Apple Releases iTunes 8.0

Late Wednesday, Apple released iTunes 8.0, the latest version of its multimedia/jukebox application for Mac OS X. The new version, a 55.9 megabyte download, offers the following fixes, changes and new features:

• Genius Playlists - Meet Genius: a brilliant way to create perfect playlists. Play a song, click the Genius button, and iTunes creates a playlist of other songs from your library that go great together. Genius playlists help you discover songs in your library you never knew you had and rediscover forgotten favorites.

• Genius Sidebar - While you reacquaint yourself with the music you already own, let Genius introduce you to new music youll love. As you select songs in your library, the Genius sidebar displays songs from the iTunes Store that go great with it. The Genius sidebar wont recommend songs already in your library, and you can preview and buy recommended songs directly from the sidebar.

• Grid View - See your iTunes library in a new way. Select Albums in Grid View and iTunes 8 displays your entire music library using cover art.Select Artists, Genres, or Composers and iTunes automatically creates groups of albums based on your selection. Simply skim across a group to see the albums inside, and start playing an album with a single click. Movies, TV shows, podcasts, and audiobooks look great in Grid View, too.

• HD TV Shows - Purchase select episodes of your favorite TV shows in high definition for just $2.99. Or get the whole season in HD with a Season Pass. And when you buy HD, iTunes doubles your viewing pleasure: You also get an iPod-ready version with a file size and resolution that's ideal for smaller screens.

• Enhanced Accessibility - iTunes 8 is now screen reader friendly on both Mac and PC. Manage your iTunes library using VoiceOver in Mac OS X Leopard or Window-Eyes for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Or use your screen reader to purchase or download content from the iTunes Store including iTunes U.

• New Visualizer - Turn on the new Visualizer and lose yourself in a 3D-scape of spheres, ribbons, and lights that pulsate to the beat and tempo of the song youre playing.

iTunes 8.0 is available for free, requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later to run and can be snagged using Mac OS X's built-in Software Update feature.