My universe got a little more bearable today... iTunes 10 is out, and the user interface has finally been revamped to be MUCH less sludgy and slow to respond. It used to be I could practically go get a coffee in between clicking a control and seeing the results. Of course, it would be much better still if Apple didn't force me to use their gatekeeping software for every last aspect of managing my iPhone, but them's the breaks. I actually much prefer Windows Media Player or even Winamp (far gone, alas, from its anarchic Nullsoft roots, but still cool) for music listening on my PC, but I end up using iTunes despite its shortcomings because it's the only way to manage my portable music library. Them's the breaks.