Okay Geek Farm
iTunes 9 Review and Demo
Brandon Davenport
So what's new?
Social Network Integration
Now you can share stuff with all of your Followers and Friends right from iTunes. Share something from the store to let people know about stuff your into, maybe you might get a recommendation :D
iTunes LP
Remember when you would go the the music store and pick up a shiny new LP or CD? Then you would get home and read through the lyrics and check out the awesome album art and behind the scenes photos. This was the one thing that was missing from the iTunes experience and now it is here. You can download an LP album that includes extra content, like photos, lyrics, behind the scenes stuff and much, much more.
Home Sharing
With Home Sharing, you can browse the iTunes libraries of up to five authorized computers in your house, import what you like, and automatically add new purchases made on any of the computers to your own library. Also this is handy for a family of iPhones and iPod touches as you can share apps too!
Genius Mixes
This new feature searches your iTunes library, finds songs that go great together, and creates multiple mixes you’ll love. All automatically. These mixes are like channels programmed entirely with your music. You may discover songs you never knew you had and rediscover forgotten favorites.
Improved Syncing is awesome
iTunes brings new, more flexible ways to sync your media from your computer to your iPhone or iPod Touch. Remember trying to organize all 56 pages of your apps? Well now it’s easier to organize all the apps on your iPhone or iPod touch, because now you can do it right in iTunes, right from your computer. Shop the App Store on your computer, iPhone, or iPod touch. Then go to your iTunes library to arrange (and rearrange) your apps and add (or delete) Home screens. iTunes automatically syncs your new Home screens with your iPhone or iPod touch. It is really cool!
What does Brandon think of iTunes?
iTunes has always had a special place in my heart-drive because it is, and always has been my iPods life line to my computer. This is one of the iPods weaknesses to other MP3 Players as other playes can simply use the drag and drop functionality built into the Windows Explorer, or Mac OS X Finder.
iTunes has always been a portal and connection station for iPod users because it connects us all to the Store, and our music, videos and podcasts, but the sad part is that usually people use iTunes only to sync their iPod, and thats it.
Now iTunes is taking a new approach. Connectivity and content. Users can now connect with their community Via Facebook and Twitter, and have access to more media rich content like LP's and iTunes extras.
Pros
- Fammiliar interface has not been changed
- Nothing has been removed
- Much faster perfomance in Windows
- Better layout of iPhone, and iPod section
- New iTunes store
Cons
- Still a life line for your iPod
- Large file size
- Podcasts all get marked to "Un-Wached" after upgrade
All n' all, this is still the good ol' iTunes we have come to love and adore, with some new cool stuff to add to the experience.
Download iTunes here
