Given multiple computers in households, additional devices such as AppleTV and iPhone, etc., iTunes needs to either move to or have an optional capability to run as a server. I want an iTunes Library to act as one central repository for all my media. It should be able to have purchases added to it from multiple locations, and be synced and/or streamed to even more locations. The iPhone versions of the iTMS/App Store already have this sort of capability (buy on the iPhone, gets pushed back to iTunes on sync), and this would add incredible capability.

Think of a implementation-hidden, UNIX-y approach to your home Media Library. One component (the Library) stores all the media, and gives hooks for adding purchased content, regular content, downloading subscribed content (season pass TV shows, podcasts, etc.) Clients to this Library can be anything. iPods, AppleTVs, other front-end focused instances of iTunes.

Now add the ability for either a revised AppleTV or a brand new device to act as the Tivo media grabber that could dump captured TV content (HD/cablecard/firewire grab capable) into the library.  Add streaming over the web to iPhones/iPod Touches a la Simplify Media…

iTunes is close to this already. But if it could run in an asynchronous or headless mode (not monopolizing the Library files or requiring the front end to always be running) and allow remote devices to add files, Apple will have a no-compromises solution to the whole household’s media.

AFP is much more tolerant of interruptions or transitions in network service. Both when resuming from sleep and the switch from Airport to Ethernet (or vice versa), the afp shares stay alive. The smb share, however, never fails to, well, fail. And then, boom, up comes the “The server you were connected to is no longer available…” message. Much nicer.

The net net for most people – both the regular gallery and the friends gallery are on new versions, with new “skins”…