, is now a separate option.
So how do you decide which programs to install, and how do you avoid inadvertently getting more than you wanted? Full details on the next page.
Performing a selective iTunes install involves three steps:
1. Extract the installer files you need to a local folder.
2. Run the installers with the proper command-line switches.
3. Prevent Apple Software Update from undoing your careful work later.
The exact steps vary, depending on what device you’re using.
If you want to use iTunes with an iPod Classic, Mini, Nano, or Shuffle…
Extract three files from the iTunesSetup installer and save them in a local folder. Open a command prompt window, navigate to that folder, and run the following commands:

• AppleApplicationSupport.msi /passive
• Quicktime.msi /passive
• iTunes.msi /passive (on a 64-bit Windows system, use iTunes64.msi /passive)

If you shudder at command lines, press the Windows logo key + R to open the Run box. Clear its contents, and then drag the extracted file into it. That will add the full filename, with path, to the Run box. Add a space and then type /passive after the closing quotation mark. Click OK to execute the command. Repeat for the other packages.
The /passive switch performs all installations in unattended mode. After you complete the installation, you can rip and burn CDs, play music from your collection, buy music tracks and TV shows from the iTunes store, and synchronize music and other media files with any Apple device except an iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad. I tested this scenario with an older iPod Nano and it worked just fine. If your experience differs, please let me know in the Talkback section.
If you want to combine multiple iTunes libraries on a local network and/or connect to an Apple TV device…
Install the AppleApplicationSupport, QuickTime, and iTunes packages as described in the previous scenario, and also extract and install Bonjour.msi using the /passive switch. Note that Bonjour must be installed on any computer whose library you want to share. It’s not necessary if you have two iPhones, each with different accounts and connected to different PCs. In that scenario, Bonjour provides no benefit.
If you want to activate and manage an iPhone or iPad or synchronize with an iPod Touch…
In addition to installing the iTunes and QuickTime packages, you’ll need to extract and run AppleMobileDeviceSupport.msi (on x64 installations, be sure to use AppleMobileDeviceSupport64.msi.)
And finally, decide whether you want to install Apple Software Update. Given the history of serious security flaws in QuickTime and iTunes, it’s crucial to remain up to date with patches for all Apple programs you choose to install. The trouble with Apple Software Update is that any attempt to “update” iTunes will install the other, unwanted packages as well. iTunes actually has its own update detector that doesn’t require Apple Software Update. You can check for a new version any time by clicking Help, Check for Updates. Regardless of how you check, when you see that a new update is available, be sure to download the iTunes installer manually and then extract and update only those components you want.
If you inadvertently install a component you don’t need, it’s relatively easy to undo the damage. All of the above components are available from the Programs option in the Windows Control Panel, where you can uninstall them individually. If you plan to uninstall Bonjour or Apple Mobile Support, be sure to stop the associated services first; if you don’t, you’ll need to restart to complete the uninstallation.
And finally, there are those two startup files, which slow down your boot time and add nothing to your iTunes experience. One is called iTunesHelper.exe; the other is QTTask.exe. You’ll find only a few lines of sparse documentation at apple.com. In my experience, neither is necessary for using any of the features in iTunes or QuickTime. Unfortunately, Apple does not offer a supported way to disable these start-up programs, so you’ll have to do it manually by using the System Configuration utility in Windows (Msconfig.exe), by editing the registry manually, or by using an external utility like AutoRuns from Sysinternals.
Update: As a commenter points out, you can prevent QTTask.exe from starting automatically by opening Control Panel’s QuickTime option, clicking the Advanced tab, and clearing the Install QuickTime Icon In System Tray option.
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iTunes ping reaches 1 Million user Mark ALREADY!!

Ping tops million user mark

Apple rocks social networking

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Internet | 06 Sep 2010 : 
Apple's new music social network Ping has passed the million user mark. The network, integrated into iTunes 10 was launched last week.
"One-third of the people who have downloaded iTunes 10 have joined Ping," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of Internet Services. "As many more people download iTunes 10 in the coming weeks, we expect the Ping community to continue growing."
Ping lets you follow artists and contacts listening patterns, with the former able to post unique content like pictures and tour dates - much in the same manner as a Facebook 'wall'.
The news comes after initial criticism of the service, with security experts accusing it of "drowning" in malware.
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Top 18 iPhone Apps

The 18 Best iPhone Apps

Productivity tools

Sync your calendar
CalenGoo syncs with your Google Calendar and even has a similar look. Other neat features include the ability to invite people to events, plus an integrated task list.
Price: £3.99
Browse in style
Re-creating a desktop browser on the iPhone's screen, Atomic Web Browser has tabs, ad blocking, multitouch gestures, a passcode lock, Facebook/Twitter integration, and more.
Price: Free basic version, 59p premium version
Manage your reading
Through Instapaper you can save web articles you browsed on your iPhone for later reading, using a browser bookmarklet. The Instapaper website reformats your saved articles (sans Flash ads and clutter) for quick reading on the desktop.
Price: Free.

