Apple’s new iPod announcement is finished, and the new version of iTunes is out!  The download is available on Apple’s website.  Here’s a basic overview of some of the updates on the Windows platform.

First of all, unmentioned at the actual event, is the new jump list in Windows 7.  The only tasks on the list are going to and searching the iTunes Store, but it’s a start.  If you hover over the icon in the taskbar, you’ll see a Windows Media Player-esque preview of the window and play/pause and skip controls.  Simple updates, but they really help the integration into Windows 7.

Apple also refreshed the entire UI to iTunes on Windows.  It holds the same design aesthetic as the older versions, but is lighter overall.   The dark background in the album view is now white, and the aluminum parts have a shine, much like the new line of iPod Nanos and Shuffles.

I don’t particularly like the new look.  I was hoping for something more like Safari 4 on Windows that takes advantage of Aero glass effects, but that clearly won’t be happening in this revision.

I haven’t had too much time to look at the functionality yet, but one interesting change to device syncing is the ability to select specific artists and genres to sync with your iPod or iPhone.  According to the announcement, you will also be able to manage apps for your iPhone or iPod Touch, but that’s something I won’t be able to test out. 

What’s the same in iTunes 9?  To be honest, pretty much everything.  The functionality is essentially the same as it was for the past few versions, with only minor additions.  Managing music and movies hasn’t changed, and cover flow is still pretty useless.  While I’m sure that there are some great new features, it’ll probably take some time using the software to really discover them. 

Is there something important that you think I missed, or do your think I’m completely wrong? Let me know in the comments.

After a lot of work and several revisions, the new version of DerekErdmann.com is ready to go!  It’s pretty bare-bones for now, but I plan on adding a lot more functionality in the future.  Currently, the site consists of only my blog, and the tutorials section of my old site has been completely removed.  I wanted to focus on making this a platform that I could easily build upon later, and the design and structure I’ve put together should do that well.

The Projects section will hold all of the things I put together on the side.  Right now it only includes my Windows 7 / Windows Live 2009 Skin for Digsby, but more will be coming down the road.

For now, comments are open for everyone, but I would like to use Facebook Connect and other methods to authenticate users.  I’ll also be adding a portfolio section, but that may not happen for some time.  The most challenging part will be regular posts, which I’m hoping will be at least one each week.

If you want, you can subscribe via RSS and follow me on Twitter.  Plus, if you have any thoughts on the new design, features you’d like to see, or questions about anything, feel free to let me know in the comments.

Was trying out a new piece of software today when I discovered a new keyboard shortcut in Windows 7.  If you hold Ctrl+Win+Up, your window will automatically resize to half the height of your screen and move to the top.

The same thing works with the down key to move the window to the bottom of the screen.  Watch out though, the window won’t snap back to the center of the screen like it does after using Win+Right or Win+Left, so you’ll have to resize it again manually.

UPDATE: I'm not entirely sure what was causing the size-changing, but the effect no longer seems to be ocurring.  It may have been some piece of software that had been installed on my computer at the time.  Ctrl+Win+Up does not seem to resize windows in any way.