Someone reviewed v on Jul 5, 2022

Pros: 555

Cons: 555

Bottom Line: 555

AthleticLatino reviewed v12.10.4 on Jan 29, 2020

Pros: No pros to this.

Cons: Slow and bloated with so many unnecessary stuff beyond compare.

Bottom Line: One of the most bloated software on the planet. Apple forced users to install this for simple procedures like transferring files. I will not miss it when its gone.

simonz reviewed v12.9.3 on Mar 27, 2019

Pros: Nice

Cons: Expensive

Bottom Line: A great tool for those who want to create a personal digital music library.
gmail sign up

hendryjullius reviewed v12.9.3 on Mar 15, 2019

Pros: hhhghg 5

Cons: ghghg 6

Bottom Line: good article

Jim reviewed v12.7.5 on Jul 10, 2018

Pros: I'd like to point out that this page should be updated:
- iTunes 12.8 as of 12 July 2018

Pro's: Best util for installing firmware to iOS devices.

Cons: Most features don't give a clear if any explanation as to what they do.
You can't use anything free from the apple app store/etc without a tested working chargeable credit card paypal or other account.

Bottom Line: It would be nice if apple used iTunes to bring more Mac-OS only activities to Windows, as well as find a way to compete more with Google ChromeCast using Apple TV.
Alas they don't;
And using what they do offer is mainly guesswork or google research.
(Apple user-to-user forums are flooded with the most simple questions and what's worse is they're often unanswered or poorly responded to).

harvaparva reviewed v12.7 on Sep 16, 2017

Pros: v12.7.0.166

Control of playlists, can't think for much else

Cons: What NO more apps, the whole app control interface has been removed, leaves behind Gigabytes of ipa files, so the average user wouldn't know what to do with them, no 'would you like to delete them' prompt.

Also as a person who likes to install their Windows programs into custom locations, the installation program has a major issue that's return from 2006, having reported it on release day, no feedback from Apple, once installed the program will complain about the 'CD Configuration' folder being missing, simple move it from their hardcoded location folder to your new location, fancy a large corporation not testing custom locations

Bottom Line: Cutting edge or bleeding edge that is the question

Steve1209 reviewed v12.6.1 on May 16, 2017

Does anyone have a good alternative program to store my ITUNES music and update my IPOD shuffle, I feel like this is the only software??

Picasso reviewed v12.6.0 on Mar 22, 2017

Worst of the worst!

Music4Ever reviewed v12.3 on Sep 17, 2015

From my point of view it's some part of an evil plan to slow down & disable windows PC's so their hapless owners turn to the jolly land of Apple in desperation to get a working computer - Adds over twenty seven billion registry entries in an attempt to stop your PC ever working again. (Remember once iTunes is on your PC it's on for good)

krgood reviewed v12.2.2 on Aug 16, 2015

Installed on Windows 10, Program bombs when running due to missing files. I uninstalled until Apple corrects the install. I have always had problems with Apple software running on my Hp Laptop..Something is always missing when installing.products...wonder if anyone checks these apps before they are released to the public?

roymccoy reviewed v12.2 on Jul 1, 2015

What’s new in iTunes 12.2

iTunes 12.2 brings support for listening to Beats 1 live Internet radio programming, as well as for streaming songs through Apple Music.

You will notice a brand new For You section which lets you browse songs Apple thinks you’ll love, based on your taste and past listening history. In addition to For You, another section labeled New provides a curated selection of new song and album releases.

Lastly, there’s a Connect section where you can check out additional materials artists may post for music lovers to enjoy, such as lyrics, photo galleries, behind-the-scene videos, additional recordings and more.

The three new sections are also available on iOS 8.4’s revamped Music app.

________________

Apple has provided the following description of new features in iTunes 12.2:

- For You—Get playlist and album recommendations you’ll love, selected just for you based on your musical tastes. The more you listen, the better For You gets.

- New—Discover the best new music, handpicked by our music editors. Explore mixes created just for activities like exercising, or find great handcrafted playlists in a wide variety of genres. With Apple Music, you’ll always have the perfect soundtrack for any occasion.

- Connect—A single place to connect with your favorite artists. See thoughts, photos, music, and videos shared from your favorite artists. You can comment on or love anything an artist has posted, and the artist can respond to you directly.

- Beats 1—Tune in to Beats 1, broadcast live from cities around the globe. Enjoy music, interviews, exclusive radio shows, and the best of what’s going on in the world of music. Beats 1—worldwide and always on.

- Apple Music Radio—Radio has been completely redesigned. Play from Featured Stations, where our music experts hand select every song you hear. Or, start a new station from any artist or song. In addition, it’s now easy to quickly return to your favorite stations with Recently Played.

- My Music—Find all your music in one place, including iTunes purchases, music you’ve imported from CD, and now songs from Apple Music.

- iTunes Store—The iTunes Store is still the best place to buy your favorite music, one song or album at a time.

ShawnDevin reviewed v12.1 on Jan 31, 2015

This version of itunes is severely dammaged. Once installed it works correctly for only the first intstall, then immediately throws an error "The Program
can't start because GNSDK_MANAGER.DLL is missing from the computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.

alexsch8 reviewed v12.1 on Jan 30, 2015

If you are having playback problems (choppy, garble, jumps) with iTunes 12.1 for Windows, then download and install the version 'for old video cards'.
Installing that resolved my issue with the above.
Otherwise same old.
If you have iTunes in your Windows taskbar and open it, you will have two icons. When you upgrade it will remove the taskbar icon and leave a 'blank file' icon instead. Little annoyances but if you bought into the Apple eco system, this is the most convenient way to deal with your devices and purchases.

stereodeck reviewed v12.0.1 on Nov 6, 2014

Ok Installed Apple Itunes 12.0.1; visual not an amazing change, but the new get info box where you enter corrections or amendments to the song titles or tag songs that have no information is to put it is a big bunch of dodo. You enter Peter and then use the space bar, and it auto fills the area with the first artist on your list that matches the words, you cannot functionally use the space bar, so each and every entry you have to either highlight the second incorrect word, or say sod it and leave your entry as Peter Bardens for all the songs with the first name Peter.
Being a musician who creates music, and my name being Robert, I don't want all the music I created attributed to a Mr Fripp.... So a big thumbs down from me.

HornyToad reviewed v11.4 on Sep 10, 2014

Installed the Mac version, and got problems right away (something to do with a USB controller kext (kernel extension) not having installed as it should, and basically, my iPhone is recognized, but the content show as "Other" for all of the occupied space, so I'm going to forego install on my PC.

I think a 11.4.1 is already in the works at Cupertino...

bulbizarre reviewed v11.3.1 on Aug 26, 2014

Slick. Not sleek. Not at all. Slow as hell, every move is cumbersome. Would anyone use it if it was not Apple-designed?

tomkaten reviewed v11.3.1 on Aug 13, 2014

In its quest to achieve mass appreciation, Apple has truly screwed this one up. The most unintuitive program I've ever come across, truly pathetic. Try iTools instead (it still requires this garbage to be installed tho):

http://itools.en.lo4d.com/

arossetti reviewed v11.3.1 on Aug 8, 2014

11.3.1 stops responding and crashes shortly after launch on my Win7 x64. Even an uninstall/reinstall didn't solve the problem. Had to revert to 11.3.0 to fix.

chrispaul reviewed v11.1.4 on Feb 17, 2014

nice!

camell85 reviewed v11.1.4 on Feb 7, 2014

as I updated the iTunes via Apple update the instalation program crashes and returns an error "cant access the key UNKNOWN...plus a great name with lots of numbers and letters and the program stopped to work and I cannot install it in any version... so i prefer to do not have iTunes installed. Apple is really a crap

olivergiving reviewed v11.1 on Sep 25, 2013

kind of annoying sometimes

Artem S. Tashkinov reviewed v11.1 on Sep 18, 2013

A pure form of is***.

cannie reviewed v11.0.2 on Feb 20, 2013

Even when Microsoft is leaving their old path to embrace the new devices, what is good for a mobile or tablet is normally not the best for desktops or laptops, and this is a clear example of it.

I keep using the old Music Match Jukebox running on Windows 7 and Windows 8 perfectly well. No internet intrusions at all, total security for my music files and easy editing to rename, clasify or include lyrics or album images (new lyrics or album images are easily downloaded from Google, you only need copy/paste).

Earlier or later laptops and desktop computers will be considered as something totally different from mobiles and tablets, not only because of their compatibility with old programs but also for their different features and use convenience.

Even when you find both by the dish, you can't use a fork to eat a soup

minklein reviewed v11.0.1.12 on Dec 16, 2012

Win8 compatibility? Not only with this version, iTunes locks up when attempting to play my files. I record C2C AM which is 4 hours. (big file) It plays just fine when using Copy Trans Manager, but is totally screwed with iTunes. There are features I like about Tunes and a whole lot of things that are a waste.

I think the Copy Trans programs are better for working with my iPod, but you still have to have iTunes installed to make it go.

Music4Ever reviewed v11.0.1.12 on Dec 14, 2012

If the iTunes update 2 weeks ago didn't mess your PC up this is yet another opportunity to to try it, Apple should stick to writing software for Apple devices as they can't write for Windows that much is a certainty.

I can only wonder what state your registry & Windows will be in after this latest update to the update.

Sven123456789 reviewed v11.0.0.163 on Nov 30, 2012

First major change to the interface in i don't know how long. Not sure if I like it. Stability wise i've had no problems. But not sure what to make of this new visual style.

minklein reviewed v11.0.0.163 on Nov 30, 2012

I installed 11 and found I liked the old version better. Uninstalled version 11 but then found you can not go back to the old version. Error message that the library was created by the newer version. Can not access it. I do not like the new interface.

KayNine reviewed v11.0.0.163 on Nov 30, 2012

Worst. iTunes. Ever!

Confusing at first, though you can restore the old look to some extend. That's okay.

BUT: It badly messed up / destroyed my library!

I purchased an album, all tracks downloaded (download manager must be opened in seperate window by clicking on the icon that appeared in the upper right corner), but only 5 appeared in the library, all others are still sitting in the "downloads" folder, waiting to be processed, which never happens.

Also I added some MP3s, they show up, but any actions brings a message "items have not been processed".

Will try to go back to 10.7 for now. 11.0 just SUCKS!!!

Music4Ever reviewed v11.0.0.163 on Nov 29, 2012

@jagman - I have well in excess of 80,000 tracks in Flac & Mp3 & others all ripped manually (and far faster than media player or iTunes could rip & better quality) & all searchable within seconds - if you really need the likes of iTunes to sort your music out you have my sympathy & more. iTunes is bloated, intrusive & useful only to those who have are unable to use a simple filing system -

Probably the worst program ever written in the history of the universe.The only reason it resides on one of my PC's is for my daughters iPad, & why you need this piece of convoluted garbage to use an iPad eludes me.

If you trust (need) iTunes on ANY OS to look after your music may your God go with you!

Ball Sacks reviewed v10.7 on Nov 3, 2012

100% junk!

jagman reviewed v10.7 on Sep 25, 2012

What in the &^$#^#@!! are all you "1 Star" people talking about?? If anything the PC Media Player started off great, then after ripping 200 of my 700 CDs it could not "find" my Media Library! After over two weeks of fiddling and no fix in sight, I downloaded iTunes. ZERO PROBLEMS...700 CDs ripped with Better sound quality and rips CDs 2+xs faster than Microsoft player. Only 4 stars because after leaving the app open continuously, after about three days I have to restart it. :-( Otherwise it works great...I have 45 playlists, 7,000+ songs, 28 days of music. The User I/F/ could look better. All this and it syncs with my wife's iPhone. As a result of such a positive experience, I am migrating from PC-->Mac and trading in my Crackberry for an iPhone, and possible an iPad. So that's why Apple stock is so high and Microsoft is struggling...

FatBastard reviewed v10.7 on Sep 13, 2012

iHate iTunes

jogygeorge reviewed v10.7 on Sep 13, 2012

This is one reason that I have never bothered getting myself an iPhone!!! Bloated and packed with stuff that is absolutely unnecessary. Way too complicated to figure out simple stuff.

MikeTechno reviewed v10.6.1 on Jun 9, 2012

The popular conception that Apple products are all intuitive and easy to use is total BS. They aren't. They are confusing, convoluted and non-intuitive. What should take two clicks on one screen takes nine clicks over five screens. iTunes isn't about empowering the user at all. It's about controlling and restricting them. That's not why you write software. Why don't more people realize this?

egg83 reviewed v10.6.1 on Mar 29, 2012

I would love to use this for my apple Ipod, but all the cruft that comes with an install of this product that is not even necessary for the product to function is too much to bear. And, let's not even talk about if you want to uninstall this program (cleanly)! What a bloody nightmare! Have had to do several OS reinstalls when this thing would not uninstall fully! No, no no no no no no! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

ssb reviewed v10.6.1 on Mar 29, 2012

I don't know how well iTunes works on a Mac but the Windows version is one of the worst applications ever seen. Bloated, slow and buggy as hell.
Actually the only reason I'm installing it is because of my iPhone.

Music4Ever reviewed v10.6 on Mar 11, 2012

I really, really hate iTunes - More than any other PC program, there is no replacement program though if you use later versions of iPods for instance, that is the reason I do not buy them.

Blaxima reviewed v10.6 on Mar 10, 2012

Like kicking your computer in it's nuts 10.6 times

Uriel reviewed v10.6 on Mar 7, 2012

If one lemming jumps off the cliff, all the others will follow. It's a good thing the smart ones aren't lemmings.

fudgeworth reviewed v10.5.3.3 on Jan 28, 2012

Like being raped, but if you own an Apple product, well let's just say you were asking for it.

Zootopia3001 reviewed v10.5.3.3 on Jan 20, 2012

How many service and other startup entries does this software need? Installs third-party Bonjour software that when uninstalled leaves a winsock entry behind. If you just willy-nilly delete it, it leaves your PC virtually unusable.

betabettabest reviewed v10.5.3.3 on Jan 20, 2012

I'll go against the grain here and speak up for iTunes. I'm the last person in the world to defend Apple; don't own a single product. I think they produce quality gadgets, but I dislike their business model and I despise their 'cult'. The only reason I EVER broke down and installed iTunes was that I wanted some stray Beatles tunes I'd never owned on CD, and couldn't get them through Amazon downloads.

To my pleasant surprise, I have never had any trouble with iTunes performance on either of my PCs. I don't find it slow, none of the background services intrudes in any way, and none of my other media players or computer media functions show any adverse effect.

But the biggest surprise is that iTunes downloads AND rips generally SOUND BETTER than the alternatives. Especially on classical music. Perhaps on lower-end audio it makes no difference, but with Xonar sound cards and B&W speakers, an iTunes download will (usually, not always) sound better than its Amazon counterpart, and ripped symphonic CDs simply have a more realistic tone using iTunes/AAC as opposed to Exact Audio Copy & Ogg. As a long-time OGG snob, I found this hard to believe, but careful comparisons on hundreds of songs bears it out.

I haven't used iTunes for much more than buying music and ripping CDs, so I won't speak to its other functions. I don't use it as my main player, I keep its library separate from my Win7 libraries, and I generally move my purchases and rips out of Itunes and into my Win7 libraries so as to use WMP or Winamp as my main players -- they play more formats. And I certainly have a few issues with the iTunes music store--but at least they give you 90 second excerpts, whereas Amazon still sticks with 30 seconds.

