iTunes

On Thursday, Apple released iTunes 9.0.2, the latest version of its media player and software hub for devices such as the iPhone and iPod touch. The new version, a 92.8 megabyte download, adds support for Apple TV software version 3.0, adds an option for a dark background for Grid View, and improves support for accessibility.

Today Apple pushed out the first update to iTunes 9, version 9.0.1. The most prominent change since iTunes 9's release can be seen in the behavior of the green maximize button. In iTunes 9, the maximize button no longer switched iTunes into miniplayer mode and required users to option-click the button instead. This latest update reverts the button to its previous behavior.

In addition to this welcome change, the update also "resolves issues browsing the iTunes Store" and claims to improve overall performance in the app. Issues where iTunes may become unresponsive or unexpectedly quit should also be resolved in this update, at least to some extent.

After the release of iTunes 9 yesterday, Palm Pre users are once again finding that their phones no longer sync with the latest version of the software. Of course this comes as no surprise considering that the Pre has not received authorization from Apple to sync with the software. In the past Palm has fixed iTunes syncing when it broke under iTunes 8.2.1 and we expect them to do the same.

PreCentral believes that Palm may slip the fix into the recently delayed 1.2 software.

Meanwhile I hear a strange noise coming from the abyss. Is that the sound of iPhone owners collectively not caring? I think it may be. Please let us know in the comments if you want to hear more about this sort of thing.

After much anticipation, Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone OS 3.1 software update at the "Rock and Roll" media event on Wednesday, September 9th. The new firmware, a free download for iPhone OS 3.0 users, adds the following fixes and changes:

At Apple's "It's only Rock and Roll" event today in San Francisco, CEO Steve Jobs introduced iTunes 9. This latest version now includes the ability to add, remove, and rearrange applications on the iPhone and iPod touch. This now makes it easier than ever to load up your iPhone with apps and quickly arrange them the way you want. Additionally, iTunes 9 now sports improvements to syncing.

You can now specify which artists, playlists, and genres you'd like to automatically sync, in addition to playlists and other specific options.

BGR has word from what they describe as a "pretty reliable source" that Apple will be adding multiple new features in iTunes 9, including support for Blu-ray media, a way to visually organize downloaded App Store applications inside iTunes, some kind of social networking integration as part of a larger social networking plan.