[GCFreak]

Windows can't run on ANYTHING compared to whats available in the world, Mac OS runs on more hardware. Let's see, Windows runs on the x86 architecture, Mac OS runs on the PowerPC and x86 architectures, Linux can run on PowerPC, x86, ARM, RISC, MIPS, just about anything that's ever been created.

[ChrisCA]

Milkybuet said:

4. There should be on the fly playlist. Currently you have to make and save one, then add music to it. But in WMP you add as you like to the right hand playlist and you can choose to save it or discard it at wish. X-(

There is. It’s called Party Shuffle. See posts above.

[Leice2003]

I love my iPod, BUT I hate iTunes and not just 11 things. I hate iTunes period. I tried other programs, but they made iTunes look like a day at the beach.

[ChrisCA]

{quote:title=}{quote}

Leice2003 said:

they made iTunes look like a day at the beach.

So you think iTunes is fun, easy to use and good time, just like a day at the beach?

And all the programs you tried were that difficult to use?

[mrme]

from my digg.com comment:
no folder watch? shitter yep.
and if you have about 20 thousands mp3 files on your music folder, well don't even try to transfer these to your itunes library or if you have lots of time to waiting up, and when it get all of these files to library :D your CPU freeze because itunes cannot handle so much music.. coverflow hang etc....
also why itunes want to DOWNLOAD these podcast for you, I'm happy if it just notice me that new episode has released and when i want to watch it.. well itunes start download it, not streaming just downloading (wtf).
google reader make the job much easier to handle podcasts and vidcasts.

[mdjordan71]

Your math is wrong...the dollar is weak against the Euro, if it costs $1.55 to buy one Euro a $1 song should be around .65 eruo cents. That is a bargain to me, and if I were you I'd be buying like crazy with a discount like that.

[kparker001]

In case Apple reads this...
I get my music from many sources because I can't always find what I need anywhere and I play it on my mp3 player. I realize I am not Apple's ideal customer (I'm not under 30) but I would probably find more music I like at itunes if I didn't have to worry about playlists and all the other things itunes downloads for me. Let me listen, let me download and let me EASILY convert to mp3 (or better, let me download mp3). I've probably loaded and deleted iTunes half a dozen times. You're missing a big market, Apple!

[dcortex]

As a power user who never uses the default location for my iTunes library, I've noticed that I had to redo the library 5 times on Windows (iTunes lost the library),

while on the Mac, the software never burps.

iTunes, plesae write VERSION 8 to be free of the bugs that cuse hiccups on Windows (if possible)

[carocuth]

Roger that one!! And I'd like to add...the photo manager totally wipes me out. iTunes adds music first, then your photos - each time you synch - and will not copy photos if there is not enough room. You are stuck with the same problem - by guess and by golly...keep deleting albums until there is enough room to add the photos. To add to the confusion, when I look at the "Photos" section on my iPod, I see TWO folders. Does this mean I have managed to to get 2 copies of my photos on my iPod? If so, no wonder they take up so much space, even though I have re-sized them. Grrrrrrrr......

[1kateb]

Hmm, of my major complaints, only 1 has been mentioned. (Incredibly, annoyingly frequent iTunes software updates. Arrgh!)

I haven't been able to find a way to bypass iTunes "designation" of files - meaning anything imported from a CD is "designated" as music and goes into the music library. Except, I have imported a number of audiobooks that I own on CD. iTunes will not allow me to drag those tracks into the Audiobook library, forcing them into the music library, so I have to go to each book individually and turn on the "skip during shuffle" option if I don't want to hear random audiobook chapters when I put my library on shuffle. I have the same problem in my iPod - Audiobooks I bought from iTunes go in the audiobook section; audiobooks I imported myself from CD go in the music section, mucking up my "shuffle all" business.

