It’s likely Apple’s most installed piece of software. It’s also buggy, bloated, inconsistent, bloated, slow, bloated, and bloated. It goes by the name of iTunes, and if you own an iPod, or even if you don’t, it’s not to far fetched to assume it’s on your computer right now.
On Windows, iTunes has always been a joke. It’s no secret that Apple isn’t the best at developing speedy optimized Windows applications. iTunes takes the better part of a minute to load on Windows, and when combined with the insane idea that Windows should provide absolutely no visual feedback that an application is launching, it creates quite an annoyance when you’re not sure if it’s just being its normal, slow self or if you somehow missed the icon when you clicked.
On a Mac, the story should be different. The iPod and iTunes were originally made for the Mac, and so it should be Mac optimized. But it still takes fifteen seconds to open and be functional, and that’s after it has already been opened and quit, so it opens faster due to having some data in cache. The problem with iTunes is that features are constantly added onto it, but it is never cleaned out. Apple needs to do to iTunes what it is doing to Mac OS X with Snow Leopard, and clean out all the unneeded stuff in the application.
What problems do you find with iTunes? Or am I just crazy? Sound off in the comments below.
Product [iTunes]
Yep- Macbook Pro here, with 6 seconds load time, not 15.
I think iTunes is one of my most favourite apps on my Mac, and one I use on a regular basis, either for accessing my own library or visiting the iTunes store (especially now the UK has only just started to get HD tv shows!).
Improvements? I think your library artwork ought to keep loading in the background once the window appears, to stop the scrolling being so jerky to begin with (artwork is loaded as they appear as it is atm). Other than that, there are small design flaws I wish would be sorted out, but nothing major- such as tv shows seasons listed seperately in grid view rather than all together under one title.
I love it otherwise.
NO! The Apple TV is Apple's worst consumer product! Your comments on iTunes are way off.
I think you're wrong.
For a free application, iTunes is great. Yea, it may be a bit bloated, but overall it works well, has plenty of features, and is one of the best jukebox apps out there.
Took 9.6 secs on my iMac 10.5, which I have not found to be too slow. I use iTunes almost daily to check up on new apps for my iPod touch in the App Store.
This is the most ridiculous post I have ever seen here. Appletell.com used to be better before.
This is a joke, right? Seriously! …. isn't iTunes the number one music reseller in america today? do you call that a failure? Seriously! I'm sure iTunes is not perfect and if you have huge music library and videos of course it'll take a bit to open but Seriously! This post makes me feel stupid for spending time reading it.
Ok, you all seem to have largely missed the point here. iTunes is a great program; there is no other like it. And no doubt it is successful. But the point of this article is to say that the way it is built needs cleanup. It's framework could use a good dusting, so that the outer shell looks nice and works snappily. Because right now, it doesnt. Freezing while an iPod connects, jittery scrolling while album art loads, etc. It's the little things.
No Adam Fisher-Cox,
It's you that have missed your own point. iTunes is just fine and you have shot yourself in the foot with this article and now you are regretting it. You say it needs a clean up. Why? Do you get paid to whine like this or is i a personal thing?
I agree with Carlos, this is a ridiculous post, Appletell.com used to be much better before.
I think you are being a little too harsh on him. I have already said your library is a little jerky to scroll through the first time you do so as it loads the artwork as you go instead of straight away and in the background.
I also think podcasts need to be looked at. If you look at them in grid view then click on one to check out the list of episodes, you still have an arrow to pull down or hide the list- why? It isn't needed.
Also, there is a bug with podcasts where I tried to download all new episodes and keep ones I hadn't watched- but then the whole list of episodes wasn't listed at all. Only when I went back to default settings for them could I see the whole list (including old episodes).
Now syncing with the iPod is another thing that could be improved. I remember syncing my old mp3 player with WMP when I had my PC laptop, and I could drag individual tracks to the device and they would sync- in other words, if you changed something on the track like a tag or artwork, it would then change it on the device even though you manually dragged it over. This is impossible to do with iTunes- you have to create a playlist and then choose to automatically sync with that instead of manually dragging to the iPod directly. I know it's not a deal-breaker, but it's something that can be improved for ease of use.
I am sure there are other little things that I haven't thought of yet. I don't agree with the time iTunes takes to load as I said before (mine takes around 5-6 secs- not 15), and I do think iTunes is an excellent app. But there is definite room for even more improvement.
