Itunes: Biggest piece of crap ever?

[Dark Moth]

I don't know what all the fuss here is about iPods and iTunes. I've been using both for almost a year now and haven't had any problems whatsoever. I find both hassle-free and easy to use. Then again, maybe my having a Mac has something to do with it.

[Kor Qel Droma]

The iTunes now suckz0r, I dont like the spamm'd inbuilt iTunes store that follows you everywhere you go when browsing through your music, Apple is taking iStalking to the next level.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

If it was as bad as you say it is wouldn't we have had a few itunes spambots on the board by now? Huh?

Edited January 11, 2007 by Kor Qel Droma

[Bokishi]

Yeah, Ive got the same problem. This might be due to the CPU usage.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

It skips on my Conroe. I don't think it's CPU usage but a bug.

[Pop]

Why do you need to own your music?  The only possible reason seems to be so that you can burn CD's, but with all the MP3 player stuff nowadays, CD's are on their way out as a media device.  I just don't understand the fascination with owning music.  As long as I have a subscription, I have access to 2 million songs.  If I cancel my subscription, I lose that access.  Big whoop.

 

I actually don't know how iTunes works, I can only speak for the MP3 sites like Rhapsody, Napster, and Urge.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't really own 99% of the music I have. And I don't use itunes.

 

I get a lot of gifts.

[Sand]

The reason why I like to use CDs is that I like to take my music to work and they don't allow MP3 players. They do have a nice stereo with a CD player in it so I often make my own custom CDs with work appropriate music on it.

[Diamond]

Did i mention DRM sucks!!!!! Digital Rights Management. The agreement where you buy music from itunes and you don't own the license to your own music thus the person is really only renting music from itunes so they can inevitably rent it again and again. Just like Hollywood wants you to buy the next big thing now, BluRay  so you can buy all your movies over and over again thus they have a steady income.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Though I don't like DRM either, what you are saying is illogical. How is restricting music distribution via DRM equates to releasing a media in a new format?

 

 

P.S.

You can circumvent Apple's DRM anyway, why does it matter?

[Oerwinde]

Did i mention DRM sucks!!!!! Digital Rights Management. The agreement where you buy music from itunes and you don't own the license to your own music thus the person is really only renting music from itunes so they can inevitably rent it again and again. Just like Hollywood wants you to buy the next big thing now, BluRay  so you can buy all your movies over and over again thus they have a steady income.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Though I don't like DRM either, what you are saying is illogical. How is restricting music distribution via DRM equates to releasing a media in a new format?

 

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I was wondering the same thing. Blu-Ray is cool if you're a huge movie fan and own an HDTV and want the best picture and sound you can get from your movies, but even as a huge movie fan I was never going to go out and replace my whole collection. Just the ones I feel deserve the HD treatment.

 

And to stay on topic, DRM sucks. My sister bought the recent Yellowcard cd, and couldn't put it on her ipod because of the DRM. I spent 4 hours finding a way to rip it to mp3 so she could actually use the CD she paid money for.

 

And I hate iTunes. It screwed up my quicktime so now I can't play videos if I have any other application running in the background that plays sound.

[Weiser_Cain]

Itunes is crap, I hope I've contributed to this discussion.

[mkreku]

I was wondering the same thing. Blu-Ray is cool if you're a huge movie fan and own an HDTV and want the best picture and sound you can get from your movies, but even as a huge movie fan I was never going to go out and replace my whole collection. Just the ones I feel deserve the HD treatment.

Check out this cool comparison between DVD and HD:

 

http://www.cornbread.org/FOTRCompare/index.html

 

I especially like the "Shot 4" (where the hobbits are huddled under a tree). There really is quite a difference.

[alanschu]

The reason why I like to use CDs is that I like to take my music to work and they don't allow MP3 players.  They do have a nice stereo with a CD player in it so I often make my own custom CDs with work appropriate music on it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That seems like a rather arbitrary restriction. Why no MP3 player, but CDs are A-OK?

