There will always be those who will prefer to use software in a manner contrary to it's design—no matter how inefficient that is. But most people have some interest in learning how to use software to some better potential. That's clearly THE thing that attracts many to MC—the seemingly unlimited potential. So the down side of this suggestion is it will make that potential just a tiny bit more difficult for all those other people to discern.
Maybe more than a tiny bit. If it's a visible thing and clone of an existing iTunes feature, many new users are going to reasonably expect it is the only mechanism for excluding tracks from playing. That can only result in it taking them longer to discover the more effective means for doing so—and all the other wonderful things the same tools make possible. Worse, something like this can induce a new user to invest a lot of time in applying it to their circumstance, making the discovery of the better way an unhappy experience.
True, and normally I'd agree. If you have a large market share, or a split market, you can often push people to learn "your way" to do things. For example, Final Cut Pro and AVID have some very different ways of accomplishing certain basic cutting tasks. AVID does implement some of "Apple's way" here and there, and Apple implements some of "AVID's way" here and there, but for the most part they force novice users to learn the "AVID Way" or the "Final Cut Way". That's fine when you are one of the big players in an established market. It can even be a benefit because it creates a bit of a "lock in" for your established customers.
It even applies to MC in many cases, but the situation isn't the same at all. iTunes is clearly the dominant player in this space, and MC is operating in a much smaller niche. Clearly, one of the "sales goals" for MC is to convert existing iTunes users over to a much better product. I don't think I'd suggest implementing a TON of stupid things from iTunes just because it would ease the noob transition. However, this is one place where I
do think it would be appropriate. It is a balancing act, of course.
I'm not entirely convinced that MC's way to do this is better for everyone. MC's exisiting system is, of course, much more POWERFUL. But my point above is that
more powerful does not mean
better. Sometimes it does. But in many cases, especially for novice users (but certainly not limited exclusively to them), it actually means just the
opposite.
There is a tendency among any product's users to automatically prefer the established paradigm, especially with technical products like MC, even when an alternative is much simpler. Sometimes, listening to your "power users" is actually a very bad call for a company who wants to expand their market. The problem is, that you're just preaching to the choir. A perfect example of this in the real world is Blackberry. When the iPhone shipped, they seriously thought that it wouldn't appeal to many people because it didn't have enough buttons. They were thinking: Look at the people who buy smartphones. None of them will buy this thing. Where's the email button? Where's the keyboard? They don't even have a physical button to send a text message quickly. Who would dump their existing Blackberry or Palm Treo for this thing?
This was absolutely true of the Blackberry fans out there (I can dig up all sorts of awesome online predictions of the iPhone's failure if you need), and I think it deeply affected RIM's response to the iPhone. They listened too much to the echo chamber, convinced that their way was better because it was more useful for power users. That's fine if you only ever want to sell to your established base, but the problem is that doesn't help you expand your market. Apple didn't care about selling phones to people who already "bought in" to the complex smartphone system. They cared about selling to everyone else. The top-end users will take care of themselves, given time. And, it worked. As another player becomes dominant, those existing power users are going to begin to jump ship. And, look at what has been happening to RIM as a result. Sure, they still have a large existing market share, but that is mostly because they were SUCH a commanding leader for so long (and corporate buying doesn't turn on a dime). But, if you dig down into the actual new sales numbers (price per handset, and user loyalty) they are in deep, deep trouble. Which is why it appears that they are in the process of completely switching strategies now.
MC isn't in a market like AVID vs. Final Cut (two large established players who command a dominant position in the market). You can only push new users so far, and usually only a little at a time. When I first came to using MJ way back in the day, I probably only used 10% of its capabilities even back then. I learned a little more and more at a time as I went, but I kept at it because the product met enough of my established preconceptions and needs that I kept with it. If there had been a major feature that I wanted and liked that it didn't offer? Maybe I would have closed the trial and kept my money? And then we both (J River and I) would have lost.
So... Relating this discussion back to this particular suggestion:
I've personally seen a NUMBER of people
switch away from using MC after I've introduced it to them for
this exact reason. You can explain it to them until you're blue in the face that MC does it this way and this is why this is "better" (more capable), but in the end, their needs are often very simple. They don't WANT to do all of that complex setup, or learn anything new, they just want to turn off some songs quickly and simply without deleting them, and have it work on the fly, the way they're used to. It isn't a choice between learning something new (and fairly complex) and being frustrated and unable to accomplish their goal. It is a choice between learning something new or just using iTunes.
So, in this instance, I think this is an opportunity. First of all, the feature set being requested is not actually PERFECTLY solved by the workaround suggestions made. One benefit of the iTunes method that many people I've talked to about this really appreciate is that they can modify a playlist ALREADY IN PROGRESS by using the checkboxes.
So, for example, you can start a song playing with Shuffle mode turned on, and then go through and uncheck the boxes for the songs you don't want included right then and there. You don't have to think about any of it ahead of time. You can do it a little at a time as you go. If the shuffle is playing and plays a track by Rage Against the Machine and you're not feeling particularly "ragey" right then, just walk over and uncheck those songs and they'll no longer play in the existing shuffle. Because of the Playing Now system in MC, this doesn't work even if you use the suggestions. Once you start the playback, the only choice is to edit the Playing Now list manually, or to filter your view and restart playback. So, in that small way, MC's system is actually LESS flexible than the system in iTunes.
So, I think that for all of these reasons, this particular iTunes feature could be useful to some users, particularly those coming over from iTunes. That is, of course, a very large portion of your "potential new user base" for MC. I wouldn't turn it on by default, and when someone asks, we'd say something like:
"You probably shouldn't do it that way. This is how you can do it using MC's more powerful tools. But, if you really want it, go here and you can turn it on."
Sure, some people are going to turn it on and never look back. But those people might have been just as likely to close the trial of MC and never come back as they would be to take the time and effort to learn the "MC Way". And that's the difference.
For myself, I don't really manage my media that way. I can't. I have way too much stuff. There is absolutely NO WAY I can browse my library using the way most people use iTunes. Bear in mind, the vast majority of iTunes users that I see out and about
don't even use the Panes to sub-filter their media. They just scroll through the big "all songs" list and find what they want that way. Seriously. I can't do that. I'd never find anything. And maybe MOST of those people aren't even potential MC customers, but some of them (who are frustrated with iTunes, particularly on Windows where it is brain damaged) certainly are. Turning them away for something so simple seems like a bad idea.