I do think the problem with this article, looking at it again, is the title. If it were called "iTunes needs a clean-up" or something similar it would be ok. But to actually state that it is Apple's worst consumer product is completely wrong. It hasn't even got a question mark at the end, and so it is an actual statement rather than a question. To say such a thing, then say that the article is about the "little things" that could be cleaned up, and that it is still a "great program" doesn't really make sense and sounds hypocritical.
I think that's why people are getting a little heated, right?
Or because people like being loud on the internet. I stand by the title. I can't think of another product, even Apple TV, that is as bogged down as iTunes. Apple TV may be feature limited, but it does what it says it does without being slow.
I disagree with you. iTunes seems to have improved with the years not become worse. If iTunes takes a while to load on a PC, it's more likely to be the machine and it's clunky OS and not the application.
iTunes opens from cold in under five seconds on my MacBook Pro and is rock solid even though the library it contains is huge.
You're point about "Apple not being the best in developing it's software so it runs on windows" got me thinking. Who is good at adapting Apples own software so that it runs on windows? Can you do it any better than Apple?
And to answer you last question, yes, I think you probably are.
Of course it would run faster on a fresh install or something, but none of my other programs have problems being snappy, and I can say that through quite a few Macs and installations, iTunes has consistently been a slow and relatively unresponsive application.
My G5 opens iTunes in just under 5 seconds. Maybe Microsoft is responsible for the poor performance of iTunes on PC. I only go to the iTunes store to sample music before I snagg it from Frostwire, so I miss a lot of the bloated part. I utilize torrent sites to download all of my movies and tv shows. I do have to wait until the day after airing to DL tv shows, and most movies are available before they are released or while they are in theaters.
Now if I could get Autodesk Maya 2008 to open in less than 40 seconds I'd be a happy camper.
Microsoft can't be responsible for the slowness of an application they had no hand in making.
@MentalRay:
Was it really necessary to gloat about your illegal activities? You know some of us actually want to stay on the right side of the law.
Wow, what a heated topic this has become. I just opened my iTunes in just under 5 seconds from a cold start, that's good enough for me!
Adam, could it be that you may possibly just need to do a little house cleaning on your computer instead? I find none of the issues that you described on my end, I love iTunes, no issues here!
If iTunes stops responding when your iPod is connected, you might have a few more issues to worry about than how bloated it is. ITS FREE. Seriously.
You seem angry. And yet, you are agreeing with most of everything I've said. Re-read please.
I disagree. iTune's bloated yes, but what else are you going to use? It's not their best piece of software, but again it's free. You should be thankful you don't have to use WinAmp or windows Media player. Sure there's more out there but really? DUUUUUUdGUy, It's a software that the can sell music on, and you can use there media devices (that i think you would probably have to buy, or they get a dollar somewhere) just like when they lowered the prices for the iPhone, they were making money off of what it did, and the more they sold, the more it would do. Seriously, it's marketing genius, not worst consumer product.
I'm not going to get into specifics. But put it this way. I got the iPhone 3G shortly after it was launched in the UK, and I love it. But when my contract is over with O2, I will almost certainly not upgrade to whatever iPhone is available at the time – simply because the iTunes software. I detest it.
Has anyone stopped to think about this? Yes, iTunes is free, but anyone wishing to use the iTunes store has no other option than to use the iTunes software.
So although it's technically free, it's as much a responsibility for Apple to keep on top of it as it is any shopkeeper to ensure his door works properly (for want of a better analogy). Saying it's free is no excuse for them to consistently force people to have to install bloated software which, by the way, also installs several other apps and services, whether you need/want them or not.
If Apple would allow other softwares entry to the iTunes store there would, within a couple of months, be a barrage of competing applications available with different approaches and styles, etc., and I'm in no doubt that most of them would perform better than iTunes on Mac & PC alike, including the inevitable FREE open source options.
I'd like to see everyone defending it so vehemently then.
Sorry I forgot to add, just to clarify my point…
iTunes is Apple's store front for a massive part of their retail business. Last year alone iTunes music store took $3.3 billion in revenue just on music downloads, and this year the App store will clear $2.4 billion on top of whatever the music brings in.
