iTunes 11 UI

[.Neo]

I don't really get how people keep talking about this UI Redesign but only the one picture is ever shown off.

I don't really get why it's so hard to visit apple.com/itunes for more information and screen shots.

[cybertimber2008]

I don't really get why it's so hard to visit apple.com/itunes for more information and screen shots.

I'm currently seeing screenshots of 10.7 there. 11 doesn't have the left hand side navigation.

[dr_crabman]

Like I said: Maybe, just maybe, if Microsoft started setting the right example themselves on their own platform, third-party developers will follow. But the company couldn't care less.

iTunes is one of the worst applications when it comes to installing a ton of additional services and cluttering my autostart. You can try to shift the blame away from Apple as much as you like but it's not MS' fault, there really is no excuse.

I'm currently seeing screenshots of 10.7 there. 11 doesn't have the left hand side navigation.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/new-itunes/ is the correct URL.

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

Here's a few more screenshots from the presentation.

Apparently a sidebar showing all of your playlists will automatically slide in from the right when you start dragging items.

I hope you can still switch between several view modes for individual playlists...and that the column browser is still there. I just might stay with 10.7 otherwise.

[.Neo]

I'm currently seeing screenshots of 10.7 there. 11 doesn't have the left hand side navigation.

The page I linked you to has a big rectangle on it pointing you towards another page dedicated to the new iTunes. Are you simply being very lazy here or purposely being difficult?

iTunes is one of the worst applications when it comes to installing a ton of additional services and cluttering my autostart. You can try to shift the blame away from Apple as much as you like but it's not MS' fault, there really is no excuse.

Where did I shift away the blame for those additional services? Nowhere. Please don't put words in my mouth. I was talking about the non-standard interfaces and major inconsistencies Microsoft themselves are constantly guilty of. All I'm saying is: If Microsoft put some effort into this area and made clean ship others will follow.

Here's a few more screenshots from the presentation.

Looks really nice and clean. (Y) I hope does some nifty animations too.

[Quillz]

The revamped Mini Player looks very interesting. I'm curious if it might be a replacement for Bowtie. If it has similar keyboard gestures, I could see myself using it far more than I do now. Having a search field is a very nice addition.

[Aaron Olive]

The revamped Mini Player looks very interesting. I'm curious if it might be a replacement for Bowtie. If it has similar keyboard gestures, I could see myself using it far more than I do now. Having a search field is a very nice addition.

keyboard shortcuts? You don't have an Apple keyboard? Hackintosh im guessing.

[Quillz]

keyboard shortcuts? You don't have an Apple keyboard? Hackintosh im guessing.

What are you talking about? I was referring to the keyboard shortcuts you can use with Bowtie to skip tracks, etc. If the new Mini Player has similar gestures, it could make a nice replacement.

[Aaron Olive]

What are you talking about? I was referring to the keyboard shortcuts you can use with Bowtie to skip tracks, etc. If the new Mini Player has similar gestures, it could make a nice replacement.

I'm just saying for the those that use the Apple keyboard it has native shortcut buttons for play, pause, forward and back which makes the Bowtie shortcuts pointless.

[neo1911]

Atleast there is no skeumorphism anywhere judging from the 1st screen shot. That makes me happy.

[Quillz]

I'm just saying for the those that use the Apple keyboard it has native shortcut buttons for play, pause, forward and back which makes the Bowtie shortcuts pointless.

Not for me, I turn off those functions so I can use F1, F2, etc. (I have it set up so if I want to skip tracks, I do Fn+Function key.)

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

Atleast there is no skeumorphism anywhere judging from the 1st screen shot. That makes me happy.

Actually, I see several instances of it. Nothing wrong with that though. In fact, I'll miss the sculpted 3d buttons... :(

[Lamp0]

Personally, I'd rather have better Windows performance than a new UI. No matter what system I run it on, iTunes is always one of the few apps that runs like absolute dog ****.

I don't get this critizism. I mean there has to me something wrong on your end, or you're being hyperbolic & over senstiive. iTunes has always been more than exceptable in terms performance for as long as I can recall. I've used it on many systems running XP, Vista & 7.

I hope there is a way to change the view when browsing playlists, as I prefer to listen by album, I only use playlists to brake down my library by genre, year, etc..

[f0rk_b0mb]

What I hate about iTunes is it installs all of this crap onto your computer and really slows it down. There's:

1. iTunes - Duh.
   
2. QuickTime - Why can't they just bake a video player into iTunes? I think this is an optional install now, if I remember right.
   
