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iTunes 9 introduces a new iTunes Media Organization option.  Previously, the iTunes folder is organized like:

• iTunes
  
  • Mobile Applications
  • iTunes Music
    • Movies
    • Podcasts
    • Ringtones
    • TV Shows
  • iPod Games

The new organization scheme puts all content into folders related to the content within the iTunes Media Folder:

• iTunes
  
  • iTunes Media
    • Audiobooks
    • Automatically Added to iTunes
    • iPod Games
    • Mobile Applications
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Podcasts
    • Ringtones
    • TV Shows
    • Voice Memos

I decided to upgrade my organization by choosing File > Library > Organize Library.  The process appeared to go very well with only 12 old artist folders remaining in in my iTunes Media folder. 

After examining these remainders, I found that some contained orphaned music files, some had jpg files and some were just plain empty.  I dragged the music files to iTunes (which immediately moved them on the new organization scheme), deleted the images and the remaining empty folders.

Then came the shocker, my next Time Machine backup wanted 400GB+ to complete.  I let it backup, but I’m planning on going back and deleting my old iTunes Music folder in the backups once I’m satisfied that there are no orphaned files.

A quick check using “List MIAs,” tells me I’m clean, but experience says I should wait a few weeks.

Update: Apple has posted a support article titled: “iTunes 9: Understanding iTunes Media Organization”

Fake Steve Jobs (FSJ) is on a rampage!  The Google Chrome OS has started quite the fake feud with Eric “Squirrel Boy” Schmidt and the new and improved FSJ.

Read more on fakesteve: “Dear Eric: You’re dead to me”

iChat occasionally seems to have trouble connecting when I’m traveling.  My simple fix is to enter the IP address of the AIM servers directly into the settings. 

Here are the IP addresses that you can plug in to make iChat work as of 04.06.09:

SSL
—————
Name:  slogin.gslogin.oscar.aol.com
Address: 64.12.161.184

Non-SSL
—————
Name:  login.messaging.aol.com
Address: 64.12.161.153

After searching numerous times on this topic “We’re sorry, this video is no longer available,” I finally came across the answer.  ArcSource posts this simple solution:

Reinstall Flash 10.

Yes, there is a fix for those who don’t have Google Accelerator and it’s so simple that I’m going to type it again- Reinstall Flash 10.

That is all.

Doug Adams has released the second major version of the must-have Dupin. This app is the iTunes duplicates manager.

If you’ve ever wanted to rid your library of dupes, do yourself a favor and spend the $15 on this amazing piece of software.  The new “Consolidate History” tool in this version consolidates play, skip & ratings info from all dupe tracks into a single “Keeper” track.  Awesome!

While you’re there, take a look around the the huge library of iTunes scripts.  Chances are if you’ve ever wished iTunes could do something that it can’t, Doug has created a script that does it for you.

Apple has just released Safari 4 beta for both Mac and Windows.

Innovative new features in Safari 4 include:

Top Sites, a display of frequently visited pages in a stunning wall of previews so users can jump to their favorite sites with a single click;

Full History Search, where users search through titles, web addresses and the complete text of recently viewed pages to easily return to sites they’ve seen before;

Cover Flow, to make searching web history or bookmarks as fun and easy as paging through album art in iTunes

Tabs on Top, for better tabbed browsing with easy drag-and-drop tab management tools and an intuitive button for opening new ones;

Smart Address Field, that automatically completes web addresses by displaying an easy-to-read list of suggestions from Top Sites, bookmarks and browsing history;

Smart Search Field, where users fine-tune searches with recommendations from Google Suggest or a list of recent searches;

Full Page Zoom, for a closer look at any website without degrading the quality of the site’s layout and

Built-in web developer tools to debug, tweak and optimize a website for peak performance and compatibility; and

New Windows-native look in Safari for Windows, that uses standard Windows font rendering and native title bar, borders and toolbars so Safari fits the look and feel of other Windows XP and Windows Vista applications.

While many media outlets are focusing on the 25-year Macintosh anniversary this month, the Times takes a look at historical Apple sans Steve Jobs.

[via Patrick Crowley]

I caught a new trick at Rob Griffith’s Macworld session today:

How to instantly sleep your mac display:

- Press Shift-Control-Eject

This is awesome because you can’t set the brightness to zero on the desktop displays.

Here’s what I’m expecting for Macworld 2009- “the finale”

Apple State of the Union- A general update on the health of Apple.  With Phil Schiller on stage, he may try to justify the action of effectively canceling MacWorld.  (Something Steve would never do.)  A painful move for the community, but necessary for the health of Apple.

Updates on holiday Mac sales- I wouldn’t be surprised to see some growth from last year.

State of the iPhone- Unit sales, marketshare & of course- the phenomenal app store.

Snow Leopard aka Mac OS X 10.6- Probably the bulk of the keynote will be devoted to this important release.  Perhaps we’ll even see a few new gee-whiz features.

Mac Mini- Time for an update on the underdog of the Apple lineup.  Look for a refreshed design to bring it in line with the rest of curent Apple “iPhone” design scheme.

Apple TV- We’ve seen an update around this time for the past couple years. This year should continue the trend.

17” MacBook Pro- I’d love to see “Lapzilla” come back and quad-core would be a good bet.

iLife ‘09- Perhaps some new effects and refinement or better online integration?

iWork ‘09- The buzz is that this gem is going online and into the cloud as a web app.  This doesn’t strike me as one of Apple’s core competencies, but it would be a timely move.

iPhone Nano- A lower-lost version could certainly move more units, but a decrease in screen size would cause incompatibility with the 10,000+ iPhone apps already out there.  Of course, the screen rez could probably be increased to handle this issue, but it would leave users with even smaller on-screen buttons to tap.  The solution to that would be a physical keyboard.  Or why not a new form-factor?  We’ll see.

iPhone Tablet- Ever since first playing with the iPhone, I’ve expected to see this.  Supposedly this is where the iPhone concept came from- “Safari Tablet.”  Personally I’d love to see one, but I think it is still a ways off.

Apple Media Server- This seems to be logical progression of the iTunes sharing and Time Capsule lines.  Most power users have rolled their own solutions to enhance the sharing and backup solutions, but I’m not sure that the average consumer really needs or understands either of these two technologies as a base to build a new product upon.

I just caught my first MacWorld banner in San Francisco.  Let the excitement of the final event begin!