But I can't find anything about iTunes to truly find fault with, and the music files it creates sound better, no matter which player you prefer for actually listening to them.

egg83 reviewed v10.5.3.3 on Jan 20, 2012

I would really want to like this software, but I have had some very bad experiences with uninstalling this software. It literally ruined my Vista installation with all the stuff that it installs on to your computer. Apple, seriously, this program is hijackware. I tried to do a clean uninstall, and it even hijacked my cd drivers on the hardware level!! And was not able to cleanly uninstall to boot! Will NEVER and I repeat NEVER install this horrible software on my computer unless Apple can make an uninstaller that will remove all the secondary programs that Itunes deems important from my computer. For this very reason, I have an Android phone, because of how Apple implements their software. If this seems like a rant, then, well, it is, for a good reason. 1 Star. Wish I could vote lower.....

johnusa reviewed v10.5.3.3 on Jan 19, 2012

Only iSh!t hardware users need this horrible and troublesome software.
Luckily all the rest of us don't need it.

Uriel reviewed v10.5.3.3 on Jan 19, 2012

I agree 100% with Input Overload. For me this is restrictive garbage software. I can't even download the codecs to be used in Zoom Player as per user choice so I have to rely upon "Quicktime Alternative" to get the codecs. I have replaced this software with "doubleTwist software" because I need it to transfer files on my second generation iPod Nano. I will never buy another Apple product ever. Why does Microsoft even support iTunes? At least with doubleTwist I can use it with my Creative Zen and all of my devices including my old iPod Nano.

Input Overload reviewed v10.5.3.3 on Jan 19, 2012

Bloated, intrusive unmitigated crap, the most hated software product of all time. The amount of garbage this installs on your drive is beyond belief.

Installs 200,000,000 registry entries. This is the most compelling reason on earth to use android bases smartphones there is.

I hate this program.

No points.

Lsavagejt reviewed v10.5.2 on Dec 14, 2011

Still sucks.

cricri_pingouin reviewed v10.5.2 on Dec 14, 2011

I once gave away my wife iPod Shuffle and bought her another MP3 player just for the sake of not needing this anymore and being able to eradicate it from my computers. IIRC I listed my gripes in another review some time ago.

Inray reviewed v10.5.1.42 on Nov 15, 2011

Bloated crap.

Input Overload reviewed v10.5.1.42 on Nov 14, 2011

This is the biggest piece of crap I have on this PC. At the moment I have no choice with the new iPad Touch.

When I find an alternative this intrusive piece of junk will be removed even if I have to pay for an alternative. It is possible with a bit of work to remove most of its spying attempts.

If you look in app in users you can remove all the alternative languages it installs despite being told I speak Anglo, this removes pushing 100meg. Have a good look round & you can remove more trash without compromising the program.

Win Patrol & a decent free Start-Up Manger is worth its weight in gold when installing muck such as this. Win-DirStat also shows you where unneeded trash has been installed at a glance.

Pure garbage of the very worst kind.

-100 Stars

weezly reviewed v10.5.0.142 on Oct 14, 2011

When playing a video podcast the sound loses sync with the image instantly. Scary black pickel. Normally works on the Macintosh, on Windows does not work at all.

sQin reviewed v10.5.0.142 on Oct 13, 2011

Great software , having no competitors in terms of library management (very powerful autoplaylists; folders; skip, uncheck track features....). Mediamonkey, songbird, wmp, winamp suck big time here.

DoHickey reviewed v10.5.0.142 on Oct 12, 2011

I-Tunes has a habit of eating windows PC's for breakfast. It loads so much crap in tasks & memory that I don't want to deal with it any longer, so I ain't.

halc reviewed v10.4.1.10 on Aug 27, 2011

It does a lot of things, that's for sure and it can't be faulted for being free and offering even free access to a lot of content.

However, it is:

- Bloated (I mean, 117MB for a mediaplayer / library controller)?
- Very sluggish, even on a modern 4GHz quad-core with 12 GB of RAM and 3rd gen SSD
- Installs a lot of annoying startup items and services, without asking or without need for them (I don't use iPod/iPhone/Apple devices, but support is force-installed for those)
- The x64 version isn't really a x64 version at all

So Apple needs to change their dev framework for Windows and refactor the code.

After they do that, it might get 3 stars.

Uriel reviewed v10.4.1.10 on Aug 24, 2011

I just don't understand why everyone has to have an Apple product. These devices are restrictive and unfair.

fudgetunnel reviewed v10.4.0.80 on Aug 7, 2011

Like taking a crap in your computer.

johnusa reviewed v10.4.0.80 on Jul 21, 2011

This is like the Gestapo and the most evil of all media players in the world.
It is a piece of irritating crap software that belongs in the dumpster.
Avoid it at all costs. unless of course your are stuck using this horrible software because you have vacuum between your ears and bought an over-hyped and over-priced Apple garbage.
My condolences to all you naive Apple customers.

Input Overload reviewed v10.4.0.80 on Jul 21, 2011

I'd rather be burnt at the stake & served with gravy made from OXO gravy granules, rather than install this Leaves billions of registry entries after uninstalation.

Sven123456789 reviewed v10.4.0.80 on Jul 21, 2011

As a program, Its not bad. But it doesn't play well with my Windows 7 64 bit system. I get system crashes from time to time when I have this installed. When I delete it, this goes away. Not sure if anyone else has that problem. I'm sure it works well on a mac. But not on my pc.

egg83 reviewed v10.4.0.80 on Jul 20, 2011

Hate to repeat what has been said on this software, but this bundle of bloat is horrible. Installs Quicktime (which I think hardly anyone uses anymore) and a host of other stuff you probably will not use in a normal web session. Anyhow, it somehow digs its claws deeply into your computers innards, and if you have a need to uninstall it, prepare for the worst. Is a pure NIGHTMARE to uninstall. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Use an alternative to Itunes (Floola, CopyTrans, etc) and avoid this train wreck if you can. -5 rating, if I could get that low.

Blaxima reviewed v10.4.0.80 on Jul 20, 2011

As with all things apple, it's their way or the highway. I'll choose the open roads

Zoroaster reviewed v10.4.0.80 on Jul 20, 2011

@johnusa, I just love that straightforward way you have of putting things back in the right place!
I stopped using iTunes many years ago, at the time I started being a tiny less illiterate in computing. This thing is an indescribable chaos of code, fills the machine everywhere, heavy heavy heavy ... frankly, avoidable to put it mildly.

kaso_Da_Zmok reviewed v10.3.1.55 on Jul 12, 2011

Horrible piece of software, just forget it exists and you will be fine.

johnusa reviewed v10.3.1.55 on Jun 9, 2011

This horrible software has many security issues and is causing users a lot of headaches. Read the bad news here, which of course Apple does not want you to see:
http://www.betanews.com/...-victims-Map/1307642422
This is like the Gestapo and the most evil of all media players in the world.
It is a piece of irritating crap software that belongs in the garbage.
Avoid it at all costs. unless of course your are stuck using this horrible software because you have vacuum between your ears and bought an over-hyped and over-priced Apple iPod.
My condolences to all you naive Apple customers.

nvic reviewed v10.3.1.55 on Jun 9, 2011

I just downloaded 10.3.0 yesterday. Frustrating...

Also, the download here on BN is still 10.3.0.54

CyberDoc999 reviewed v10.3.0.54 on Jun 8, 2011

got better and faster

niknetpc reviewed v10.3.0.54 on Jun 7, 2011

Dirty crap,if install one got five another ))

nvic reviewed v10.3.0.54 on Jun 7, 2011

Does the job, but is horribly bloated.

trgilpin reviewed v10.3.0.54 on Jun 7, 2011

One word, atunes.
http://www.atunes.org/

johnusa reviewed v10.3.0.54 on Jun 7, 2011

This is like the Gestapo and the most evil of all media players in the world.
It is a piece of irritating crap software that belongs in the garbage.
Avoid it at all costs. unless of course your are stuck using this horrible software because you have vacuum between your ears and bought an over-hyped and over-priced Apple iPod.
My condolences to all you naive Apple customers.

fudgetunnel reviewed v10.2.2 on May 19, 2011

Aimed at the same demographic as AOL: morons.

Rozita8989 reviewed v10.2.2 on Apr 26, 2011

This desktop software is powerfull for my job daily. Listening music, online or offline, very good.

some guy reviewed v10.2.2 on Apr 19, 2011

figaro331
not all most opinions on here are based on the program it's self. I run windows and linux mint 10 and tried many media players and basically I-tunes sucks. to many others out their that do a better job.

figaro331 reviewed v10.2.2 on Apr 19, 2011

Unfortunately, a lot of users betanews.com are Microsoft fans no matter what.
I think this a great software and it does working if know what you are doing.
Of course, you would have to spend quite some time to study it and then it will work like a charm for you!

anandee reviewed v10.2.1 on Mar 14, 2011

Can't stand it. Too invasive, and it's just insane organizing own music files in that way.

johnusa reviewed v10.2.1 on Mar 9, 2011

This is like the Gestapo and the most evil of all media players in the world.
It is a piece of irritating crap software that belongs in the garbage.
Avoid it at all costs. unless of course your are stuck using this horrible software because you have vacuum between your ears and bought an over-hyped and over-priced Apple iPod.
My condolences to all you naive Apple customers.

johnusa reviewed v10.2 on Mar 6, 2011

This is like the Gestapo and the most evil of all media players in the world.
It is a piece of irritating crap software that belongs in the garbage.
Avoid it at all costs. unless of course your are stuck using this horrible software because you have vacuum between your ears and bought an over-hyped and over-priced Apple iPod.
My condolences to all you naive Apple customers.

fredreed reviewed v10.2 on Mar 5, 2011

This is the worst software ever I had to re-download this version of i tunes because it didn't properly install the first time. Apple either better recode i tunes or create a better software for their products.

Mr Swiffer reviewed v10.2 on Mar 5, 2011

It's made by Apple. This alone makes it worth 5 stars because everybody knows that Apple doesn't make bad products.

SoundMix reviewed v10.2 on Mar 4, 2011

Worst software on the planet.

kronos1962 reviewed v10.2 on Mar 4, 2011

iTunes Sucks.

Why can’t I drop and drag to and from my iPhone to my computer?

My next phone will be definitely will not be an Apple simply because of iTunes.

Listen up Apple because I bet there are allot of people who feel the same way I do.

Input Overload reviewed v10.2 on Mar 4, 2011

Make an image, save it. Install iTunes, set it up. Make another image, call it iTunes. Go back to the first image and you have a PC without the piece of junk.

When you want to use iTunes it's a 5 minute restore to your iTunes image. Afterward use your latest image. As I image daily it's no problem. Monthly or so update the iTunes image.

I hate iTunes.

egg83 reviewed v10.2 on Mar 3, 2011

Such a weighty program, does it need all of the cruft? Wish I could find a replacement for this thing so I can use my old Ipod without this thing bloating up my computer! Oh well, until there is a decent replacement, will just have to keep on using this.

FatBastard reviewed v10.2 on Mar 3, 2011

The most bloated piece of software EVER!

Uriel reviewed v10.1.2 on Jan 30, 2011

Read their license. They are integrating spyware into their app and tell you so in large font characters. If you don't agree, you can't use the software. So your investment is nothing but a paper weight.

I now shut off my internet connection before using this software and use cleaners before reestablishing a connection. Shame on Apple!

war593122 reviewed v10.1.1.4 on Dec 19, 2010

Yucker and Yucker with every build.

chinch reviewed v10.1.1.4 on Dec 17, 2010

Odd... I installed the update before reading this, and am able to open it with no problems... I even have the exact video card they suspect is part of the problem -- an nVidia GeForce 9600. I notice that they noted OSX when speaking about an OS. Does this affect OSX users only possibly? I'll repost if I was wrong and I do encounter the crashes.

But yeah, we all have our own share of complaints and bad things to say about this software, but by far, the worst for me is when simply adding songs... to transfer 10 or 12 songs... the whole interface freezes, and i just have to wait for it to finish its thing before I can use it again. Same thing happens when it syncs randomly like 10 times during my session... even though I told it not to sync anything. Stupid. There's no reason on high end quad core w/ 8 gigs of RAM (with no other programs open) that iTunes should completely freeze up while doing something as simple as transferring data across USB. also, why do I have updates that I have to download for apps, even though I have already updated them on the device through the app store? I gotta download useless updates? It isn't smart enough to do a simple version match? This program is a mess, lacks so much functionality, and for anyone who uses foobar2000; I know there's a lot of fans, they all should know by now that there's a plugin to play and manage iPod and all its derivatives from there. I'm just scared to use it, because there's no telling what Apple is going to do that could possibly screw the whole database and I lose all of my content. I don't have the time or space to backup 64GB of content over USB on a constant basis because of unpredictable and unstable products. iTunes, junk. They have made small progress with the later major builds, but still... the freezing up constantly whenever stuff is being done is inexcusable and makes the product nearly unusable. Two stars, out of pure generosity. Don't like Apple's spoiled "have complete control over anything Apple related, anything that runs on Apple's hardware, and even control things we have no business even controlling... we just have a God-complex." Not respectable. Just because you have the power to do it, doesn't mean it should be done.

johnusa reviewed v10.1.1.4 on Dec 16, 2010

WARNING: Do not install this buggy version as it messes up your iTunes and you'll be unable to open this program.
Read it here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/...tocrashamongsomeusers_1

Wait till stupid Apple releases a fixed new version.

olirosee reviewed v10.1.1.4 on Dec 16, 2010

I really hate iTunes... really really really hate it. But because I used to have an iPhone, I had to use it. It is terrible as a music management software (I use Mediamonkey for that, including the tagging), has many restrictions yet still makes it incredibly hard to restore your data if you move abruptly to a new computer, and has nothing that other (and smaller) programs don't have.

Most of all, it is SLOW. Slow to install (even for a program of such giagantic size), slow to start, even slow to uninstall. And it requires other software that I never use or don't like, such as Safari and Quicktime.

However (and this is why I give more stars than I should give)...

I recently moved from iPhone 2G to Samsung Galaxy-S (Android).

Now I MISS iTunes!

Let me tell you where iTunes, as bad as it is for a non-Mac user, still shines compared to my Android phone:

- I have to use the crappy Korean made software to upgrade firmware, a POS called "Kies" that's even more bloated and far less functional and reliable than iTunes,

- unlike with iTunes, I cannot arrange my apps (there are over 150 of them) via desktop software, which means that after each FW upgrade I have to spend literally hours to get app links sorted how I want them,

- well yes, maybe this is an Android thing, but now I lose EVERYTHING even after a minor FW fix... all user data, all apps, everything has to be reinstalled from backup, which does not always work 100%

So for this I give 2 extra stars over the 1 I'd normally give. BTW I should have removed one star again because of the confusing UI for the sync settings - they never do what I expect, especially with Outlook Sync or Music Sync.

Once Android has developed to a non-Beta stage OS (perhaps from 3.0?) with universal desktop phone management software, I'll come back and remove 1 or 2 stars here. Just now, there's still something that this program can do better than the competition...

ekek reviewed v10.1 on Dec 3, 2010

It is bloated and the audio quality is terrible,it is sounds thin and lacking in bass,it okey in headphone , but sounds crap in high end audio component system..

trents reviewed v10.1 on Nov 25, 2010

Hi,
That was great and i was still using this AirPlay because it is instantly and wirelessly stream videos from iTunes to the all-new Apple TV. It is nice..

trents reviewed v10.1 on Nov 24, 2010

HI,
This are true about iTunes where we can create our own personal digital music library, allowing us to manage and play our music collection with drag-and-drop simplicity.

lilmegz reviewed v10.1 on Nov 15, 2010

iTunes 10.1 is bulls***, does NOT want to sync anything or any data for that matter to and from iOS devices, DO NOT download this version until they have properly fixed it in a future release!

