I tunes- what is peoples beef with it?

[Ferrariman]

Bad codec support, high ram usage, replaygain is ditched for something proprietary, no album gain, touches file tags even if you don't want it too, album art support is limited (no folder.jpg?) low file info, clunky UI, syncs my iPod worse than foobar or mediamonkey, etc. etc. etc.

 

[Punnisher]

I'll lay out my pros and cons:

Pros

1. Easy to sync music with ipods.
2. Jack of all trades.
3. User friendly for people that are less technically competent.
4. Updating ipod firmware is awesomely easy.
5. Restoring an ipod to factory settings is easy.
Note that #3 does not mean that all itunes users are technically incompetent.

Cons

1. Lackluster codec support.
2. Less playback features than just about any other software.
3. Terrible library organization interface.
4. Resource hog on Windows. Slow for what it is.
5. Unwanted services and processes are installed along with itunes.
6. Ripping features (while improved) are still very basic compared to more effective programs like EAC.

I guess to sum it up, I'd rather use two or three well-designed applications to do what itunes does.

I tried to be as fair as possible, but I'm prepared to be branded as an apple hater for this post.

 

[pata2001]

I still find iTunes to be the easiest jukebox software to use. It's simple (I prefer the list view), has advance yet easy to set-up smart playlist capability that no other software seem to be able to mimic, gapless capable, and it handles podcasts like a charm. It's not the speediest software though (it happened the minute Apple added video capability).

A lot of people dislike/bash iTunes simply because it's trendy to be an Apple hater.

 

[BIGHMW]

No thanks. First of all, iTunes does not support ATRAC, its related codecs or MiniDisc/Hi-MD. End of Story.

Also, iTunes won't interface with SonicStage nor will it work with MiniDisc/Hi-MD or my MZ-RH1 uploader or my ever-reliable and July 2005 C-NET Editor's Choice Award-winning NW-HD5 HDD Network Walkman, in which I am currently listening to "Don't Waste My Time" from Paul Hardcastle featuring Carol Kenyon, that part of a circa-1980's electro-era Paul Hardcastle (1983-1990) compilation put together on MD and tranferred to SS CP 4.2 using my MZ-RH1 before being spilled onto my NW-HD5.

For more details on it, I have posted the link to it (from the fine folks at C-NET and R.I.P. James Kim):

Videos - Free video downloads and streaming video - CNET TV

...and if you thought that it sounds great with the supplied MDR-E0931 earphones (far superior to those cheap white i-Buds that Apple supplies to the millions of naive iSheep out there), just wait 'til you hear it with a setup like my RM-MC40ELK and modded (cling-wrap) http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/s...thread-193464/ MDR-EX90SL IEM's.

Oh, and another thing, "iDon't use user-interchangeable batteries like the HD5 does"

"Whatever iDon't, Walkmen do!!!"

 

[iPoodz]

If any of you guys hate the fact that making an account requires a credit card, just head over to starbucks, and pick up one of the 'free song of the day' cards, and make your account using that

 

[Pangaea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIGHMW /img/forum/go_quote.gif No thanks. First of all, iTunes does not support ATRAC, its related codecs or MiniDisc/Hi-MD. End of Story. Also, iTunes won't interface with SonicStage nor will it work with MiniDisc/Hi-MD or my MZ-RH1 uploader or my ever-reliable and July 2005 C-NET Editor's Choice Award-winning NW-HD5 HDD Network Walkman, in which I am currently listening to "Don't Waste My Time" from Paul Hardcastle featuring Carol Kenyon, that part of a circa-1980's electro-era Paul Hardcastle (1983-1990) compilation put together on MD and tranferred to SS CP 4.2 using my MZ-RH1 before being spilled onto my NW-HD5. For more details on it, I have posted the link to it (from the fine folks at C-NET and R.I.P. James Kim): Videos - Free video downloads and streaming video - CNET TV ...and if you thought that it sounds great with the supplied MDR-E0931 earphones (far superior to those cheap white i-Buds that Apple supplies to the millions of naive iSheep out there), just wait 'til you hear it with a setup like my RM-MC40ELK and modded (cling-wrap) http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/s...thread-193464/ MDR-EX90SL IEM's. Oh, and another thing, "iDon't use user-interchangeable batteries like the HD5 does" "Whatever iDon't, Walkmen do!!!"

I think that says it all, I just appzapp'd iTunes.

 

[crowley]

On a mac, nothing better.
On a pc, use something else.

 

[shigzeo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Punnisher /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't mind using it to sync songs to my ipod, but for playing music and ripping CDs, there is far better software out there.

That is true, but for an all-in-one solution, there is probably not a better software. Ripping is something which should be avoided from any of the top softwares, and for playback, it is up to you. You won't get SFX from Apple, but you get a decent EQ, great support like gapless, lossless, and with plugins, support for OGG and FLAC.

personally, I love it. All of my players: Sony to AMP3 are filled using iTunes drag and drop. My iPod is too; I don't sync.

