What are your thoughts on the New iTunes 11?

This has come up multiple times in this thread... multiple windows. I am not sure what you are all talking about. I am an experienced iTunes user and have stuck with 10.7. I am wondering if I am missing something or if I am taking something for granted.... The only time I get multiple windows is when I use the "Get Info" function to edit metadata. Is that what you are talking about?

If so, if that has seriously changed, that I can't tweak my iTunes database while listening to music I am not currently editing... then, YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING!!! My son has iTunes 11, maybe I'll see what is up what with that, but seriously, what is up with THAT????

MacPow75 wrote:

This has come up multiple times in this thread... multiple windows. I am not sure what you are all talking about. I am an experienced iTunes user and have stuck with 10.7. I am wondering if I am missing something or if I am taking something for granted.... The only time I get multiple windows is when I use the "Get Info" function to edit metadata. Is that what you are talking about?

If so, if that has seriously changed, that I can't tweak my iTunes database while listening to music I am not currently editing... then, YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING!!! My son has iTunes 11, maybe I'll see what is up what with that, but seriously, what is up with THAT????

Not quite... If you double click on a playlist for example in 10.7, that playlist is transferred to another window allowing you to pick a different playlist in the main window and still see what is in the first playlist that is displayed in the other window.

I have not used the multiple window thing much (ok not really at all, only that I had the window pop up), but you could for example compare two playlists side by side, or manage one playlist while using the other to queue up more songs in dj mode (or the "up next" mode in version 11).

Thanx for setting me straight!

Yea I can see how someone might miss that feature, though I fall in the group that misses cover flow more... But that is or was what is so great about the iTunes legacy... maximal flexibility for those who used it...

MacPow75 wrote:

Thanx for setting me straight!

Yea I can see how someone might miss that feature, though I fall in the group that misses cover flow more... But that is or was what is so great about the iTunes legacy... maximal flexibility for those who used it...

I think the key phrase is "maximal flexibility for those who used it"..... That pretty much sums up previous versions.

If you find version 10.7 works just fine, don't bother upgrading would be my suggestion.

I personally did not use coverflow or the multiple windows, but I use other features that are gone or more difficult in 11....

in 10.7 when you view ANYTHING (as in your library, playlists, podcasts, etc) in grid view, you can then choose albums/artists/genres/composers, which is independent of what you are viewing. Then clicking on on one of those groupings, you get a list mode of what is left (e.g. if you click genre from your library then pick rock for example, you're only looking at rock from what you have selected, or rock from your library).... It's very useful to pick a smart playlist that is time/play sensitive, drill down to a genre that matches your current mood and as you play, the songs that just played disappear from the playlist.. You could play all songs from that genre without having to play the entire playlist. I have several smart playlists that are like my own personal radio station and I will do this fairly often.

In version 11, you CANNOT group songs like that on playlists (or I haven't figured out how yet), only on your entire music library which doesn't work so well on massively large libraries...

In 10.7, if you start typing a keyword, it removes songs/albums/etc from your current view that do not match what you typed... so you could easily search for something like tchaikovsky and get not only the composer, but also the artist (there is a composers group in grid view but that means you have to have your tags completely accurate)... once you pared down you results with the keyword, you can add to some other playlist easily or start playing that selection, which is only part of the greater whole...

version 11 has some sort of equivalent but I didn't get it to work as nicely "out of the box" or even with a modest amount of tweaking... (part of it involves unchecking some option that means "don't search your entire library")

It seems the polish of that sort that is missing in version 11 that I'm not fond of, and why I haven't upgraded my own computer.

I am sure that as others pointed out, the core player itself is more stable and responsive than 10.7, but if you find it harder to use or it doesn't do what you want, what good is it, really?

If apple was keen on the innovation front, they'd split itunes into an open (as in not proprietary) server/service that allows any front end to control the service and what consistutes the UX is in the frontend UI.... With a model like that you could have any number of people writing frontends for specific purposes... And they could have an "itunes pro" front end that is more like 10.7 and an "itunes lite" that is more like 11, only even lighter..... And if they did it right, you could even have several frontends controlling the service at the same time.... throw in some scripting capabilities and you'd have a media environment that would be hard to beat.

