New iTunes version 5.0 with a new look and some new features even for old iPod users. Playlists within folders, contact and calender synch with Outlook, far better search (allegedly like spotlight in OS X), shuffle options (woo), parental controls (woo – this is irony by the way) and album reviews in the music store. Was that really worth an update to a version 5.0.
On installing it seemed to update my whole library. On syncing with the iPod it’s refreshing ALL the tracks. That’s 22 gigs it’s writing back to the iPod. Strange. Even odder – some tracks won’t write to the iPod – they did yesterday. I updated the iPod firmware and all seems well by going from version 2.2 to 2.3.
The new search is great – fast and accurate. Folders are also nice as the parent folder will display a sum of all the child playlists. Not convinced on the new look which is better than the old brushed metal but seems to have an odd double pixel around the left and right window border.
I’m loving it purely for the playlist folders. That’s been a bug bear of mine for ages being the slightly anal “tidy” freak I am…
I’ll install this tonight. I was hoping for a slick and pukka Apple variant on the Audioscrobbler idea, with tighter integration into itunes and ipod. I listen to my mp3s almost entirely on the ipod, and its a chore to get them onto audioscrobbler, only to find that the boogers on audioscrobbler/last.fm choose to wipe the cache of recent tracks every nanosecond or so.
Yep – stats from iTunes would be a joy. They could have done so much more with the update but then again…why bother. It won’t increase their market share anymore – just satisfy the stat whores amongst us.