The fact that iTunes is free is a completely moot point. What, are they supposed to charge for it? That would be like Tesco or 7-Eleven charging an entrance fee to their stores, while all other stores are free to enter. Ridiculous.
I could care less if iTunes takes 2 seconds or a full minute to load. Is there anybody who comments at these types of sites who is an ordinary home computer user and not a tech dork who sits around with a stop watching timing how long a program takes to load? Go drop a load in the john while that 30 second load is happening, if your time is worth that much.
I like the comment that we shouldn't complain because iTunes is free. Cigarette butts on the street, space junk falling out of the sky and roaches in your kitchen are free too. Are you kidding me with this "free" bit? It's "free" because it's a loss leader for Apple, just like free deals on toilet paper at your grocery store. I assume that the "free" person has never spent any money downloading Mac format-only songs from the iTunes store. File the "free" comment in the same place as that coupon for buy-one-get-one-free roll of Nice 'n' Soft TP.
I just would like iTunes with Mac to work. Download, load time, opening time – who cares except for some gimlet-eyed tech blivit? It's not just Mac with a PC that screwing up, but you'd think that was not the case. Apple is working to fix their PC problems but are not acknowledging the problems with their own machines. Mac for iTunes is screwy too.
iTunes has gotten so buggy in regards to AIFF format discs! Crashes, freezes ups – whatever you want to call them. I read the iTunes supporting comments and they sound like they are from the Apple Worshipers of the Universe who only use the MP3 format as Apple commands. If iTunes isn't going to support the AIFF format, they should just come out and say it. AIFF sounds better than MP3 to some of us.
Non-dorks of the world unite! Complain to Apple about iTunes for Mac being buggy and undependable.
Download conscious dorks of the world, you are already united. You may go back to sniveling about the whole minute you wasted waiting for an application to load. The loading time has become more important time than the function of the application to you. You are free to snivel at will.
You are correct. I was too busy ranting to "download" your eloquent words. We do agree.
I agree with the author. It is a great program, there is no alternative, but it is slow and inconsistent.
If iTunes were my only Apple experience, I would never have bought an Apple pc. iTunes is an outpost for Apple and should strive to be the best working pc experience.
itunes is the buggiest thing I've ever seen. It's a real pain, especially when watching videos… I hope they will either fix it or throw it out and write something that actually works on windows.
I agree with this article
itune is one the worst product I ever used. Worst sync feature. itune engineer seriously need some slap from steve J. This product is no where near what steve would like to be.
too many apple freak sipping their $5 startbucks coffee responding this article on their macbook.
ITunes is positively the most annoying virus I have to deal with on corporate networks. It is slow, buggy and causes no end of support issues for our IT staff.
I would really apprediate it if Apple would stop publishing this malware for the windows OS.
We don't need this usless time waster and don't want it on our network pc's.
Most infuriating is have to have to recharge the silly toy phone (iphone).
At the very least, good antivirus software should detect itunes and automatically irradicate it from PC's. Leave it on the MAC, it is fine there, MACs are menat to do actual work anyway so nobody will notice.
>> Leave it on the MAC, it is fine there, MACs are,'t menat to do actual work anyway so nobody will notice.
iTunes makes me not want to own an iPod, The whole "syncing" function is a supremely bad idea in my opinion, unless you like making playlists all day. You can't even get music off your iPod to another computer without third party software…what a joke. iTunes is a storefront first and a very poor quality media program second.
iTunes is a P.O.S. daily I have to check and see "itunes not responding" message.. Zune is so much more smooth.. I just wish they had all the apps. etc.. that iTunes offers
It's rubbish. Managing libraries is terrible, limited ability to split and sort files. The error messages are useless. Drag and drip – doesnt. Sync with an iphone across 2 or more computers and itunes has a fit. It is what it is OLD, DUSTY and RUBBISH. Apples worst ever!
iphone 4 has become a love hate relationship for me.
Just one (of many) particular hate: iTunes
All you mac lovers just hate to hear anything about anything Apple. I have had to redownload more apps becasue iTunes suddenly decided that it had better clean up my phone and BTW iTunes. And don't get me started on what it likes to do with my folders.
I think the developers need to check the dictionary for sync'ing. It does not have to be a one way ya know!
I can see if I was using more than one PC but I have carefully stayed away from that slippery slope.
