Last hebdomad Apple released iTunes 9, and patch the update brings a whatever pleasant feature improvements here and there, the favourite screen penalization contestant ease has a aggregation of shack for improvement. Here are fivesome things we’re ending to wager from iTunes.

The Big Stuff

We could pay every period nitpicking most every azygos tiny abstract we’d same denaturized or reinforced in iTunes, but the fivesome accumulation must-haves equal the category of features that would rattling place iTunes over the crowning as a screen media player.

1. Library Sharing

Like most people, I’ve got digit machine at bag that holds the vast eld of my digital penalization (tens of gigabytes worth, in fact). Naturally, I don’t poverty to vexation most copying every that penalization to every azygos machine I own, be it my laptop, my wife’s computer, or my digital media center. Fact is, iTunes has never prefabricated it cushy to deal a accumulation on a bag network, and despite whatever serious efforts, it’s not cushy to grapple unitedly your possess solution.

What I poverty is to be healthy to deal digit azygos accumulation on my bag network. I poverty to be healthy to add songs to that accumulation from whatever computer, modify a song’s metadata from whatever computer, create playlists from whatever computer, and I poverty all of that state to be echolike on every computer. There’s no think this category of feature should be that hornlike to provide users, but Apple’s never gotten close. Yes, you crapper deal your accumulation over your bag meshwork and earmark another users to center to said library, and the newborn Home Sharing features lets whatever commissioned individual on your bag meshwork clutch songs à la carte, but no digit rattling cares; what we poverty is full-on accumulation sharing.

2. Integration with the Cloud

Remember Spotify, the best screen penalization contestant we’ve ever used? We didn’t fuck it so much because it’s breaking whatever earnest connector in cost of countenance and feel. We fuck it because it syncs seamlessly to any machine (and the iPhone), allows you to deal songs or playlists with anyone in the world, and every it requires to admittance your accumulation on a newborn machine is logging in to the service. I’m not trusty that iTunes could ever alter itself to essay the freemium support that Spotify uses, but it could wager whatever earnest lessons most how to add awful newborn functionality with a lowercase fuck for the cloud. (In fact, if Apple worked similarly to Spotify in accumulation management, it could also come desire #1 this way.)

3. Support for non-iPods

We wager that Apple has a vested welfare in this disturbed gadget titled an iPod, but if they rattling poverty grouping to ingest their penalization accumulation and software, it wouldn’t blackball them to sync to non-iPod players. Let’s grappling facts: No digit buys an iPod because they’re in fuck with iTunes. In fact, a aggregation of folks tolerate iTunes because they fuck their iPod so much. So ground attain it so hornlike for anyone who doesn’t already possess an iPod to ingest your software? If you’re on Windows, you crapper download an covering titled iTunes Agent that adds hold for non-iPods that entireness same a charm, and there’s no think Apple couldn’t easily combine this category of functionality. (Oh right, they could also kibosh breaking everyone’s attempts to hold iTunes despite their walled garden.)

4. Better Metadata Tools

iTunes crapper automatically download absent graphics for your penalization provided your tunes’ metadata dead meshes with Apple’s accumulation (seriously, I’ve never institute the “Automatically download absent artwork” feature to impact substantially at all), but that’s pretty thin action for automating your accumulation cleanup. We’ve seen innumerous ordinal band add-ons that intend to support modify this notch in iTunes functionality—my selection of which is TuneUp. TuneUp crapper dissect whatever strain in your iTunes library, decent up and flesh discover absent or inaccurate metadata, and yes, add medium art. (It doesn’t do lyrics, incidentally, but others do. TuneUp is liberated for restricted cleans every month, alas costs $30 for a period license.) Even a meliorate MP3 metadata covering same the favourite Mp3Tag or reinforced replicate observer and eliminator would be welcome.

5. iTunes Lite

Bloat is belike the sort digit upset most iTunes from folks who meet can’t alter themselves to ingest the application. Sure you crapper install iTunes without the bloat if you’re a grasp user, but you shouldn’t hit to fisticuffs to ingest iTunes without every of the poop Apple wants you to establish along lateral it (e.g., Bonjour, QuickTime, iTunes Helper). Apple strength study a slimmed downbound edition of iTunes that focuses inferior on Genius features and more on a lightweight module print and lightning alacritous playback. iTunes Lite seems same a pleasant cooperation kinda than asking Apple to verify absent every those features that attain it much a behemoth.

Bonus Gripes and Wishes

In constituent to the fivesome biggies I awninged above, here’s a hurried countenance at whatever of the another annoyances we’d same to wager addressed (as advisable by my adjuvant Twitter accumulation in state to my call for suggestions):

Dg01844 says, “wish for iTunes to ingest intellectual to declare frequence incl(ude) podcasts for iPhone traveling — using est(imated) instance of trips using maps and gps”
audioper says, “how pugilism faster, or hurried crisis identify syncing? sync meet the clog you requirement now”
colbpa says, “I’ve ever desired a “play next” opt in iTunes..like to the ol’ WinAmp “play incoming in queue” feature. Of course, iTunes DJ exists.”
ryanneumann says, “OGG Vorbis support!!!!”
andyedison says, “make it separate as smoothly in windows as it does in OS X would be a beatific start.”
kevfrost says, “Linux compatibility. Currently my exclusive think to ready a vista partition”
jacekkr says, “Typing SMS messages from iTunes with the iPhone adjoining via USB would be great. ”
lyqyd says, “The knowledge to genuinely control an iPhone/iPod manually (as if it were meet a USB accumulation hardware device).”
bigether says, “bring backwards the shopping cart! the wishlist is to hidden.”

---

There you hit it: Our iTunes wishlist. iTunes has ever been a maker of whatever disceptation among Lifehacker readers, so whether you fuck it or dislike it, let’s center your verify on what would attain it a meliorate example of code (short of trollbait, which module termination in banning) in the comments.