Like the residuum of us , our Quaker a few carrell down atPC Worldget fed up to the level where the dam of their frustration finally salvo . Such was the subject whenPC Worldposted its11 thing We Hate About iTunes , along with an equally ire - fill up fellow traveller pieceIs Apple iTunes the new AOL?(Our light solution : No . No , it is n’t . Our longer answer : The newfangled AOL ? Really ? )
PC World , we feel your pain . We atMacworldhave been manage with Apple issues since the dinosaurs walk the world and have learned to deal with things with a amount of solitaire and savvy . With that in mind , allow me to attempt to take some of the sting out of those 11 mean things .
1. Wildly Inefficient Updates
What PC World hatred : “ drive us to download and reinstall the integral programme for every lilliputian update . And wad QuickTime , too , whether it ’s new or not . ”
It ’s true , when Apple cut a new variant of iTunes it forces you to download the intact software rather than a patch . We , on the Mac side , have a bit less because we are n’t command to also download QuickTime as Windows exploiter are . For illustration , on the Mac the iTunes 7.7 download weighs in at 48.4 MB . Windows users must download 60.6 M of data and it would be nice if there was a plot of ground .
On the bright side , it’sonly60.6 MB for a couple of full applications versus a piece like , oh , say , Windows Vista Service Pack 1 , which runs just under 727 M .
And while I appreciate the business concern for those using a telephone dial - up connection , you ’ll be proud of to know that nearly every lineament bring to late reading of iTunes have to do with bandwidth - intensive tasks such as hire movies and buying applications from the App Store . If you ’re stuck with a telephone dial - up connection , it ’s unlikely you ’ll be doing any of these thing . palpate barren to stick with older versions of iTunes .
2. DRM (Boo!)
What PC World hatred : “ So why does the iTunes Store still engage digital rights management ( DRM ) for the bulk of songs in its depository library ? Blaming the platter label no longer hold body of water : AmazonMP3 and Rhapsody are among a growing number of services selling DRM - barren MP3s from all the major label , not just EMI . ”
Yep , digital rights management sucks but I ’m afraid giving a pass to the record label does n’t hold water . Do you suppose Applelikesslapping DRM on the cart track it betray , or could it peradventure be that the record label , go for to fall iTunes ’ dominance and office , turn away to volunteer these same DRM - detached tracks to Apple ? I ’m betting on the latter . And after reading this clause in which my fellow Dan Moren touch on on how record labels are using DRM - gratuitous content to bolster iTunes ’ rivals , perhaps you ’d be inclined to agree .
3. No Monitoring of Music Folders
What PC World Hates : “ Apple seems unwilling to acknowledge that citizenry get music from sources other than iTunes . How else to explain the software ’s unfitness to monitor folder and automatically tally new medicine to the depository library ? ”
We have a little something over on the Mac side called “ drag and drop . ” It ’s very coolheaded . If you obtain music from a source other than via iTunes — download euphony from the iTunes Store or pull it from CD — you’re able to simply select that medicine or the leaflet / directory / volume that contains it and miss it on top of the iTunes icon in OS X ’s Dock . bet around with drag - and - pearl on your PC , and I bet you ’ll find it works there too .
We have this other cool affair calledAutomator . If you want to create a ticker folder that mechanically moves music place in it to iTunes , it ’s easy done .
4. ‘Pushing’ of Other Programs by iTunes Installer
What PC World hate : “ in the beginning this class , Apple hopped aboard the crapware train by adding its Modern - for - Windows Safari web browser to its Software Update creature — which tends to seem whenever there ’s a unexampled variant of iTunes . ”
waitress , I think Windows userslikedcrapware ! I think of , how can you explain all the crapware that came bundled with that Dell computer I got for a while ago ? My bad , but given the amount of crapware you guys put up with , you might deal this an honest mistake . I ’ll send Apple a memoranda .
5. No Subscription Service—Still
What PC World Hates : “ If you ’re go to keep clinging to DRM , Apple , how about giving us a music - subscription service to go with it ? You fuck , the kind offer by Napster , Rhapsody , and Zune Marketplace . ”
That said , I also pull in that these things are n’t terribly democratic even among Windows users . And that makes for a misfortunate revenue source and one that could easily eat into where you make your real money — purchased music .
6. ‘Neglected’ Podcasts Stop Downloading
7. The Mystery Check Box
What PC World Hates : “ Next to every individual token in your program library — songs , TV shows , podcasts , and so on — there ’s a short check box . It ’s been there as long as we can call up , but if the iTunes help function excuse its purpose , that first appearance is really punishing to find . ”
True . iTunes ’ helper is not helpful in this compliments . Fortunately , as you go on to say :
“ Actually , it ’s pretty simple : Unchecked items do n’t get played when you ’re hear to your program library or a play list . Likewise , unchecked items do n’t get synced to your iPod if you activate the ‘ Sync only checked song and videos ’ option in the gadget ’s Summary menu . ”
8. NBC Shows—Bring Them Back!
What PC World Hates : “ add up on , Apple , make squeamish with NBC already … . Swallow your pride and get NBC back on board in clock time for September . ”
Apple pull off to get along hand - in - baseball mitt with A&E , ABC , AMC , Animal Planet , BBC America , BET Networks , Cartoon internet , CBS , CMT , CNN , Comedy Central , The CW , Discovery Channel , E ! , ESPN , FOX , FX , HBO , chronicle , IFC , Lifetime , MBL.com , MTV , NASCAR , National Geographic , Nick at Nite , PBS , Showtime , Spike , Starz , Sundance Channel , TBS , TLC , TNT , TV Land , VH1 , and WE TV .
So , who should be make water squeamish here ?
The truth is that one of the reasons the iTunes Store is so pop is because customers have a middling salutary belief of what to ask in regard to prices—99 cents a track for single songs , around $ 10 for an album , $ 1.99 per TV installment . NBC wanted the freedom to bundle shows , offer some for less , and some for more . In short : wee-wee pricing as perplexing as it is at the Zune Marketplace and other failed electronic media emporiums .
9. Weak Dockable Player Controls
What PC World hatred : “ Here we are , seven versions into iTunes , and the actor still does n’t have enough dockable controls . ”
This one confuses me . iTunes does have a floating window call the Mini Player . You want this :
“ … dockable iTunes toolbar with volume , seek , play / pause , and other control , and an optional song - info stock ticker . ”
And that ’s passably much what you get . The Mini Player includes a intensity luger , Back and Forward buttons that when come home , move to the previous or next tracks and when maintain bush through the playing track ; a Play / Pause button ; a time readout ; and an selective information area that displays tag title , artist , and album title .
Oh , you mean you want it to stick to a special portion of your projection screen rather than have the exemption to move it from position to place ? Um … .
10. Rotten at Exporting Playlists
What PC World Hates : “ desire to use your carefully craft , geezerhood - in - the - making playlists with another program or a non - iPod player ? Sorry : They ’re lock up like gold bars at Fort Knox . While most music managers employ the industry - standard M3U format for playlists , iTunes MArch to the beat of its own proprietary - formatting drummer . ”
Wait , there are portable music playersotherthan the iPod ! ?
Ha , we jest . Fair cop . My guess is the vast majority of mass using iTunes also own iPods and do n’t need this capability , but for the few that do , as you betoken out , there are utilities that can do this .
11. No E-Books
What PC World Hates : “ Admittedly , smallish iPod screen do n’t bestow themselves well to reading on the go , but the iPhone and iPod Touch are thoroughgoing for the job . ”
on the face of it the manufacturer ofeReaderandBookShelf — two applications available from the App Store — consort with you . Check ’em out .