And slow? You betcha!
I am actually surprised at what a pathetic piece of software iTunes is. I bought an iMac about 2 years ago, and it is pretty good computer. Garageband is pretty fun and iPhoto is a little annoying, but not too bad, however, iTunes is brutal. There are a number of things I find time consuming. For instance, I have a media server in my basement, and every time I install a new iTunes update, or simply restart my computer, it resets the location of my music folder back to the default. Then I have to change it and then it takes forever to re-set. This is version 9 and this is still a problem. So 9 iterations of a piece of software and you can't get something as basic as this correct? This is total amateur hour from a development point of view. Also, it doesn't deal with .wav files very well, since it often renames albums to 'Unknown' and then makes me rename everything using the iTunes interface. It's ridiculous and actually quite time consuming. Also, converting file types and keeping both versions so that you have to delete one is foolish. iTunes actually turned me off of getting an iPhone. I am going to get a Samsung Galaxy S instead.
Anyway, in the end, I am going back to Microsoft. This was an interesting experiment, and Apple does work 'ok', but it is really for people who don't know anything about computers and who only operate exactly how Apple wants you to operate.
Good luck
iTunes 10 has just decided to wipe my iPhone of my entire music collection for absolutely no reason whatsover.
In fact my iPhone 4 hasn't been great since I installed iOS 4.1. Starting to really regret upgrading both.
iTunes used to be not so black & white an issue, as the odd Mac & PC seems to be. But as my audio library grew (nearing 80,000 songs — for reference not bragging rights), iTunes became slower, sluggish, and don't even ask it to multitask. It can no longer add an album to my library whilst letting me browse and work on playlists. I MUST wait for it to do one thing before I can do another. Sometimes simply playing music can slow it down…
Yes, the interface is nice and pleasant to look at (though it can be like a blinding spotlight late at night)
But what good is it if will not function?
Presumably Apple has built its following and reputation on excellent products/design/engineering. And for the most part I agree. The iPod 4touch 64g is a great little device and runs iTunes quite well. But by "running" all it has to do is store, manage, and play. Connecting to the iTunes store is a really a separate function.
So, although I don't know if it's the "worst" product Apple offers, it is certainly extremely neglected for those of us who really love their music and want to have easy access to it at all times. After all, isn't that what Mr. Jobs said it would do?
For those of you who speak of iTunes as a "free program" and therefore should not be criticized, good for you – enjoy it because it obviously works quite well in your case.
However, as with any good business, what is offered as free will turn a profit somewhere…
Have a look here for instance: http://www.cultofmac.com/itunes-could-cost-apple-over-2-billion-a-year-to-run-by-2012/58699#comments
And I wonder, if it costs nearly a Billion dollars to run this program/business/merchandising/social network which is iTunes, why doesn’t Apple believe working out bugs in a sluggish program a priority? Has Apple become less a leader of innovative products in exchange for a lead in the marketplace?
No one knows because Apple won’t tell.
Personally, I’m going to check the iTunes Customer Service…
I know this is an old thread but I think it is still relevant, so I wanted to comment.
Apple are quite famous for creating nice, slick user interfaces. The terms 'user friendly' and 'consistent design' spring to mind when thinking of Apple software. The interfaces on their mobile devices set a standard which others try to emulate. Wonderful. That is, until you come to use iTunes. It is clunky, and slow, and crashes A LOT in Windows. The various settings seem to be split up and distributed in lots of different locations which are a nightmare when you come to configure it. If you are a home user, buy all of your media from the Apple store, and have one computer and one iPod/iPhone/iPad then I am sure it works fine for you. But try deviating from that with something simple, like two machines (not on the same network) which you want to sync with. The horror begins, usually with one machine trying to wipe off the things you put on with the other. Nasty, and it's not just iTunes fault – I think this is a design fault on Apples part. They try so desperately to protect the media you put on your device that they make it impossible for users to do simple things that any $10 MP3 player lets you do. Worse still there is no real alternative to function fully with their kit.
My advice to Apple is to start from scratch. Don't keep bolting things onto iTunes – wipe it and start from fresh. Try a simple drag and drop style interface – like moving files. Find a file, drop it onto you iPod… drag it off your iPod. Simple. Easy. Or at the very least let me use Windows Explorer or another file manager to copy files onto it.