iTunes 7.0

So iTunes 7.0 dropped last night. So far, my impressions are good. The way it now handles syncing with an iPod? Yeah, I like that. The "flip through the cover-art images like it's a stack of CDs" feature is kind of fun.

It also now downloads said artwork automatically from the iTunes store. I find this suprising, since the last two or three editions have been, as far as I can make out, code upgrades to stop third-party programs from downloading art through the iTunes store. Still, it's a welcome improvement. It'd be even more welcome if I hadn't dedicated a weekend to manually getting the art off Amazon a month ago.

There are things I don't like though:

• Guys, do you really need to change the way it looks every time? I liked the blue-and-green thing.
  
• The way this version handles iCal has re-fueled my desire to play with an application that is essentially useless. My geek genes don't care, I'm still going to spend days subscribing to calendars that alert me when the Minnessotta Vikings have a game.
  
• The level of integration with the iTunes store is fun, but Digital Rights Management makes me feel like a god-damned criminal. DRM annoys honest people, and is seen as a challenge by pirates. It's like being carded trying to buy milk.

I will probably talk about DRM more at some future date, because I have extremely few concerns in my life.