Sick and tired of iTunes

[magiccarpetride]

I think iTunes is the worst piece of shit software I've seen so far. I'm using it on the Mac to organize my music library etc., but it's giving me such grief, that I've decided to ditch it.

What other recommended music library software do you guys know of? I'd like to be able to rip my CDs into FLAC (or AIFF).

[The Vinyl Adventure]

yeah its wank... i put it on a new computer to use with my iphone the other day... it proceded to delete stuff of my phone instead if syncing with it... if anyone knows how to stop it doing such a stupid thing... let me know

[Psion770]

I can understand your frustration guys, I have been using I tunes now for about three years and I have had issues with it however. I use it with an I pod classic keep my I tunes Library Folder on an external hard drive. I have over 15000, tracks on the unit which I think provides a reasonably secure data base,
I use it back to back with TuneUp a Music utility program that cleans Artwork track listing etc spellings, and Beatunes which logs the overall keys of tracks and their BPM ( beats per minute reasonably accurately) which helps in building playlists for various activities chilling out, painting, the Gym road songs etc.
I check each software update and have my machine set up to roll back to previous setups to check compatibility and manually check songs and videos when syncing across my classic and my wife and I's shuffle.
It doesn't help but perhaps being bitten I make sure I am careful and keep clowns like the kids off my equipment and laptop.

[Stratmangler]

You may be able to find something useful for ripping to FLAC here http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html

You might of course consider coming over to the dark side, in which case your options widen considerably

[webby]

I think iTunes is the worst piece of shit software I've seen so far. I'm using it on the Mac to organize my music library etc., but it's giving me such grief, that I've decided to ditch it.

What other recommended music library software do you guys know of? I'd like to be able to rip my CDs into FLAC (or AIFF).

You can use XLD to rip to FLAC or AIFF.

What are your specific issues with itunes? No, it won't play FLAC, but what else?

[lovejoy]

If you think iTunes is bad, you should have had a Sony NetMD player with SonicStage. It made iTunes look like the most lovingly crafted piece of work ever produced.

Lesson number 1: Never *EVER* update to the newest version of iTunes when Apple opens up your software updates window. Unfortunately iTunes 9 is full of both new bugs and stuff that's been hanging around for ages that people have moaned about incessantly and no-one has taken much care about fixing. They're too busy adding support for their new devices and adding new features which will accumulate their own bugs, so the snowball continues to gather momentum.

As Martyn says, it's worth downloading the newest version but run it alongside your current version for a couple of weeks just to see if there are any problems.

If you're currently running iTunes 9 and you're playing into a DAC - Go back to version 8 becuase they've broken the sound quality with 9. Of course there is no documentation to state this, so I've spent a weekend of tearing my hair out wondering why it all sounded so flat and lifeless. Going back to 8 cured this.

Thing is, if you've got an iPod, there is nothing better available. In spite of all of its infuriating bugs and idiosyncrasies I still always end up going back to it because nothing else has a better interface or allows the use of all of the functions of an iPod.

The unspoken rules of iTunes:
1. Stick with the version that works for you and don't let Apple bully you into the newest version.
2. Switch off all of the library management features
3. Always keep back ups of your library files, including playlists so that if you do suddenly find your iPod empty, you can at least re-fill it quickly enough.
4. Never delete the 'Previous iTunes libraries' directory because you never know when they will come in handy.
5. Switch off the equaliser, volume normaliser, sound check enhancer etc.

...Oh and if you have an iPhone/iPod Touch, version 8 is also a lot quicker at syncing. That's another thing they broke in 9.

Quality Assurance just isn't what it was.

[magiccarpetride]

You can use XLD to rip to FLAC or AIFF.

What are your specific issues with itunes? No, it won't play FLAC, but what else?

Despite being a professional software developer with a University degree, I am not a techno-geek. Hence, I have no patience dicking around with various settings and other administrative tasks. I just want to use the product out of the box (which is why I exclusively use Apple products, as they are mostly no-brainer type of stuff). Still, iTunes is the exact opposite of all the other Apple products, and thus a big mystery (iTunes looks and feels like a Microsoft product, btw).

iTunes is famous for being a so-called 'roach motel' product (tunes check in, but they can never leave). I think it has to do with Apple going to bed with the 'residual income' bullies of the publishing industry. Now Apple had reneged and dropped the DRM, but deep down in their hearts, they are, and always will be, the residual income (a.k.a. royalties) bullies.

To make things even worse, iTunes seems to be arbitrarily pulling the reverse roach motel on me. I use iTunes exclusively for ripping my CDs to AIFF and playing the files through the Squeezebox server on the Mac and then streaming it wirelessly to my Squeezebox slim device. What's happening is that once I rip a CD, I may create a playlist and include one or more tracks from the ripped CD into that playlist. All fine and dandy. But then, at an undetermined interval (after a few days/weeks), iTunes would just gobble up one or more tracks from the playlist. It would happen at unpredictable intervals, and the tracks chosen to do the vanishing act would also be unpredictably arbitrary.

In other words, iTunes would pretend as if that track is empty (no music content). Yes, the track's title and other attributes remain in the playlist, but when I attempt to play it back, iTunes rolls over and plays dead and claims that the track is empty of any content.

A quick check in the OSX finder confirms that the track is still there, in all its glory, and can be played using Quicktime or any other music software. Any, but iTunes.

Isn't that the most perfect definition of a "piece of shit software" you've ever heard?

[Codifus]

........
The unspoken rules of iTunes:
1. Stick with the version that works for you and don't let Apple bully you into the newest version.

