QotD: iTunes 7 Thoughts
Posted September 13th, 2006 @ 12:59pm by Erik J. Barzeski
Question: What are your thoughts on iTunes 7?
My Answer: I like the new look, in general, though I wish I could condense some of the source list views with a disclosure triangle. Cover Flow view seems nice. The look takes some getting used to, but I suspect it's very Leopard-like. The "tabs" are a bit odd, but I like that you can manage your iPod(s) within iTunes now (software updates, preferences, etc.). It's odd too that Devices don't remain in your source list after they've been ejected (particularly Shuffles). Free album art is nice, but I wish I got 640 x 480 versions of any music videos I had previously bought, even for a small fee.
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Posted 13 Sep 2006 at 1:06pm #
Someone suggested that Apple will be switching to the new style (ie dropping the Aqua glossy look) in Leopard. Firstly that would break a lot of apps (ie the ones imitating Mail.app's look) because they would just look out of place. Secondly I don't really like the dumb colours of the new iTunes. What are your thoughts on the issue?
Posted 13 Sep 2006 at 1:46pm #
The scrollbars are a bit wacky, but my biggest complaint is the source list. The ALL CAPS HEADINGS are rather annoying, and the black highlighting is just plain ugly.
Posted 13 Sep 2006 at 2:57pm #
On Windows, I'm absolutely FURIOUS that I can't move the groups around on my Start Menu or off the Desktop... whenever I do that, and I start iTunes or QuickTime, the installer "repairs" my installation. URGE did this as well and I've since uninstalled that.
iTunes might be getting the same treatment if I can't find a workaround - which pisses me off even more because the app is looking pretty darned snappy in ver 7. Won't be the first time that a poor installation caused a good product to fail, I'm sure...
Posted 13 Sep 2006 at 4:09pm #
I'm a bit peeved on the update. For one, I can no longer select just "Library" to view every item (Music, TV, Movies) at once. I did this a lot.
I also think the tabs seem a little "misplaced". They stand out a bit too much, I hope this is not going to be the standard tabs in Leopard.
Thankfully they have finally integrated the ability to label TV Show Name and Episode info for your own imported movies! Unfortunately, nobody on the iTunes team seems to realize that one might want to edit this info for mulitple items at once! I'll send my bill for carpal tunnel treatment when I'm finished updating all 160 of my imported shows 😛
FYI, there was a preference in iTunes6 that would allow a Shuffle device to remain when ejected. It is very wierd to see it for all devices now (I always understood the reason for this preference on the shuffle was so you could organize the playlist before actually syncing the device since it could take a while with USB1).
Posted 13 Sep 2006 at 4:19pm #
In some ways the UI bugs me , but when not active the scroll bars look kind of like the ones commonly seen in widgets.
Searching seems much faster in this version (at least against my iPod, which has 6527 tracks, my MBP doesn't have nearly as many, so I can't compare) which is a nice bonus.
The all-caps headings can be changed - just open iTunes.app/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/Localizable.strings, and change 'em. Interestingly the new "web app" looking iPod prefs seem to be setup in a standard .nib file. I find it interesting anyway.
Posted 13 Sep 2006 at 10:31pm #
I dont like that they separate Movies and TV shows but have nothing there for Music Videos (i have my own smart playlist, but that's not in the same logical place as the above.)
I'd also like to see "Library" clickable for all, and collapsable. (along with all the other headings) I'd also like to be able to CHOSE if that window is alphabetical or user-arrangable. (i'd like the STORE section to be ordered [ store, purchased, shopping cart ] though i understand it's in a more "logical" arrangement now. the point is, i'd like to be allowed to control the order if i want to.)
I dont really know what you guys are calling "the tabs" ...
i *really* like the new look and feel, and i like that it's leaving the bubbly aqua look, but the icon looks MORE aqua-y to me now. (look at the iTunes icon next to the quicktime icon: i much prefer the treatment on the Q than on the musical note - like matte glass i suppose.)
I wish the Cover Flow could be made smaller (at least until i get a larger monitor) and it seems to if there is no album entered, instead of just having a single "unknown Album" in Coverflow, there i one for every single song... seems buggy to me.
Video playback is just as crappy for me, at least when "skipping" tracks. i was trying to watch a few music videos on random, and only one would play, and then video would die when changing tracks, and not work in full screen for me unless i quit and re-opened iTunes.
over all, i think it looks nice, but needs to have some bugs worked out.
Posted 17 Jan 2007 at 12:08am #
[...] Fast forward to 2006, when iTunes version 7 appears. It added some cool features, like album covers. It also was pretty buggy. Apple has released a few fixes so far, but now with even the latest version - iTunes 7.0.2 on Windows 2000 - I run into issues whenever my Internet connection goes down, or I have VPN up and running, blocking all traffic. [...]