Why all the hate on iTunes?
Why all the hate on iTunes?
Since apple. Mostly stick to YouTube and/or a music platform like Last.fm or SoundCloud if you're on a PC (which usually stays online). Personally, I don’t see the need for iTunes or any music apps. Having MP3, WAV, or FLAC files on your PC and phone is enough.
The primary issue is that it relies on a database to organize your music, which frequently causes duplicate entries. Additionally, it feels slow and disrupts your file organization.
I don’t see any major issues—it functions well for me. But in the newest updates with the awkward album viewer, playing an album becomes problematic when artists change or it’s a compilation; each artist gets their own version, which feels really confusing. Still, aside from that, I consider it a solid music player and library manager. The smart playlist feature is great for organizing playlists. Overall, my main use is managing my iPod, since it’s the only device that all car stereos can sync with and allows full control on the device itself.
I'm getting frustrated with this too! I saved all my tracks yesterday, but when I tried to play them, it didn't work right. It's acting weird—like if you ask for "Give me freedom in my playlist" and it just gives random nonsense: Give me.giv,m,give,me free,give,dom,give me freedom,give,giv me,fir,give... That's not good at all.
It never offered a strong playlist or file handling feature. I appreciate being able to place downloaded music into folders, highlight it in Foobar, and keep everything organized exactly as needed. It really saves time. I can create dynamic playlists or complex ones while listening. I also noticed it runs slowly. I got used to it with an iPod, but now it’s not worth it—I don’t use i-devices anymore and mostly get music from BandCamp. For podcasts I enjoy, I usually download them via iTunes and use a Foobar extension for downloads. Having such a lightweight, fast app that opens instantly would be perfect; it would make listening to music much more convenient.
I don’t really grasp the frustration either; I haven’t faced any issues with iTunes on my PC or with anyone I know. Managing files in iTunes works most of the time, but there are occasional duplicates. I’m using clementine on my Ubuntu machine—which feels like a mistake to pick it for a poorly configured system—and it sometimes runs better, though it doesn’t seem significantly improved over iTunes. I just wish iTunes could automatically detect and update libraries instead of requiring manual additions. Still, having access to the iTunes store is quite handy for me, even without owning an Apple device.
I've owned my iPod for nearly four years and have consistently used iTunes to keep it synced. There haven't been any major problems, although I don't particularly enjoy the newer interface—it won't turn me off. I've also managed to connect it with AutoHotKey or RainMeter for displaying album artwork in a sidebar. Some of the sync challenges mentioned earlier can be adjusted per device.
I mainly prefer iTunes because of the convenience of subscribing to podcasts. Just a moment ago they made a mistake... probably the ability to purchase music is the main reason I still have it. I currently use CopyTrans Manager, which is really helpful. The only downside is it doesn’t add .pdf or .epub files, which might be why I keep iTunes around.