Thoughts about iTunes 8.0

Installation - Still takes way too long. I won't take the time to elaborate on the specs of my computer, suffice to say that it is well capable. Installation is taking well into the seven minute mark at the point of this post, and shows no sign of stopping soon. iTunes is a notorious resource hog in Windows, and this installations bears the subtle markings of a kindred spirit.

And for that matter, about progress bars; why have them anymore? I cannot remember the last program that used one honestly. This particular progress bar has emptied and filled a dozen or so times since I started installing, whether to tell me that it is computing space requirements, copying new files, removing old files, or *shudder* nothing at all; it's meaningless to the point of intolerable. Note to programmers, or Microsoft, if it is their doing: give me one progress bar that shows the entire wait progress. That'd be great!

Start up - Ooh! A new EULA. Five entire pages by the looks of it, including verbiage about something random and ill-named called "Kerbango Tuning Service". I won't read it; don't care enough to. Click Agree, move on.

Otherwise, it seems to have started up a tad faster than previous versions. I will remain cautiously optimistic about future beginnings. At this moment, iTunes is unusable to me due to the fact that it began creating artwork thumbnails, which undoubtedly is for the new browsing feature of the program. The program does seem to be taking an inordinate amount of my system resources now, as nothing else will really open up for the time. The program is also hijacking the focus of my desktop from time to time, a behavior I dislike severely. Come to think of it, a behavior that occurs whenever syncing my iPhone.

Inteface - Not bad. Not bad at all. I like the new grid view. I suspect I'll use this instead of coverflow from now on, which always labored unnecessarily on my machine. No other obvious cosmetic changes, which is fine. If I had my way, most of the changes would be under the hood, increasing performance ten-fold! But hah hah, I live in a naive world. There is still the subject of the new visualizations.

The "Genius Sidebar" is present on the right side of the screen, beckoning me to try out the new service that creates smarter playlists based upon the music that I already have in my library.

I'll be honest and admit that I am curious to try out this new feature, as I have been looking to reintroduce myself to my own music again, not having listened to it in months. It's amazing to me how Apple repeatedly paves the way for music loves to enjoy their catalog even more. Off to try it out, impressions after I'm done.

Side note: I am required to "opt-in" to the Genius sidebar, which stated will send information about my iTunes library to Apple. This particular disclaimer had to be read. Seems ok, so I press on.

Genius sidebar - Halted in my tracks, unfortunately. Well, not halted so much, but delayed significantly. Genius is now gathering information about my library, and by my rough calculations, will take about 10 full minutes to complete. What is so difficult about analyzing my collection of music, I wonder? And that, with much dismay, is only step one of three.

All three steps now concluded, I am prompted to select any track within my library to see related music within the Genius sidebar. I selected a few albums at first, such as Coldplay's newest "Viva la Vida", and David Gray's "White Ladder (my own personal favorite). My impressions? Underwhelmed at the moment. It's not really recommending any other music within my own library, only offering to complete various albums for money or suggesting I purchase tracks from the iTunes Music Store. That's all well and fine, and I may use that when I am a rich man and can afford music willy-nilly.

The new visualizer - Worth the price of admission, which for me was a full hour of my time. It's beautiful, with spinning spheres and dancing ribbons of light. Every now and again the floating orbs wander about, rotating causally in random orbit. The best part? Unlike other visualizers, which only partially move to the sound of the music, these graphics actually react to each and every beat and grow larger as the sounds reach crescendo. I love it. Will certainly use it.

Overall, it's an iTunes application that deserves it's 8.0 designation, because that's my rating out of 10.