Kirk McElhearn on iTunes 8.1's 'iTunes DJ' feature


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mathwhiz

Technology Novice
I take no pleasure in having to do this, but...

I just listened to Kirk's painful little tutorial on the 'iTunes DJ' feature...

Now, I believe in the old adage, "If you can't say something nice...". So, just suffice it to say that someone needs to untangle the untidy mess of disinformation he visited on the March 19 TNOL program. His facts on iTunes DJ were definitely uncoordinated (but he may in fact contain parasitical beings...). ;) It was unfortunate.

It helps to be prepared. And if you're not, just skip it (i.e., stop digging...).
 
I appreciate your comment, and in a way, I agree. When I fumbled while we were recording, I suggested that we start over (for that section), but Gene says he likes he show to be "spontaneous".

In a way, it shows how confusing the feature is. Granted, I had only fiddled with it twice before, and hadn't memorized how it worked, but it is confusing. (Try it yourself and see if it makes sense...)

Kirk
 
kirkmc said:
I appreciate your comment, and in a way, I agree. When I fumbled while we were recording, I suggested that we start over (for that section), but Gene says he likes he show to be "spontaneous".

In a way, it shows how confusing the feature is. Granted, I had only fiddled with it twice before, and hadn't memorized how it worked, but it is confusing. (Try it yourself and see if it makes sense...)

Kirk
Click to expand...
Besides, scripted content can be boring. :)
 
Yo Kirk...

Actually, I had fiddled with it on Sunday afternoon (last) at my brother's house... The only confusion came before I realized there's a diff between an iPhone/iPod touch that's authorized, and one that's just running the Remote app. The only iPhone that's authorized will be likely be the party host, who can ride-herd over what's playing. All others just see the guest screen on the top of their Remote list, where they can request songs, mark favorites, search the entire library, and also get recommendations from Genius on what might go well with the current song playing. Your mileage will vary on Genius recommendations, of course.

What really made me cringe, other than the fumbling (which was kind of endearing, not...) was your suggestion that the host would need to plant themselves at their computer to manage the created mess of what was playing... Oh my... :confused:

I'm not really sure how it will play long-term, but for now it's one of those "gee wiz, look what I can do..." features that should create some fun for inebriated people. On the fight suggestion, it did remind me of the scene in Spielberg's "Poltergeist" when Craig T. Nelson is having a TV remote control battle with his next-door neighbor (remotes apparently cross-controlled between houses, which I must admit I've never seen, but it is funny). But anyway, I don't think the police will need to be called too much... ;)

BTW, I agree with you wholeheartedly on iTunes 8. It's one of the greatest improvements I've ever seen in an app, from speed and efficency, as well as a highly functional UI.

Thank you Apple indeed.
 
Well, the host would have to stay in front of the computer to see the votes. If the votes mean anything, then someone has to check who's voted for what.

Also, without votes, anyone can just stop what's playing and start up what they want. Not very conducive to a party atmosphere.

Kirk
 
The host can manage the whole thing from his/her iPhone or iPod touch... I suppose they could stare at their device screen all night counting the votes if they were obsessive-compulsive, but otherwise most normal people wouldn't bother. They could also be crouching down on the floor straightening the fringe on their orientals too, but who cares? ;)

Requests and voting only affects what songs are cued for play and in what order, they don't interrupt what's playing. You must be missing the difference between the host (his iPhone has been authorized with the four digit code) and the guests (their iPhones are not setup as remotes to iTunes). The devices that haven't gone through the little four digit handshake appear as 'guests' to the iTunes DJ feature.

Have you actually tried this out? Hint, you need more than one iPhone or iPod touch to do it... :confused:
 
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