[Plano Skywalker]

I generally like ripping my own mp3's based on cds that I have (used cd stores help out in this).

 

Maybe it is just psychological but I do like being able to play music in cd form.

[Sand]

The reason why I like to use CDs is that I like to take my music to work and they don't allow MP3 players.  They do have a nice stereo with a CD player in it so I often make my own custom CDs with work appropriate music on it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That seems like a rather arbitrary restriction. Why no MP3 player, but CDs are A-OK?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Its a stupid rule I agree. I guess people were using them with their headphones on and not dealing with customers appropriately. Personally I don't really see the difference between a MP3 player with a speaker mount and a Stereo.

[alanschu]

Couldn't you just hook up the MP3 player to your stereo, and the higher ups would be none the wiser?

[angshuman]

I was wondering the same thing. Blu-Ray is cool if you're a huge movie fan and own an HDTV and want the best picture and sound you can get from your movies, but even as a huge movie fan I was never going to go out and replace my whole collection. Just the ones I feel deserve the HD treatment.

Check out this cool comparison between DVD and HD:

 

http://www.cornbread.org/FOTRCompare/index.html

 

I especially like the "Shot 4" (where the hobbits are huddled under a tree). There really is quite a difference.

There's no denying the fact that the massive resolutions supported by both HD formats provides an immense increase in image quality. I still feel that most home users do not tap into the full potential image quality that can be extracted even from modest DVD resolutions. For those not yet ready to make the switch to HD, here are some pictures showing exactly what is achievable using a HTPC and some excellent freeware. I might have posted these links sometime in the past, so please forgive me if you've seen these before. Oh, and of course, the difference here is nowhere near as dramatic as mkreku's HD shots (you can't magically generate data where there isn't any), but it's significant enough to make most people throw their DVD players out the window and invest in a HTPC.

 

http://www.htpcnews.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=17427

 

http://www.htpcnews.com/index.php?option=c...d=132&Itemid=54

[Walsingham]

I don't hold with fething iTunes, because if I am going to pay for something i want to own it. I use a bunch of little creative labs USB based players. They double up as storage and I can use them to make recordings of meetings/interviews and so forth. When they get old/obsolete they get used as permanent storage. End ex.

[Dark Moth]

And another thing: people have been mentioning this mini iTunes store on the new version that follows you everywhere. I've seen it on other people's iTunes, but never on mine. And I have the newest version (version 7).

[kumquatq3]

If you're dumb enough to buy an ipod then you deserve itunes

 

Having a 2nd gen Ipod Nano, I'd argue it's about a damn near perfect music player.

[Darth Drabek]

I prefer the ripper off of my old Samsung Y-55 to the itunes program.

And I have next to no intentions of using the music store.  That's what Laozi and Drabek are for.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I do what Wals and Plano do. If I pay money for something, I want something more to show for it than a computer file. I want to be able to burn it to a CD, as many times as I want, for my own personal enjoyment. I shouldn't have to circumvent any restrictions to do this. Music that I've paid for shouldn't be locked in my PC.

 

I want to be able to create my own mp3s by ripping them off my CDs, or even from friends' CDs. I don't see that as any different as taping a song I like off the radio, like everybody used to do back before the digital revolution. If I like an album well enough, I'll want to add it to my collection. So then you buy it - less disappointment that way.

 

I had a 128 MB Creative player for a few years. When it died on me, I bought a 512 MB Sansa that does everything I want and nothing I don't want.

 

I bought my parents iPod shuffles just because neither of them are tech-savvy, and they won't be buying any music online - just ripping it from CDs and putting it on their Shuffles.