Im sorry Apple but this is stupid as f***!!!

traumadoc reviewed v10.1 on Nov 15, 2010

I do not use this or even have an iPod, but my girlfriend does but I have to do the work to transfer files to/from it. This current version seems faster overall while copying files to the movies directory.

I've seen a few small applications laying around that CLAIM to transfer files directly into the iPhone acting as a file explorer basically - but I used 3 of them and they all didn't work correctly or as advertised, etc.

Anyone have suggestions for another program to do the same work as iTunes?

azazel666 -- but as for this guy is clearly trying to be holier than thou - you buy your MP3's on Amazon? PUUUUuuuuuhhhlease - you download them all online for free and pirate other things as well - otherwise, I doubt you'd be here on a software beta site.

Lame

azazel666 reviewed v10.1 on Nov 14, 2010

Ill give it 3 stars but I prefer to buy mp3s in Amazon.com.

noMas_@ reviewed v10.1 on Nov 14, 2010

An embarrassing, bloated POS.

There's a multitude of useful, well-designed and free multimedia applications available for the Window platform. And this ain't one of them.

Avoid at all costs.

Squire72 reviewed v10.1 on Nov 14, 2010

I hear non stop how terrible an application this is, but actually spending about 48 hours last week spending time revamping my music library (fixing odd names, misclassified music, and the like) I have to say, I'm really impressed with how well it works. It IS a large, heavy piece of software, but the way everything is designed, it works perfectly with Apple devices, and the App and Music stores are both integrated very well.

I'd say avoid this if you have a slow or older computer, but on my current system, it's fast and responsive.

Banquo reviewed v10.1 on Nov 13, 2010

Installs far too much unwanted garbage.

Input Overload reviewed v10.1 on Nov 13, 2010

As this program is the most intrusive & bloated (hated by me) program in the entire universe (not counting MS Office 2010) & not wanting it to take up permanent residence on this main PC I did an acronis image of C:\. Installed iTunes then did an image of the PC & called it iTunes.

I then imaged back to the first image. Now any time my daughter needs iTunes it's a 5 minute job to install the iTunes image, then after revert to latest image afterwards.

Works a treat.

traumadoc, are you mad, I frequent this site along with a dozen or so other similar sites & don't pirate MP3's, I play music on a system that shows MP3's up for what they are - compressed garbage.

But you can;t go around accusing people of piracy, in the UK you could get into serious trouble for unsubstantiated slander. And one could ask, you are here too, are you a pirate?

Prospero424 reviewed v10.0.1.22 on Oct 8, 2010

As a music player, iTunes isn't all that bad. Could be better, but it's not that bad.

However, what iTunes *is* bad at is exactly what it's supposed to be good at: library management. We're at version 10 now in the year 2010, and iTunes STILL cannot reliably update folders added to your library.

You add some songs to a folder that you've already added to iTunes? Too bad, you have to scan EVERYTHING in the entire folder again to get them to show up.

You want to remove a folder that you added to the library by accident? Too bad, you have to delete your entire iTunes library's index file(s) and scan EVERYTHING in again just to get rid of that one (sub)folder.

There are some 3rd-party tools and scripts that attempt to address this that may or may not work on your platform of choice and may or may not cause lasting damage that may or may not be detected until it's too late to reverse, but let's be frank about it: this is unadulterated crap. There's no other word I can use to describe this other than "disgrace". There's no excuse for it. When Windows Media Player has topped you in library management, you know you've really, really hit rock bottom.

iTunes exists to steer you into buying from the store. Everything is geared towards this, not to being a good music player or library management tool. It seems like they deliberately cripple and sabotage their own software when it comes to library management to make purchasing from the store more attractive by comparison. They don't want you listening to stuff you've already bought or that you get somewhere else, they just want you to keep buying from the iTunes Store.

Predictable, but unacceptable when there are so many alternatives that don't treat customers and users like the suckers Apple clearly wants them to be.

smaragdus reviewed v10.0.1.22 on Sep 29, 2010

In fact iTunes is the worst application I have ever had on my computer. And the only reason I installed this piece of junk (I cursed that day later) was my new Ipod, when I bought it I did not know what heaps of troubles would deluge my PC and I did not know either that I could maintain the Ipod with external free programs. My first impressions of iTunes were terrible- bulky, greedy for resources, slow, ugly, unstable, amazingly few audio formats supported, it needed other Apppe pieces of crap like QuickTime and BonJour to run, and it deteriorated with every new version, slower, heavier, greedier, the default settings were absolutely preposterous. And more, it did not allow users to download music back to their PCs, which is ludicrous. Finally it could not load, it messed up my whole system, it did not provide good clean uninstaller to boot, it leaved heaps of junk after being removed, and after the uninstallation it needed a re-start. I tried to re-install it, it gave errors, I can't remember how many times I had to re-start my XP SP3, and finally iTunes ruined it and I have to re-install Windows. A painful week followed before I could recover my system to its previous state, with all programs, settings, files, back-ups, etc. I was so repusled by anything made by Apple, so I stopped using my Ipod. When I decided to run it again, the Ipod began to spew errors, it skipped songs, it stopped playing. Its hard drive turned to be defective, yes, from Apple gave me a brand new one but it was formatted for Mac and the only way to re-format it for Windows was to install iTunes, which I would not do again, so I went to the store and they formatted it, and from then on I use some free programs to fill my Ipod with music, and these programs are light, portable, user-friendly, they do not require crappy Quicktime, and they allow you to extract your music from Ipod back to your PC. iTunes is so bad, maybe the only comparison I can think of is Nero Burning Suite, another ugly monster and a system-ruiner. My advise, stay away from iTunes if you are not looking for trouble. If you are a Mac user- try Cog, millions times better than iTunes-
http://cogx.org/
http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Audio/Cog.shtml
http://www.makeuseof.com...-alternative-itunes-mac/

tranglos reviewed v10.0.1.22 on Sep 27, 2010

Way back before iTunes there was Apple's QuickTime Player. The only quick thing about it was how fast it became the most often featured application in the famous Interface Hall of Shame (google for it if you don't know what i'm talking about). It was indeed a head-scratcher: how a company revered for its supposedly intuitive UIs and user-friendliness in general could produce something as stinky and unusable as that.

The UI Hall of Shame hasn't been updated in years. A large number of the annoyances it describes have been eradicated from all kinds of software, as coders and designers gradually took note or just grew some common sense. But Apple ain't one of those.

iTunes is still a usability nightmare. It is also bloated and slow. And for all that nuisance, it won't even handle many formats that other, free and commercial media players do.

This is what happens when software is made to first satisfy lawyers, intellectual property owners and shareholders, with no real consideration for your actual users. Stay well away.

AnClar reviewed v10.0.1.22 on Sep 27, 2010

BEWARE of this update if you use and like the Genius Sidebar!!! Apple in its infinite stupidity has replaced the sort of useful Genius Sidebar with the lame, annoying, and totally useless Ping Sidebar There is no way to change it back without going back to 10.0. A lame pirce of blaotware gets even lamer with this "upgrade"!

yanglifu90 reviewed v10.0.0.68 on Sep 7, 2010

crashes on win 7 *86 when trying to convert .mp3 to .m4a,which previous versions don't. syncing files on iPod even when nothing has been changed. unable to sync .mov files to iPod, which previous versions do. open slower than 9.2. give a big o'l 5 to 9.2,but to iTunes 10...

johnusa reviewed v10.0.0.68 on Sep 2, 2010

Apple is the most over-rated tech company in the world.
All their products are ridiculously over-priced, and only the uninformed or stupid people buy any of their products.
This software is pure junk.
Stay away from all Apple software like the plague.

thartist reviewed v10.0.0.68 on Sep 2, 2010

Amazing how it shaved 20 megabytes! Now it's a reasonable 70.

some guy reviewed v9.2.1 on Jul 21, 2010

Bloat it's main purpose is to get you to the Apple store enough said complete junk

soldier1st reviewed v9.2.1 on Jul 20, 2010

Apple your software is a pig and will continue to be a pig until you clean the crap out of it which i doubt will happen anytime soon, for anyone who uses this you will have problems. stay away like the plaque.

itazev reviewed v9.2.1 on Jul 20, 2010

Further bigger, fatter and slower each new version.
Floola does the job better.

..::][Ben][::.. reviewed v9.2 on Jun 21, 2010

Ive spend alot of time with itunes from version 8 till now.
At the end i have to say, iTunes is the worst programm i have seen in the last 15 years, for tons of reasons.

Lsavagejt reviewed v9.2 on Jun 18, 2010

How I learned to live without this crap- ( stay away from .m4a and .m4p files. .mp3s play on anything). It was when iTunes stopped playing its own proprietary music files that I realized I had had enough. I converted all my .m4as to .mp3s and deleted the few .m4ps I had left. The only thing I miss is auto-scroll when set to shuffle. I don't know of any other player that does that.

Anyway, definitely good riddance.

Banquo reviewed v9.2 on Jun 18, 2010

Simply horrible. The amount of garbage this program installs on your computer behind your back is insane.

Blaxima reviewed v9.2 on Jun 17, 2010

So if that's the (lame) reason for updating to this crap what pray tell is the reason for all the other crap it installs?!

lilmegz reviewed v9.2 on Jun 17, 2010

The main reason why you need to install iTunes 9.2 is so you can upgrade your iDevice to iSO/iPhone OS 4 on June 21st otherwise iTunes 9.1 or older will not allow this to happen

rebradley reviewed v9.2 on Jun 17, 2010

I got rid of this even though I owned a iPod. When I found out all the other crap that iTunes loaded I looked around for alternatives. In the end I did the right thing and got rid of the iPod too and just used my Droid. The Droid works better. It's easier to manage and Amazon beat the pants off the iTunes store. I really felt bad for the person that bought the iPod. They paid too much but fashion costs.

G0mez reviewed v9.1.1 on Jun 5, 2010

The app is still 32 bit, true, the reason it's labelled x64 is because it comes with the x64 drivers, sneaky, but slightly logical

fudgeworth reviewed v9.1.1 on May 22, 2010

Leaves a bad taste in my mouth every time I'm forced by my iPod to use it to manage my iPod touch. Steve Jobs, what a c***.

DoHickey reviewed v9.1.1 on Apr 29, 2010

This should be named, i-Puke.

some guy reviewed v9.1.1 on Apr 28, 2010

complete bloat crap

pforbes reviewed v9.1.1 on Apr 28, 2010

I keep using Winamp, first under XP and now under Windows 7 64 bits. It works perfect.

itazev reviewed v9.1.1 on Apr 28, 2010

Heavyweight, slow. Itunes have to often minor updates. almost 0,5 Gb of disk space. dependent on Qt

I use Floola for my ipod.

nvic reviewed v9.1.1 on Apr 28, 2010

Works as labeled, but bloatware.

They should make separate releases versions for each language, since that's where most of the bloat is, in the language resources.

-Lord- reviewed v9.1.1 on Apr 28, 2010

Use Media Monkey. let's you move mp3's as mp3's, drag and drop, let's you rename and retag songs while on the ipod. perfect replacement for this

ekek reviewed v9.1 on Apr 9, 2010

It is a 32bit application not a 64bit to make it clear,please stop advertising this as audio player,it sounds crap,like a cheap mp3 player.....

rickbtx reviewed v9.1 on Apr 1, 2010

SHAREPOD?????? are you serious, what a stoneage piece of junk!

arvind reviewed v9.1 on Apr 1, 2010

@abraxisr.. just search for SHAREPOD on this site or just google it. A million times better than this piece of crap..

abraxisr reviewed v9.1 on Apr 1, 2010

my son wants an ipod tomorrow, is this my only option if i want to move mp3's from his computer to his new mp3 player?

boelectronic reviewed v9.0.3 on Feb 3, 2010

Download 93MB just to play a few audio format?! I've not used iTune in Mac OS but for windows it's junk! slow interface, not customizable enough, heavy, run a lot of things in background, support very few audio and video formats and...

if you are a windows user (especially Win7) stick to Windows media player with Win7Codec Pack installed. if you don't like it, use Winamp! latest winamp play every audio and video formats and also sync your media to your iPod and other devices, also using winamp you edit and covert media files, shop music online from trusted sources.

JustForMyMemory reviewed v9.0.3 on Feb 3, 2010

crapware, bloat. use only for buying music.

shallot reviewed v9.0.3 on Feb 2, 2010

Anybody remember "realplayer" well, iTunes has left it far behind......iTunes is the numero uno of the crappies of the crappy players around...

Banquo reviewed v9.0.3 on Feb 2, 2010

You would think they would improve it with new versions, but it's as horrible as ever if not worse. Could they possibly install and more crap along with it? How many services does this stupid thing need, but that's just it. Half the garbage it installs is not needed by most people. They could at least give us a choice, but it would probably work like the Apple Updater. Even if you choose not to install it they install it anyway. This program is trash.

netean reviewed v9.0.3 on Feb 2, 2010

wish I could rate this less than 1
Huge bloaty pile of slow terrible crap with just 1 positive feature.

ON windows it installs a whole bunch of services that 99% of the time do nothing but eat system resources waiting for me to plug in my ipod.
Bonjour service --get it off my system until I NEED it.
it's massive (90mb to download)

I have my music on an external drive, I want to have my itunes library there too, but NO, not allowed.. iTunes put it where it decides it will go . I have no say in it.

It is slow... and I mean sloooooooow. to start, slow to use. I've used it on XP, vista and windows 7 and it's still the least responsive application I've ever used. Grinds to a halt when I plug my ipod in - then I click an item and sometimes wait ten seconds for it to respond.

Quicktime----grrrrrr hate it but have no choice about installing it.

sound wise... well it's ok.. not stunning, but not awful

the ONLY thing I like about it is Genuis.. Genius actually creates good playlists and seems to work well, but why does it take over 10 minutes to "send my genius results to itunes" What on earth is apple collecting that it takes 10 minutes to upload?

There is a reason apple lock down their ipods now.. because any sane person would never choose iTunes if they had any choice about it.

Blaxima reviewed v9.0.2 on Jan 31, 2010

What an absolute piece of crapple this is. I was given an ipod touch and before I could even fool around with the thing I needed to unlock it with itunes!! The strong arm tactics didn't stop there either. Next up is a bunch of hidden installs that you have no option not to have litter your computer. rubbish

Apple on a whole do not allow you to do things your way and rather tell you how you are going to do it and allow no choice on the end users part. No thanks, I'll think for myself

Ryusennin reviewed v9.0.2 on Oct 31, 2009

The one piece of bloat that anyone with a tiny bit of common sense loves to hate.

First of all, there's this solid and open-source app called Songbird which, allied with growing music stores like 7digital, makes a decent alternative to Apple's universe-threatening monopoly.

If, for whatever reason, you really can't live without iTunes, there's a way to get rid of all this QT/Bonjour/Adieu sh!t forced downed your throat at installation time, and that's called a custom installer. Do a bit of googlehomework and live again in (relative) peace.

Lsavagejt reviewed v9.0.2 on Oct 30, 2009

Well, let's see. The first thing I do is dump Bonjour and switch out QuickTime for QTLite, then kill the iPod service, then it's basically ready to go. Also I've learned that I can download any mp3 I want from Amazon, so no more iTunes store, and then that's basically it, (with every new update!)

