I just stumbled on this, maybe it’s old news, but iTunes 7 allows me to choose which library I want to use now… finally. Just like in iPhoto, if you hold down the “option” key when you start iTunes, you are given the choice of creating a new library, or choosing an existing one. This is a feature I have long been waiting for. I can have a library containing all my music (including tunes I’ll probably never listen to again) and one containing just the music I like to listen to while at work. Time to start organizing my music… again.

Today was Autumn’s 10th Birthday (*yikes*) and I had to run to Watertown to grab a few last minute things for her party. I made my Walmart stop (can’t wait for the new TARGET to open) and as I drove past the Best Buy on the way home I stopped in to see if they had the new iPod nano in. I had been contemplating buying Autumn one and thought I’d just take a look.

As I stared at the shelf of “old” models, I considered maybe just getting her one of them for $149, then I thought I remembered that the new ones were also $149 so I looked around for someone to help me out. Once I tracked down an associate, I asked whether any computers in the store had Internet access ( I explained that I wanted to pull up the Apple store and compare pricing on the new models).

“No, we can’t get Internet access in the store” He replied.

So I asked about the new iPods, how much they were going to be.

“They aren’t even out yet. Apple hasn’t announced pricing, or when they will be available.” He again tried to convinced me as I wrinkled my forehead in disbelief.

I told him I had seen the announcements last week from Apple, that they were in fact available already, I was simply interested in the price difference between an old nano and a new one. He apologized and walked away.

As I headed for the exit, I walked by a laptop that was displaying a web site featuring streaming media. I stopped, took a step back, typed in Apple.com and brought up the Apple store. I was glancing around the store so I could give the “idiot” a glare before I left when another associate approached me asking if he could help. I explained the situation to him from the start, he described the “idiot” for me, then shook his head in disgust. Five minutes later he came from the back with a new silver nano for me (which actually weren’t on the floor/display yet) and I left a happy customer. Thank you competent and helpful salesperson… and Happy Birthday Autumn!

I have to admit, at first I scoffed at the people who posted gripes about Apple’s latest release of iTunes. I downloaded it as soon as possible and began the installation process. After waiting what seemed like an eternity for it to sort through my 9,000 some odd tracks as it updated my library (I guess it was analyzing them for gap-less play?) I began to quickly check out some of the new features.

The ability to automatically download album covers - which I soon discovered doesn’t always work. From what I can guess it has to do with the artist and cd name matching what iTunes has.

The fancy “Cover Flow” which allows you to flip through your music collection like a jukebox, viewing the CD covers (which you should have now right?) in a fancy interface. Looks nice, but I’ll probably never use it.

And the new, improved(?) user interface. I love the new look when you plug in an iPod, but I still find myself clicking on “LIBRARY” to view all my songs and it does me no good now!

Everything seemed to be working fine, until I started actually working again. Once I had Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign all running, I started to notice slight problems. There was a hesitation everytime I switched to a new app and the applications kept “not responding”. I guess maybe it’s time for me to pony up for another 1GB chip for the old PowerBook before I replace it.

No… not to Mac… I’ve always been an Apple aficionado.

I’ve recently switched my hosting over to DreamHost and so far I’m pretty happy. Despite somehow managing to screw up the $97 credit due Mark for referring me, the switch seems to have gone rather smoothly. It was simple to setup the domains, and there’s a ton of features I didn’t have at my previous host, like one-click-installation for things like WordPress. Overall, I’m a happy new customer.