Reference apps

Get answers
The WolframAlpha app is the ultimate tool for know-it-alls. Ask questions in sentence form, and the semantic search engine returns the answer. Though it can already answer just about any question you ask, the creators are constantly updating it with new information, making it an ideal companion for pub trivia night.
Price: 59p
Discover healthful recipes
In the Whole Foods app you can find creative recipes using what you have on hand, and see them in an easy-to-read interface.
Price: Free

Cook with a pro
The How to Cook Everything app, based on Mark Bittman's book of the same name, gives you access to 2000 recipes, as well as to no-nonsense cooking advice, how-to illustrations, ingredient information, built-in timers, and organised shopping lists.
Price: £2.99

Utilities and timesavers

Watch your calories
For keeping track of your caloric intake, Quikka Calorie Pro is a handy tool. The app tells you exactly what you're eating during the day, and it gives you a chance to enter your food intake on the go, so that you don't forget to do so later.
Price: 59p
Add a phone line
SecondLine brings a second line to your phone (with a special number). Calls on that line connect as free or cheap VoIP calls over a Wi-Fi or 3G data connection, but they can move to a mobile network (which costs you plan minutes) when such connections are unavailable.
Price: Free
Never forget passwords
To maintain your usernames and passwords on your iPhone in one place, try 1Password. The mobile app syncs with the desktop version, as well. If you wish, you can use it to store other personal information, too, such as your National Insurance number and credit card numbers.
Price: £5.99 basic version, £8.99 premium version
Locate Wi-Fi anywhere
A must-have for travelers, Wi-Fi Finder is a directory of paid and free Wi-Fi hotspots in over 280,000 locations in 140 countries. You can filter results by provider or by location (restaurant, café, and so on).
Price: Free
Find your way
The TomTom app turns your phone into a GPS navigation device with turn-by-turn directions. Maps and routes are stored in your phone's memory, so updating maps and changing routes happens quickly and without requiring a wireless network connection.
Price: £42.99

Audio and photo tools

Revisit the photo booth
One of the first apps to use the iPhone 4's front-facing camera, IncrediBooth gives you an almost genuine photo-booth experience (minus the shopping centre atmosphere). You get three 'retro effects', and you can share a photo strip or just one image with Facebook friends.
Price: 59p

Make trippy photos
In Diptic you can combine two or three photos to create a cool new image. Juxtaposing a close-up of your cat with a photo of your pals has never been so addicting.
Price: £1.19
Hear new music
In Last.fm you enter the name of an artist you like, and the app recommends other artists based on your preferences. You can listen to as much music as you want, too.
Price: Free
Find public radio
With Public Radio Player you can hear public radio stations from all over the country. After detecting your location, the app can supply a list of the stations around you.
Price: Free

Entertainment apps and games

Keep it rolling
In the bizarre but fun I Love Katamari, you're a pint-size alien prince who has been ordered by the King of All Cosmos to collect objects by rolling a highly adhesive Katamari ball. You use the phone's accelerometer to control the Katamari.
Price: £2.99
Slay the undead
The Plants vs. Zombies strategy game has you defending your home from zombie invasion with an arsenal of deadly flora. Cute animation, witty humour, and addictive gameplay make this title one of the best paid games in the App Store.
Price: £1.79
Play word games
In the Scrabble-like Words With Friends you can play against buddies or strangers. The game cleverly uses push notifications to tell you to take your turn, and you can invite pals to play via social networks.
Price: £1.79
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Apple Tv and rentals

Apple also announced 99-cent rentals of 720p high-definition TV shows through iTunes (initially from ABC and Fox) and a new version of its Apple TV hobby device to boot. Jobs acknowledged that the latter hasn't been a huge hit with customers, but he's hoping that will change with the latest refresh. As expected, the Apple TV (no name change) is now a streaming-focused device with Netflix, YouTube, Flickr, and Mobile Me integration. It has HDMI, Ethernet, optical audio, and USB plugs around back, as well as 802.11n Wi-Fi and an all-time low $99 price tag.
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New Apple iPod Shuffle

Apple has quietly refreshed its iPod shuffle line with a new unit that is bigger on the inside but smaller than an AA battery on the outside. Measuring just 48.2mm x 17.5mm x 7.8mm the new player is so small, in fact, that it has no buttons other than the shuffle mode switch – all the controls are now on the earbud cord. Storage capacity is now 4GB, enough to hold up to 1,000 songs, while the price remains at $79.


