iTunes for Windows

I like it. I really do - but as I commented on the iTunes feedback form, I do have some minor gripes:

I am very impressed with ITunes thus far - kudos on a very inuitive and powerful application.

I have some comments however - none of which are deal-breakers, but are what I would consider a smothing out of rough edges, especially for a Windows and Unix user like myself.

1. Ogg support. Please add an Ogg Vorbis encoder and decoder to the ITunes import and play capabilities. Ogg is a free codec and costs nothing to license. Please see www.vorbis.com for details.

2. Please include a Wizard upon first-run so that basc and important options and preferences can be set to the user's desired defaults. The settings such as which music codec to default to for importing, and whether iTunes should copy music files to the ITunes folder, are the most important ones. Please do NOT default to AAC encoding, as Windows users typically have MP3-compliant portable music players only.

In fact, the intuitiveness of your interface (insert disc, press "Import") for importing music worked against me, because I had already imported about 10 CDs vefore I realized it was all in AAC format. This forced me to start over and was a massive waste of time. Give us a choice up front so this can be avoided.

3. Aesthetics. Please include a "View" submenu where Artwork and View options and other interface widgets can be consolidated. This wil adhere better to standard Windows UI design. The location of Preferences under Edit was especially confusing, and was why i missed the fact I could default to MP3 instead of AAC encoding (see point 2 above).

Also, it would be nice if ITunes had an option to use the Windows theme instead of the Aqua lookalike.

Summary - the Windows version needs to play nicely. It needs to remember that we are using this app in the context of our environment - and the settings, UI choices, andgeneral behavior needs to respect that fact. Intuitiveness can be counterintuitive if you dont follow the rules of the pond.

The app is a joy to use however, once I got past these initial snafus. I may buy music in the future from the music store and I am even considering buying an iPod. But I hope that the next version of ITunes does address these concerns.

PS. Is it possible to combine QuickTime and iTunes into a single app? I would greatly enjoy being able to sort my video (esp trailers of movies downloaded from the web or Apples own site) the same way i do my music.

Bottom line - dump whatever programs you currently use for ripping CDs and managing playlists. Use iTunes. It's just better. But not perfect... but given Apple's history of claiming perfection, I intend to hold them accountable to their own standard.