Awesome advice. Here are some other suggestions (keep in mind I have iTunes 7 and I am assuming iTunes on a Mac so the menu items may be a bit different for different version/OSes)

.......

3. Always keep back ups of your library files, including playlists so that if you do suddenly find your iPod empty, you can at least re-fill it quickly enough.

The command "Export Library" actually exports all of your playlists to a file named library.xml. The command should really be labelled "Export ALL playlists." You can use a program like carbon copy cloner to backup all of your music and and all of your playlists (in library.xml)

5. Switch off the equaliser, volume normaliser, sound check enhancer etc.

Also, set your volume in iTunes to maximum or 100%.
By doing those steps above AND to set your Audio Midi control panel appropriately, you will have iTunes configured for either bit perfect output or the best sample rate conversion performed by iTunes and not OSX.

Note that iTunes sets its sample rate according to what is specified in Audio Midi when iTunes launches

For example;

your iTunes library has mixed media files, some 16/44 and some 24/96 audio files. In this situation set your Audio Midi to 24/96 to feed your 7520/Caiman. When iTunes launches it will configure itself for 24/96. Any 16/44 files will be upsampled by iTunes to 24/96 and passed to OSX will then pass them on to the Caiman. This won't be bit perfect for 16/44 files, but it will use the best sample rate converter within iTunes and not OSX. Of course, 24/96 files will be bit perfect.

Example 2;

your iTunes library has only 16/44 files. In this situation set your Audio Midi to 16/44 to feed your 7520/Caiman. When iTunes launches it will configure itself for 16/44. Any 16/44 files will be passed by iTunes to OSX and finally passed on to the Caiman. Thus you will have bit perfect output for all your 16/44 files.

Hope this helps!

[Codifus]

Despite being a professional software developer with a University degree, I am not a techno-geek. Hence, I have no patience dicking around with various settings and other administrative tasks. I just want to use the product out of the box (which is why I exclusively use Apple products, as they are mostly no-brainer type of stuff). Still, iTunes is the exact opposite of all the other Apple products, and thus a big mystery (iTunes looks and feels like a Microsoft product, btw).

You mean like Windows Media Player? Have you tried using it a a music server? All I can say is OH.......MY......GOD!

iTunes is famous for being a so-called 'roach motel' product (tunes check in, but they can never leave). I think it has to do with Apple going to bed with the 'residual income' bullies of the publishing industry. Now Apple had reneged and dropped the DRM, but deep down in their hearts, they are, and always will be, the residual income (a.k.a. royalties) bullies.

I've noticed on the internet this very large conspiracy when it comes to iTunes and DRM. The Only files that were DRMmed were the ones you buy from the iTunes store. That's it. I say "were" because recently Apple has relaxed the rules even more on DRM files. If you don't buy tunes from the store then you have complete and absolute freedom with your music files. Import an MP3 file from LIMEWIRE or other internet source? No DRM. Import some CDs into the Library? No DRM. Convert any NON DRMmed file to MP3, AAC, WAV, or whatever? Again. No DRM.

To make things even worse, iTunes seems to be arbitrarily pulling the reverse roach motel on me. I use iTunes exclusively for ripping my CDs to AIFF and playing the files through the Squeezebox server on the Mac and then streaming it wirelessly to my Squeezebox slim device. What's happening is that once I rip a CD, I may create a playlist and include one or more tracks from the ripped CD into that playlist. All fine and dandy. But then, at an undetermined interval (after a few days/weeks), iTunes would just gobble up one or more tracks from the playlist. It would happen at unpredictable intervals, and the tracks chosen to do the vanishing act would also be unpredictably arbitrary.In other words, iTunes would pretend as if that track is empty (no music content). Yes, the track's title and other attributes remain in the playlist, but when I attempt to play it back, iTunes rolls over and plays dead and claims that the track is empty of any content.

A quick check in the OSX finder confirms that the track is still there, in all its glory, and can be played using Quicktime or any other music software. Any, but iTunes.

Isn't that the most perfect definition of a "piece of shit software" you've ever heard?

Sounds like a bug to me. Perhaps the Squeezebox software may be touching the files and causing minor corruption? I have none of those issues. I've noticed that ever since iTunes 8 and later, though, bugginess of iTunes has gone up significantly.

[magiccarpetride]

You mean like Windows Media Player? Have you tried using it a a music server? All I can say is OH.......MY......GOD!



I've noticed on the internet this very large conspiracy when it comes to iTunes and DRM. The Only files that were DRMmed were the ones you buy from the iTunes store. That's it. I say "were" because recently Apple has relaxed the rules even more on DRM files. If you don't buy tunes from the store then you have complete and absolute freedom with your music files. Import an MP3 file from LIMEWIRE or other internet source? No DRM. Import some CDs into the Library? No DRM. Convert any NON DRMmed file to MP3, AAC, WAV, or whatever? Again. No DRM.




Sounds like a bug to me. Perhaps the Squeezebox software may be touching the files and causing minor corruption? I have none of those issues. I've noticed that ever since iTunes 8 and later, though, bugginess of iTunes has gone up significantly.

I've sworn off Windows and Microsoft ages ago. Wouldn't touch that piece of shit with a 10 foot pole.

iTunes being a proprietary product, we don't really know what's going on inside it, do we? For all I know, it may be doing all kinds of things that I'm not aware of, and that I, as a paying customer, do not approve of. And that's precisely why many people dislike proprietary software and prefer open source, community based products.

You see, vendors claim many, many things that later on, under closer scrutiny, turn out not to be true. They're like politicians. Full disclosure upfront is the only way you will not get tricked into something you haven't bargained for.

Buggy software is shitty software, period. There is no way anyone could ever sugar coat it and make it more palatable.