New iTunes 8!

At Apple’s “Let’s Rock” event on Tuesday, Steve Jobs announced iTunes 8. iTunes 8 should be available for download by late Tuesday afternoon at:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

The most newsworthy feature of iTunes 8 isn’t even music related; it’s the return of NBC’s very popular TV programing to the iTunes store. NBC pulled it’s programing in 2007 after failing to come to terms with Apple’s pricing schemes. Returning shows include The Office, Monk, Battlestar Galactica, 30 Rock, and Heroes. It will be interesting if these return to their most-downloaded in the iTunes store, or if consumers have permanently switched to Hulu, NBC’s free online TV service.

iTunes 8 now offers television programing in HD. HD shows cost $2.99 per episode, versus $1.99 for SD shows. If you buy a season pass for a TV program, there may be a pricing discount.

At first glance, the iTunes 8 interface is identical to iTunes 7. However, new features and accessibly options have been added and improved.

The new “Genius” feature lets you make playlists from songs in your music library “that go great together, with just one click,” according to Jobs. A new sidebar will also make recommendations for accompanying songs that are available through the the iTunes Store.

Users can opt into anonymously sharing their Genius information with the iTunes store, which should constantly improve the Genius feature.

New browsing options have been added. Similar to iPhoto, in iTunes 8 can skim or scrub through albums by artist, and use a similar view to skim movies, TV shows and other content. (Personally, I am very eager to use this feature – I think it makes sense with a very large music library.) A tab at the top of the screen allows you to toggle Albums, Artists, Genres and Composers.

iTunes 8 can be now be operated with Apple’s accessibility software VoiceOver.