LifeHacker has a first look at iTunes 8.0. As of right now iTunes can be downloaded from Apple, but not through Apple Update yet. Doesn’t look as revolutionary as many people have been saying but it seems to be a logical update for Apple. I will update in a little bit if it works with Windows Vista x64, but I imagine given iTunes 7.0 that it will.

BEWARE!
Everything went find with the iTunes on Windows 64-bit except for the fact that iTunes turned on 1-Click buying for the iTunes store for some reason. If this is not your current setting you probably want to specifically check for this under. Edit – Preference – Store in iTunes. I don’t know if this is a plan for Apple to get extra revenue or if the settings just got reset because of the install of iTunes 8, but I have never had this happen before. Luckily for me I was just buying some of their Free HD Episodes.

I have to preface what I am about to say with a couple of things:

• I have a first generation iPhone
• I do not have AT&T or any other GSM network
• I am using this iPhone as a phone mostly as an iPod
• I use Verizon Wireless as my cell phone provider

I have to say I am pretty impressed with the iPhone interface.  Alot of work has been done with the user interface and making the applications very useable.  But I have noticed the following problems, that wouldn’t nessisary keep me away from this as a phone, but would make me think twice about how usable it is from my point of view:

• Microsoft Exchange support has been severely dumbed down, and forced in to the limited Apple model surround Mail, Calendar, and Contacts.
  • There are no categories for the Mail, Calendar, or Contacts.
  • There is no way to retrieve my tasks.
  • I use color coded calendar events for separation between Personal, IdeaPipe, and my Employer Voveo.  I have not been able to figure out the color coding that Apple seems to indicate on their Enterprise site.
• No way to store and access files on the file system.  Which I use when I need a quick thumb drive in a pinch or to carry around presentations.
• No Copy and Paste
• Safari crashes under large downloads.  Especially on large pages that are not loaded via AJAX.  So it seems like buffering or rendering of complex web pages seems to be a problem.
• No Flash or Java support on the “real web.”
• Unable to make quick edits to Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents, like I can do on a Windows Mobile device.
• It is very hard to develop a native application for the iPhone if you don’t have a Mac.  (sort of expected this one though)
• No voice command software to read calendar events, dial phone numbers, or call somebody out of your contact list.  (not that I need the last two in my current situation)
• No supported way to tether the iPhone to your computer to use it as a modem.
• As well as the numerous 3G problems that seem to occur because of an immature 3G network.
• Security is a second thought behind neat usability features.

The iPhone is a wonderful device, but in my oppinion it is still on the level of a toy, because it is generations behind Windows Mobile and Black Berry with features that are needed and wanted as an average business user. And at least Window Mobile and Black Berry keeps their devices locked and passcode protected, which is another reason Enterprises were probably wise to wait on rolling the iPhone out. Apple’s Exchange integration also seems sort of half assed, and they should have probably spent more time on providing some of the more basic features such as categories and tasks instead of creating a horribly buggy semi-quazi competitor with their MobileMe service.

All in all there is no complelling reason to move away from Verizon Wireless at this time for me.

iTunes 7.7 has been released!

Windows Vista x64

I am happy to announce that iTunes 7.7 and Windows Vista x64 work well together. The Apple downloader even chooses the correct 64-bit version of iTunes through every browser that I have tried, so they obviously fixed something where you don’t need to download iTunes through the 64-bit version of IE. No word yet if the iPhone 2.0 or 1.0 will work with the 64-bit version of windows.

Whats New?

As far as I can see nothing is really new with the application.  The only noticeable things is that the “Games” menu item has now been changed to “Applications”.  So if you were expecting a huge jump forward in functionality you are going to be bummed.  Most of the changes probably went to support their new Mobile Me platform, push applications, and the iPhone 2.0.

Download

You can download iTunes in the normal places, either through your updator or from their website.  My recommendation is to wait to see, if you don’t need the new functionality.