My second, and larger problem, has to do with iTunes not catching up with iPod capabilities yet. Now there are a number of iPods that play video - but I can't import my own video. Why is that?? If I purchase music on CD, I can put the CD in my computer, import to iTunes, and drag it onto my iPod easily and without using any outside software or complicated extra compression steps. I cannot, however, put in a DVD of my favorite TV show and import episodes into my iTunes video library and place them on my new generation Nano. I think I should be able to. I should be able to put my movies and TV I already own on my video iPod, same as I put my CDs I already own going back to 1992 on my iPod. Catch up to your video capabilities, iTunes!!

[kennethtash]

One big time waster is that you must import any podcast from outside sources one at a time, the typical windows batching processes do not work!

[JulesLt]

Agreed on the photo management (and indeed the whole inability - far as I know) to choose what type of content you want in what order - do I want to put unwatched videos as a priority over music or otherwise. Surely it's just a case of letting me re-order the tabs to express my priorities?

Podcasts - it downloads them because the idea is that they get loaded onto your iPod when you sync, and then you listen to them on your iPod, which can't do streaming. Maybe they need to revisit that one?

Ripping videos - would be lovely, but unlike CDs, DVDs are copy-protected. Some newer DVDs are coming with iTunes compatible DRM'd files on the disk. Stupid really as it's not hard for anyone to work around it with free software (that will even put the file into iTunes on completion) but I can't see Apple getting an agreement there, even if they did promise to turn it into an encrypted file, which would be better than those of us decrypting disks to get them onto an Apple TV.

Audiobooks - I found a tip that suggests it is as simple as changing the extension from m4a (mpeg4audio) to m4b (book) but I didn't have any luck but try googling on it. Another workaround for the Audiobook issue is to use Smart Playlists - construct one called Music defined as 'Everything not in my Not Music' playlist, and then drag the files you want to exclude into Not Music. Agreed it should be a simple drag and drop operation, or at worst a tag rather than the file extension.

iTMS doing plain old MP3s - anyone out there really not able to use AAC aka MP4??

[Leice2003]

No, No, No. Chris, what I mean was, iTunes, with all its pain in the butt quarks is better than other 3rd party programs that I've tried for my iPod. In other words, if you think iTunes is bad, try another program and you find out they are worse. I'm not saying it's difficult. None of them are difficult to use including iTunes. It's just that none of them do what you need them to do or they do less than iTunes. For instance, I tried other programs outside of iTunes for my iPod needs, and I encountered the worse experiences with incompatibilities to my PC (if I were a MAC user, it would probably be easier) and programs that were not caught up with the latest iPod devices. I have the newest iPod Classic 80 GB and I found a lot of programs that did not work with it because they weren't updated to the newest iPod devices. To name one, I tried PoddMaxx and I hated it. First of all it said on the box that it was Vista compatible, but when I loaded it on my computer, it couldn't sync with all of my folders and that is because it was really for XP. What it did in the process was synced my Outlook calendar to my iPod and I didn't even ask it to do that! I was so frustrated. I have another computer with XP on it, but I didn't want to switch my entire library to another computer because I was lied to! Luckily for me, I was able to explain the deception to the store clerk and was able to return it and got my money back. Meanwhile, I still can't get my Outlook items off my iPod. iTunes of course, won't do it.

I feel sorry for anyone who has the iTouch, because they are stuck with iTunes. I just wish there were more 3rd party programs that worked with the iPod that we could choose from instead of being forced to deal with iTunes, this ridiculous DRM crap, and all the other stuff that is wrong with it. Apple needs to get a grip and stop punishing innnocent consumers who are buying the music legitimately and drop this DRM nonsense.

So when I said that iTunes is a "day at the beach," I basically meant that compared to these other 3rd party programs, iTunes, which is a pain and we hate it, is basically the best thing going. Like a "Catch22" situation. I hope you know what "Catch22" means. If not, get the book.

[1kateb]

"Ripping videos - would be lovely, but unlike CDs, DVDs are copy-protected."

I thought CDs were copy protected. And anyway, I'm not "copying" them in the sense that I'm sharing them with anyone, I just want them digitally available on my wee shiny video-capable iPod. I just want them to be portable, which is the point of the iPod. If I had known you could technically only put videos from the iTunes store onto your video iPod, I wouldn't have bought one. The iTunes store is far from all-inclusive.