3. Apple Software Update - I like having my software up to date.
   
4. Apple Mobile Device Support - You need to have a program running at all times looking for an iDevice!?! Really?
   
5. Bonjour - Why not just have this running when iTunes is up? Bake it in. Get it out of my Control Panel.
   
6. Apple Application Support (iTunes 9 or later) - Why do I need pieces of different Apple apps stashed on my computer? Get rid of it!
   

Really, all I want is a pretty icon that says "iTunes" or "QuickTime"--that's it. Get the other stuff out of my control panel. It looks stupid. Well, at least it's not as Boot camp software. Instead of having literally 30 icons, why can't I have one that says "Boot Camp Support" with a cute picture of the finder guy?

[bandit_liberty_rumble]

I hope there is a way to change the view when browsing playlists, as I prefer to listen by album, I only use playlists to brake down my library by genre, year, etc..

Exactly - me too! Let's hope Apple didn't screw this up. It's one of the things I really dislike about the iPad music app...

[.Neo]

Apple Mobile Device Support - You need to have a program running at all times looking for an iDevice!?! Really?

How is that in any way strange? BlackBerry and Microsoft install helpers on OS X as well to detect whether your device is connected and to automatically launch whatever sync app. As does iTunes on OS X. I don't want that, so I simply got rid of them in System Preferences > Login Items. It's literally a five second job.

This truly is a perfect example of complaining for the sake of complaining.

Really, all I want is a pretty icon that says "iTunes" or "QuickTime"--that's it. Get the other stuff out of my control panel. It looks stupid. Well, at least it's not as Boot camp software. Instead of having literally 30 icons, why can't I have one that says "Boot Camp Support" with a cute picture of the finder guy?

Ending up with a notification tray filled with crap has always been the case on Windows, as long as I remember. It's not like Apple invented that concept. Not to mention the fact there's also third-party software in the Boot Camp package.

[f0rk_b0mb]

How is that in any way strange? BlackBerry and Microsoft install helpers on OS X as well to detect whether your device is connected and to automatically launch whatever sync app. As does iTunes on OS X. I don't want that, so I simply got rid of them in System Preferences > Login Items. It's literally a five second job.

This truly is a perfect example of complaining for the sake of complaining.

Ending up with a notification tray filled with crap has always been the case on Windows, as long as I remember. It's not like Apple invented that concept.

Right but they can control it and/or reduce it. I'm not complaining just because....

[.Neo]

Right but they can control it and/or reduce it. I'm not complaining just because....

The iTunes Helper is there to detect whether your device is connected. Other companies have similar solutions even on OS X. So yeah. Don't like it? Simply disable it.

[Sranshaft]

I don't get this critizism. I mean there has to me something wrong on your end, or you're being hyperbolic & over senstiive. iTunes has always been more than exceptable in terms performance for as long as I can recall. I've used it on many systems running XP, Vista & 7.

The fact that Apple decided in their infinite wisdom to use an XML database instead of a proper SQL-based database causes a lot of these issues. When you're dealing with databases in the 10s of thousands of entries (my music library is somewhere around 50,000 songs) there's a huge amount of delay when starting any program that uses XML databases.

Edit: Here's a good article on the downsides of choosing an XML database and why iTunes has such an issue when using this as its backend. http://gigaom.com/apple/itunes-database-issues/

[f0rk_b0mb]

The iTunes Helper is there to detect whether your device is connected. Other companies have similar solutions even on OS X. So yeah. Don't like it? Simply disable it.

I know. :) I just used CCleaner to disable it (from start up) and it works great. Thanks! I thought it was a driver and wouldn't detect my iDevice completely anymore. I'm quite new to the Apple world so pardon my ignorance. I had a Zune for the longest time.

[.Neo]

I'm quite new to the Apple world so pardon my ignorance.

Some of these things have very little to do with Apple specifically, as I tried to explain.

[Lamp0]

The fact that Apple decided in their infinite wisdom to use an XML database instead of a proper SQL-based database causes a lot of these issues. When you're dealing with databases in the 10s of thousands of entries (my music library is somewhere around 50,000 songs) there's a huge amount of delay when starting any program that uses XML databases.

Edit: Here's a good article on the downsides of choosing an XML database and why iTunes has such an issue when using this as its backend. http://gigaom.com/ap...atabase-issues/

Interesting. Though I have about 10,000 songs, and don't notice any slowness.

[.Neo]

It's October. I demand iTunes 11 NOW!

[grayscale]

I might try this out just for the UI :p Will it be too bloated for a non-iOS user?

[+John. Subscriber¹]

I'm thinking a beta will hit in the next week or so.