Apple’s OS X changed the playing field back in 2001, setting Apple up to succeed for the next decade while Microsoft tripped over its own feet. Tools like Spotlight, Automator, the iLife suite, Safari, and the “Core” technologies all built into each new Mac have redefined how many use their computer. We can only hope that iTunes X will have the same effect, redefining how we use our media.

iTunes X Wish List (in no particular order):

Name and icon change

It’s time to put that amazing Apple creative team to work. No longer is iTunes merely a tunes manager. It’s a jukebox, a TV and Movie Manager/Player, it’s a sync utility, it’s a store, it’s an Audiobook player, and for over 20 million people it’s phone management software. Obviously iTunes and its icon both have serious street cred, but if the iBook can survive a name change, so can iTunes. Wow us Apple, we know you can.

Tighter control over the library

How many times have you had 3 songs by the same artist all tagged as different genres? How many times have you had mis-tagged genres? Bruce Springsteen isn’t grunge metal iTunes, it just isn’t. What about when you create a new MP3 in Audacity or GarageBand and iTunes automatically adds it to your library, duplicating the track to your music folder to keep your files organized? How about duplicates? Don’t even get me started on Album Art…

When you get a big library in iTunes, it can just be a headache keeping it all properly tagged, organized, etc. iTunes has tools to combat some of these difficulties, but sometimes you just wish they were smarter.

• Automatically remove the duplicates – analyze track length, match up the wave lengths, compare the tags
• Talk to Genius/the iTunes Store and find out the right genre for a song
• Call third-party services like Last.fm, Pandora, and Amazon to fetch missing album art (I know Amazon is competing with Apple, but they offer mostly open APIs to call product info).

Genius Mixes to go: Bridge the gap between the web and the desktop

iTunes has never been good internet radio software. Most attempts at internet radio in general have failed to launch. Apple knows what kind of music I like because of Genius analysis. Let me stream my Genius Mixes when I’m on-the-go and away from my library. Offer genre stations that will introduce me to new music. Partner with Last.fm or Pandora, or maybe build something new in-house (make better use of that iTunes.com domain name?). I would even pay a small monthly fee. Bridge the gap between the desktop and the web.

Please, pay attention to playlists

I love iTunes, but the playlist system leaves much to be desired. It’s been 8 years: give me a keyboard shortcut to add the currently playing song to playlist(s). The constant dragging of songs into playlists is maddening when you’re trying to build a playlist. How many times have you used shift+click or ctrl+click, selected 50 songs, and then forgotten to hold shift/click for song #51? Make it easy to build them, easier to share them with friends, or even allow the download/sharing of playlists from an online portal. Crowd-source playlist building.

Revamp Music navigation

The iPod has always been the true pioneer of intuitive music navigation. Navigate music via Artist, Album, Track, Genre, or Playlist. iTunes has always had the ability to sort these fields, and even used to have the old browse eyeball, but it’s never been as intuitive as an iPod. iTunes developers have tried Cover Flow, Album Covers, and many iterations of list formats. Cover Flow is without a doubt one of their better attempts, but it has it’s short comings. In a collection where many albums lack album art, it’s not very pretty or useful, and it can really lag on a machine with a slower processor.

Considering we’re in the age of netbooks, having an iPod-esque navigation option would be a great addition, and provide UI congruity. With the long-rumored upcoming Apple Tablet, this would be especially handy.

Redo Movie/TV navigation entirely

The iTunes Store has turned iTunes into one of the first successful digital film/tv distribution networks. Others have tried downloads via the browser, but the browser doesn’t seem to be a successful delivery network for digital video downloads. However, the way iTunes organizes the digital video from its store (or from your own rips, if you’re tech-savvy enough) is very early 2000’s. Digital video is not music, and should not be sorted as such.

This view is hardly helpful for navigating a big collection…

Movies: Genre navigation, DVD/Blu-ray cover art, plot descriptions, director/cast/crew lists.

TV Shows: Series navigation by network/genre, season navigation, episode summaries.

iTunes should be calling services like IMDB/the iTunes Store for information on movies in your library. Plus, there’s no easy way to integrate DVD/Blu-ray extras in the current iTunes. Making the desktop movie experience more like the streaming web experience with Netflix and Hulu would make it much more powerful. If a movie I downloaded with iTunes or imported had DVD extras, exclusive interviews, etc., I would drop my DVD’s like hot pockets. Until then… I stick with buying and watching DVD’s.