Now if DVDs came with a second copy on something the size of SD cards, that you plugged into the iPod the same way as you put a DVD in a player, I wouldn't copy my movies because I wouldn't need to - I could still fit 2 movies and 6 episodes of Psych, plus something to watch them on, in my back jeans pocket with room to spare.

I supposed I just suffer for being one of those rare people who actually buys things. I own probably 400 CDs, well over 600 movies (at last count!) and at least 50 boxed TV season sets. I don't appreciate being treated like a criminal for wanting access to my own, bought and paid for, entertainment materials. I guess it makes sense when I think of it from the "has to imagine everyone is a pirate and will share the digitized copy" side of things, but... that's not me. I'd always rather have the official, properly produced version, with the features intact, because then I know it's quality. About 10-12 of my movies are ones I taped off cable onto a VHS. Otherwise they're all purchased. (I do have about 6 songs, out of thousands, that were downloaded for free.) I'm not a pirate and I don't like being treated like one. But since everyone else is, I guess I'm forced to be one too, in the sense that I have to go through "hack" DVD programs to get my perfectly legally bought TV episodes onto my iPod. If I paid $80 for a TV show on DVD, why should I pay for it AGAIN on iTunes just so I can watch it on a different screen? I shouldn't. I bought it, I should be able to watch it wherever I want.

It still makes me grouchy, and I will continue to complain about it at every opportunity. Honestly? I registered at PC world specifically so I could complain about it.

But that's me.

[elmak]

Quote

I get my music from many sources because I can't always find what I need anywhere and I play it on my mp3 player. I realize I am not Apple's ideal customer (I'm not under 30) but I would probably find more music I like at itunes if I didn't have to worry about playlists and all the other things itunes downloads for me. Let me listen, let me download and let me EASILY convert to mp3 (or better, let me download mp3). I've probably loaded and deleted iTunes half a dozen times. You're missing a big market, Apple!

iTunes specifically defaults to AAC because in most aspects it is a superior format to MP3. The MP3 codec is dated, and doesn't have as many capabilities nor the flexibility of AAC/MP4. The iTunes Store exclusively uses AAC because Apple engineered a DRM solution acceptable to the music studios at the time that was not possible with MP3. While the music studios are now starting to seriously accept DRM-free content, it will take time for that resolution to reach across the board; especially since Apple was the first major music retailer to speak against DRM initially.

As for conversion, it's easier than most people think. Set the Import setting in the preferences to whatever you find appropriate, ex. MP3 at 128kb/s. Then when you've selected a track (or a bunch) right-click and select 'Convert Selection to MP3'. You're Done. (As a quick note, it generally is not a good idea in any media conversion process/program to select a higher bitrate than the original file- it's impossible to magically restore lost quality!)

Quote

I haven't been able to find a way to bypass iTunes "designation" of files - meaning anything imported from a CD is "designated" as music and goes into the music library. Except, I have imported a number of audiobooks that I own on CD. iTunes will not allow me to drag those tracks into the Audiobook library, forcing them into the music library, so I have to go to each book individually and turn on the "skip during shuffle" option if I don't want to hear random audiobook chapters when I put my library on shuffle. I have the same problem in my iPod - Audiobooks I bought from iTunes go in the audiobook section; audiobooks I imported myself from CD go in the music section, mucking up my "shuffle all" business.

Concerning Audiobooks. iTunes cannot use MP3's as Audiobooks, it simply doesn't work because the MP3 codec doesn't have any spec for audiobooks- it simply can't do it. The MP4 or AAC codec that Apple helped create (yes, it's an open-source codec, it's only the DRM-protected files that are sealed) can handle Audiobooks perfectly. Choose your Importer in iTunes as AAC at something reasonable for Audiobooks (so they aren't huge) like 32kb/s instead of the normal 128kb/s. Then when you've imported them, find the Join Tracks command in the menus. Once that's done, change the extension to M4B and add it back into your library. You'll see it listed as an Audiobook, and you'll be able to add the chapter markers inside the file.