My only alternative would be to burn about 2 Gigs worth of tunes to CD in order to convert them all to mp3, and ditch this bozo for good. I'm not quite there yet.

KayNine reviewed v9.0.2 on Oct 30, 2009

Some people still don't get it... iTunes is MUCH more than an audio player let alone organizer!!

Agreed, it's a big download, but what you get is WORTH it. The organizer is awesome and easy to usw, i.e. I tried MediaMonkey lots of times and everytime uninstalled it frustrated after a few hours, because I don't get it.

Sure, classic iPods you can sync or manage with other tools, but I still prefer the ease of iTunes.

The best thing about iTunes is the integrated store. I can't remember the last time I bought a physical CD, shopping with iTunes is simple, through recommendations I discovered lot's of artists I never would've found in the local store. Furthermore... why bother with audio CD media? Most players (car, sound system) can play AAC or at least MP3 nowadays. At home my CD player hasn't been used for months, it's so easy using a media server and streaming player (DNLA though, not iTunes).

Please, be fair, don't just rate the size, relate it to the features you get, and it's no big deal anymore!!

EDIT:
By the way... for those recommending Zune instead... THAT download is 470MB(!!!!!) by now -- THAT's what I call bloat ;-)

EDIT2:
@Lsavagejt: "My only alternative would be to burn about 2 Gigs worth of tunes to CD in order to convert them all to mp3" - No need to do that (at least for newer tracks that are DRM-free), you can simply mark all AAC-tracks you want to convert, right-click and choose "Create MP3 version" (you have to set the import parameters in the preferences to MP3 and your prefered quality before, of course). Et voila, really simple.

nugro reviewed v9.0.2 on Oct 30, 2009

best way to brick your windows installation

xsnred reviewed v9.0.2 on Oct 29, 2009

Scroogle or Bing software that will upload mp3s to your Ipod directly. There is plenty out there. Pick a good one though.

Diam0nd reviewed v9.0.2 on Oct 29, 2009

A music player and syncs music. Does a few other things too. And 90mb for all that? One word: BLOAT.

There are many other programs that do the same all-in-one stuff that iT does, but show me ONE that's 90 darn megabytes.

boelectronic reviewed v9.0.2 on Oct 29, 2009

not good program, it does not do even first things a music player should do, only covering a few audio formats, not good job in same too, also very sloooowww!! scan is worse part, bad reading disc covers... heavy setup to download, background process running. crap!

psycros reviewed v9.0.2 on Oct 29, 2009

No 64-bit support? Are they serious? LOL!!

FailedCRC reviewed v9.0.2 on Oct 29, 2009

Such worthless bloatware.

Lsavagejt reviewed v9.0.1.8 on Sep 24, 2009

What crap! It just gets worse with every iteration. But then I'm still using it. But then again I'm not going to sit around converting almost a GB and a half of m4ps to MP3s. Damn them, they got me.

[deXter] reviewed v9.0.1.8 on Sep 23, 2009

A friends CDROM drive stopped working after installing iTunes. Go figure. After some digging, the problem was traced down to GEARAspi.dll which was installed by iTunes. A lengthy manual removal (which involved editing the registry and setting some files to delete on reboot via the registry) and the problem was fixed, but guess what? iTunes was working just fine!

Just WTH was it doing installing installing CDROM drivers in the first place?? Bloated junk, indeed.

netean reviewed v9.0.1.8 on Sep 23, 2009

this is nothing but a bug fix update. when will apple get their act together and have patch update system (so you only download the components that change)

90Mb for a bug fix is just crazy

gws reviewed v9.0.1.8 on Sep 23, 2009

It's bloated like Stevie's ego

More Apple bunk

gws

mjm01010101 reviewed v9.0.1.8 on Sep 23, 2009

* Resolves issues browsing the iTunes Store.
* Addresses a performance issue where iTunes may become unresponsive.
* Fixes a problem where iTunes may unexpectedly quit.
* Fixes a problem syncing Podcasts in playlists to iPod or iPhone.
* Fixes a problem sorting albums with multiple discs.
* Addresses an issue with the Zoom button not switching to Mini Player.
* Improves application syncing for iPod touch and iPhone.
* Genius is now automatically updated to show Genius Mixes.

Sven123456789 reviewed v9.0.0.70 on Sep 22, 2009

This version is a disaster. First version I have had any problems with and theres too many to mention. I removed this version and went back to the previous version and now thats acting up. My advice, if you haven't upgraded yet, Don't do it.

chinch reviewed v9.0 on Sep 13, 2009

the program we love to hate... but you've got an ipod. i know there's alternatives and plugins for other audio players but somehow tagging and this and that never seem to end up right unless you do it "their way". itunes tags are horribly limited, they need to come up with a standard (still no standard AAC/ALAC tagging convention!) and expand the tag set to include more information. they're just using an MP4 container for their audio. as others mentioned, it says 64 bit, but win7 recognizes it as 32-bit, installs it to the (x86) folder, and even runs it as a 32-bit app... so how is this 64 bit again, apple? just because it'll run on a 64-bit OS doesn't mean it's 64-bit.

they are making small improvements, like adding jumplist support (with two jumps.. to the itunes store! woo hoo!). social support (facebook, .... who cares)... other extra features most people will probably never use... like genius and party mix, etc. oh yeah.. and "home sharing"... this was invented years ago... it's called a shared folder/network share.

and btw.. i would never use this for an audio player. horrible sound. foobar2000 or winamp, or whatever your choice.. but this is not for anyone who actually cares how their music sounds.

so the only reason that i use it.. and most others... is just because they have an ipod and they want full functionality of it.. (firmware updates, etc). uses about 70 megs of memory on startup, that's with 21 CD's in the library and nothing else.

anyway, i was just expecting more out of iTunes 9, and I was expecting an actual 64-bit program when it is advertised as such..

too bad most of their products are great. couldn't live without the ipod, and the itouch and iphone are still some of the best gadgets. apple products are always just excessively priced! 30 dollars for a usb charger? 80 dollars for in-ear buds? 20 dollars for a usb cable to hook it up? come on... can we say rape? let's not get into how much their computers cost.

but that's way past revewing itunes. the opinionated are so opinionated.

Ball Sacks reviewed v9.0.0.70 on Sep 11, 2009

100% bloated use MediaMonkey or Zune player...

KayNine reviewed v9.0.0.70 on Sep 10, 2009

Despite the download size, I really like the new iTunes! Though at first it's a big change if one has used iTunes for years, but I quickly got used to it and find more and more changes that are REALLY great. As stated already, the interaction between iPod/iPhone and iTunes is a big step forward, also the enhanced sync-settings make syncing a lot easier.

The new iTunes Store works great for me, though at first I missed my shopping cart, which now is called "wish list" and badly placed at the very bottom of the screen. But all in all the store is MUCH cleaner (or at least not cluttered by various types of content like before), there's better structure.

I have to explore the new iTunes further, but it's a leap forward, so definately five points (although the new theme is a bit strange, but now bad).

ekek reviewed v9.0.0.70 on Sep 10, 2009

90mb. for an audio player.for what? because of apple trend?

john6555 reviewed v9.0.0.70 on Sep 9, 2009

Dear Apple,

We appreciate the enthusiasm with which you have written your iTunes application, however please remove approximately 85 megabytes of data from the installer. We know that you have designed it in a gluttonous way so as to slow down our poor Windows machines which you hate so much - for no logical reason other than the pursuit of your own profit via propaganda and the insistence of your faux-trendy culture.

Sincerely,
People

pureosmosis reviewed v9.0.0.70 on Sep 9, 2009

Looks nice so far, downloading the 3.1 iphone OS right now through it. I never used iTunes, Quicktime or used an Apple product before purchasing an iPhone a year and a half ago, but I have always thought Apple products look well constructed. I am a happy Apple camper, however I don't see getting a Mac anytime soon and I'm not waving my Apple flag, but I like the product and to each his own. Since I have been waiting for iTunes 9 and it's rumored improvements (which it has). My next wait is for Win 7 release. Us older folks who started in the DOS / WIN3.1 times just want simple ways to manage our music on our computers and devices that doesn't involve jumping through hoops. Not giving it a 5 as I have not completly looked through the new version, but a 4.5 is in order i believe.

pjb reviewed v9.0.0.70 on Sep 9, 2009

Personally I quite like the updated version. I also like the iphone software update to version 3.1 A nice new feature is the interaction between itunes and the iphone which allows you to move your apps around any place you like and even reduce the number on the main screen.

Admittedly it does seem to get more bloated with each release.

mjm01010101 reviewed v9.0.0.70 on Sep 9, 2009

90 Megs.

At this rate the software will eclipse Operating System sizes.

mjm01010101 reviewed v8.2.1.6 on Jul 19, 2009

How about some detailed *(&^@*%@ release notes apple to see if this addresses "some bugs."

Man can you imagine if Apple actually was the world's most popular software company how screwed we'd be?

dhry reviewed v8.2.1.6 on Jul 16, 2009

Shallot said it best, and I haven't laughed out loud like that at a review comment in quite a while. I, too, throw my dirtiest pair of shoes at Apple and their clunkburger bollocks. I just cannot reconcile the idea that they can make such a simplistic, cut-down user experience with their hardware and yet spit something as bloated and slow as this out. I had no idea that Sharepod existed, installed it and it's pretty damn cool. There is absolutely no justification for how clunky this app is and how much of a resource footprint it has. Blah.

miko63 reviewed v8.2.1.6 on Jul 16, 2009

i love my Iphone... granted I live in the EU and can use the Iphone to its fullest potential... but I hate iTunes and all its bloated garbage it installs, without asking, i.e Bonjour et al.

Kylde reviewed v8.2.1.6 on Jul 16, 2009

ye gods, HOW big? Sharepod is 1.9MB!

Blaxima reviewed v8.2.1.6 on Jul 15, 2009

ekek

Reviewing 8.1.1 (May 31, 2009)

It is a proprietary bloated garbage.it includes a lot of useless stuff.

shallot reviewed v8.2.1.6 on Jul 15, 2009

I feel so bad that I can't give this a Zero...

So what if Palm wanted it's phones to sync up with iTunes...Apple, in my opinion has overtaken RealMedia and AOL as one of the worst tech companies ever....

I throw a old and dirty pair of shoes on you and your products..Apple..take it.

mjm01010101 reviewed v8.2.0 on Jun 2, 2009

This software is the reason I'll never own an iphone, which I find to be decent in and of itself.

ekek reviewed v8.1.1 on May 31, 2009

It is a proprietary bloated garbage.it includes a lot of useless stuff.

roymccoy reviewed v8.1.1 on Apr 7, 2009

What's new in iTunes 8.1.1.10:
· Adds support for renting HD movies and provides a number of bug fixes, including addressing issues with VoiceOver and syncing with iPhone and iPod touch.

What's new in iTunes 8.1.0.51:
· Support for the third generation iPod Shuffle, speed improvements, the ability to import/convert files and CDs to iTunes Plus format, Genius has been expanded to cover TV shows and movies, refined parental controls and refined autofill options.

What's new in iTunes 8.0.2.20:
· Addresses a quality issue creating MP3s on some computers.
· Improves accessibility with Window-Eyes 7.0.

What's new in iTunes 8.0.1.11:
· Seamlessly plays the current song when creating a new Genius playlist
· Improves syncing spoken menus to iPod nano
· Addresses an issue of deleting HD TV episodes when downloading
· Improves checking for updates from the App Store
· Improves accessibility with VoiceOver
· Addresses problems syncing Genius results to iPod

aszure reviewed v8.1.1 on Apr 7, 2009

I am a PC user, but own an iphone. Itunes is ok for what it does. However, due to its proprietary nature, its leaves anyone more than a novice needing more. Yeah its free, and it will do the job, but there's many other tools out there that can manage your ipod/iphone much better. I personally use mediamonkey. There's many others, that will probably be mentioned. I wouldnt stick with itunes unless you're on a mac.

cmotdibbler reviewed v8.1.1 on Apr 7, 2009

Everyone knows about all the extra services iTunes installs. I only use iTunes since it seems to have the best management for skeptic/science podcast management (please let me know of something better!). You can make this less heavy by using a switchless installer (which lacks all those extra services and quicktime). Shut down ituneshelper and ipod services then make a dummy ipod.exe file to replace the one in the Programs/iPod/bin directory.

fuknukl reviewed v8.1.1 on Apr 7, 2009

Proprietary garbage.

yountmj reviewed v8.1.1 on Apr 7, 2009

For everyone who seems to be under the impression that iTunes is required for iPod media management, you should really consider SharePod as an alternative.

It even lets you transfer files in the opposite direction, on any PC you choose... something which iTunes will probably never support. Simply place the executable on the iPod, and you can use it anywhere.

googun reviewed v8.1.1 on Apr 6, 2009

iTunes always was a crock, and this version is no improvement.

It takes a week to start up, the UI is painfully slow, it is enormous, and it insists on using that other crock, QuickTime. In our house we call it "iToss" because it is (as we say in England) a tosser.

For all its faults - and there are many - it actually works well. It keeps my iPod up to date, which is all I require of it, and it seldom crashes. Plug in the iPod, and let iTunes get on with it... very slowly.

I just started using this version, and yep, it's still a crock.

netean reviewed v8.1.1 on Apr 6, 2009

dunno what this is like on a mac, but on a pc... it's the slowest application I've ever used. Connect Ipod... click on ipod listing... wait up to 15 seconds to show me ipod contents... click podcasts (on pc not ipod) wait another 10 seconds etc... it's just chronically slow.

good idea, very very very poorly done.

re: yountmj

Yes there are alternatives (much better alternatives) for older Ipods (classic nanos etc) but there is nothing that will sync with newer ipods (touch and iphone and latest nano) - all alternative solutions require having itunes installed in order to work (somewhat defeating the point of installing them IMO)

ikr6pWeaUwA1DJb9 reviewed v8.0.2.20 on Jan 18, 2009

Poison for PCs.

I have to use this junk to manage my iP.O.S.

Rather than installing it permanently onto my system I use Returnil visualization and its gone with a reboot.

mj132 reviewed v8.0.2.20 on Nov 24, 2008

"iTunes 4 adds the ability to share music among your Macs, play and encode AAC files, and view album art."

Time to knock that text out, methinks...

Daddy_Spank reviewed v8.0.2.20 on Nov 23, 2008

Get a zune instead

JustinUT79 reviewed v8.0.2.20 on Nov 22, 2008

This is a great article on how to ONLY* install itunes.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=554&page=2

* Note: You still need to install Quicktime Alternative and the itunes compatibility pack. You do not need to install the bloat Quicktime from Apple. http://www.codecguide.com/index.html

- Justin

lucianct reviewed v8.0.2.20 on Nov 22, 2008

why does it need quicktime? and why is it so big? why can't i customize the installation... i only need some features not all of them...

abyss reviewed v8.0.2.20 on Nov 22, 2008

Gash trash, if you want music-movie sotware try:
http://fileforum.betanew...edia_Center/942695349/1

BlackAle reviewed v8.0.2.20 on Nov 22, 2008

more trash

BlackAle reviewed v8.0.2.20 on Nov 22, 2008

utter trash

mjm01010101 reviewed v8.0.2.20 on Nov 21, 2008

hey look, a reboot required for a silly media player! How quaint!

improvelence reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Nov 9, 2008

this is not 64 bit.

cabra reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 6, 2008

This program is decently nice. But Apple continues to install crap and services onto computers without warning. This program installs about 3 services and startup items in the background and they're very effective at re-enabling themselves. I hate that.