Audiobooks

Audiobooks have always been somewhat of a side-hobby of Apple. If they were done correctly, it would be much more exciting to buy them digitally. Book jackets/information would be huge bonuses, extra’s from the author. A ticker showing what Page # correlates with the current time. Easier chapter skipping, built-in dictionary/glossary to look up words/characters/events. It’s currently an untapped medium: tap into it.

Revamp the Sidebar

The iTunes Sidebar is one of the more intuitive navigation systems in applications today. There’s very little clutter, it’s quick, its attractive, and most importantly it’s quite usable. However, it’s ever-growing in each redesign of iTunes. If you have a lot of playlists, shared computers on your network, connected devices, etc, it grows to an astonishing length. While it allows you to close off certain sections, that’s useless for syncing and moving content around. Try adding one the playlists at the bottom of your long list of playlists to your iPod. Case and point.

Navigation similar to that featured in the new iTunes Store would be welcome. Using both vertical and horizontal navigation is going to be vital as iTunes continues to grow bigger and bigger.

Lets get real on syncing

It’s time for some meatier syncing tools. One thing that the iTunes’ competitor Zune does quite well is give users information about what in your library is on your device. In Zune software, indicators next to each track tell users whether the item is synced or not. In the age where we rip CDs, copy music off of friend’s iPods, take backups off our own hard drives, and can purchase music directly on some iPods, it’s long-time for more powerful syncing tools. Have a view option to show what’s synced with the currently connected iPod, and whether you’re allowed to sync the content in your library over (is the track’s DRM authorized for this computer yet?). Give an estimate for the time needed to sync. Wireless syncing for the iPod/iPhone would also be a nice touch.

iTunes suite?

Lets face it: iTunes is too bloated. It just tries to do too much. With big libraries it’s just plain slow. If I’m launching iTunes to simply catch up on a podcast, I have to wait for it to load all my music, movies, audiobooks, TV shows, playlists, applications/games, and preferences. With small libraries it’s manageable, with large libraries… it’s a nightmare. Apple, it’s time to compartmentalize iTunes, and turn it into a suite of applications. Apple already kind-of does this with the ability to open core components in new windows.

• iTunes – iTunes as we know it today : an implementation of all the applications when you want everything at once
• Music application – Let users organize music, play like a jukebox, sync with devices
• TV/Film/ application – Navigate video collection, watch videos, sync with devices
• Store/Download Center application – For when you want to go on a spending spree, without lugging everything you own with you to the store. Plus podcasts – weekly/daily updated content for download and play.
• Sync manager – for managing syncing with iPods, iPhones, Apple TV and other computers on your network
• Front Row – It’s always been a side-developed app with roots in the Apple TV. Take iTunes DJ and other miscellaneous tools (visualizers, full screen cover flow, etc.) Apple has built over the years , throw them into Front Row, and give it a face lift.

Give us the option to launch parts of it, and flesh out each app. iLife is a suite for media creation. iTunes should be split into a similar suite for media playback/management.

Conclusion

There’s plenty more to innovate in iTunes. Hopefully in the next major release we’ll see see some exciting new features, and some redesigns of things that don’t work so well in the current version.

Software exclusivity is quickly becoming a thing of the past.  What once was a killer app for one system or another has now turned into the consumer connundrum of which software to buy for which device and why.  Determining a winner based on techincal differences and personal preferences takes time and research, yet one thing has become readily apparent: the iPhone is home to some tremendous bargains on some amazing software.  What you may spend $20 on elsewhere could only cost you $2 in the App Store, and it’s entirely possible you’ll end up with a better experience too!  Don’t believe us?  Take a look at these 5 examples of spectacular AppStore savings;

Burgertime Deluxe – Mac $19.95, PC $6.99, iPhone $1.99

What is it? It may not get mentioned as much as Pac-Man or Donkey Kong, but Burgertime is an old school classic that every gamer from the arcade generation holds near and dear to their hearts.  Peter Pepper needs to navigate a series of platforms to drop all the parts of a burger down to the plate, and he has to do it while battling evil foodstuffs come to life.  Namco recently resurrected this much beloved franchise with Burgertime Deluxe for the PC and Mac, with an iPhone port following shortly afterwords.  $6.99 for the PC version is an excellent price, but they have the outrageous audacity to ask nearly $20 for the Mac version!  Apple fans, don’t spill the big bills on this fast food classic.  Grab it on the value menu instead — the iPhone version is only $1.99!

