iTunes

[musicjunkie]

Not sure how many regular iTunes users there are here, but this thing has really been annoying me lately. Granted the Australian version will never be as big as the US one, so I never go there expecting to find the more rare albums. But I'm getting really frustrated with two things in iTunes.

1. The dreaded "partial album" ! I've been doing some searching around the web looking for a reason for this travesty. From what I've seen so far, it appears to be a legal issue with some music companies. It's so ANNOYING ! Nothing worse than finding  an album you've been looking for, then discovering that some of your favourite tracks have been omitted ! Bah. 

2. Album cover artwork. I buy a song or album, and all I get is the front cover ? WTF ? How hard is it for them to provide full CD cover artwork ? At least, both front and back covers ? I've never understood this. I guess it keeps sites like FreeCovers and coverparadise busy though. 

[Beergut]

Mate, I've never used iTunes and never will. My son got an ipod and installed the software, and guess what: it suddenly thought it owned my computer! And it was going to do things the way it wanted, regardless of how I felt about it. Well, that ipod now lives on a very old laptop sitting in a corner that it can control to its hearts content. And iTunes..... once was enough to convince even my obstinate son that he doesn't need it, and music that works perfectly well on the ipod is available at much better quality and much cheaper elsewhere.

Never really liked apples.....

[vicarious]

I lashed out and purchased a gen5 80 gb ipod.  I tried it thoroughly for 6 months.  Then I rockboxed it.  Then I gave up.  Utterly hopeless if you are a power user - because there is no power!  I gave it to my extremely excited son.  He tried too. It only took him 4 weeks to give it back.  Now its for sale...
I have a couple of iRivers, which max out at 40 gb. Very old and clunky they are, but the software and its overall utility is just about perfect.  Its funny, that these sell on ebay now for more money than a new ipod.  I should know, I bought two more.  Now I am searching for 80 gb HDDs to go with them.
We found the ipod to be perfect if you are a) computer illiterate an b) have only 10 cds in your entire collection (I don't mean this as a joke, it is good if you are small in size).  I have around 25,000 and it cannot handle them.  I can load my iriver fully in about 1 hr, just copy from my hdd with windoze.  Thats all.  To load an ipod with itunes is the most painful experience I know. The software is totally crippled.  one album takes a few minutes fine, but multiply that by 1000 on an 80Gb drive.  Then, try to find that particular album.
The one thing I like to do most with 1000 albums, is use random.  The ipod does this well too (NOTE rockbox has NO random!!).  However, when you hit the track or album I like, I want to hit one button that says "stop random and play this album, and when you finish, don't stop, just play the next album on the disc".  This is simply the third button on my iriver, and a non-existent function on an ipod.  There you have to note the artist and album and track, go back to the start, navigate a 1000 albums to find it, forget what its called, then simply give up.

So the ipod is fine (if you want no control).  While itunes is an abomninable program.

...there, thats about the longest "speech" I have ever posted on a forum in my career...

[musicjunkie]

I don't use an ipod either, I was alluding more to using iTunes for digital downloads, not so much using it in synch with an ipod (or isheep !). I find iTunes have done the usual Apple thing, they've launched on a huge wave of hype and still aren't delivering a quality service. The only good thing I've found with the Australian store is that they have released some back catalogue stuff which I didn't have on CD.

[stranded]

I don't use an ipod either, I was alluding more to using iTunes for digital downloads, not so much using it in synch with an ipod (or isheep !). I find iTunes have done the usual Apple thing, they've launched on a huge wave of hype and still aren't delivering a quality service. The only good thing I've found with the Australian store is that they have released some back catalogue stuff which I didn't have on CD.

What's the bit rate on the downloads these days. It used to be 128kps (like who would bother).

[musicjunkie]

stranded - I believe it hasn't changed much, I haven't bought anything from iTunes for ages. I heard that the DRM free tracks are now 256 kps (ooh aah !). Still a rip off considering you're still paying $1.69 per track.

[ValiumMm]

Mac, Apple, Ipods, Itunes  FTL

[motcher76]

stranded - I believe it hasn't changed much, I haven't bought anything from iTunes for ages. I heard that the DRM free tracks are now 256 kps (ooh aah !). Still a rip off considering you're still paying $1.69 per track.

Yes, most of the DRM-free tracks are now @256 (wow!) but there's no way of telling what the bitrate is before you pay for and DL any tracks. I had my iTune/iStore preferences set for 256 but when I DL'd an album a month or so ago (a recent release) I discovered it was @128. I wish I'd have known that before I forked over the cash. I'm not paying seventeen bucks for such a crappy bitrate. Many of the other online music stores tell you what the bitrate is for each track.