Apple wants us in the cloud, so I don't think we are gonna see that open architecture, they have never been "open" to that way of thinking, it seems... Which you could argue makes Apple less vulnerable to malware and such...

It will have to be a stand alone application, which for folks like me, might make sense. I am around 35,000 songs and counting and have had to upgrade the hard drive in my early 2008 MBP (It isn't that easy, LOL, but I managed) twice to keep up with my storage needs.

I am not the user Apple wants... I live in the country and my DSL is very very slow, 150 kbps/sec on a GOOD day and forget about reliable 4G (LTE) or even 3G service... I am happy to get AT&T's Edge network, LOL... and fiberoptic connections... yea, right.... living in the cloud??? Not happening here in rural PA... I need my music stored locally, where I can listen to a high quality music stream (playlists) without interruptions or maxing out my data plan.

MacPow75 wrote:

Apple wants us in the cloud, so I don't think we are gonna see that open architecture, they have never been "open" to that way of thinking, it seems... Which you could argue makes Apple less vulnerable to malware and such...

It will have to be a stand alone application, which for folks like me, might make sense. I am around 35,000 songs and counting and have had to upgrade the hard drive in my early 2008 MBP (It isn't that easy, LOL, but I managed) twice to keep up with my storage needs.

I am not the user Apple wants... I live in the country and my DSL is very very slow, 150 kbps/sec on a GOOD day and forget about reliable 4G (LTE) or even 3G service... I am happy to get AT&T's Edge network, LOL... and fiberoptic connections... yea, right.... living in the cloud??? Not happening here in rural PA... I need my music stored locally, where I can listen to a high quality music stream (playlists) without interruptions or maxing out my data plan.

I hear you... Though what I was trying to say was something more like itunes the user interaction part itself doesn't access the files directly but uses something like a soap request to a backend to do things like start/stop music playback, manage the playlists, add/modify/delete media and metatags, etc... Kind of like the apple remote control but runs on the pc, only a slightly more intelligent and comprehensive UX... You'd be using the client app to browse your library, troll through their itunes store etc and it would send requests to the back end to add to the music library, manage the playlists, play/stop media playback etc...

I would be perfectly willing to let them continue to use playback DRM controls on media from itunes so you can't drop anybody else's files in there and expect it to play. The only thing that is "protected" right now is the itunes media database and being able to control itunes (but one could argue could be hacked if you have sharing turned on), but all the files themselves are accessible straight from the filesystem anyway if you open the computer enough, so security and control of media really is an abstract concept anyway.

As for the media service, I wouldn't open the flood gates for anybody on the internet but use a process to process communication only possible on the machine itself (as in make use of a set of client application libraries that call the backend through a non internet based protocol) so you would have to play by certain rules anyway.

For most people it would look like a standalone app anyway, but it would at least be flexible enough for the advanced or special case users (think a custom jukebox front end service so you could re-introduce a more comprehensive version of the itunes dj they yanked, an accessible front end to allow the blind to control their music library audibly, a web server that allows you some basic playback controls from any browser, etc).... If apple really wants to be a control freak they could make it so developers could write apps and put it on their desktop app store for free or for money and it would be more a win-win-win solution than what they have now.

... At least that's how I see something like that could work.

As for the cloud business, I do have highspeed, but I'm really picky about having all my music in my pocket and would be extremely upset if I couldn't pick any song I owned on a whim and play because I was in a cell network deadzone.. My library is less than half yours (14.2k songs, but I can say I'm working hard to have every one of them played at reasonable intervals, though I'm starting to struggle to keep them all played within a 6 month window).

It's probably been said in this forum multiple times in multiple places (and by the way, I use Windows...not Mac so take this for what it's worth) but every once in a while my iTunes does not recognise my Gen 2 Nano...this happened a few time BEFORE the update to iTunes 11, by the way). Re-setting the Nano always did the trick. It's so simplistic I'm almost ashamed to post it here...but the re-set DID make iTunes recognise my Nano again...which also still works just fine!

Good Luck!

Open multiple iTunes windows

Is it possible to have more than one iTunes window open at a time? If so, how? That would save time when I want to look at both my library and playlists.