Is there a difference? Technically no.  Visually the game is dead on.   So are the levels.  The controls though?  That’s a different story.  While no means a deal breaker, it’s not always as easy as it should be to get young Mr. Pepper off a ladder.  This problem only pops up from time to time, but it was definitely aggravating enough to mention.  Still — for $18 in savings it’s a small price to pay.

Star Wars Legacy: Broken – Trade Paperback $17.95, Original Issues $17.94, iPhone $1.98

What is it? Star Wars Legacy is an ongoing comics series published by Dark Horse Comics.  Set more than 100 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, it tells the story of Cade Skywalker, padawan-turned bounty hunter in a dark and sithly future.  Broken collects the first six issues of the series.  With the trade paperback you’ll need to spend $17.95 to get started on the adventure — but on the iPhone?  Broken Vol. 1 and Broken Vol. 2 are 99 cents each on the App Store, and collect all six issues when combined.

Is there a difference? You’re going to lose the tactile feel and smell of a real comic, but if you can live with that you’ll find reading comics on the iPhone is even better than the real thing.  The panels are bigger and easier to read, the backlit screen makes the colors pop, and the panel-by-panel navigation feels more comfortable than we’d like to admit.

Toki Tori – WiiWare 1000 points (roughly $10), iPhone $4.99

What is it? One of the best puzzle platformers ever created, Toki Tori tells the tale of a chicken trying to save his friends.  Rather than controlling our hero first hand, you’ll simply point him to where you want to go.  When it debuted on WiiWare last year it seemed like a good use of the system’s much touted motion controls.  But let’s be frank — this thing was made for touching.  Thankfully you can pick up our recently hatched hero on the iPhone for half the price of it’s WiiWare predecessor.

Is there a difference? Yep — it’s better on the iPhone.  Drastically in fact.  We had two major complaints with the Wii version — the default view was zoomed out much too far, and the motion controls required far too steady of a hand to be effective.  On the iPhone, both of these concerns have been addressed.  Of all the versions of Toki Tori we’ve seen over the years, the iPhone version is easily the best.

Droplitz – PC $9.99, PS3 $9.99, iPhone $1.99

What is it? Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that we become the most passionate about.  Tetris.  Bejeweled.  And now, Droplitz.  The goal in Droplitz is to rotate pipes in an attempt to guide their contents down to the drains below.  On the PC and PS3 they expect you to droplitz $10 of your hard earned cash, but on the iPhone?  You’ll only have to droplitz $1.99.

Is there a difference? The PS3 and PC versions are definitely prettier, and the larger screen allows for a bigger playfield too.  Despite this, the iPhone version is crazy addictive and captures the spirit and intent of the game perfectly.  You’ll technically be settling for less, but it’s really 10% less the experience at 80% less the price.  You do the math.

Awaken – Mac: $15, iPhone $1.99

What is it? Awaken is the Mac’s leading iTunes-friendly alarm clock.  Want to wake up to your complete collection of Anne Murray classics?  It’s all yours, Snowbird.  With everything it has to offer, $15 has always been a pretty good price for Awaken.  But if you can live with the delicate sounds of morning coming from your iPhone?  You can do that for $1.99.

Is there a difference? This is the only app on our list that has some pretty drastic differences, but that has less to do with handicapping the mobile version and more to do with the needs of each device.  While both devices serve as an alarm clock built entirely around you music library, the Mac version offers a few neat twists like the ability to set alarms to launch programs or the ability to control the alarm from across the room with your Mac remote.  If you tend to wake up, shower, watch a video podcast, and then check your email over breakfast, you can program the Mac version to do all of these things for you.  Well, almost.  You’ll need to eat that grapefruit yourself.  Awaken for the iPhone is a great choice for an iPhone alarm clock, especially if you tend to travel.  But if you want a fully-featured alarm clock that will cater to you daily desktop needs, you may actually want to spend the extra.

In order to use Summarize, you need to be on a native OS X program such as Preview, TextEdit, Safari, Mail, etc. If you are in one of these programs, getting your summary takes just a second and it is fully customizable. If you are not in one of these programs, simply copy and paste your text over into TextEdit and you will be able to use it hassle free. To get started, simply select the text that you want summarized, navigate up to the menu-bar, and drop down the menu by selecting the name of the current application that you are on. In this sub-menu you will find the “services” section. From there, you can select Summarize. The summary box will look something like this:

As you can see, you will be able to edit how long you want the summary to be and if you want it in sentences or paragraphs. The accuracy of the summaries has actually been quite impressive in my past experience with this great feature.