Quote

So when I said that iTunes is a "day at the beach," I basically meant that compared to these other 3rd party programs, iTunes, which is a pain and we hate it, is basically the best thing going. Like a "Catch22" situation. I hope you know what "Catch22" means. If not, get the book.

Try Floola. There are Mac, Windows, and Linux versions, and while it might 'warn you' about potentially damaging your iPod (which can be fixed by using the Restore feature in iTunes), I've found it to be current and effective. It works all the way from my first-gen Shuffle to my new iPod Touch. Additionally, it has a photo manager that can synchronize with folders.

Quote

I thought CDs were copy protected. And anyway, I'm not "copying" them in the sense that I'm sharing them with anyone, I just want them digitally available on my wee shiny video-capable iPod. I just want them to be portable, which is the point of the iPod. If I had known you could technically only put videos from the iTunes store onto your video iPod, I wouldn't have bought one. The iTunes store is far from all-inclusive.

DVDs are copy-protected digitally as well as legally. CDs are only copy-protected in the latter sense. The code that is used to circumvent that copy-protection is often on shaky legal ground. While doable (Roxio created Popcorn to 'archive' DVDs) Apple probably doesn't want to embroil themselves in that snafu. As for videos on your iPod- there are a slew of convertors into the MP4 filetype, which you can drag into iTunes and sync to your iPod. I do have to agree that the iPod should support a few more codecs, namely AVI.

[murr44]

I've been using iTunes as my media player on Vista for a while now, and I personally have no qualms with it's performance (my collection is only a measly 3500 tracks =P). My only concerns are with the pricing on the iTunes store. I live in England so use the UK store, and saw an album that cost £7.11. The same album on the US store was only $5.99, which converts to about £3.20! Certainly something is wrong here.

[JulesLt]

The copy protection on CDs is a 'hack' on top of the CD format - there was an argument at one point that they shouldn't even be able to sell them as CDs as they break the CD specification. DVDs, on the other hand, were designed with protection to stop copying (and stop you playing different region DVDs) right from the start.

Imagine if CDs had been 'un-crackable' in the first place - would the labels have granted MS and Apple rights to rip them, or just seen an opportunity to sell the same tunes yet again for digital players?? We can guess the answer to that one!

What would help, I think, would be a change in the law (as was proposed in France) to enshrine the right to format shifting (not just the legal right to do it, but that companies must support it) because H.264 is unlikely to be the final video standard (just as MP3 is being replaced by higher quality alternatives).

[GCFreak]

Why the hell is there region locking anyways? The companies still get their money from the content, all region locking does is cause heartache and unnessecary complications.

[1kateb]

elmak said:

Concerning Audiobooks. iTunes cannot use MP3's as Audiobooks, it simply doesn't work because the MP3 codec doesn't have any spec for audiobooks- it simply can't do it. The MP4 or AAC codec that Apple helped create (yes, it's an open-source codec, it's only the DRM-protected files that are sealed) can handle Audiobooks perfectly. Choose your Importer in iTunes as AAC at something reasonable for Audiobooks (so they aren't huge) like 32kb/s instead of the normal 128kb/s. Then when you've imported them, find the Join Tracks command in the menus. Once that's done, change the extension to M4B and add it back into your library. You'll see it listed as an Audiobook, and you'll be able to add the chapter markers inside the file.

Thanks, I will give that a try. I'll try reformatting the files to AAC (if they aren't already) and if that doesn't work I'll re-import the CDs - if I can find them! (I'm not sure what format I imported them as, actually.)

In the case that iTunes can't use MP3s as audiobooks, there should be a prompt when you import a CD for whether to import it as music, or audiobooks. I think I would convert everything spoken (standup comedy as well as books) to audiobooks in that case.

[dwardfarquard]

I also have more that 80 GB of music and have the same wrestling match every time I add a new CD to my iTunes library. It's totally ridiculous that iTunes and the synching procedure are so incapable of handling a big collection of tunes and the resulting synching issues.