Howdy folks. Resurrecting a bit of an old thread here, but wanted to let you know that kOS 10.6 has begun rolling out to customer systems (this will take a couple of weeks to work through all systems), and this feature is now implemented. In your onscreen Settings option on Alto or Strato, there's a new "System" page, and the option exists there to choose between automatic shuffle or keeping covers alphabetized.
Note that this feature behaves slightly differently from the corresponding option in kOS 8.3.x on Premiere. On Premiere, if you elect to alphabetize your covers, then as soon as you press the Shuffle button on your remote control, the covers shuffle and automatic shuffling is enabled. In 10.6, pressing shuffle shuffles the covers, but does not enable auto-shuffle. You must press the shuffle button each time you want to shuffle.
To return your covers to alphabetical order, you can send the ALPHABETIZE_COVER_ART command via the control protocol, or you can just re-select the Covers place using the Main Menu. (i.e., press Menu, OK on your remote)
I anticipate that systems on the 8.x software branch will be updated to the new behavior of the Shuffle button the next time there's an 8.x release. I don't have a date to announce for that at this time.