I really haven’t been delivering anything through my thought hole recently, after I have to live up to my tagline. I don’t want to promise anything that will only happen once, but hopefully I’ll be able to keep doing these At A Glance pieces.

Last night saw Apple unveil their new line of iPods and entertainment products. While iOS 4.1 isn’t out quite yet, one of the more immediate releases was iTunes 10.

I used to loathe iTunes and its iPod connectivity but since moving to OS/X and subsequently buying an iPod Touch, recently followed by an iPhone 4, using iTunes became an inevitability.

Two years on and I haven’t had to switch media players yet – a good testimonial to how good the program has become. I remember using Musicmatch, Sony Atrac3 software, Windows Movie Maker and Realplayer. Constantly switching back and forth.

Ping

There aren’t many more features you would want in a media player, except more codec support. Naturally, it was becoming a tough task of implementing worthwhile improvements and iTunes 10 doesn’t really make any notable ones. The only feature that would come close is Ping.

It’s hard to judge social networks on day one but as it stands Ping is absolutely awful. It’s poorly integrated between the platforms, hard to manage and completely useless as it stands.

The lack of Facebook and Twitter integration is irritating. So many new social platforms allow you to automatically cross-check your friend lists. Apple like to keep it a closed platform, thus Ping is already asking a lot from the start.

Also, I’ve got to question the motive of Ping. Something like Last.FM would be brilliant if integrated into iTunes, I’d probably stop using Last.FM if I was honest. However, like I said you’ve got to let Social Networks grow before they become enjoyable. Not that, that makes Ping recommending me U2 & Lady Gaga any better. That’s not to say I hate those artists, but what is it basing those recommendations on?

Minor Interface Tweaks

Meanwhile the interface as had some minor tweaks to it. The icons aren’t coloured any more but amidst a sea of complaints, I do like the subtler icons. They should probably be in colour when you’re in that section though.

The new artist list is much better. A far greater alternative to the overwhelming list of tracks we’ve had in the past. It’s a brilliant combination of list and grid views. Now, just get rid of that Coverflow view – who uses it?

Making use of more white space around text, makes the whole program easier on the eye. But, the whole program is still way too grey and apart from these minor tweaks there really isn’t any major overhaul of the UI.

That’s pretty much it, the icon change doesn’t really change much in terms of use. It’s nicer than the old one but I’m sure people will revert to the old one quickly in an attempt to hold onto physical media. I wonder if anyone has made a vinyl iTunes logo?

Anyway, that’s about it for now. I’m sure I’ll play around with the wireless streaming at a later date but for now that’s it.

I know a few followers of this blog get a bit fed up when I praise Video Game X, hate Video Game Y and don’t understand Video Game Z. Well, after the disbandment of Nidzumi, this became a temporary place to crap out thoughts about games. Well for those who don’t mind reading the results of those mindshits, I’ve set up Parley Up. For everything else there’s Blogizzle.

It’s where me and fellow Video Game Thoughtist, Daniel Lipscombe, can deposit our experiences onto the internet. You should visit it. Also I’m quite proud of the term ‘mindshit’

AKA “Medal of Honor: The Electronic Fun Game” or “How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Video Games”

I tried not to turn this into a diatribe on how derivative video games are. I kind of failed.

Ever since Nidzumi was sold I’ve had a lot more free time. While as much as I would like to convince myself that Football Manager is a worthy way to burn that time, it’s probably not. So, call it a summer project with long term ambitions but I’ve recently launched my next project.

You see, ever since Nidzumi was sold and subsequently closed (apparently) I’ve been listening to more music. It’s been great really. The only problem is, and I’m trying not to sound like one of those people, that not many people are aware of the cliché-free hip-hop I’ve been listening to. Now I’m going to stop there because we’re entering pretentious music listener territory, which is the opposite of what I wanted to achieve with the site. So instead of rambling on I’ll let you visit Lesson Six.

In a shocking turn of events, I’m back where I started. Three years ago I started writing, for the first time, for MSXBOX-World.com. Three years on, I’m back writing for them. Progress!

Anyway, here are some thoughts on Tiger Woods 11.