Willmrc:
What exactly was fixed with On The Go? I don't notice any difference...
Steve, and anyone who's interested in m'opinion:
I despise iTunes, and will not be using it again.
Pros: The radio is well-populated with a great variety of stations. Also, I LOVE the Explorer iCons it comes with for MP3 files. iPod sync is nice and streamlined, going on almost in the background, and going very fast. I love the two buttons on the bottom: One for your iPod options dialogue (and it's a GREAT options dialogue) and one to eject. They should have a button to start sync like we do, though, hehe!
Cons: Well, I'll be nice and say that I just prefer MC9. I like having a couple choices here and there. I like flexibility, I like smartlists that refresh themselves, I like having a "Playing Now" and being able to browse my library and listen to music at the same time. There is no way in hell that I will consider for another moment replacing MC9 with iTunes for my at-the-desk music needs. Thus, I will never use it for my iPod needs.
Which means, Steve my friend, that I'm still here for ya, and still counting on you to keep up the good work. Your iPod software outshines the manufacturer's iPod software any day of the week, and you have my thanks and my hopes for the future of my pod.
So, here's to the future:
I'm looking forward to AAC. Someone said that "As of today, AAC is a mainstream format on Windows" and I hope that it'll be here soon. Cutting my file sizes in half is very desirable.
I'm hoping that the more intricate features of iTunes-prepared iPods will be able to be worked into MC9 now that you have non HFS+ examples to use. Things like "dynamic" smartlists which update themselves while on the go (eg the default iTunes "Recently Played" and "Top Rated" smartlists). Also, while volume leveling works to an extent (I didn't like it much) in MC9, it's not tied to the "Sound Check" option in the iPod; I hope that it can be one day, since this will allow it to be toggled.
In the near future, I think the "All Music" smartlist problem and the eventual removal of those checkboxes me and Adam are on ya about are both important. And get that iPod back in the Action Window!
One last thing... While in iTunes, I renamed my iPod to "Lil' Geisha" -- it's been "IPOD" since I started with MC9. Well, I launched MC9 and it works with my Lil' Geisha just fine! Neat! No manual editing of the plugin, hehe!