The once and future iTunes

iTunes 6 has been out in the wild for a little less than a week now, at long last giving us the access to $2-per-episode Lost reruns that our forefathers once dreamed of. So just as we start exploring version 6’s new features such as gift options and user-specific recommendations, now seems like the perfect time to start talking about what tools and tweaks Apple should introduce into iTunes 7.

Oh sure—laugh if you must. But Apple cranks out these iTunes updates, what, every couple weeks or so? It was a little more than three months ago that most of us were using iTunes 4.8—at this rate, we can probably expect to be downloading iTunes X just after Christmas. (On a related note, look for our special retrospective, “The iTunes 5 Era: 35 Days that Changed the World,”: to appear soon.) So maybe, it isn’t too soon to start thinking about future iTunes features, even if it’s in a dreamy what-if sort of way.

By way of review, here’s a list of the most recent iTunes updates and a summary of the features they added:

• iTunes 4.8: video playback, plus a contact and calendaring synchronization panel for iPod users;

• iTunes 4.9: podcasting support;

• iTunes 5: interface changes, folders for playlists, synchronization tools for Windows users, a Smart Shuffle feature, and parental controls for the iTunes Music Store; and

• iTunes 6: video downloads and new ITMS tools.

So, given that roadmap, what direction is iTunes 7 going to take. Or more important, what direction should it take?

I think the answer will clearly have something to do with video. Exactly what, I don’t know, which is why I write about Apple instead of work for it. But if it were up to me, I’d add a feature to the next version of iTunes that made it easy for me to take the TV shows I’ve got stored up on my TiVo and transfer them over to my iTunes library. Yes, there’s TiVoToGo —but not for humble Mac users like myself. Rather than have to hack my digital video recorder and rely on third-party work-arounds, I’d like to see Apple teaming up with TiVo to integrate TiVoToGo features directly into iTunes—something that lets me press a button or two to retrieve recorded programming with idiot-proof simplicity.

Throw in some tweaks to the search interface at the iTunes Music Store—I don’t like how you can’t specify that you’re searching by album, song title, or artist until after your initial search query—and that pretty much sums up my iTunes 7 wish list. Got a missing feature of your own? Better share it before Apple puts out another update of the software.