That was the last straw for me with iTunes ... permanently de-installed from my PC. Not that that action put iTunes off ... to this day it still occasionally tells me there's an iTunes software update available and do I want to install it (must still have some legacy files or settings remaining on my PC). Persistent little bugger!!

I also agree it's annoying the OZ version has such a "limited" catalogue, especially the older releases, and I have noticed the partial albums as well (and that's really frustrating).

Pity we can't access the Amazon online music service.

Cheers

[motcher76]

Mac, Apple, Ipods, Itunes  FTL

    

[Overhere]

They did a similar thing with the iphone over here in the UK. You can buy the phone - you just can't buy any ring tones cos that's only available to the US customers - which is fine - if only they'd put that somewhere on the box, in the user guides, or on the website. Friend of mine bought one and sent it back...

[Vermin]

I actually find iTunes handy for keeping my music collection organized, just drag and drop a folder containing correctly tagged files and it creates the directory structure: artist/album/track.mp3, then delete the original folder.

I also like the smart playlist features, though it takes some getting used to.

I've had nothing but joy from my 30G iPod, no hassles at all, battery still lasts about a full day of listening and heavy seaching/skipping. At the time I bought it it was the largest HDD player available.

Having said that I do not use iTunes for purchasing music, and all other functions are done using these programs:

MP3Tag: tagging - this is freeware but I was so impressed I donated.
EAC/LAME: CD ripping - I guess I don't need to teach you people to suck eggs.
Albumplayer: playback on my PCs (especially my touchscreen in the bar) - not free ($50?) , but well worth it.

Also with the release of Mojo v2.0 imminent, iTunes becomes handy for file sharing across the internet or LAN, but I think this deserves it's own thread.

[rossy]

I love my Zen Creative 30g media drive. WOn't allow itunes anywhere near a PC. Macs are just Ipods with a keyboard

[aldersley]

Hey good topic.  Itunes is actually the most over rated thing in the history of anything.  I hate it so much.  I've got an ipod, but i just use Winamp.  So much easier, more convienient and just better.

[Downhome61]

Sorry but I love iTunes. Don't often download from the thieving bastards but find it fantastic to catalogue and use with a 250g library.

[MattyA]

I preordered the new Jimmy Barnes Rythm & Blues album on i-tunes so I could get the exclusive content. I turned on my computer at 6.30am this morning absolutely pumped to think I would have the new album to listen to in the car for the day - but while it was available on i-tunes (without the exclusive content) - IT WAS NOT available for the suckers who pre-ordered it.

It's now after 7.00pm - still nothing. I could have bought it at any record shop today (and in the end I did and I absolutely loved the whole CD) but it is incredibly frustrating that the real fans that go to the trouble of pre-ordering on i-tunes for something extra - are still waiting a day after it has been released to everyone else.

They have such an amazing marketing machine - and an awesome way to deliver music with exclusive content to true fans but still they manage to stuff it up.

I-tunes certainly don't cater for true fans.  If anyone in their marketing department was ever truly passionate about a band or artist they would know exactly what I am talking about.

Phew....feels better to have that off my chest.

[JestaCat]

here, here @ all of you.  Pretty much summed it all up.
I do use iTunes for buying individual tracks that aren't available elsewhere.  As long as they're not "Album Only" (grrr)... Won't buy an iPod on principal - at least not until you don't HAVE to use iTunes to synch the thing.  Once it's drag/n/drop I would consider it.
I have had iRivier (HDD - was great then HDD kept disconnecting); then a Samsung (flash - great) now a Sony (flash - great).  As much as I enjoyed having 80gb of music with me, I now see the benefit of only having a 4gb player - I'm more involved in what's on there more regularly, so don't 'forget' to listen to stuff.  Also, I seem to buy a new album every week/fnight so need to update anyway.  Works for me that way.

[Forrykook]

My stepson gave me his 8GB ipod, (I thought just for a lend but now he says I can have it) and very quickly came to the realisation that itunes sucks big time. It's difficult and stupid. My music, (120GB), is on my external HDD at 320 bitrate but I wanted to convert down to 192 and transfer to ipod. Itunes can not do this.

I use MediaMonkey for my media player and was stoked to find that it can do all of this. Convert bitrates, put them in a new location even an ipod, rebuild the ipod database etc etc. GO MediaMonkey!! Itunes has left the building.

Hey Motcher

to this day it still occasionally tells me there's an iTunes software update available and do I want to install it (must still have some legacy files or settings remaining on my PC). Persistent little bugger!!

I think this is the Apple Software updater that you should find in your Add/Remove programs dialogue box. You probably still have Quicktime on the pooter for some other program, but you should be able to uninstall the updater.