Also, in order to make up for the lack of display, a new VoiceOver feature will tell users which song and artist is playing at the touch of a button. It even announces the names of your playlists, which will come in handy since the tiny player is now able to hold at least twice as many songs as its predecessor. The new iPod shuffle comes in silver or black and features a sleek and wearable design with a built-in stainless steel clip. Battery life is said to be 10 hours.
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Apple iTunes new social network interface?

Just hours ago, Apple announced their new "Ping" social network, along with the latest update to iTunes. The software update has gone live, and Neowin has given the new social network a quick testing. While the service is still in its infancy, and therefore doesn’t have a whole lot to look at, this early look does give a nice sneak peek at what’s to come as more and more iTunes users sign up for the service.
Registering is pretty straightforward - just select “Ping” from the iTunes sidebar, log into your iTunes account, and create a basic profile. It then gives you a chance to “like” some of your music - it seems to auto populate with some music you’ve recently purchased, although the music it selected for me wasn’t quite what I expected. It chose two songs for me, from the two most recent albums I purchased, but there was nothing particularly special about them - their play count wasn’t higher than anything else, and I hadn’t rated them.
After setting up your profile and liking some music, you’re presented with a very simple “Welcome to Ping” screen. You’re given three immediate options: “Search for People or Artists”, “Invite Your Friends by Email”, and “Connect iTunes Ping with Facebook.” The third option is probably your best bet - it only found two of my friends from Facebook on Ping, but I began the process within an hour of the service launching. I could follow these friends without any issue, and they popped up in my “Recent Activity” feed instantly.

There are two kinds of people you can follow on Ping: people and artists. Facebook is great for finding your friends on Ping, but artists will most likely be found using the “Artists We Recommend You Follow” section or “Search for People or Artists.” Again, the service is so new that there’s very few artists to follow right now anyway - only 14 are recommended for “me,” and one of my colleagues seems to have the exact same recommendations. The content will - likely - fill up over the next few days.
The “Recent Activity” feed offers the equivalent of Facebook’s “News Feed,” but, of course, for music. You can see who started following who, and also recent purchases. In my case, one of the people I started following had just bought an album, and that showed up within “Recent Activity.” At the click of a button, I could preview or buy the album.

One thing that is notably missing, however, is the ability to use the network from outside iTunes. Having a social network tied to an application is a different approach - although Microsoft did also try it with the Zune Social - but if this is going to be a true success, there needs to be a way to access the network from outside the Apple ecosystem. An online, in-browser interface would be the obvious solution here, but there’s no hint of that here yet. It would be nice if it also tied into Facebook in some way beyond grabbing your friends list.
Also, it appears that iTunes ping is not yet active on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch; however, that is expected to go live in the near future.
Overall, it’s difficult to judge whether or not iTunes Ping will become the mega social network Apple wants it to be; however, many are already calling it a “MySpace killer.” At this point, it’s really too early to judge, but by the looks of it, the service could become a great way to share your music taste amongst your group of friends - so long as your friends are happy using iTunes to do it.
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Do you know what happens your iPhone when sync with iTunes

Apple software stores iPhone details on PC
It started out with a friend’s request for help. His iPhone is at the bottom of one of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes. He doesn’t have MobileMe or his contacts backed up to any type of address book. To make matters worse, he does not want another iPhone.
That’s why he called me, asking if I could retrieve his list of contacts. I know iTunes saves it, I just didn’t know where. After some searching, I found what I was looking for:
C:\Documents and Settings\”username”\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup
I looked in that folder. Wow, that’s a lot of files. Next step is to figure out how to open them, at least the ones with contact information. The following slide is small portion of what I found:

Side note: Mac users please forgive me. My friend is an adamant PC user, hence the focus of this article. This link describes where the databases can be found on Mac computers.

