Itunes 9 Genius Mix

[fmen]

Ever since upgrading to iTunes 9, I’ve used Genius Mixes exclusively on both my computer and my portable devices. Contrast this to the two or three times I ever used a Genius playlist since their introduction in iTunes 8.

First, in case you’re like me, it’s possible you need a little help in getting your Genius Mixes set up in the first place. The key is that once you upgrade your iTunes installation, there’s one more step to take before they appear. Go to your “Store” menus, and click on “Update Genius.” Once Apple (s aapl) delivers your results, your new Mixes will appear in the source menu in the left-hand side of the iTunes window, right under the Genius atom icon.

Clicking on it should reveal 12 squares with album cover composite images that show artists representative of the content found in each mix. I say should because I’m not sure if iTunes will necessarily generate all 12 for smaller library sizes, but you should at least have a few to choose from so long as you have more than a couple artists in your collection.

My Mixes

Individual mixes are named so as to give you an idea of what genre of music they contain. For example, my mixes are as follows:

Pop Mix — Based on: Justin Timberlank, Mika, Christina Aguilera, and others.

Urban Crossover Mix — Based on: Rihanna, Beyonce, The Black Eyed Peas, and others.

Brit-Pop & Rock Mix — Based on: Travis, Suede, Keane, and others.

'70s Pop Mix — Based on: Jamiroqual, Lady Gaga, Paula Abdul, and others.

Adult Alternative Pop Mix — Based on: Scouting For Girl, Adele, Nelly Furtado, and others.

New Wave Mix — Based on: Cyndi Lauper, The Police, Billy Idol, and others.

Techno/House Mix — Based on: The Prodigy, Daft Punk, High Contrast, and others.

Electronica Mainstream Mix — Based on: Goldfrappe, Thievery Corporation, The Chemical Brothers, and others.

Funk Mix — Based on: The Gap Band, Kool and the Gang, Earth Wind and Fire, and others.

Adult Contemporary Mix — Based on: Lionel Richie, Jennifer Warnes, Tina Turner, and others.

Teen Pop Mix — Based on: Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, Take That, and others.

Indie Rock — Based on: Scissor Sister, The Killer, Justice, and others.

Most of my mixes look like those above. Smart, clearly defined, and pretty much how I would’ve divvied up my library if I ever bothered to arrange tracks into genre groupings. A few seem like collections of assorted odds and ends Apple couldn’t quite fit into the other categories. All are admittedly interesting, and most importantly, useful ways of sub-dividing my music collection, though.

Playing through these mixes, I found that Apple has indeed improved their Genius engine, since the results were much more impressive than they’ve ever been using Genius playlists based on a single song. My collection is diverse enough that I don’t always want to just turn on iTunes DJ, but a Genius Mix sets the mood perfectly for parties, for work, for working out, or just for relaxing.

How are you finding your experience with Genius Mixes? How your mixes look like? Is Apple’s recommendation and organization engine finally worthy of its moniker?

Edited December 10, 2009 by fmen

[oralb]

i am still using iTunes 7, is it worth to upgrade to 9?

I saw the features, nothing exciting to upgrade.

[fmen]

i am still using iTunes 7, is it worth to upgrade to 9?

There are some great updates and additions in iTunes 9 that worth upgrading for.

New design of iTunes 9

There are some design changes to the main iTunes 9 in terms of navigation, but the main change is in the iTunes Store, were the redesign has given it a clear and visual design that puts more emphasis on user experience of flicking and scrolling through great albums, artists, videos, and applications. Personally i find this new layout and design much improved from the previous versions of iTunes Store.

iTunes LP

Missing browsing through the large covers for the old vinyl LP records? if so Apple has brought a similar digital feel to the new functionality of iTunes LP. You can download selected albums and get the experience of great visual covers and interactive world of artists images, animated lyrics, performance videoes etc. This is sure to be a popular feature to get some of the classic albums.

Home sharing

If you are working from several different computers or macs at home, the new iTunes 9 has a new home sharing feature that will allow you to share the content of your iTunes across up to 5 computers/macs. It will also automatically add any purchases made on any of the other computers to your original iTunes library. This is a great feature for families with several computers, or like me that tends to work on a couple of different computers.

iTunes Extras

This is the iTunes version of getting the free extra DVD when you buy a movie. When you buy or select a movie from iTunes to download you will get these extra features with it, such as behind the scenes interviews, trailers, and photos etc.

Genius Mixes

This is the new extension of the Genius feature of iTunes. Apple has taken all that information and collated it so that they can now bring you an endless mix of music that you like. Genius Mixes searches your iTunes library, find the songs that go great together, and automatically creates mixes that go together for you to listen to, without any effort from your own part.

Improved syncing

This is a much requested feature of the new iTunes 9, especially when it comes to syncing and managing apps on your iPhone or iPod Touch. It now allows you to look at each individual app screen on your device and arrange the apps as you wish to have them directly in iTunes and synd it to your iPhone or iPod Touch. This makes life much easier for those that have loads of apps, as it gives you a nice visual way to arrange your favourite apps into themes etc.

My wishlist and other features

The new iTunes 9 store also allows you to save items you want to buy later into a wishlist that you again can share with friends on facebook or twitter directly from the iTunes store. This is expected to be only the first step in a larger introduction of social media interaction from Apple for their iTunes store.

The iTunes 9 store also features downloadable iPhone ringtones for those that have not mastered how to get free iPhone ringtones onto their device.

[Kopi Gao]

I am currently using iTunes 9 in PC Windows Vista. In my iTunes Store, I can only see the "Home", "App Store" and "iTunesU" tabs. There are no "Music", "Movies", "Podcasts" and other tabs. Does not allow me to buy music.

Can any IT experts here help?

Thanks in advance guys.

[Guest stupid]

I am currently using iTunes 9 in PC Windows Vista. In my iTunes Store, I can only see the "Home", "App Store" and "iTunesU" tabs. There are no "Music", "Movies", "Podcasts" and other tabs. Does not allow me to buy music.

Can any IT experts here help?

Thanks in advance guys.

cause itunes singapore store store dun sell those thingz~~~