Apple has released “iTunes 8.1″:http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ for all earlier today, with a bunch of enhancements and new features right after releasing the iPod shuffle previously.
The list includes:
- Supports syncing with iPod shuffle (3rd generation).
- Allows friends to request songs for iTunes DJ.
- Adds Genius sidebar for your Movies and TV Shows.
- Improves performance when downloading iTunes Plus songs.
- Provides AutoFill for manually managed iPods.
- Allows CDs to be imported at the same sound quality as iTunes Plus.
- Includes many accessibility improvements.
- Allows iTunes U and the iTunes Store to be disabled separately using Parental Controls.
To support the new song requests feature for iTunes DJ, you will also need to update the Remote app (“iTunes link”:http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284417350&mt=8) on your iPhone/iPod Touch. You will also need to configure your iTunes to allow your friends to link to your iTunes via WIFI network.
On your iPhone, when you start the updated Remote App, you will see the Welcome message from the iTunes owner plus an option to link to that library, from which you can request songs to be added to the iTunes DJ playlist.
Another improvements with iTunes 8.1 is in its performance. Starting up, updating of songs meta data are much faster, especially if you have a big collection of music. A look at the iTunes Library Database file in my iTunes folder, showed that the file has lost much weight – from 9.4Mb to a slim 1.7Mb, which probably improved iTunes’ performance.
There’s much to like about this latest version of Apple’s iTunes, the heart of Apple’s mobile business. Let us know if there are other good improvements or something irky that bugs you.