Info.plist

Since there were only three .plist files, I thought I would look at them first. I remember reading that .plist files are written using XML and can be opened with a web browser or text editor. I opened the .plist files with Notepad to see what I could find. Info.plist was the only one of interest because it contained the following information:

• ICC-ID: Integrated Circuit Card ID or serial number of installed SIM card
• IMEI: International Mobile Equipment Identity or the serial number of the baseband processor
• Phone number
• Serial number of the iPhone
• Product version and product type

That’s valuable information, but not what my friend wanted, so on to the other files.

SQLite

That meant trying to figure out what the files were with the same name, but different extensions. After a bit of searching, I came across an Apple Examiner article that explained everything. Evidently, the file name is a SHA1 hash of the file’s full path on the iPhone. The article also mentions that the files are SQLite databases. The .mdinfo file contains metadata information about what is contained in the .mddata file.
The next step was to see if I could find a way to read the .mddata files. Fortunately, I found SQLite Database Browser. Now I’m all set, except where to start. There are over 1000 files, so back to the Internet. I found an article by the Hampton Roads Geek community that listed exactly what I wanted.

What I found

The blog saved me a lot of guess work as it pointed out the following pertinent .mddata files:
Contact List: 31bb7ba8914766d4ba40d6dfb6113c8b614be442.mddata

• This was the file that saved my friend. It has an abundance of information. Contact names, email addresses, and phone numbers are the most important ones.

I decided to see what else I could find on the .mddata files mentioned in the Hampton Roads Geek Community article. To be honest, there is more information available than I had thought:
SMS Log: 3d0d7e5fb2ce288813306e4d4636395e047a3d28.mddata

• As you can see below, the SMS log records every text message and the phone number. The date may seem a bit odd. It’s in Unix time or the number of seconds since January 1, 1970. The flag field allows you to determine if the message was sent or received. The number two indicates a received message and the number three a sent message.

Call Log: ff1324e6b949111b2fb449ecddb50c89c3699a78.mddata

• The call log lists the phone number, date, duration, and whether the call was incoming or outgoing.

Notes database: 740b7eaf93d6ea5d305e88bb349c8e9643f48c3b.mddata

• I really did not expect much from the Notes database. I changed my mind when I opened the file. My friend had several entries including passwords and personal information. As you can see, he even referenced his next oil change.

Thinking about my iPhone security

I personally do not keep any data on my computers. It’s all stored on encrypted flash drives. I now realize that’s not the case. Due to my iPhone, I have sensitive information stored in Documents and Settings. My initial solution was to move the backup folder to my encrypted flash drive. But it’s not a good solution, as I have to remember to move the folder after every sync.
Before I moved the folder, I decided to sync my iPhone. Talk about being embarrassed. There it was, right in the options on the Summary tab. A checkbox titled “Encrypt iPhone backup” with an option to change the password.

The Apple iPhone OS Enterprise Deployment Guide states:
“Device backups can be stored in encrypted format by selecting the Encrypt iPhone Backup option in the device summary pane of iTunes. Files are encrypted using AES128 with a 256-bit key. The key is stored securely in the iPhone keychain.”
Sounds good to me, I checked the box and initiated a backup. After the sync was completed, I decided to see what the encrypted files looked like. The first example below is of a .mdinfo file before being encrypted:
bplist00ÕXMetadata^StorageVersionWVersion[AuthVersion[IsEncryptedO'bplist00ÔTPathWVersionXGreylistVDomain]iTunesArtworkS3.0_%AppDomain-com.basevelocity.RadarScope.<@A iS1.0S3.0+3?Kàäè
The next example was the same file after being encrypted:
bplist00Õ^StorageVersionXMetadataWVersion[AuthVersion[IsEncryptedS1.0Oä%P¸0¹^TMwî7ÄIPi¢Þbýªh(g|Ò¢@ÞP...cݯ$µn'zÍ2‹Ón}I»ùK‹¡ïW=ݸwî³oqWz,C<à«]ÔtH¸YÛð›ëaÓŸH¼u‰’Ófñ¢§o$Èèâ`R„‹co‘ö&J¼ªs­ô¨zmî^´·!q‚7XUb§ojÄ¿&ö§¤
Not encrypted
Out of curiosity, I checked to see if info.plist was encrypted as well. It wasn’t. I wanted to make sure I mentioned this as you will have to decide how much of a risk that is.
Final thoughts
I mentioned what I learned to an IT colleague. She said it wasn’t that big of a deal. Someone would need physical and security access to the computer in question. That’s true, but entirely possible. Also, there could be malware specifically developed to steal the critical .mddata files.
Either way, my friend is now happy and I am encrypting my backups. I also wanted to share my new-found know
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