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Originally Posted by GameMaster
Did Apple announce that?
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There was never a huge announcement, because, why the hell would anyone following Apple give a damn? But it has been brought up periodically.
It started not long after iTunes 4 was released. It's a way for Apple to get the music store to the PC world as well. It's doing extremely well on Mac, there are many more PC users out there, and the music industry likes it, which in turn probably means more music and more exclusives for Apple.
The only thing in question is just how much will be supported on PC. Music sharing will be gone for sure, since it requires Rendezvous. Burning will likely work, but who knows about compatability. The first few iTunes releases didn't support many 3rd party CD-RWs. But the rest should work just fine, but that may or may not be a problem.
On the one hand, Apple may release it so PC users can understand what they're missing. On the other hand, it's less incentive to buy a Mac. So for all we know, Apple may take out some features, but that doesn't seem like Apple.
What's more likely is that iTunes for PC will not be free. Apple has charged for iMovie upgrades in the past, and currently charges for iDVD upgrades, but they come free with a new computer (and iMovie for OS X has always been free). Apple is also charging $29 for iChat AV, but it comes free with Panther. It wouldn't be surprising if Apple included iTunes with iPod purchases, but charged for PC users to buy it. Developing software for Windows costs money, more money than for Mac. It would be no surprise if iTunes was not free software. But on the other hand, good luck selling software to people who not only download their music, but probably everything else on thier computer.