iTunes 8 Release

I was previously unaware of the fact that a new release of iTunes was being awaited, but when I opened iTunes the other day it began to update. While the update was downloading, I looked online to see what new features I should expect. I wasn't expecting much change in the graphical user interface, but to my surprise they had added a new view; grid view. This view immediately reminded me of the way that Windows organizes music in its Windows Media Player. Trying to make a concious effort to be quick to judge, I noticed another new feature - I must explain something before I continue...

When I listen to music in iTunes, I often find myself clicking the little arrows next to songs that lead you to the iTunes Music Store. I'm sure that I can't be the only person who does this. I always check out what other user have purchased and I sample it, sometimes leading me to remote genres that I can't believe exist. This was a pain in the ass, and has also caused large credit card bills.

Anyways, the new feature is called, Genius. What it does is it gathers up all the information about your library (a rather lenghty process if your library is as large as mine) and it compiles it with information about other iTunes users (anonymously, of course!). Why does it do this? It does this so that it can make automatic playlists based on yours and other users' use of iTunes. Ahh, but don't be fooled. It also used this information to power a new sidebar (that can be turned off) containing suggested songs that aren't already in your library, which can be purchased at the click of a button (cha ching!).

After restarting my computer, I opened the new iTunes 8 to try the new features. The new Grid view was a lot like iPhoto. In artist view, the thumbnail changes for artists with multiple albums when the mouse scrolls over the icon from left to right. Looks nice, but it takes you to the old style and in a view that I never liked (the one with each album next to a list of songs in the album) whenever you double click on an album cover. Here's what I mean...



The picture on the left is what appears when I click on Radiohead. On the right is an example of the Grid view. Click them to enlarge.

The feature that I anticipated the most, for the couple of minutes that I knew about it, turned out to be pretty cool! When I click on a song and then click the genius button, a playlist of songs that I like by a bunch of different bands pops up! I listen to it, not remembering even owning some of this music, and the mix is awesome. Why can't my measly brain figure out how to make a mix this well?!?!

If you have an iPod touch or iPhone, you may want to wait to do this update. I have read rumors about there being update problems for those devices. See here for more details on what I read.

Please post your comments on the release of iTunes 8.0!