Yes, just double-click on almost any item in the iTunes source list (on the left) to open it in a separate window. Alternately, you can Control- or right-click on the item and choose Open In New Window from the contextual menu that appears. This works with the various libraries (with the exception of the main Music library), the iTunes Store, Genius, and your playlists. You can open as many different windows as your screen—and your sanity—will allow.

http://www.macworld.com/article/1165536/ask_the_itunes_guy_work_with_itunes_libr aries.html

The article is a year old and refers to iTunes 10.5. This feature was removed in iTunes 11 and, as yet, has not been restored in subsequent builds.

tt2

Yes. I was responding to MacPow75 who is still using 10.7.

Ah, so I see. 😊

tt2

So, I updated to 11 thinking some of you guys were just upset with simple changes and such. At first, looking at 11, I thought it was OK. Now, after using it for a few weeks, I'm about to shoot myself in the head for upgrading.

Put me in the I HATE IT camp. It's a piece of crap and really hard to use.

On a related note, Apple does want everything in the cloud because they view the cloud as THE killer app - which means the more you use it, the more you need it. That sounds more like an addiction to me, with Apple being the pusher man. Once Apple has us locked into the cloud, Apple then has us by the balls.

By then, maybe I'll just retire from computing all together and Apple will just have to say buh bye to a customer since 1985... I used to look forward to Apple updates. Now I just cringe at the thought. Apple have become a bunch of liars, telling the video editing world that Final Cut Pro 10 would be an upgrade to FCP and then blind sided us by releasing a total piece of garbage in FCPX, what was once a professional tool demoted to home use for jacka$$es who think that posting on Youtube has some sort of value.

Is there an smiley flipping the bird to Apple here? Guess not. My iPhone 4S will be the last Apple phone I will buy. My 3rd gen iPad? Same thing, buh bye Apple. I've had it with those idiots in Cupertino.

I'm reasonably happy with the new interface, but I can understand if others find it confusing or just hate the change. As to the cloud aspects they are all optional. You don't have to purchase an iTunes Match subscription. Access to your past purchase history is only really needed if you can't/won't maintain your own backups. Read a few hundred of the "I've changed my computer, where is all my music?" threads and you might concede that Apple is doing what a good chunk of their customers want in that respect. Digital purchases of all kinds from all sorts of vendors have generally moved on from one download over a slow bandwith connection that the end user has to backup, to a buy once, use when & where you want to model.

tt2

I actually like the new interface, I like "Add to Up Next" and the overall dynamic playlist. I like the more functional mini player, and I like the option to search beyond whatever is currently open in your library.

I'll go back to iTunes 11 as soon as they bring back the ability to open multiple windows, and the abilty to preview album art (artwork could display "now playing" or "selected item" in a closable box in the lower left hand corner)

Neither of these features would impact the new iTunes layout negatively - the art window would require a third button on the lower left hand corner.

Restoring cover flow, which is important to a lot of people on this thread, won't be as easy to integrate into the new layout.

I believe it is obtuse of Apple to remove hidden but useful features when they don't detract from the average user's experience.

verbcrunch wrote:

I actually like the new interface, I like "Add to Up Next" and the overall dynamic playlist. I like the more functional mini player, and I like the option to search beyond whatever is currently open in your library.

I'll go back to iTunes 11 as soon as they bring back the ability to open multiple windows, and the abilty to preview album art (artwork could display "now playing" or "selected item" in a closable box in the lower left hand corner)

Neither of these features would impact the new iTunes layout negatively - the art window would require a third button on the lower left hand corner.

Restoring cover flow, which is important to a lot of people on this thread, won't be as easy to integrate into the new layout.

I believe it is obtuse of Apple to remove hidden but useful features when they don't detract from the average user's experience.

Yup... I pretty much agree with that sentiment... It's not that things have changed as much as things you used to rely on are suddenly missing....

It would be as if a car company suddenly decided to remove keyless entry and power windows, power mirrors, etc because it makes owning a car "harder to use".... The end goal of getting you from a to b hasn't changed, but you sure as **** don't appreciate the lack of features you come to rely on when they are no longer there.

That seems to be the biggest gripe a lot of us have.

Most of the features I would want back in new versions of itunes could easily be put back in and in some cases actually bring a bit of consistency to the UI, so it's really difficult to understand why they yanked them in the first place.