March 2
There are two pieces of software out there that are more greedy and bloated than Apple’s music-playing, music-downloading title: AOL Instant Messenger and Microsoft Internet Explorer.
I hate iTunes.
I’m sick and tired of Apple getting a pass on quality control just because they gave us the Holy Roman iPod Empire and, by a roll of the dice, beat out 10 comparable music download services, both of which are jam packed into our worlds and force-fed to us through iTunes, a software title that just about creeps by on 4 GB of RAM.
It started out innocently enough with iTunes for managing and syncing your iPod and downloading new songs. But where did this incompetent “Genius” come from as it utterly paralyzes my computer from doing the one thing I’m actually trying to do — play a single song from my library?
What’s a decent sized audio library for anyone in their mid-20s? I have 2,000 songs that fit into a space under 8 gigs and play perfectly find on both my new Nano and my original third-generation iPod. Why is it that these same songs can bring a multi-core computer to its knees under the banner of iTunes?
And who gave Apple permission to try and install Safari and several other programs on my computer under the false auspices of “upgrading my iTunes to the latest version.” AIM tried to do that around the same time the term “adware” was coined.
Seriously, is Apple still so desperate for exposure that they will literally try and sneak their software into someone’s computer? No I don’t want Mobile Me. Thanks though.
When dragging a song from my library to a playlist is a 45 second, six click ordeal, there’s a problem here.
Strip it down! Turn off automatic art downloading. Save the Geniuses for the chess club.
In a way this is all our fault. We adopted the whole package and forked over our credit card numbers without asking questions. We can’t switch, right?
Now excuse me, there’s a new MGMT song I have to buy off the iTunes Store.
John Guilfoil is the editor-in-chief of Blast: Boston's Online Magazine. He can be reached at guilfoil.j@blastmagazine.com.
Sure you are using iTunes? I have a 2003 Powerbook with 512MB ram that runs iTunes perfectly. By the by, you don’t ‘click’ to add a song to your playlist, you drag-and-drop, Genius is not automatic, you activate it; you don’t have to download Safari; art downloading you control yourself. If they had a manual for this thing I would ask you to read it, but most people don’t need it because the app is self explanatory and works great. And that’s why so many people use iTunes.
Knut, I think the 2nd-3rd letters in your name need to be rearranged, you putrid Apple apologist.
When a better software comes out for catalogging music I’ll use it. I have 16,000 songs in my itunes library in Apple Lossles format and I do not have any problems with speed. Things like auto art downloading are completely optional, though even with it on I rarely notice any speed problems as well. It sounds like a hardware issue on your end.
Not to mention Genius works better with a larger collection. 2000 songs is sort of lacking in terms of music. I have 2000 CDs sitting in the other room, for Christ’s sake and I’m 30.
It came out several years ago. It’s called Zune. Wander outside the walls of the Apple cult and you’ll be amazed at the advances of those ignorant people.
Ass.
You have seen the light brother!
About time people who don’t know to CUSTOM INSTALL, realize what seemingly ’simple’ programs install; the mother load of RAM sucking vampyre programs JUST to work mediocre and cross platform, all the while sucking up internet bandwidth priority as well.
Maybe people should just realize as tech advances, it’s gonna get more complicated, it’s not all gonna be just ‘button-mashers’. The more you want a program to do, the more you’re gonna have to work the sliders of adjustment to get it.
I ran into this post in search for something else, but it caught my eye none the less… I grew up on Windows (98, 2000, XP Vista, I’m 32), but when Apple went to Intel and platforms became cross compatible, I moved to Mac… I’m in the design world, but regardless, my point is that I have experience on both DOS and UNIX. Let me remind everyone iTunes wasn’t made for Windows, so naturally it runs like any other application on a Mac. But due to the popularity, and solid marketing (because of a solid product) they pushed it to Windows to expand market saturation. I have PC’s and Mac’s here in my home studio, and though the Windows versions of iTunes run a little heavier than one might like, its compensating for the lack of capibility on DOS so it can’t perform the same. Call it a bit of a patch for iTunes on Windows. Point, it still runs acceptably. Like all software and hardware issues, the majority are the user. I would suggest before writing an article out of of frustration, you should do your homework first… May be you’d find that the sluggish performance is due to the vast amount of other possibilities and variables. Obviously, you don’t have to take anyone’s word, simple look at the two companies stocks, customer satisfaction records, better yet, look at quarterly sales over the years… A bit of knowledge for ya just to spark interest… Windows follows Apple, they have since the beginning… Ever heard of “plug’n'play”? Before PC users knew the coined phrase, Apple was doing it on their systems long before… Vista alone has copied so many of Apple’s techniques and approaches its insane. Why’d Jobs asshole Gates and give him the shitty DOS instead of the solid UNIX? One reason is obviously due to security issues… Mac’s don’t get worms, viruses and other such crap… I don’t care how faithful you are as a PC, facts are facts. Which company conducts entire business, production of machines, and offers tech support based only in America? (which you should like, right!!!)… Need I say it, Apple. I could go on and on with factual examples and provide docs to stand on, but no sense doing it here. If you really want to bitch, at least do humanity a favor and educate yourself. I guess thats the problem with the Internet… Everyone has a voice, even if it doesn’t mean shit. It interesting in the beginning of your article you say, “There are two pieces of software out there that are more greedy and bloated than Apple’s music-playing, music-downloading title: AOL Instant Messenger and Microsoft Internet Explorer.” One of them is your own IE from Microsoft, how funny!!! You should be bitching about what Microsoft isn’t doing, instead of what others are doing… Research Microsoft’s new leader and his background, reason Gates promoted him to lead as he stepped down… Facts speak louder than words boys…
Itunes sucks period, there is no way you can defend that piece of crap. I am coming over from the Windows world and have always heard how great itunes is. Let me count the ways.
