Apple released iTunes 8.1 last night with some much needed performance updates and a few extra features. It used to take iTunes forever to load, especially if you had a large library of songs. I have about 80 GB of music and movies on my MacBook and it probably took a good 30-45 seconds to get going. That doesn't seem like a lot but it is an eternity when you just want to start playing some music. It was painful. I haven't downloaded the new version yet but based on comments I've seen in other articles, people are seeing a shift from 30-40 seconds to as little as 7 seconds to load now with iTunes 8.1. That is a
HUGE improvement.
The other interesting update was the addition of the
iTunes DJ feature which was formerly named Party Shuffle (which SUCKED).
iTunes DJ allows guests to request songs with the Remote app using their iPhone or iPod Touch. The Remote app allows them to find your iTunes library through WiFi. Once they are connected, they can search your library of songs and pick which song to play next or add to the queue. If there are enough people with either device, they can also vote a song up or down in the queue. This will keep wack song selections to a minimum if the rest of your party has a clue about good music.
I'm not sure how much I like the idea of this feature since I am a DJ myself and would prefer to control the music and mix at my own parties but of course I do have the option to just shut it off. It's a control thing but also a trust factor since most people have TERRIBLE tastes in music but a lot of non-DJ's will probably like this addition. It will help lazy people and/or nerds with no clue about music step their party up a bit and it will also bring a fun factor that might have been lacking at their lame wine and cheese party.
You will need to allow guests to access to your WiFi so you may need to remove your password for a night. It should be worth it though since it will be a really cool addition to the party and can get everyone talking about music which can be fun and scary all at the same time. Just pray that you don't have any Phish or Dead Head Freaks in the crowd or they will go on and on about some 40 minute jam session bootleg they downloaded from some dude in Germany. Freakin' hippies!
For parties/BBQ's where it's just a chill atmosphere and I don't feel like putting together a huge playlist or have time to pre-mix tracks, this will be perfect. A lot of my friends are lame and still don't have an iPhone or iPod Touch so it may not always work but it still could be cool if I just allowed people to select songs by using my iPhone. That way I can relax and drink some beers and not worry about the music so much. That always stresses me out, even when I'm not at my own house. I can't stand crappy music at a party. This could defintiely be a way for me to fix that problem at wack parties now! FINALLY! Let's just hope they have a few decent songs in their iTunes library. Wack music libraries cannot be fixed by this update, unfortunately.