This is from the same people who produce Quicktime, which is notorious for installing startup items silently, even if you choose not to have it do anything at startup.

Why do they go ahead and do this without asking the user? This is what slows down computers - when useless things are running in the background when you don't need them. When I need to play music, I want to start you up, not all the time.

Zee333 reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 6, 2008

Resource hog? Learn to get a new computer and throw away that computer you got in 1980. My computer is about 2 years old and wasn't the latest computer out at the time, and still its able to handle iTunes perfectly well, especially this v8 which has improved a great deal. Its more responsove, faster to load and shut down, its just overall so much better, but i still use Winamp to listen to my music.

I do agree with the things like Bonjour and all that crap that if u dont wanna install it u shouldn't have to.

straker135 reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 6, 2008

iTunes is a reasonable player that does work well with iPods. But then it should Apple aren't having to get dozens of other devices to play nicely so it should be trivial to get it right.

Coverflow is still attractive but the user should be able to click on a cover to have it flip and show the album info and song lists as the Harmony player does. Nice visualisations but they all get old fast no matter how good they are.

I am annoyed that once iTunes started adding a folder at my request the dialogue stole my focus and could not be closed until it ran through without aborting the process. I dont remember that in previous editions. Even Windows Media Player is better than that.

Not skinnable, dull interface that was fresh 5 years ago. It is getting to be a big application now but thats why we have so much RAM and fast multicored CPUs these days isn't it? And bandwidth is cheap right?

godofthunder reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 6, 2008

OMFG, I have just one serious question.

WHY IS THE PROGRAM SO F#@KN BIG!?

64 Mgs?

kindbud1 reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 5, 2008

I can't believe Safari is pushed by default. F you, Apple.

philosopher_dog reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 4, 2008

Way way better than v7. It's much snappier. But, it's Apple. They take it upon themselves to install Bonjour, and other nonsense without a choice. It's bloated beyond belief. Funny that their ads accused MS of peddlers of bloat. Apple needs to listen up. They seem unresponsive to overwhelming criticism of iTunes for years. Come on. Hire some coders and improve this rubbish already. Anyhow, v8 is better, but it's got a long way to go. Let us decide whether we want or need all these services and update checks running. We're Windows users. We like/need the choice.

mjm01010101 reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 4, 2008

A 15 minute install for 5 silly feature additions.

J5 reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 4, 2008

I keep getting a message that this version is intended for 32bit version of Windows, when I've downloaded it twice from the Windows x64 page. I thought I would try the new version of itunes, guess not.

thomas.tmc reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 4, 2008

Usability, design, features, performance...

All lacking considerably.

I like the iPod as far as hardware goes. The software, both firmware and iTunes, is the reason I'll be getting a different brand for my next MP3 player.

internetworld7 reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 4, 2008

Oh my goodness, Apple's new iTunes 8 is awesome beyond description! How can anybody in their RIGHT mind live without this?

This new update is a must have. It makes iTunes even snappier. Keep up the good work Apple, iTunes is perfect in every sense of the word.

(Anybody that rates this less than a 5 should be castrated and shot)

CrazyCoder reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 3, 2008

I've never seen slower software than this. Window resizing -- several seconds, playlist scrolling -- unusable. It may be Vista specific, but hey, Vista is there for a couple of years already and iTunes still doesn't work well with it. QuickTime plug-in doesn't draw controls in the Firefox, just black area. This bug exists for a year, still no fix. Core 2 Quad @3GHz, 8GB RAM, 8800 Ultra, Vista 64. I can play Crysis on High, but I can't run a music player? Are you joking?

Blaxima reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 3, 2008

This software deserves a 2 at best, its slow, bloated and very pushy about the way I organize my library.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=536
apple are far sneakier than M$ and no one using anything but a mac should use any software from this company. Maybe some are blinded by the shiny products they release but if you focus you can find MUCH BETTER and CHEAPER cel phones,mp3 players and yes, computers too.

Don't beleive the hype, do your homework and then pat yourself on the back and say "I am no longer just a tool for (steve) jobs!"

horsecharles reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 3, 2008

Houston we have a problem--

We have reached a consensus, BUT it's negative:

All those rating iTunes 4 or higher are clueless...or at least unaware of much...while all those rating it 2 or below are very perceptive.

maxstep reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 3, 2008

terrible! does sync with iphone, but painfully slow navigation throughout the program. switching from some tab to any other takes 7-10 seconds!
scrolling of playlist is sloooow. quadcore, 4gb ram, vista x64 sp1. terrible software.

netean reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 3, 2008

horrible horrible horrible

I HAVE to use it as it's the only thing with work fully with my ipod touch..
It's just ridicusly large. why is it such a huge application?

It's dog slow to start... virtually unusable when my ipod is connected. Crashes a lot. (well not crashes, just hangs) when I copying files.

Agreed: you can't mix and match. It would be great to be able sync some playlists and manually manage others.

It would also be great if it didn't sit in my memory eat ram but doing nothing.. all those services it installs just to wait until my ipod connects- what a waste of resources.

I've also told it dozens of times where I want my library files to be kept, but it keeps deciding to put them in my user folder - where I don't want it..

It's just absolute garbage and the first thing I'll uninstall when I can my ipod touch fully with something else.

If you have an ipod, get somethign else... anything else - songbird, mediamonkey, even j river media centre anything.
Only use this if you seriously HAVE to.

terminalx reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 3, 2008

Its bloated, its slower then molasses and constantly has programs running in the background whether you use it or not.

It does not monitor music worth a damn, unless you use their method (luckly there is a free software download to monitor which is nice)

To the "educated" person calling cyberdoc a idiot because he received several bluescreens,
It was well documented that the driver that was installed with Itunes caused blue screens on
Windows.

Also Apple only recently changed it that Safari is unchecked now by default before unsuspecting people were given a surprise.

The Interface is horribly bland and you can either sync songs manually or automatically - cannot do both at the same time

The new screensaver is nice though...

oc-athlonxp.com reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 3, 2008

Works well for me on Vista Premium 64-bit. I had a problem with the app I downloaded from Apple.com: Their x64 iTunes installer is CORRUPT! I downloaded it several times and it wouldn't install. I'd just double-click on the installer and nothing would happen- at all. So I came here to Good 'Ole FIleForum and downloaded it and it installed perfectly fine.

As for the operation of iTunes 8, I think it's ok. What I don't like is how iTunes keeps track of all your songs/videos/apps/etc with the iTunes Library file. I have my ITL on a separate USB HDD and it seems iTunes is always "forgetting" where my music library is. I have a backup, but it's a pain in the a** (ie not easy) to restore my backup.

The new Genius feature is actually pretty good and works as advertised. In a nutshell, it's a way to encourage you to buy more music. That's ok though, it's kinda cool to see similar stuff the I MAY LIKE.

Yes, there are other apps out there that do what iTunes does similarly or better, but I'm not reviewing those. With all things considered, iTunes 8 is a good to excellent program. It does what it's suppose to.

Daddy_Spank reviewed v8.0.1.11 on Oct 3, 2008

You have to install quicktime, you have to uncheck for the safari, it launches auto updates without asking, launches applesupport, applehelp... just check the running programs ;)

improvelence reviewed v8.0.0.35 on Sep 17, 2008

Unlike most of the reviewers of iTunes, I actually install and use the software. I have installed on countless machines and never experienced the "blue screens of death" that the idiot below talks about. Its not the fastest (on windows, its nicer on my mac) but its the best. The "bonjour" service is critical to network capability and its awesome. You don't have to install Safari, or update. Stop whining.

Adrian79 reviewed v8.0.0.35 on Sep 16, 2008

lawernce, this is for "transfers" to ipod w/ great functionality.

for a media player or whatever ur trying to get out of it... look elsewhere

also, i admit they do not test bugs well enough before release.

CyberDoc999 reviewed v8.0.0.35 on Sep 15, 2008

Beware!
This gave me many blue screens of death
I had to reformat

Lawrence01 reviewed v8.0.0.35 on Sep 14, 2008

I hate all the other crap itunes forces you to install, such as the quicktime, the ipod crap, and bonjour crap! I like itunes itself, but want the option to install the parts I want, I dont have, nor want an ipod, so everything other than the itunes program itself is just bloatware. I also hate the updates where it tries to send you the apple branded safari browser if you don't uncheck it every time, which totally blows.

WildTbag reviewed v8.0.0.35 on Sep 14, 2008

actually i USE this program and can say, its getting better and better! Comparing to a lot of trash getting 3 or more stars here, its dump to rate iTunes so low!

siryak reviewed v8.0.0.35 on Sep 13, 2008

There are LOTS of better media players out there than this turd. Stick with WMP 11, VLC, etc.

bufftbone reviewed v8.0.0.35 on Sep 13, 2008

Great program? Check! Awesome interface? Check! Best thing to happen to music? Check check and check!

CT2001 reviewed v8.0.0.35 on Sep 13, 2008

Resource hog? Check. Bloatware? Check. Ugly? Check. Junk? Check. Uninstall it? Check and Double Check!

mmoak reviewed v8.0.0.35 on Sep 13, 2008

blah. The "genius" option slows your system and can never match another song to make a playlist...it is however adept at showing songs you can buy.

Junky bloated boooooo

hotchick79 reviewed v8.0.0.35 on Sep 13, 2008

If you install this bunch of junk, you can kiss your speedy system goodbye !

Sven123456789 reviewed v8.0.0.35 on Sep 13, 2008

Still the same, pretty good. As for negative comments. First of all, theres no spyware. Stop the lies. At least now you have the option to not install Safari. Yes the downloader software comes with this, but this isn't spyware. And i love the word bloat. I guess people using those old 1990's pc's can handle the 65 meg plus download. And why try this if you hated the old versions. Morons galore.

omV0 reviewed v8.0.0.35 on Sep 12, 2008

This is bloated piece of junk. However, I have an iphone so I have to use it =`( I wish there was an alternative (other than getting another phone)..

rebradley reviewed v8.0.0.35 on Sep 12, 2008

Still haven't fixed the spyware, bloat and the forced load of programs I do not want.

mjm01010101 reviewed v8.0.0.35 on Sep 12, 2008

Kinda scary that it takes two days for apple to respond to a system that leaves you BSOD'ing. Ya'll that use this have been warned.

me? I have to for the silly ip*'s

gsteele reviewed v8.0.0.35 on Sep 12, 2008

I don't go near this garbage every since it wiped my ipod clean. Floola works great.

berserkchaos reviewed v8.0.0.35 on Sep 12, 2008

I have to install this on someone else's PC and I don't like the way it handles files.

But I'm sure my sister will be happy with this release.

Somnambulator reviewed v8.0 on Sep 11, 2008

I use winamp for music, MPC w/ Quicktime Alternative for video, and rockbox for my ipod. Ipod 5.5 30GB w/ no need whatsoever for crappy apple bloatware makes me happy

dzjepp reviewed v8.0 on Sep 10, 2008

Does anyone know if there is a new update to ipod classic firmware?

Diam0nd reviewed v8.0 on Sep 10, 2008

Crap is getting crappier. This thing is huge, installs zillion of registry keys for no good reason and sends home data on everything starting from my preferences to covers that im missing. Bloat, bloat, bloat.

Banquo reviewed v8.0 on Sep 10, 2008

sQin, I don't know where you pulled that ten times faster BS but my sides are killing me now. Then you say "only 65MB" like it's smaller now. Version 7.6 was 44.8MB! The freakin' thing has gained 20MB for crying out loud. Any other hilarious gems of fanboyism you'd like to share?

Meanwhile back in reality this piece of junk still sucks on Windows, slow and now with even more unnecessary crap. I think Apple intentionally makes their Windows ports run like garbage to make OS X look better.

sQin reviewed v8.0 on Sep 10, 2008

a bunch of ignorant fools. Where's spyware? has anyone noticed it's (v8) 10 times faster? 65MB? Is that so much nowdays? I guess it's time to replace my foobar2000...

igal_alkon reviewed v8.0 on Sep 10, 2008

this one will eat your computer alive!
only good for iPods and stuff, not like you have much of a choice...

CyberDoc999 reviewed v8.0 on Sep 10, 2008

This is Spyware!

The_Blinded reviewed v8.0 on Sep 10, 2008

With Winamp you can also manage the iPod as well as manage music in a much more efficient.

outofspace reviewed v8.0 on Sep 10, 2008

not usefull

mjm01010101 reviewed v8.0 on Sep 10, 2008

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=536

ZenoLabs reviewed v8.0 on Sep 10, 2008

65MB. LOL!

guitarplayer9999 reviewed v8.0 on Sep 10, 2008

Apple is one of the worst companies when it comes to trying to control the market. If you own an ipod/iphone they only want you to use their software. Then they want to charge you for every little thing, like converting a song you own to a ringtone. Reasons like these are why I will never buy an apple product.

rebradley reviewed v8.0 on Sep 9, 2008

Gotta give it a 1 for spyware.

war593122 reviewed v8.0 on Sep 9, 2008

Still junk and now it seems Apple has banned QT Lite. :( As iTunes 8 will only run if the official build of Quick Time is installed.

You get this error on iTunes start-up if crappy QT is not installed:

The iTunes application could not be opened. A required iTunes component is not installed. Please repair or reinstall QuickTime.

some guy reviewed v8.0 on Sep 9, 2008

well said Blaxima

I was helping a handicap friend who bought a Ipod and gezz take it back lol
mp3 player, half the price half the hassle.
Not user friendly , to many steps to accomplish a simple task.

Junk

bufftbone reviewed v8.0 on Sep 9, 2008

I'm so happy, cause today I found my friends. I'm so happy, because today I got iTunes 8.0! My iPod is updating to 2.1 firmware and iTunes installed and ran without a hitch! Today should be marked as a milestone on the Apple calendars! Should be on yours too! :)

Blaxima reviewed v8.0 on Sep 9, 2008

An improvemnt over the previous releases BUT I'm not rating this by comparing it to v7, v6 etc.. because those are sh8. Compare this to other media players and apple still falls short

dmdoyle74 reviewed v8.0 on Sep 9, 2008

I'm using iTunes 8 on the Mac and to be honest there isn't much difference except for this new Genius feature. I don't think this new feature justifies a new version number!

What I want to know is when apple are going to allow users to rip dvd's through iTunes so they can be transferred across to the iphone/ipods? :-@

netean reviewed v8.0 on Sep 9, 2008

AS much I have loathed iTunes and wish I could truly migrate away and still use my ipod.
I have to give credit here, it is so much faster at starting, and whilst not revolution, is a good evolution.
Definitely a big improvement of 7.x series

Zee333 reviewed v8.0 on Sep 9, 2008

Much improved.
Many bugs have been fixed, including the one where the screen would half load or loan up black or white over other windows (as stated by other users) and also i've noticed, at least on my system, where the previous version when exiting the software it would quit incorrectly and i would be displayed by a windows error where it would say iTunes has been stopped to protect my system (in windows vista)

I love the new way thumbnails are displayed when you click music then click albums or something like that and the sidebar (within the application which can be switched off easily) is a great addition too

Overall this new version is faster to load up, faster to shut down and its overall a much more plesent experience to use iTunes, whether you have to or not, much improved from previous versions, 6, 7 etc...
GREAT UPDATE!

pjb reviewed v8.0 on Sep 9, 2008

Have to agree. Version 8 works alot better on my Vista 864 system than version 7 did.
Nice update, and indeed very nice new visuals.

tokyo654321 reviewed v8.0 on Sep 9, 2008

Great update. Runs faster, runs stable. Genius is a very cool feature. The new visualizer is nothing short of gorgeous.

