ITunes Match goes live, better late than never

Back in June, former Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced a service called iTunes Match, which was described as a kind of central music repository, or digital locker. It works like this: A user pays Apple a yearly fee of $24.99. The company scans the user's library, including tracks uploaded from CDs or purchased from services other than iTunes, and locates "matches." Each match is added to an iCloud account, which the user can dip into at any time from any computer.

Gigantic CD collection

So let's say you've got a gigantic CD collection. You've uploaded the contents of 400 CDs to your iTunes account, however all those thousands of tracks don't appear on your smartphone, or your tablet. Providing Apple has the tracks in its library, with Match, you'll be able to access your music from anywhere.

Match can be extended to 10 devices; the music, Apple says, plays back at "256-Kbps AAC DRM-free quality - even if your original copy was of lower quality." That is, your crummy early MP3 collection will sound crisp and clear.

"If you're into all things Apple, iTunes Match is likely the best service for you. It's cheap, it keeps your music backed up and synced without the need to upload your entire collection, and it'll work with all of your devices," Dachis writes. "If you're not fully entrenched in the Apple ecosystem, iTunes Match might not be your ideal service. If you need your music on an Android device, for instance, you're out of luck."