iTunes Store Goes Classic. Star Trek, Not Shania.

Apple quietly upgraded the iTunes Store while no one was paying attention.

So far as I can tell, there’s nothing different technically, but there’s the entire first season of Star Trek Classic, ready for download. Or, is it ”beam it up” to your Mac?

If you can’t tell from the graphic above because your eyes are too old to read the fine print, I’m a Trekkie. Carol, too.

We’re not Trekkies with no life. We both have jobs, we have kids, we have a mortgage, and don’t live in our parents basement. But we love Star Trek.

Apple has the first season of Star Trek, the original classic version, now re-done in glorious digital color, available on the iTunes Store.

There’s 29 episodes in the first year, and at just $1.99 an episode seems like a pretty good download bargain. Pick and choose your favorite episodes and skip the really crummy ones.

What? There’s a crummy Star Trek Classic episode? Crummy is in the eyes of the beholder, but there’s not much that’s ever been said that’s kind about Spock’s Brain (from the third season, I think).

As much as we consider ourselves Trekkies, we’ve never collected any of the DVDs now available on Amazon at discount prices.

The complete first season on DVD is $67 from Amazon. If you buy, buy it from the Mac360 Store.

The download version from iTunes Store is a mere $1.99 per episode, and $56.99 for the entire 29 episodes. You’ll save 72-cents by purchasing the whole set for download.

Slowly, quietly, with modest fanfare, Apple is shaping the iTunes Store to be far more than “tunes.” That means another name change in the future (a prediction from Tera a long time ago).

Music, movies, TV shows. Quick and easy views for shopping and downloads. Attractive pricing and modest digital rights management issues.

What’s not to like? Well, for one, the selection of music videos is just plain sucky. Seriously. Where’s Shania Twain’s, ”Man, I Feel Like A Woman?” Chevy has a guy singing the tune on a truck commercial, but I can’t get a clean copy from iTunes Store.

Are there other omissions? Sure. Where’s Robert Palmer’s great music videos from the 1980s? ”Addicted to Love” and ”Simply Irresistible.” Do you see a trend with those videos? I confess. Don’t squeal. Carol already knows.

While I’m pleased that the iTunes Store continues to expand media offerings, there are some glowing gaps that Apple needs to fill. Besides the obvious problems with lack of inventory in music videos, what else is missing? What would you like to see in the iTunes Store that’s not there yet?

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