[Dark Moth]

If you're dumb enough to buy an ipod then you deserve itunes

 

Having a 2nd gen Ipod Nano, I'd argue it's about a damn near perfect music player.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What capacity? Because I'm looking to buy a 4GB nano once I have the money. Right now I have a 1st gen 2GB model. I don't think I'd ever pay $250 to get an 8GB nano, though. If I were to spend that much money on an mp3 player, I'd just make the jump from a nano to a regular iPod for almost the same price and get much more bang for my buck.

[kumquatq3]

If you're dumb enough to buy an ipod then you deserve itunes

 

Having a 2nd gen Ipod Nano, I'd argue it's about a damn near perfect music player.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What capacity? Because I'm looking to buy a 4GB nano once I have the money. Right now I have a 1st gen 2GB model. I don't think I'd ever pay $250 to get an 8GB nano, though. If I were to spend that much money on an mp3 player, I'd just make the jump from a nano to a regular iPod for almost the same price and get much more bang for my buck.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I got the 8 GB as a gift from my sis (for $200 on sale). Because I don't much care about video playback and I wanted it partially for working out (not to meantion that nifty nike running attachment), I asked for the Nano. I know it doesn't necessarily look it unless you have both in front of you, but it's ALOT smaller and lighter than a regular Ipod. Plus the battery life is 20+ hours and it holds (according to Itunes) 4-5 days worth of music, which is very respectable.

Edited January 11, 2007 by kumquatq3

[Hurlshort]

 

I do what Wals and Plano do. If I pay money for something, I want something more to show for it than a computer file. I want to be able to burn it to a CD, as many times as I want, for my own personal enjoyment. I shouldn't have to circumvent any restrictions to do this. Music that I've paid for shouldn't be locked in my PC.

 

I want to be able to create my own mp3s by ripping them off my CDs, or even from friends' CDs. I don't see that as any different as taping a song I like off the radio, like everybody used to do back before the digital revolution. If I like an album well enough, I'll want to add it to my collection. So then you buy it - less disappointment that way.

 

I had a 128 MB Creative player for a few years. When it died on me, I bought a 512 MB Sansa that does everything I want and nothing I don't want.

 

I bought my parents iPod shuffles just because neither of them are tech-savvy, and they won't be buying any music online - just ripping it from CDs and putting it on their Shuffles.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I consider the $15 fee for most subscription based music stores a reasonable price for near unlimited music. I can still buy songs with the service individually and burn them to a CD, but I don't see the point in doing that. I can put a ton of music on my computer and I believe up to two players, and they stay there as long as I have a subscription. It's like having access to a bunch of radio stations where you can skip songs and don't have to listen to commercials. If I cancel my subscription, the music disappears, but that doesn't devastate me. I can regain them at any time for another $15.

 

It's a lot more cost effective than buying tons of CD's, but in essence it just depends on how much music you listen to. I personally bought maybe one CD a month, but that was enough to warrant the cost of a subscription. It was the same cost for a heck of a lot more music, and I don't mind it being tied to my PC and player because that's all I use.

[Krookie]

I use iTunes. Probably because it's the only thing my dad/sister can figure out how to use.

 

I don't mind it so much.

[metadigital]

I don't listen to music.

[WITHTEETH]

Did i mention DRM sucks!!!!! Digital Rights Management. The agreement where you buy music from itunes and you don't own the license to your own music thus the person is really only renting music from itunes so they can inevitably rent it again and again. Just like Hollywood wants you to buy the next big thing now, BluRay  so you can buy all your movies over and over again thus they have a steady income.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Though I don't like DRM either, what you are saying is illogical. How is restricting music distribution via DRM equates to releasing a media in a new format?

 

 

P.S.

You can circumvent Apple's DRM anyway, why does it matter?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Illogical?

If DRM Sucks and BluRay and iTunes have DRM, then BluRay and iTunes Suck.

 

 

Why does it matter? I think DRM violates my rights as a consumer, and so I choose not to support it.

Edited January 12, 2007 by WITHTEETH

[metadigital]

That's not a fault of DRM, it is a poor implementation by greedy producers.