Libor Kubín On September 1, Apple released a new version of iTunes with serial number 10. The news was received with some embarrassment. Let's look at the history of one player, its weaknesses and possible further development.
A bit of history
In 1999, Jeff Robbin, Bill Kincaid, and Dave Heller programmed the SoundJam MP player for Casady & Greene. In the mid-2000s, Apple was looking for software to buy - an MP3 player. So she contacted companies Panic and Casady & Greene.
SoundJam MP was chosen and all three developers went on to develop software for Apple. Added new user interface and CD burning option. Conversely, uploading and skinning support have been removed. On January 9, 2001, iTunes 1.0 was released for Mac OS 9. Version 1.1 on March 23 is for Mac OS X.
Nine months later, version 2 for Mac OS X was released. iTunes 3 brought smart playlists, audio book support and song ratings. In April 2003, version 4 was introduced with the ability to share music. The iTunes Music Store opened to eager customers, offering the first 200 mostly DRM-protected songs for 000 cents. This became a landmark in music sales and distribution. The first free video clips also appeared. In October of that year, hell froze over. Version 99 supported competing operating systems: Microsoft Windows 4.1 and Windows XP. Podcasting became an interesting novelty in 2000. The "four" reigned on computers for an incredible 4.9 months.
iTunes 5 brought new searches and an offer of 2 million songs, but after less than two months, the sixth version came in the order. You could write song reviews, recommend them or donate them. There are 2 music videos and short films from Pixar for $000. The TV Store section appears with the possibility of purchasing episodes known from television. A million videos are downloaded in three weeks.
The version with serial number seven is drastically redesigned, it becomes a digital hub. iTunes is returning to its roots as a music player with a new user interface, debuting Cover Flow. iTunes Plus offers a higher quality of songs - 256 kb/s without DRM. Motion picture lovers can now purchase or rent movies in near-DVD quality. The free iTunes U section offers lectures from prestigious universities. The App Store was born - third-party developers offer the first 500 apps for iPhone and iPod touch at launch.
With iTunes 8, the Genius feature was added. It creates playlists of songs that go together. New in the ninth version is the iTunes LP. These expand the offered content with multimedia elements – clips, photos, texts. The iTunes Extras format is for movies. It adds interactive menus, bonus content, chapter navigation as we know it from DVD or Blue-Ray. To create multimedia content, knowledge of web standards HTML, JavaScript and CSS is sufficient. With the advent of iPads, iTunes content is expanded to include digital books - iBooks.
iTunes 10
September 1, 2010 Steve Jobs announces version 10. One of the major new features is "Ping", the integration of social networks into iTunes. The application icon was also changed, the CD disc disappeared, only the note remained.
The new version was expected with hopes. But Apple has prepared several disappointments for users.
- The program is written in outdated Carbon for unknown reasons. So it cannot take advantage of the power of multiprocessor chips and 64-bit instructions.
- Users in the Czech Republic may not be bothered by this, but the possibility of creating their own ringtones from purchased songs has disappeared.
- The appearance has changed beyond recognition, the colored icons in the left column have disappeared and have been replaced by gray. Apple itself does not respect its Human Interface Guidelines. This is the vertical placement of the controls to close, minimize and maximize the window. But the new design and use of gray color may also hint at the future look of Mac OS X 10.7.
- Ping became a spammer's paradise after its launch. It took Apple almost a week to eliminate the spam.
- The connection with Facebook did not work as it should. Apple used Facebook's API without agreeing with the company and launched Ping. Immediately, Facebook "cut off" access for the entire service. However, both companies are negotiating and will probably reach an agreement. It is therefore surprising that Apple did not respect the rules of another company, even though it requires respecting its own.
So where is the problem?
For almost the entire time of its existence, additional functionality has been "stuck" to iTunes. Simple software with an initially intuitive interface has noticeably swelled and lost clarity.
- The solution would be to write and design the application from the very beginning again, to start on a "green field".
- Ensure greater security. Linking iTunes accounts with apps is a risk. They are a warning frauds revealed with fake in-app purchases.
- Separate services related to iDevices from iTunes. An option would be single-purpose apps under the hood of iTunes, taking care of updates, syncs, purchasing apps, music…
So let's hope Apple works on iTunes 11. The program will be written in Cocoa and will speed up. The shortcomings of the user interface will be eliminated and security will also be increased.
Sources: wikipedia.org, www.maclife.com, www.tuaw.com a www.xconomy.com
I mistakenly believed that iTunes was the pioneer application when it came to GUIs in Mac OS X. And lo and behold, they are still written in Carbon. That's quite surprising to me.
I agree that the solution would be to write the whole thing again, or to separate the iDevice management. I'm just afraid that Apple doesn't really want to be involved. It would certainly be a big change for customers and Apple doesn't like to do that. On the other hand, they would surely find some justification if they wanted to.
I have been using the original version of iTunes even with the old system on my CUBE with the "nine" for 10 years. Without a single reinstall or problem.
For the younger ones, here's what the original version looked like:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7755459/iTunes_1.pdf
In spite of the fact that I only have an iPhone, the pdf left a wonderful piece of the past. Thank you
I'm choking back a nostalgic tear, thanks!
Otherwise, I completely agree with the article, a great player turned into an unsustainable juggernaut that I'm slowly starting to hate...