Anyone complaining of bloat is obviously running an old eMachines system.

PicAFlic reviewed v8.0 on Sep 9, 2008

Awesome. Finally fixed the big in Vista where it starts up black. Loads a lot faster to.

gate1975mlm reviewed v8.0 on Sep 9, 2008

Cool Apple finaly fixed the bug where the whole iTunes interface would become black when launching it over other windows in Vista!

bodean reviewed v8.0 on Sep 9, 2008

More bloat

Paul Skinner reviewed v7.7.1.11 on Aug 2, 2008

60MB for a bloody music program.
No.

poeg reviewed v7.7.1.11 on Jul 31, 2008

Wow here to begin...

- slow as molasses in a Canadian January
- a DRM nightmare for multiple users / same machine
- to safe guard those expensive songs do daily backups as ye old iTunes BSOD = what purchases?

I guess the PC and Mac commercials of the future might be iTunes and Winamp. "Hey iTunes, you're making your user buy those songs again? Were they that good?"

netean reviewed v7.7.1.11 on Jul 31, 2008

I can only rate this 1, sadly can't go lower.
Slow, I mean really really slow to open, then even slower to draw the application window.
Do anything at all when my ipod touch is plugged in is like swimming through treacle.

It's absolutely monstrous... runs lots of processing that eat my memory, even when itunes isn't running. When itunes is running is swallows a gargantuan amount of memory.

I'm finding that for all it's faults MediaMonkey is less a of pile of a crap than iTunes (and works with my ipod too)

statm1 reviewed v7.7.1.11 on Jul 31, 2008

If apple really knew how to make lightweight windows apps they COULD be dangerous. But everything they make for the PC are slow, bloated, and there is NO reason why the installation should take THAT long. Verification after verification. AHHHHH Apple I know you write slow code for PCs for a reason but COME ON...

moog reviewed v7.7.1.11 on Jul 31, 2008

Piece of s**t
only using it for iphone

mjm01010101 reviewed v7.7.1.11 on Jul 31, 2008

I like looking back three years ago and seeing reviews like this one from alexweber15 complaining about itunes being 20 megs. Can you imagine if it was *only* 20 megs now? Seems dreamlike.

Bloat on top of bloat on top of bloat.

war593122 reviewed v7.7.1.11 on Jul 31, 2008

Still crap! And getting worse every day!! POS!!!

keir reviewed v7.7.1.11 on Jul 31, 2008

I'm using this crap very reluctantly as some bands that do iTMS exclusives I like too much to do without. And of course to use the iTMS you have to install this junk.

LRN reviewed v7.7.1.11 on Jul 31, 2008

Player is very slow. Loading a lot of files will actually freeze your PC every few seconds.

Ryusennin, mDNS and Bonjour aren't bad (no special need to uninstall them). Though QT is bad, i agree.

EarlyMorningHours reviewed v7.7.1.11 on Jul 31, 2008

A complete abortion from beginning to end. Most malicious software demonstrates greater programming talent than this.

improvelence reviewed v7.7 on Jul 17, 2008

I think that the developers of other inferior music apps troll around here trashing the King.

mahaseo reviewed v7.7 on Jul 11, 2008

Great news for music listners. Now they can have more..

http://www.magnewin.com

Ryusennin reviewed v7.7 on Jul 10, 2008

I'm using this insane piece of crap against my will, honest. That's what you get from a monopolistic company which never had a clue about efficient programming.

Ok. Installing iTunes means that you'll immediately have to uninstall Quicktime afterwards (it comes bundled with iTunes, whether you like it or not). Then you can safely install QT Alternative instead.

But you're not done yet. iTunes 7.7 installs a sh!tload of services like AppleSync, Bonjour and mDNS, which you'll want to get rid of if you don't give a sh!t about iPods and remote sync.

Since there's no option in iTunes to disable this mess (hey, it's a Mac app after all), let me recommend you Autoruns from SysInternals. It's a life saver and a mandatory utility that will allow you to prevent all this crap from running at boot time without your consent. And don't forget to have a look at the Services console in your admin tools as well.

monzi reviewed v7.7 on Jul 10, 2008

This is one of the worst applications i have ever used. Its a HUGE download, its bloated like there was no tomorrow. It forces you to install Quick Time which is just as crappy as this. And its so loaded with bugs that you would think it was written by a 12 year old boy with some kind of mental illness. WARNING: Do NOT download this.

Diam0nd reviewed v7.7 on Jul 10, 2008

Complete crap. Bloated. Badly written. Weak an unintuitive UI.

mjm01010101 reviewed v7.7 on Jul 10, 2008

I'd really like to see a feature where duplicate songs can have a better delete function. I have a user with thousands of dupes due to a bad sync, and some have bad titles and some are at a lower bitrate, itunes should be able to say: We'll archive songs that are dupes and at a lower bitrate, or that have incomplete song information.

Otherwise itunes and quicktime suck as hard as ever.

tbresson reviewed v7.6.2 on Jun 13, 2008

I don't get it. It gets worse and worse this piece of software.

- It's bloated as already stated
- No new users find it intuitive to use
- If you have 1 iPod and 2 PC's with ITunes, you'll notice your songs get overwritten (at least for shuffle versions). I mean come on, even Windows Explore with simple copy/paste can do better.
- It's bundled with Quicktime, but security fixes in Quicktime doesn't mean a new ITunes version.
- The Apple software updater doesn't even recognize that a new version of Quicktime is out there but does recognize that you've haven't got their Safari browser.

All in all: ITunes - a great idea, poorly implemented and will probably get you hacked via Quicktime some day.

Oh.. I almost forgot. The software, how annyoing it can be, actually does work. You can put in your iPod, reset it, put music on it and play tunes aswell as convert CD's into AAC format.

OAKsider reviewed v7.6.2 on May 5, 2008

Bloaty, yes. If you use it simply for its unbeatable UI and library management, I highly recommend uninstalling unneeded components (yes, they allow it through Ctrl Panel) like Apple Mobile Device, Apple Updater & Bonjour. There is no better UI for managing a music library, but sadly Apple continues to feed iTunes and it's growing fatter day by day. An iTunes Lite would be nice (I use foobar2000 for regular playback), but I imagine lots do actually use the store, iPod and other crap now included. Ah, well.

mmoak reviewed v7.6.2 on Apr 21, 2008

Bloaty :/

dracodos reviewed v7.6.2 on Apr 8, 2008

iTunes has the best interface than any other player/library i've ever used.

My only true issue is the size and the memory it takes to run. I do not understand how they can justify a 57MB download for a media player/library plus the amount of memory it hogs.

Plus i do not like how it handles the iPod Shuffle, specifically that you can only sync and not manage it manually.

If they could tackles these problems it would be a great app on any PC.

improvelence reviewed v7.6.2 on Apr 4, 2008

netean, thats probably because you are one of those morons who has spyware infesting your pc...it doesn't even take "minutes" to boot on my old sony laptop with a single core processor and 256mb of ram. Who are you kidding.

probably a zune owner in disguise....

DoHickey reviewed v7.6.2 on Apr 3, 2008

I have problems when things run in the background on my computer. Both I-tunes and QuickTime load tasks even without running the programs. Not everyone can have 3 gig of ram or a super processor. When things load and sit in the task list they take up resources. Not to mention the problems uninstalling these things. Thank goodness for stand alone uninstallers, I had to use one to get rid of the apple update that didn't uninstall when I took QuickTime & I-tunes off my system. If I could rate it a zero I would.

netean reviewed v7.6.2 on Apr 3, 2008

junk, bloat and drivvel... on my 2gb dual core, it takes minutes to boot - often never boots and has to be killed via task manager.
Just timed startup for this review - 3 minutes and waiting - it's running in the background eating 35mb of ram, just not doing anything.

when plugged into ipod, its' chronically slow. Come bundled with a crápware that is Quicktime.

up and running now..minimised and using 52mb of ram (0cpu)

Often doesn't recognise my ipod touch until I've plugged it in a dozen times - then tells me it's an iphone!

I want to rate this lower than 1 but I can't....

it's one of the worst applications I've ever had the misfortune to use

riel reviewed v7.6.2 on Apr 3, 2008

I have a dual core vista laptop and iTunes runs great on my machine. When first loading it does take a lot of CPU use but for me it drops to almost 0% in less than a minute.
If you don't have an iPod then sure there are other/better apps, but if you do this is for you. Of course there are other apps that work for the iPod also, but few can offer the features and ease of iTunes. This isn't just for computer newbies. If you want something that works and works without having to think about it thats ok. You can still be a geek and enjoy iTunes. I have plenty of software that requires time, tweaking and general hassle to get running well. Its nice to have something I don't have to spend a lot of time for it to work.

gawd21 reviewed v7.6.2 on Apr 3, 2008

This is just too damned buggy. Plays choppy.

duntuk reviewed v7.6.1.9 on Mar 19, 2008

There's finally a x64 version of iTunes available for windows vista and xp... though you'll have to go directly to apple's site to download it: itunes and iphone x64 http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ -- not sure, but it may now support the iphone...

echohead reviewed v7.6.1.9 on Feb 27, 2008

the only thing itunes is good for is being able to tell when someone is computer illiterate...meaning if you have itunes then you dont know jack about computers.

shame on apple for intentionally coding a program to run poorly on windows. guerella marketing at its finest.

war593122 reviewed v7.6.1.9 on Feb 24, 2008

Software is bloated; on old PCs it causes 100% CPU. Even if your just moving the mouse around its window or scrolling with the mouse. POS!!

Even on my quad core machine it causes 25% CPU (as in using 100% of one core). Crazy!! And yeah buggy as hell, loves to crash..

And god why do the make you install quick crap every time...

Almost as bad as AOL. Surprised they have not started chaning users home page to the itunes store when you install.

Wow, 56.4mb too now..

mjm01010101 reviewed v7.6.1.9 on Feb 24, 2008

I discovered that even though I had been running Apple software update that I was not getting updates on some clients. Highly insecure application suite and I'm done with it.

poisonu reviewed v7.6.1.9 on Feb 23, 2008

Unfortunately if Suffers from terminal bloatware syndrome....
And to make matters worse, they release a new version every 2-4 weeks.....
..because it also Suffers from chronic "insecurity" syndrome....

rcutnik reviewed v7.6.1.9 on Feb 22, 2008

Having to install iTunes to load my songs into my iPod seems as the only solution after trying alternative applications. That doesn't make iTunes a good one though.
This is a BLOATED tool which requires around 100MB of RAM when loaded (Windows Vista Aero takes that... but that's AERO), it also installs around 3 windows services that are loaded every time you start your computer, despite you using iTunes or not... and finally, I also found that it installs "Bonjour" without giving any indication of its need! WTF?!

improvelence reviewed v7.6.1.9 on Feb 22, 2008

Yea 7.5 thrashed my files too. Had to call Apple and b**** so they sent me all my purchases again. Itunes IS getting clunkier and clunker and apprently dangerous but so far so good on 7.6. Going to try this when I get home. And yes this does work MUCH better on a Mac.

Adrian79 reviewed v7.6 on Jan 16, 2008

when 7.5 came out i tried updating and it caused havoc on my machine..lost all my tracks on ipod, etc.

i'm not going to beta test 7.6 !!

muka3d reviewed v7.6 on Jan 15, 2008

This program is only good on the Mac. The Windows version is a bloated piece of junk, and there is absolutely no reason to use it instead of the better and more featureful alternatives like Winamp, foobar2000, or heck, even Windows Media Player at the least.

fatray reviewed v7.6 on Jan 15, 2008

I can't understand why some magazine reviews rate iTunes the best. I find it very difficult to use and learn how to use. I bought a Shuffle for my wife and she couldn't figure this out if her life depended on it. I still have trouble getting the songs to actually go to the Player. Why is it so hard?

philosopher_dog reviewed v7.6 on Jan 15, 2008

What do you expect from Apple? Anyhow, unfortunately I have it installed to load tracks on my iPod. It's silly to use it as a player since it uses some 100 mbs of ram and leans heavily on your cpu. What do they care though? They're busy with iPhones and thin laptops!

echohead reviewed v7.6 on Jan 15, 2008

really? REALLY?

frankwick reviewed v7.6 on Jan 15, 2008

Outlived its purpose... iTunes has become a bloated, heavy piece of junk. It still works most of the time, but v8 needs a rewrite. The interface is VERY tired and they're running out of places to bubblegum on new functionality. It's a shame Apple's most popular piece of software has become its ugliest. (Trivia: Did you know Apple didn't even write itunes originally? They've just added to it over the years.)

I'm also considering a non-ipod for my next device. Creative and the Zune2 are now superior in many ways. So, when it comes time to switch (if I do) then itunes will become irrelevant to me -- so I won't care anymore about the bloat.

Diam0nd reviewed v7.6 on Jan 15, 2008

Crap. Is and always will be.

WMachado reviewed v7.5 on Jan 13, 2008

Very good app!! I know it is a bit heavy but it is easy to use, intuitive and simple. I've tried all the high rated programs and they're all very nice but iTunes is the one with the best integration with iPod and it has the nicest GUI. I wish only that this app could have an album art importer like the one from Media Monkey.

wox reviewed v7.5 on Dec 9, 2007

@castiglione "if you don't like it, don't rate it"
ROFL, what do you think is the point of reviews? Do people who read reviews only want good opinions?
What an idiot.

That said, this program is s**t. WinAMP, or even WMP 11, is better than this.

horsecharles reviewed v7.5 on Nov 6, 2007

OzDuDe:

Do you mean setup did not obligatorily install QT?
I've been having to unpack installer file(in order to only run the itunes installer)... and that was until two versions back, the last update refused to install w/o qt present(in spite of hex edit)...

It may be a wash anyhow-- recently ran into some embedded QT content not running, and was forced to replace qt alternative on one system in order to view it.

OzDuDe reviewed v7.5 on Nov 6, 2007

installed perfectly on my XP sp2 (VTP)- looks good, didn't mess with my QT Alternative or Streamclip installations AND finally the icon I've been waiting for - iPod charge state. Hasn't messed either of the Nano's or the JB'n 1.1.1 Ipod Touch up either. I'm rather impressed with this release. If you have 2GB of memory (as any sensible Vista user would) then memory use isn't really that high. For those complaining about 78MB of use - then if you don't have an iPhone or iPod touch, simply go to services and disable AppleMobile device, Set iTunesHelper to manual and remove it from HKLM/Software/Windows/Current Version/Run, so it doesn't run auto. Also stop QuickTimeTask from auto running the same way - they aren't needed for the Classic, Video, Nano or Shuffle. Now if only the iPods and ITunes supported AAC-HE I'd give them a 5.

ZenoLabs reviewed v7.5 on Nov 6, 2007

Pure s**t.

aepasa reviewed v7.5 on Nov 5, 2007

Finally there is a version number on setup file!
[No need to start installing iT anymore just to find out which version of setup is [if iT isn't renamed already in the first place], also different version of setup files can be kept handy, if in need to uninstall curent version and install one of previous ones for any reason ...
Since, MusicMatch no more iTunes is new king...

