iTunes 9, close but not quite there...

[CylonGlitch]

Don't get me wrong, I like iTunes, but I am finding that it is really starting to show it's age. Sure iTunes9 is a step in the right direction, but I think we are going to be a few more years away before it gets perfected . . . or at least Apple throws us a bone.

I'll try to summarize by creating a list of features.
1) You can now copy files from a shared library -- good move! How about letting us copy them back! I buy CD on my laptop, I want to be able to copy it to the main library!

2) Let me make play lists from the main library, please! With four people in the house with different tastes we can't just all throw our files into the main server and let it dish out the goodness to everyone. We can copy the files locally then make play lists, but that eats up disk space fast.

3) Remote management of the main stream, please.

4) Feed ratings back to the library where the songs were pulled from. If we can create playlists from the main library, either push up the ratings, or maybe keep the ratings local but linked back to the files.

5) Expand Genius to use the main database as well (if requested) so that it can use that information too.

6) Auto updating of the main library when importing CD's.

7) Automatic dupe detection and / or deletion. PLEASE!!!!!

I really want a centralized storage area for all of my music, and videos. Ideally backed up automatically as well. I don't want to have every laptop having to have a full copy of every song in the library. We have different tastes here, so let us create as many mixes of the global music library as possible. Sue I may not like my son's taste but sometimes I want to listen to what he has without having to copy it all to my server.

 

[springyfox]

1) You can now copy files from a shared library -- good move! How about letting us copy them back! I buy CD on my laptop, I want to be able to copy it to the main library!

You kind of can do this. If Home Sharing is activated on both the laptop and the main library, access the machine with the main library and select the laptops home share from there and copy back up. This is how I do it. If done using screen sharing or similar, you never even need to leave the laptop!

Tom

 

[CylonGlitch]

You kind of can do this. If Home Sharing is activated on both the laptop and the main library, access the machine with the main library and select the laptops home share from there and copy back up. This is how I do it. If done using screen sharing or similar, you never even need to leave the laptop!

Tom

Tom,
True, I agree 100% with this, you can do this. But I am finding more and more friends setting up small home servers to share their music, videos, and pictures. Often they just use old machines as new ones are purchased. But many of those "servers" are headless servers where they have to remote log in or the machines are in undesirable locations like garages. Thus having to go out to the garage, log into the server and then copy the files over is not very user friendly. Neither is logging in remotely and copying the files over. It would be much easier, convenient, to just drag them to the server library directly.

 

[springyfox]

Yes you are quite right. My library is hosted on one of my Mac's (in fact the one I use as my main machine), so for me doing this isn't that much of a problem.

However, I can definitely see that if you have a headless server it would be a pain to complete!

Isn't there an option somewhere in the home sharing / library sharing preferences or set up to automatically transfer purchases?

 

[CylonGlitch]

Isn't there an option somewhere in the home sharing / library sharing preferences or set up to automatically transfer purchases?

Yes, there is something like that. But it doesn't work for CD's you rip yourself. Which is totally odd. My kids listen to some books on CD while in the car (we are in the car about 2 hours a day) so I rip them on my Mac. What I have to do is log into the server, copy them up, and then they can sync their iPods (they each have their own) on their computers (they each have their own also).

But even worse, they can't sync directly from the server, they have to then copy it back down to their computer first. Grrrr.... kinda defeats the whole purpose.

 

[macrem]

Aside from iTunes 9 being a major resource hog, my most major gripe is quite simple really: the new behavior of the zoom "+" button... I hate it!

I toggle to the mini player multiple times per day and don't want to have to use option button in combo with clicking, nor any other combo keys. I keep making the "mistake" of just clicking zoom, which now just makes the iTunes window become a slightly different shape...thanks !

First of all, what it did before was much more useful in practice (all 'consistency with other apps' arguments aside).

Secondly, when Apple makes changes like this, it's quite easily predictable that it will be controversial, so why in the heck don't they offer an option to switch it back?! The least they could have done is leak a "defaults" command to the community. But no, if you don't like it, it's just your tough luck. But why??

 

[CylonGlitch]

Secondly, when Apple makes changes like this, it's quite easily predictable that it will be controversial, so why in the heck don't they offer an option to switch it back?! The least they could have done is leak a "defaults" command to the community. But no, if you don't like it, it's just your tough luck. But why??

I agree with you here. Why not give people the option to switch to the old way. I read how they changed it and it kinda made me cringe. But since I rarely listen to music on my machine (almost always through iPhone or iPod) it doesn't effect me... but yeah, give people a choice.