| To mark the 1 year anniversary of the iTunes Music Store (iTMS), Apple updated iTunes today from v4.2 to v4.5. All I can say is WOW! I'm going to take a look at 5 new features that make this update worth a lot more (in my mind) than 3/10 of a point. Here they are, in no particular order.
Discover Music: One of the great additions to the previous iTunes update was the ability to search the Billboard Charts.  It's great to be able to look back at the years (especially those formative teenage years) and see what was popular. Apple has now added the ability to see what is playing on your local radio stations.
To find your local radio stations, go to the iTunes Music Store and click on the browse button (found in the upper right hand corner of the iTMS). Next click on Radio Charts, then find your city. Cities are alphabetized by name of the city. I would like to be able to view by state (and for all I know, that may be in there). This will definitely be a cool way to see what is being listened to throughout the country.
Party Shuffle: Party Shuffle seems like a smart playlist on steroids! You pick the source (playlist to play from) and let it go. Party shuffle is cool because as it plays, you can see the last 5 (or more if you like) songs played and the next 10 (or more if you prefer) that will be played. You can also set it so that higher rated songs are played more often. Could this be the end of the DJ as we know it? Sounds like it to me.
Previews in Playlists: At first, I thought "Why?" Then, it came to me. I could finally keep track of the tracks that I want to purchase. A "Wish List", if you will. Preview in Playlist allows you to drag a song file from the Music Store into a playlist and keep the 30 sec. sample there for future use. I simply created a playlist called "To Buy" and started dragging songs from the store that I had my eye on.  How great is that? I've been waiting for a wish list for a while, and Apple knocked it out of the park!
Print CD Inserts: I'll be honest. I have no use for music CD's. Burning music CD's is so 1999. With this version of iTunes, Apple has made the idea of burning CD's a bit more appealing. If just to see what the album covers will look like. The new print feature will also make those of us who  like printed lists happy. You can now print CD jewel case inserts, Song listings and Album listings.
Since I don't burn CD's, I will hardly ever use the print CD jewel case insert feature, but it does look cool! Using this feature you can print CD inserts that include the album artwork for a single album (image 1) or multiple albums (image 2). You can also print out a list of all the  songs on the CD (without artwork - image 3).
You can also use the new print menu to print a list of songs or albums that are in your iTunes library.
The Print Album Listing (see image below) looks particularly cool. It allows you to print albums from a selected playlist or from your entire library. It includes album name, album cover artwork, artist name, and song titles and lengths. This may be a nice feature for those that want to keep track of their entire library.
Print Album Listing
iMix: iMix allows you to share your favorite tunes with the world. Create a playlist (or use a smart playlist) and then click on the share playlist arrow to share the playlist using iTunes. iTunes then creates an album cover of for your iMix (see mine below) that features the cover art of the songs you've selected. iTunes will  host your playlist for one year and allows other to rate your playlist (1 to 5 stars). You can create multiple iMixes, although I'm sure there is a limit.
There is now an iMix link, on the iTMS home page which you can use to view the iMixes of others.
iMix could be a great community builder - or a bomb if it becomes overrun with teenyboppers who only select songs from their favorite American Idol alums.
One tip: When creating an iMix, go easy on the Vanilla Ice.
Click here to view my iMix.
Those are the five coolest features that have been added to the new version of iTunes. Other new features that may appeal to you is the ability to automatically convert WMA files to AAC, Apple Lossless (higher quality sound files at half the size of CD files), Music Video Link, and/or the newly added Movie Trailer section.
| IMPORTANT: Get 'em while they're hot!: Apple will be giving away a free song per day for the next eight days. After that there will be a free song download every week thereafter. The first freebie was My Hero, by Foo Fighters. |
Overall, this is a great (MUST-HAVE) update.
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