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iriverdude /img/forum/go_quote.gif I couldn't care if it's more popular, I don't buy a DAP to be hip, I buy one that offers great sound quality, multi codec support, connectivity, and features. I wouldn't consider buying any non-Rockboxable Ipod. Ipods haven't even come close to what I want in a DAP. Show me a ipod with LCD remote control, optical in & out, line in & out, record from line or optical, radio, internal or external mic, dictaphone feature, speech, multi-codec of Rockbox, replaygain You're just so locked in you don't even know it.

are you one of those guys who has a huge leatherman strapped to your belt in a fancy leather case at all times?

(I have a leatherman too) I just could care less about almost all of that stuff except radio and line out/digital out. I agree that would be nice.

 

[deltaspirit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadwarrior /img/forum/go_quote.gif deltaspirit. Why would I want to get songs off my Ipod? I already have them on Itunes or on the CD I ripped them from? Or might they not be my songs or my Ipod?

My 8 gig ipod touch was has just a bit over a 1000 songs, all of those came from my HD, everything was fine for a year or so until my HD broke, if I had a drag and drop player, I would be able to get my music back on my pc.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif That is true, but for an all-in-one solution, there is probably not a better software. Ripping is something which should be avoided from any of the top softwares, and for playback, it is up to you. You won't get SFX from Apple, but you get a decent EQ, great support like gapless, lossless, and with plugins, support for OGG and FLAC. personally, I love it. All of my players: Sony to AMP3 are filled using iTunes drag and drop. My iPod is too; I don't sync.

I think MediaMonkey and I'm sure there's a few pay to use software that are better all in one. I don't hate iTunes, but I'm not a fan of it either. Its usable and that's about it to me. Performance is where iTunes really falls short. It feels like Adobe Acrobat, takes longer than anything else to load, has an update (often a significant one that basically reinstalls and sometimes makes it so you have to go and change your settings again) everytime you open it. It has gotten a lot better, but there's still better software out there. I wish Apple would allow you to choose what parts you need, or make a really lite sync only version. Having to install Quicktime is also an annoyance. Even more annoying is that if you have a Touch or iPhone, unless you jailbreak it, you have to have it to sync apps.

So, while I don't personally hate it, I can see why some do, or why some swore off of it years ago when it was significantly worse than now.

 

[Commanderloochy]

I think my main problem with iTunes is it doesn't feel like the ultimate audio player. It lacks many features, it's not customizable, it doesn't support flac, and overall it makes me feel limited.

 

[Ducks_own]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadwarrior /img/forum/go_quote.gif I cannot for the life of me see why Itunes stops people buying an Ipod.

My guess, is that the people who refuse to buy an iPod are PC users. After all, to them, iTunes is a port, and that's never a good thing.

As for me, I own a Mac, and have a grand total of one complaint: my iTunes periodically freezes for exactly 20 seconds. It's annoying (and if anyone knows how to fix it, I'd love to know how

)

 

[BIGHMW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Commanderloochy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think my main problem with iTunes is it doesn't feel like the ultimate audio player. It lacks many features, it's not customizable, it doesn't support flac, and overall it makes me feel limited.

...and it does NOT support ATRAC either, another reason not to get it, or to join the flock of iSheep who are brainwashed into getting an iPod.

Get a Sony Walkman instead... especially an NW-HD5 (if you can find one, I own a few, some for parts, and three for use, the first one (a U.K.-market one with both the volume unlocked and the latest firmware) is being used now, and the other two (N.O.S. U.S.-market models) are backups in case it dies, in which I doubt it will do anytime soon!!!

 

[mesasone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by deltaspirit /img/forum/go_quote.gif My 8 gig ipod touch was has just a bit over a 1000 songs, all of those came from my HD, everything was fine for a year or so until my HD broke, if I had a drag and drop player, I would be able to get my music back on my pc.

That's a problem with the iPod, not iTunes. It seems a number of the iTunes complaints are really complaints about the iPod. If you want that functionality, you can buy third party software to do it. My mom has bought a couple different applications that will take music back off her iPod but I haven't been particularly impressed with any of them.

iTunes may not be the greatest but I like it well enough. It's pretty convient for managing podcasts. I got a Blackberry Bold/9000 (meh) after losing my iPhone in a cab and have no problem using the drag and drop functionality. I kind of missing the syncing with iTunes - I occasionally have to tell iTunes that I still listen to me podcasts or it will stop downloading them, never had that problem with the iPhone since it updated play counts, etc.

I am probably going to ditch iTunes once I find some better software for my podcasts though. I have a home built machine dual booting OS X and Vista, and it sucks not being able to keep a library synced between the two operating systems. If would be nice if I could share a library index file between them.