1. how about an update every few weeks that is a 100 meg install, and it kills any shortcuts
2. manually having to delete dll and ocx files to get it to work becuase of version 8
3. how frikken slow can this application be
4. thanks for renaming all my music shitty application
5. wow, you really can’t find album art how retarded are you
6. ninety-two clicks to do anything nice User interface engineers
Say what you want about Windows at least if a MS version sucks you can find 10 other vendors who’s software is better and still works.
oh yea no silverlight or flash on web safari is a scam too!
I really like how you explained that you used windows. It really hides what a huge fan boy you are. He did not say anything about mac os x but you still have to tell everyone how awesome it is. This post is about what a steaming pile of crap itunes is, most likely on windows. I need to use itunes because I have an iPhone (no I don’t hate apple just people like you, even though that pisses me off too) and it is by far the slowest, most bug filled program on my laptop. For example, it is SIGNIFICANTLY faster to unlock my phone and look up an app then to just search for it on itunes when itunes is already OPEN. It takes 40 second just to go to my music. This is when it works which it RARELY does… BTW the reason macs don’t get viruses isn’t because their safer(they are actually much less secure). Its because hackers don’t bother focusing on such a tiny market, just like most game, application, and web developers…
As a windows user (though by no means a microsoft fan), I have suffered the mind-numbing, will-to-live-draining, soul-crushing experience that is itunes for PC. Multiple restores of my ipods, several clean reinstalls of itunes when it went from working poorly to not working at all, and the simple waste of time that results from attempting simple tasks in itunes when it IS working. The entire program at times goes unresponsive during sync, not even allowing the window to be minimized. All versions i’ve tried in the last several years have had issues with lockups, or long hangs and massive resource consumption while itunes works its unseen “magic”. Well, yesterday, i finally cast off the shackles, and switched to third-party freeware to sync my ipods. My ipod manager is small enough to fit on my shuffle, so i can use it on any PC without any install required. It also allows me to transfer files from my ipod to any PC, and, most surprisingly, it actually syncs my ipods quicker than itunes ever did! My 60gig ipod video is now, for all intents and purposes, a PC-compatible portable hard drive.
PC users, free yourselves from the tyranny of itunes!! There are a number of options available to us, so don’t take a hammer to your ipods just because itunes sucks out loud under windows! I have Yamipod and CopyTrans (CopyTrans is my fav, so far), but Winamp will do the job, and MediaMonkey comes highly recommended for those looking for a more comprehensive media management suite.
Forget itunes. Who needs it?
iTunes is the #1 reason I’ve never purchased anything from the iTunes store and don’t own an iPod or iPhone. Ever since QuickTime 7.0 wanted to push iTunes down my throat and iTunes wants to push Safari down everyone’s throat, I’ve decided to say “piss off, Apple”.
Itunes SUCKS. I dont care what credentials you push around Robert. Itunes sucks. End of story. Someone get back to me when Apple creates an MP3 importer that doesn’t screw up your music selections.
Why am I here? To Vent.
iTunes has been built by lousy programmers – period. The software designers suck, too. Apple is awesome at physical design and beautifying an everyday object to the extent that you dream about owning one.
They really should outsource their software development to folks like Matlab, apache.org, kernel.org etc., who really know how to write good, dependable, resilient software.
iTunes is lousy, and the insufferable, self-appointed protectors of the Apple brand should really get over themselves and face it. In fact, being the loyal drones that they are, they should be the first ones to get Apple to fix this miserable piece of excrement.
I use both Apples and Windows machines. Itunes sucks, the platform doesn’t matter. Who is in charge of this garbage at Apple? The problem is serious enough that a class action lawsuit should be filed. Hit Apple in the pocketbook, that is usually what it takes to get attention to a problem. Obviously Jobs is no longer interested in Apple he’s got his own problems to work out, but who else is minding the show? Since Jobs has little tolerance for others “of equal IQ” I would guess that the remainder of Apple management is milquetoast. Sell that Apple Stock Now!! They can’t make Itunes work and all of their computers are overpriced. The Chrysler of the computer world.
Anyone who defends iTunes is a Mac moron who has never used any other software before or after. Of course you ”don’t have a problem with speed” if you think this is normal.
My iPod is much faster than iTunes on ANY computer I’ve ever had it on (5 in all). SPOTIFY is a MIRACLE by comparison, even though it has to load the music FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY OVER THE INTERNET while iTunes loads it from my own hard disk. Oh, it also doesn’t pester me with ”updates” every god damn week that all contain bloody Safari.
I know I don’t have to install Safari. I can click no to it. But, Mac Morons: NO OTHER SOFTWARE THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SAFARI EVEN PESTERS ME TO INSTALL SAFARI.