Adrian79 reviewed v7.5 on Nov 5, 2007

i have vista x86 and i uninstalled last official version to install this update, now it crashes on startup!! i tried everything... wtf?!

philosopher_dog reviewed v7.5 on Nov 5, 2007

This program... What can one really say. I love that it uses 78 mbs of ram! I love it when you delete something but it doesn't move it from your harddrive, or I know... when you have to restore your iPod and use those funky features like "consolidate your library". I love the fact that if you move your library to an external drive and you forget to plug it in it just defaults to your documents folder without informing you of it's tactic! F**k this is inimitable garbage. It's better on a mac! ? Right. Funny. I'm laughin...

Paul Skinner reviewed v7.5 on Nov 5, 2007

@mjm01010101:

Yes. Make them use Windows Media Player. It comes with Windows, you know.

Why the heck are they using iTunes?

_______

I hate that iTunes forces me to have Apple update, and Mobile Device components without asking.

The iPhone isn't even out here.

mjm01010101 reviewed v7.5 on Nov 5, 2007

Just an absolute pain in a corporate setting. Any other admins have tricks for keeping this crap up to date without end-user interaction/admin rights?

[Paul Skinner] In a moment of weakness, I let some whiny employees (who are politically important) use itunes for their ipods. It was either that or they would revolt and ask for admin rights back. I chose the *much lessor* of two evils.

Diam0nd reviewed v7.5 on Nov 5, 2007

Crap, to put it mildly. The day apple finally get a life and decide to let go this crappy itunes s***, i MAYBE get meself an ipod.

muka3d reviewed v7.4.3 on Oct 20, 2007

Great on Mac OS X, absolute trash on Windows. It's bloated, slow, and invasive...

Winamp does everything iTunes does, while at the same time using 6MB of RAM instead of 65MB. Did I mention it's fast?

irv4oh reviewed v7.4.3 on Oct 14, 2007

iTunes is a disappointment. It does have a few helpful features: airtunes, smart playlists, quick cd ripping, and an internet radio tuner.

Here are several needless disadvantages, however:
No easy way to get rid of duplicates in the library;
Orphan entries in the library should be fixed automatically;
You cannot add a URL (e.g. Shoutcast) stream to a playlist, unless automatic adding to the library is checked;
The checkboxes still don't make sense to me and require a lot of clicking;
URL streams flake out and don't recover well;
Some functions, like 'consolidate library' are irreversible (and confusing);
Runs stupid background processes whether you have an ipod or not (ituneshelper.exe and ipodservice.exe);
There aren't many very good stations in the Radio tuner, and many have ridiculously low bitrates and redundancies;
Quicktime is annoying with its background processes also, but there is the unofficial Quicktime Alternative;
Volume control with airtunes is way off from using local speakers (much louder);
The software should be smart enough to fix bad tags;
Video playback is spotty;
Seems quite sloppy for a version 7 product-- several of these issues should have been fixed by now;
Updates are frequent but are not incremental, requiring large downloads (and of quicktime too, which might not even be necessary);
Updates seem to be limited to expanding what can be sold on the iTunes Store, bugs and ease-of-use improvements seem to be a much lower priority for Apple

-Lord- reviewed v7.4.3 on Oct 1, 2007

I am forced to agree with the utter "piece of trash" review. Slow to install, slow to operate, extremely bloated for what you get. Incredible piece of junkware, and complete waste of time.

Get Media Monkey and save yourself the headache of this POS.

Blaxima reviewed v7.4.3 on Sep 28, 2007

What an absolute piece of utter trash.

Intrusive and a complete waste of memory and space.

Only apple drones can sum up the strength to say this is good and critisize MS for it's practices. Apple is the same sh8 different pile except it's shinier

bufftbone reviewed v7.4.3 on Sep 28, 2007

The best keeps getting better. Runs like a charm on both my new computers. Don't know what I'd do without it!

Apple 4 Life!

Crispy777 reviewed v7.4.3 on Sep 28, 2007

I do NOT own an iPod or iPhone (and will never buy) and still it automatically installs applications that autoload and keep on checking if I have those... My computer is new and fast, but this bloated piece of crap runs slow. I can not recommend this to anyone.

CT2001 reviewed v7.4.3 on Sep 28, 2007

iTunes is bloated crapware, and iPods are no better. I was given an iPod as a gift a year ago, and after two days, gave it away. The iTunes software and QT has always been just a total mess, and I'm quite happy now using only Windows Media Player with my vastly superior (and MUCH less expensive) Creative Zen MP3 player.

PaneTrez reviewed v7.4.3 on Sep 28, 2007

49MB!? What are they thinking? I have an Athlon 64 3800+ and a Geforce 6800 GT and this thing runs like cr@p. I use WMP11 now or foobar2000 for music because iTunes is a huge resource hog and is poorly written. Why do they need to update this hunk of trash every 15 minutes anyway? Because it's consistently filled with bugs, that's why.

terminalx reviewed v7.4.3 on Sep 28, 2007

I hate people who come on here and take snipes at other products because they are so brainwashed by the almighty apple. Had you actually read the reviews, you would see they hate the software there is no mention of the ipod being terrible.

The following review is based on using it on a Windows PC.

reasons ITUNES is terrible:

Apple can only design software for their own hardware, look at QT, Itunes and Safari for examples.

Itunes, has a clunky interface, no new features have been added to this monstrosity other then to add more services.

Itunes even when its closed still has several services running in the background for god knows what reason.

Even if you don't own an ipod or iphone it runs the service in the background.

It has no easy way to remove songs that were deleted from the library and doesn't even recognize the songs are missing until you try and play them.

Adding songs to your ipod is a joke with this interface. If your device doesn't hold all the songs you like, you need to select each song individually (well you can highlight a group and or hold ctrl until you selected everything)

Why is every update 50 Mb+ what the hell are they changing, adding?

The only people that are rating this software high are the same 4-5 people which in itself should tell you something of this software.

shyuep reviewed v7.4.3 on Sep 27, 2007

I am perpetually perplexed about how anyone can even give this piece of junk 5 stars. I own two Ipods (a Video and a old Mini) and while I am not a fanatic of Apple products, I certainly admire products of theirs that work beautifully. Anyone who has objectivity will rank this trash zero stars (if that were possible). Of course, I apply this rating only to iTunes on windows. I have no experience with the Mac and I won't claim to know. But almost any other software (foobar, mediamonkey, Yamipod, just ot name a few) works far better. Of course, for people who insist on buying DRM protected music from Mr Jobs, then options are more limited.

ccombe reviewed v7.4.3 on Sep 27, 2007

Piece of bloatware for people who know nothing about computers. Interface is clunky, and if your collection is over a certain amount of tracks then it chugs like a b**** on any spec system. The fact that Apple have to keep updating the app every time they bring out a new product shows how s*** it really is.

I prefer foobar and winamp, both of which offer great options for not using itunes with an ipod.

improvelence reviewed v7.4.3 on Sep 27, 2007

I hate it when people who are mad because they have a Zune (and the zune sucks) come on here to trash iTunes.

DACWILSOL reviewed v7.4.3 on Sep 27, 2007

I bought the IPhone and do enjoy the service and the content provided by both ATT and Apple. The updates are part of that. I am not blind to the fact that the content is DRM or the phone is locked, but look at some of the other ways you can get your content and then see if the IPhone and ITunes are not worth the price or the experience.

Budgie29 reviewed v7.4.3 on Sep 27, 2007

I tunes is not the be and end all of being able to
use an Ipod ... Itunes does what it is susposed to without major fuss ... lthough I wish they would make the qui like musicmatch jukebox ...

it does what it does with out fuss and the program is not full of menus and settings which take ages to setup.

horsecharles reviewed v7.4.3 on Sep 27, 2007

EDIT
quote:
bufftbone Sep 28, 2007 7.4.3
5 out of 5 The best keeps getting better. Runs like a charm on both my new computers. Don't know what I'd do without it!

Apple 4 Life!
__________________________________________________

May i edit that please?
The beAst keeps getting LARGer. Runs like GramPS on both my new computers. Don't know what i'd do with it!

Apple 4 Wife!

_________________________________________________

Yeah... i like the "if you don't like it don't rate it" ROTFLMAO... everything'd be rated 4/5 then.
What's very telling is the avg. 2½ rating from a bit under 1k reviews-- and iTunes was highly rated once.... so basically it's been receiving mostly 1's only since then.

Diam0nd reviewed v7.4.3 on Sep 27, 2007

This is barely usable.

mjm01010101 reviewed v7.4.3 on Sep 27, 2007

Prediction, we'll have a new version within a week.

hvacr reviewed v7.4.3 on Sep 27, 2007

"If you don't like it, then don't rate it"

What, only people that like it can rate it? Thats an odd thing to say. I use MediaMonkey, blows this bloatware away.

castiglione reviewed v7.4.3 on Sep 27, 2007

This is a five because it does what it's advertised to do. If you don't like it, then don't rate it. Simple as that.

Tao2005 reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 22, 2007

Lacks features that JetAudio has. Plays MP3's but converts to M4A's. M4A is the apple version of an MP3, that all media players support, but not many support M4A. Cause of this, is why I don't use it. This UI is the same as the UI for WMP 11, MediaMonkey, and etc.

improvelence reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 21, 2007

Runs beautifully on my machine, loads extremely fast, excellent sound quality, great features. Blows away the competition and its free. I cannot fathom how this has such a low rating on here, it makes me question the integrity of some of these reviewers. Most of them were probably lame enough to buy a Zune or some other Ipod ripoff. Even without an Ipod, Itunes would still be king. If your PC cant hack it, then its time to dip into the wallet you cheap bas****s.

bigshotshotdown reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 20, 2007

My 2 pennies: I am definitely NOT an Apple guy, but I have grown to really like iTunes. I own a Nano, so I disabled EVERYTHING in the software - I am using it only to manage my music and transfer files to and fro... iTunes is really great, once you learn about and use playlists and smart playlists, and there are a ton of scripts out there to make the software work how you want. The interface needs a bit more work, but what doesn't?

And I agree with crashoverride- the software runs fine on a decent machine.

bobthegoat2001 reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 19, 2007

No, sorry. Nice try Apple.

godofthunder reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 19, 2007

"...Sure it's bloated but you guys do know that PC tech has advanced in the last 5 yrs don't you..."

Errr...ummm...ok...

There ARE better audio applications. This can seriously NOT be a 5 mark rating!

crashoverride reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 19, 2007

Fast and easy to use. Sure it's bloated but you guys do know that PC tech has advanced in the last 5 yrs don't you. Time to get off those celerons and the 256 megs of ram.

Crispy777 reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 18, 2007

"Time to get off those celerons and the 256 megs of ram."

I have a quadcore and 2GB of ram. I think it is bloatware and slows down my 1 month old machine.

It is utter crap and you need to get off your cloud fanboy.

Kriff reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 18, 2007

All this release does is make it so you can't make your own ringtones without paying $1.98. Still bloated and slow.

elftyrrell reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 18, 2007

I think the only 'improvement' or change from the previous version is the disabling the ability to sync custom ringtones to iPhones.

Transparent attempt to cripple software so that Apple can charge for ring tones. And they say MS is evil?

Adrian79 reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 18, 2007

Great Software, harddrives are bigggg and memmory chips are fasssttt nowadayz...

podcast, photos, etc. this prog handles Ipods and the stuff that can go inside them PERFECT!!

anyone that complains about bloat, etc. must like half assed ugly looking progs :-)

KayNine reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 18, 2007

"is that right. 50Mb for a media player?"

No, it's less than 50MB for an excellent media player, organizer, podcast manager, music shop frontend, cd ripper, ... and many more.

Yes, honestly, I tried MediaMonkey, Sunbird, musikCube, WinAMP and the lot and didn't find any other as convenient to use as iTunes, even the old MusicMatch versions I was using don't compare.

So I give iTunes it's well deserved 5 stars!!

netean reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 18, 2007

is that right. 50Mb for a media player?

50mb... if I was on dialup that would be a week's worth of downloading... for a fecking media player.

you must be kidding!

Paul Skinner reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 18, 2007

@boaz:

Because they never fix it properly the first time around (thus the weekly updates now).

s***, s***, s***!

boaz reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 18, 2007

Weekly update?

Why is it they never post a "Changelog", of what was improved or fixed?

SBMongoos reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 18, 2007

Haven't been able to run this since it screwed up an update a few months ago or so. I get the "The installer encountered errors before iTunes could

mjm01010101 reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 18, 2007

Sloppy coding. We've now had to download several hundred megs each because apple can't control ringtone drm.

cyberia reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 18, 2007

Bloatware? Somewhere between maybe and "of course!"

But... Is there anything that iTunes can't do on a decent machine?

iTunes is the only player that properly updates my streaming station's (http://www.urdomain.us/kcuf.htm) song titles on G-Force visualizer (the only visualizer that I've seen that's worth the money and CPU cycles, http://fileforum.betanew...ail/GForce/1074632862/1)

Sure, when you wanna keep it small and just listen to the music, there are better programs. NOT WinAMP. It's gotten so big, you might as well use iTunes. Try XMplay (http://fileforum.betanew...ail/XMPlay/1011077179/1) instead. And don't be tempted by the buggy AIMP!

gate1975mlm reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 18, 2007

Why does iTunes turn all black when it opens behide a window like IE7 on Vista? Will this ever be fixed?

Diam0nd reviewed v7.4.2 on Sep 18, 2007

Crap software. Overpriced hardware.

Adrian79 reviewed v7.4.1 on Sep 13, 2007

u kids crack me up...

lucianct reviewed v7.4.1 on Sep 10, 2007

i really don't like itunes and similar projects like y! music engine (which is an itunes rip-off).

winamp/amarok can do the same as itunes + better look&feel + they need only

terminalx reviewed v7.4.1 on Sep 10, 2007

Horrible software, likes to associate itself with everything even if you tell it no, qt likes to take over everything as well, telling it not to install desktop icons and it does anyway.

Installs Iphone app even if you don't have an iphone.

Runs in the background even after exiting program.

Is it this bad on Apple Hardware?

mjm01010101 reviewed v7.4.1 on Sep 10, 2007

An entire new download just because people figured out how to get ringtones for free by renaming files.

Amazing!

Alex Stevens reviewed v7.4.1 on Sep 10, 2007

Absolute garbage, I almost have to wonder if Apple doesn't intentionally use sloppy bloated coding to make Windows look bad.

sQin reviewed v7.4.1 on Sep 10, 2007

it's even too slow for dual-core cpu with 1gb of ram. terrible player

Paul Skinner reviewed v7.4.1 on Sep 10, 2007

olly_ts: "For me, when running, iTunes uses 50MB of memory and 5-10% CPU."

Does that not worry you at all?

5-10% CPU is horrendous.

Winamp uses 1-2%

Not to mention it has Apple update and iPhone (as well as Quicktime) installers built in with no option to not install them.

The ****ing iPhone isn't even out in Europe yet and I still have to install the iPhone software.

Alex1974BR reviewed v7.4 on Sep 6, 2007

50 MB for this crap???? Forget it. Get MediaMonkey instead!

Ryusennin reviewed v7.4 on Sep 6, 2007

Überbloated.

olly_ts reviewed v7.4 on Sep 6, 2007

I don't understand the negative ratings.

Sure, the installer is large, but then again it contains multiple languages PLUS QuickTime. After installation, you can delete all the .lproj files and the whole installation will only be 24.5MB (16.5MB on disk).

For me, when running, iTunes uses 50MB of memory and 5-10% CPU. Sure, some players have a smaller footprint, but I'll take it to get the useful Genre/Artist/Album browser panel and search interface. Fastest way for me to find certain tunes or flip to albums.

