Some good thoughts from Om Malik on how Apple can change iTunes. I don’t know that I agree with everything, but there is no doubt that iTunes, which started as the center our media files, has become bloated.
Perhaps even making the iPhone/iPad, when connected, a system service instead of opening iTunes. Removing some of this from the app may help it focus again.
The itunes service as a whole should be an active service so that home sharing (if its not killed off?) would be active all the time. I think tighter integration with the cloud would be great as well. Itunes match is a first step. For instance why should it automatically offer to download a film the moment you hire or buy one? The default should be cloud and while they’re at it some form of match for films would be awesome!!! though i doubt the film industry would go for it 🙁
I’ve spent hours trying to figure out how to remove my Christmas music (a few hundred songs) from my iPhone. Eventually just gave up and removed all the music, and now I’m syncing back about 20 gig of music. And it’s giving me errors all the way along. I don’t care about the iTunes app as much as I’d like to see better music management on iOS.
iTunes is a trade-off. Its advantage is that you only need one app on a Windows machine to sync the music, the photos (if you’re not in the cloud) and manage your iOS devices. One app for all. This makes updating and downloading, even using the app a snap and very convenient.
On the other hand, this means bloat: whoever doesn’t rent movies or uses iCloud for syncing iOS devices will have to deal with those functions nevertheless.
I find it quite amazing how Apple keeps the interface so neat and still leagues ahead of other software in spite of all those features.
According to Rene Ritchie, it’s the Windows version that hogties iTunes as it is.
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t agree that iTunes has become bloated and unworkable, but Om’s vision of iTunes is about 180 degrees off mine.
Om seems to believe that iTunes should become more like Pandora and less like a high-end music manager and player. Screw that. Listen to Neil Young and restore high quality, not dumb it down further.
ITunes should become a number of different programs with each being best-in-class, not a single least common denominator approach. Make Windows version as good as it needs to be, but don’t dumb down OS X version to suit. God knows there’s plenty of precedent for Windows and OS X versions of software being different.
There’s this thing called the web they should look into for the app store and build a separate utility, ohhhhh you know…maybe AirDrop, that let’s you communicate with your Mac.
My cuz,, who posted a wish list of iOS features last year, had similar system service thoughts about iTunes.
I know she’s planning to repost it as well as do a fresh ‘wish list’ for iOS starting in a few days if anyone cares to take a look. Should be on this new blog she’s writing for.
http://www.fanaticalnetwork.com/tagged/Apple if anyone cares to take a look
I agree with this. Don’t let Windows decide how the Mac version is done