[hab]

I see from Apple Insider that Apple is planning an iTunes update to version 7.5 sometime soon. The name for the software made sense years ago when the focus was music. But given that iTunes is the home for all things media beyond just music, and includes video and TV that syncs to iPod, iPhone and AppleTV, it seems that the program name is too limited and no longer fits the program. This cannot be lost on Apple. Seems like they should have changed the name long ago when the video capability was incorporated. Is it too late to change the program name to be more relevant to the resource?

[nonhuman]

I think at this point it probably is too late. We're to the point where the average Joe knows of the existence of Apple Products, but doesn't really know anything about the product lineup or the company. For example, everyone knows iPods, but someone they don't all seem to understand that the company that makes iPods is the same company that makes Macs.

This is very much related to the recent rebranding of the PowerMac to the Mac Pro and the iBook and PowerBook to the MacBook and MacBook Pro. People knew what iMacs were, but didn't understand that they were related to iBooks. Some people didn't even understand that their 'iLamps' were the same things as iMacs. The re-branding of the computer line simplified things so that it's now very obvious that all those things are Macs, which lets Apple build of the popularity of the iMac. But the iPod and iTunes don't really share in that.

The iPod is now ubiquitous, as, therefore, is iTunes, but that means that probably the majority of the people who use it wouldn't know what to do if suddenly iTunes disappeared as a product. I'm pretty well convinced that if suddenly after running Software Update iTunes disappeared, no one would make the connection that the new iMedia program (or whatever it would be called) filled the same function. They'd just be blindly looking for the iTunes name and logo (the logo doesn't make any more sense than the name at this point) and not finding it. So they'd make the wrong assumption that the iTunes company had gone out of business or something and that their iPods were now completely useless. It would be a total disaster.

And if you think that scenario sounds overly pessimistic, you've obviously never worked in IT.

[voodoo]

Originally Posted by nonhuman 

And if you think that scenario sounds overly pessimistic, you've obviously never worked in IT.

Granted, though much of what you wrote may be true, it must be said that IT departments discourage independent thinking and problem-solving. Users are repremanded for attempting to think, so generally they won't.

The attitude is somewhat more creative at home, where there isn't an intelligence-dampening IT department to deal with.

As for the iTunes name.. it is an awkward name for such a comprehensive reproduction application. I do agree with nonhuman that it is probably too late to attempt rebranding. At least for now, while the only thing iTunes does *decently* is to play music.

V

[lpkmckenna]

I vote against renaming. Even though it does more than music, it's still mostly about music, and always will be. People can keep all their media on their iPhone, for instance, but music use will still dominate over everything else, including phone calls.

[peeb]

iTunes is here to stay - brand recognition is much more important than being strictly descriptive.

[Wiskedjak]

Originally Posted by nonhuman 

And if you think that scenario sounds overly pessimistic, you've obviously never worked in IT.

This goes beyond IT. It's marketing. Changing a highly recognized brand is risky, expensive and usually results in most of your customers going over to the competition while they wonder where your product went to. The only reasons for changing a brand are if nobody knows it or it has a bad reputation associated with it. Neither is the case for iTune.

[nonhuman]

Originally Posted by voodoo 

Granted, though much of what you wrote may be true, it must be said that IT departments discourage independent thinking and problem-solving. Users are repremanded for attempting to think, so generally they won't.

The attitude is somewhat more creative at home, where there isn't an intelligence-dampening IT department to deal with.

That's largely true, but when I was working in IT I was dealing mostly with people who were coming straight out of college and had never dealt with an IT department before. I was personally responsible for 10 offices in 4 countries pretty much entirely on my own, so I didn't have the resources or desire to dampen creative thinking in my users. I encouraged it as much as possible because otherwise there was just no way that I could handle the job. Despite that, I still ran into all the same sort of stupidity. I really do believe that the reason that most IT department treat the users the way they do is because it's really the only way there is to deal with a huge segment of the user-base, and the others are smart enough to just get out of IT's way. It's depressing and somewhat insulting, but that's what my experiences would suggest.