Screenflick ($20)

The point of Screenflick seems to be making screen-capturing easy. All you have to do to create a recording is set a size, set some audio and keyboard settings, and then hit record. It does all of the encoding after you record, so your processor is not running hot during the recording, but you have to wait a while after. When you are done recording, you can choose how to encode the video, and (if you want audio) how to encode that, too. What Screenflick doesn’t have in features, it makes up for in performance and simplicity.

Another thing that Screenflick offers is a library of recordings. Instead of creating a recording, and then just saving when it’s done, all of your videos are stored in a folder at full quality, allowing you to export as many times as you would like. You can also enable things like showing mouse clicks and keyboard actions.

Grade: B

Séquence ($29)

The purpose of Séquence seems to be the ability to just open it up and get going. But yet, this does take away from its feature set. Séquence does allow you to draw before and during a screen-recording. So instead of having options to show keyboard shortcuts or mouse clicks, you can point things out with a drawing. Nice concept, and it does work, but this is really one of only two special features in Séquence. The other special feature is the ability to record from an iSight or other Webcam at the same time as your screen so you can put yourself in the video without having to record twice.

Séquence gives you barely any audio and video export options (comparatively), and there is no library. But, for what it’s worth, you can also take screen-snapshots in it, too (with the drawing tool). I think that for someone who likes ease-of-use and doesn’t care about export options, Séquence is right, but I’m personally not willing to give up nice features for this.

Grade: C

Screenium ($29)

Screenium may not be the easiest to use, but it’s not lacking at all in features. Its first major feature is its vast audio support. You can choose from many audio sources that you might not even know about. The second is that it has a library, so you can export later and record at a lossless format. The third is its Webcam support. Like Séquence, you can attach a Webcam (or use a built-in iSight) and have your face in your video. But, not only can you just record it, you can also have it flipped vertically and horizontally. The next one (I lost count!) is called HotText. With this you can create a keyboard shortcut that will display a nice little transparent window to show text for a certain duration. You can place it in 9 different positions, and have it displayed for anywhere from 1 to 120 seconds. The last notable feature in Screenium is its Single window recording. Some apps say they do single window recording, but they really just record the area where the window started. Screenium actually follows the window! Granted, if you move it, it gets a bit jagged, but it is still really nice to have.

I must say that you cannot go wrong with Screenium. It has many of the features in more expensive screen-capturing apps, and more. And what’s better, it was just released, meaning it will only get much better!

Grade: A-

iShowU HD & HD Pro ($29.95 & $59.95)

iShowU has been out for a while, and just recently has shinywhitebox released the HD and HD Pro versions. The main reason you would want to use iShowU HD is for real-time recording and features. It has many formats (not as many as others) to record to, and you can even upload directly to services like YouTube. iShowU HD contains a library, but not one with lossless files — they are just the files in their lossy format. Like many of the others, you can record from your iSight. iShowU does do single-window recording, but it is not nearly as good as Screenium’s. It just expects that the window stays still. Because of its real-time recording, HD Pro can be processor intensive, so it has a mode called Low-CPU mode. This just records the changes from the last frame, and then puts it together at the end. I have noticed a huge difference on my MacBook when using this mode, so it does work. One thing that I just don’t get is why there is no option for non-real-time recording, if we really don’t need it fast. A nice little feature that iShowU HD has is the ability to preview what your video will look like in the main window. However, it can be a processor hog.

The differences between HD and HD Pro are the Low-CPU mode, watermarking, audio mixing, key recording, and compatibility with Final Cut. Some of these features should be in HD, but HD is cheap enough that it doesn’t matter that much. Overall, iShowU HD looks very polished, and works well.

Grade: B+

ScreenFlow ($99)

You cannot really talk about Mac screen-capturing without talking about ScreenFlow. ScreenFlow makes it easy to create a screen-capturing session (just the click of a button), but also gives you many post-production tools. Like most of the others, ScreenFlow supports iSights. One neat feature is support for multiple video sources. You can click the Add Media button, and then you can use other videos too. The nice thing about ScreenFlow is everything that you do to your video is post-production. You don’t have to worry about anything beforehand. It really gives you a miniature studio to edit your video, all in one application.

In most ways, ScreenFlow has the biggest feature set, but it comes at a price — it is almost double any of the others. If you do screencasts professionally, or for something important, you may find it worth it, but I don’t think it’s the app for the average user.

Grade: B+

I hope this has given you a good idea of the good screen-capturing apps out there. In case you didn’t read it, my favorite is Screenium, but they are all good apps — you really can’t go too wrong. If there are any apps that you think were left out, or should be added, just tell us.