As we approach the end of the first semester of iTunes U use here at Penn State I have all sorts of thoughts about the service, how to make it better, what we really like, and so on … I only have a minute this morning, so I thought I’d share one quick thought.  How about allowing users of iTunes to create a new type of smart menu item in the left hand “source” menu?  What I want is the ability to create a link into our iTunes U space without going through a web browser first.  Much of our content is public content and does not require a login, so a one click access to the space would be killer.

I hate to say it, but the environment just doesn’t feel right with the browser only based access.  Doing the browser thing is slow and is a real drag … giving us this capability could save me a ton of time when going in.  If that were possible, I could create shortcuts to the podcasts I show off all the time here on campus.  It would also allow me to title it Penn State instead of iTunes Store … you have no idea how many bad looks I get when people see how connected the iTunes Store is to iTunes U … allowing us to create and name a custom link into the space would help me in a lot of ways.  That’s it … quick.