For me, the only downsides are:
- can't play wma (obviously!)
- can't play cue
- can't play flac
[i use foobar2000 when i want to play any of those]
- slightly dubious adhesion to tagging standards
[i use mp3tag instead]

Alex Stevens reviewed v7.4 on Sep 6, 2007

They wrote some amazing programs for computers like the Amiga that were only a few kilobytes. Citrus right, this is a very poorly programed excuse for an application and there's no reason for it to be the size it is or run as poorly as it does.

citrus reviewed v7.4 on Sep 6, 2007

@ improvelence

That is a bulls*** cop-out way of saying deal with it. The truth of the matter is that programs have gotten lazier and lazier. There is no Excuse for a program like this to run slow on a machine with only 750 megs of ram or a Pentium 4. Look at utorrent as the best and prime example of what good coding can do. All the functionality is there and in less then 300kb. Itunes doesn't need quick time. they could use the WMP back end. that alone would cut out a lot of MB from the install file. and would make it so people don't have to install that bulls*** program. I use Itunes on my mac and love it. but you know what it was written and optimized for a mac. i used it on my windows machine that is faster then my mac and it sucks balls. there is no excuse for apple to do that other then saving time and money. they started this ipod trend and arguably the MP3 trend. so they should live up the the responsibility of using there profits to make good code for what ever platform the promise to bring functionality too.

i am giving this program a 3 because it runs like s*** on decent hardware. People please check into media monkey for a player/mp3.organizer/ipod.sync/library
its must faster much smaller and has a very smaller footprint on your system. as long as you don't want to use it to watch movies, its the best all-in-one must program out there. and with the new 3 beta version there making it look good too.

improvelence reviewed v7.4 on Sep 6, 2007

Everyone complains about the size of the installer, but never has a valid argument on the functionality of the software. They pull the same crap with Nero. It's not the 90's anymore. You can buy a 500 gb hard drive for $120 and ram is dirt cheap so get over it.

bufftbone reviewed v7.4 on Sep 6, 2007

best EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

darkripper reviewed v7.4 on Sep 6, 2007

50 mb?

Paul Skinner reviewed v7.4 on Sep 6, 2007

50MB installer.

Why?

BLOATware.

mjm01010101 reviewed v7.4 on Sep 6, 2007

http://secunia.com/advisories/26725/
Turning out to have a security vuln a month now...

improvelence reviewed v7.3.2 on Aug 24, 2007

Itunes is the sheeyat and that is all their is too it. If your PC is too slow, its too old.

hell0 reviewed v7.3.2 on Aug 14, 2007

For putting songs on my iPod, iTunes works great.

Just use Shark007's iTunes installer. It doesnt include QT and its much leaner.

ShiftedBlue reviewed v7.3.2 on Aug 5, 2007

It's a huge download and a fairly large app, but it works seamlessly. I don't have an iPod and only use iTunes to import CDs and organize and play my music, and to that end it works perfectly.

netean reviewed v7.3.2 on Aug 4, 2007

there's been a couple of times I've been tempted to download itunes. but then I look at the size of the install - 47Mb... for a music and video player!!!!

If I had dialup (which a lot of people still do) that's a good week's worth of downloading... For a MUSIC PLAYER!

I use Yampipod also with my ipod. never installed it. Yamipod does everything I need really simply and easily and isn't a 50mb download.

Adrian79 reviewed v7.3.2 on Aug 3, 2007

installed yamipod... it reminds me of windows 95 for somereason... crashes each time i add a song (vista)

"update!"...........

yamipod sucks! crashes still, and guess what? i dont see any way i can auto sync a folder to add PHOTOS .. very unorganized and unpleasent...STICK TO ITUNES!! sorry not a fanboy of either itunes or yamipod, but itunes wayy better...and if ur like me and have 100gig + hardrive and a dualcore pentium or higher...than who cares about footprint???

alanpalmer reviewed v7.3.2 on Aug 3, 2007

I don't understand the trolls who recommend alternative software that has far less features. It does its job competently. Ok, it has a high memory footprint, but I've never known it to slow down my PC by any measurable degree. It scores high on ease of use and features but lower on flexibility and memory use. I'm sure most of these people have simply made up their minds that all Apple software is somehow beneath them.

bufftbone reviewed v7.3.2 on Aug 3, 2007

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet!

GBH reviewed v7.3.2 on Aug 3, 2007

Lol @ the trolls

iTunes does use more resources than some other players thats true.

However those people that complain about the interface need to get their head's read, the interface is intuitive, responsive and progressive.

also

How on earth do the non iTunes users of the iPod do firmware upgrades?

war593122 reviewed v7.3.2 on Aug 2, 2007

Still sucks on vista, YamiPod kicks its ass!!

Esquire reviewed v7.3.2 on Aug 2, 2007

For this and the last update, I have elected not to install Apple Software Update alongside iTunes during setup, but it does it anyway!!! Apple may want you to think you have a choice when in fact you don't, at least Microsoft lets me setup exactly what I want!

PS. You can uninstall Apple Software Update after installing iTunes

echohead reviewed v7.3.2 on Aug 2, 2007

i cant believe people still put this on windows pc's...

alternatives:
-sharepod
-foobar2000
-buy a creative zen

slinkys_delsol reviewed v7.3.2 on Aug 2, 2007

- Bloated!
- Proprietary!

Reminds me of another useful interface (AO-HELL!)

The fact that you have to install this simply to browse the ITunes store is complete bull!

Apple, if you want to attract me as a customer, let me browse your library and selections freely without the hassle of installing this HOG of a program.

ModderXManiac reviewed v7.3.2 on Aug 2, 2007

Even if you own any iPod or Apple computer, this is complete garbage, bloated crap. It may "work" and does what it's meant to, but it does that very poorly. Why use this when you could use something that's much smaller in size, capable of far more things, less intrusive and resource hogging on your system...Not to mention that it stupidly makes copies of every file you import into it and uses double the space it should. There's no reason my 17 gig collection should take up 34. Ridiculous.

There are much better alternatives; Yamipod or Songbird; all you need.

VanillaDeath reviewed v7.3.1 on Jul 13, 2007

Changelog?

Tao2005 reviewed v7.3.1 on Jul 13, 2007

Sorry I downloaded it. I can think of better media players then this. Only thing nice bout it is the UI. QCD/QMP is better.

chrisdedavid reviewed v7.3.1 on Jul 12, 2007

This application will copy your music files to a second location, so if you have 10gig of music, make sure you have 20gig of HDD space :(

I have tried it a couple of times, but the speed of the software is too slow, slows down my Windows machine.

xCodex reviewed v7.3.1 on Jul 12, 2007

then stop using it! without apple there would be no ipod or podcasting or anything nearly as good out there since there would be no one forced to step up to the plate and compete...

runningfool reviewed v7.3.1 on Jul 12, 2007

^to xCodex: the ipod has never been better than the creative zen. the only reason creative and other companies have to compete with the ipod is because apple keeps coming up with increasingly obnoxious advertising campaigns. the only thing ipods did differently than anyone else was use an actual hard drive. and theres no such thing as "podcasting"...its just streaming video with a much more arrogant name.

does ANYONE not hate itunes?

for anyone interested, heres a silent installer for foobar2000 (probably the best audio player for windows). i built this installer myself and it includes several useful 3rd party plugins...including one that lets you add and remove songs from your ipod!

http://rapidshare.com/fi...35883/foobar2k.exe.html

sorry for the crapidshare link, it was the only one i could find that let me upload an exe.

Crispy777 reviewed v7.3.1 on Jul 12, 2007

Works slow, takes lots of resources, installs unnessesary autoload crap. Songmanagement is bad, Various artist and compilations show up as separate albums for each song. Screen refresh rate is bad.

I don't like it.
I have now installed and un-installed it 3 times during it's development, looks like it is getting just worse all the time.

mickrussom reviewed v7.3.1 on Jul 12, 2007

Crapple sucks at writing software for windows. I had an ipod, but I got a generic player that does the same thing, sure its ugly as hell, but it holds more and is cheap. I do like the ipod nano, but again, the windows client software is bloated crap.

shemeta reviewed v7.3.1 on Jul 12, 2007

Dude, Songbird uses a lot of system resources.

pjb reviewed v7.3.1 on Jul 12, 2007

Works really well. Does what it is intended to do.

ModderXManiac reviewed v7.3.1 on Jul 11, 2007

Even if you own any iPod or Apple computer, this is complete garbage, bloated crap. It may "work" and does what it's meant to, but it does that very poorly. Why use this when you could use something that's much smaller in size, capable of far more things, less intrusive and resource hogging on your system.

There are much better alternatives; Yamipod or Songbird; all you need.

hell0 reviewed v7.3.1 on Jul 11, 2007

Shark007's custom iTunes installers are great. No QT no bloat just iTunes. Works great.

Paul Skinner reviewed v7.3.1 on Jul 11, 2007

I don't own an iPhone (live in the EU), but I have the iPhone crap installed without a choice and have to uninstall it manually after.

Lovely.

Hunk of s***.

bufftbone reviewed v7.3.1 on Jul 11, 2007

LOVE IT! All haters can go and.........

ZenoLabs reviewed v7.3.1 on Jul 11, 2007

Bloat, bloat, bloat.

Diam0nd reviewed v7.3.0.54 on Jun 30, 2007

Crapple.

tickleonthetum reviewed v7.3.0.54 on Jun 29, 2007

Bloated beyond belief, Apple needs to go back to the drawing board and rewrite this behmouth!

ModderXManiac reviewed v7.3.0.54 on Jun 29, 2007

From what I've read, the only change in this is added iPhone support.

Even if you own any iPod or Apple computer, this is complete garbage, bloated crap. It may "work" and does what it's meant to, but it does that very poorly. Why use this when you could use something that's much smaller in size, capable of far more things, less intrusive and resource hogging on your system.

There are much better alternatives; Yamipod or Songbird; all you need.

philosopher_dog reviewed v7.3.0.54 on Jun 29, 2007

How about a change log for this monstrosity! What bloat has been added. We should know. Itunes is so unintuitive. Try to, heaven forbid, restore a lost harddrive from your ipod. Even with 3rd party help it's a nightmare. It's also one of the most notorious resource hog going. Apple seems to presuppose that if you're using Itunes you're not doing anything else on your computer. Come on. Pare this thing down to a reasonable size. This just in: Now compatible with your iphone for all the fan boyz lined up for your ipod phone.

-Wanted- reviewed v7.3.0.54 on Jun 29, 2007

Slinkys_delsol, how in the hell does using the iTunes store give you the sense the company is attempting to make you buy an Apple product, more so seeing how you can purchase DRM-free recordings?

Is this a case of "stupid is as stupid does"?

testman reviewed v7.3.0.54 on Jun 29, 2007

Good, however contains a bug, where if you have Outlook 2007, the iTunes plug-in crashes it.

pjb reviewed v7.3.0.54 on Jun 29, 2007

This version works really well. Does what it is supposed to do.

slinkys_delsol reviewed v7.3.0.54 on Jun 29, 2007

The simple fact that you can not simply browse the ITunes Store freely without installing this first is a deterrent to buying an ITunes based device.

Want me as a Customer, let me see what I can get first before I open my wallet.

enrom reviewed v7.2.0.34 on Jun 17, 2007

Hola forenses! Cheee! No hay un 0 (zero) para poder calificar a programas como éste? Es una lástima también que tanto YamiPod y Floola sean tan horribles y complicados. Tanto trabajo les resulta a los programadores de estos softwares de agregarles la función de drag and drop? ... o de copy and paste? Lo único agradable de este iTunes es la interfaz. Cómo será la de YamiPod y Floola de horrendas!!! Espero que los muchachos de Apple empiecen a perder terreno con la aparición de los excelentes reproductores de mp3: "iRiver", "Sony" y "Creative Zen". Estos últimos son todos más baratos y con softwares mucho más estables que el iTunes. Además, en el caso del "iRiver", no necesita software. Ah, casi me olvido: Tengo un modelo de cada marca. Sólo me falta comprar el "Microsoft Zen", cosa que no voy a hacer porque estos tiene la misma maldita manía que Apple de hacer todo sólo para sus aparatos sin importarle para nada que le pasa al usuario. Una última recomendación. No hagan lo que hice yo; no compren reproductores que usen disco rígido y menos pilas y tampoco que sean de más de 5 ó 6 GB. No tiene sentido. Gracias y saludos.

halc reviewed v7.2.0.34 on Jun 5, 2007

Hate to use this for anything, but currently there are no better alternatives that does it all.

However, the sw is so bad, bloated and heavy on resources that competition is sure to come in some form.

Or... Apple will just lose their customers.

h377r1d3r reviewed v7.2.0.34 on Jun 4, 2007

Ugh... slow, big, heavy, bloated, darn doesnt even use windows themes, uses own to be even slower. doesnt matter if u have 5ghz and 10t ram it will chew it up :)

kronix2 reviewed v7.2.0.34 on May 31, 2007

Awful software. A pain in the arse for any iPod user.

As far as I know, you have to use this pile of crap to update your iPod's firmware. It's the only reason why I have this monstrosity installed.

ZenoLabs reviewed v7.2.0.34 on May 30, 2007

Muwahahhahaahaahahahahaahahaah!

ThumperZ1 reviewed v7.2.0.34 on May 30, 2007

You have to pay an extra 30cents a song to get I-Tunes Plus without DRM.

war593122 reviewed v7.1.1.5 on May 30, 2007

7.2 is out people. No idea what is new besides DRM free music. :) Finally!

Mr Wall reviewed v7.1.1.5 on May 29, 2007

it's no longer compatible to Win2K with the Vista update.

if you're one of the few still running Win2k, be aware, your iPod's HD didn't go bad on you, it's just glitching and giving you a false reading (sad ipod face) once you upgrade to XP you'll notice that it'll start working again.

Adrian79 reviewed v7.1.1.5 on May 11, 2007

wow, u guys need to upgrade ur computers lol anyways, i'm not trying to stick out from the crowd, but... i have had NO problems works great!:)

vista ultimate
PentiumD 3.4ghz dual core
2GiG ddr2
160gig sata
ati x1650 pro 512mb
xfi-extreme gamer sound
floppy drive

aashay reviewed v7.1.1.5 on May 3, 2007

The most retarded piece of software ever developed for any platform in the history of this planet. It is so unuserfriendly. The bloat issues really need to be sorted out. I only use it when there is an update available for my iPod. Otherwise im pretty happy with Anapod which really is so damn easy and hassle free. At the end of the day all one wants to do is transfer some music or videos to ones player and iTunes fails miserably at that!
P.S: Will it ever work properly with Vista?

kowrek reviewed v7.1.1.5 on May 2, 2007

Where's the changelog?

I guess it doesn't matter. It will still be a bloated useless piece of software. Giving it a 2 instead of a 1 only because it handles podcasts decently.

screamin_jesus reviewed v7.1.1.5 on May 2, 2007

Pros: it plays music (most fo the time)

Cons:
Doesn't read the tags on nearly all of my mp3's, and places duplicate artists on my Ipod (even when I rip the CD in itunes, the behaviour is completely random and unacceptable, sometimes refuses to play mp3's that work fine in other players, is very slow and is a huge memory hog. I've switched to winamp to manage my ipod and have been much happier.

runningfool reviewed v7.1.1.5 on May 2, 2007

uses entirely too much memory for a media player. the GUI by itself is bloated, and thats not even taking into consideration that several additional services need to be installed and set to run at startup for itunes to even open.

want to add songs to your ipod? download foobar2000 and look for the foo_dop plugin. this will also let you listen to your ipod when its connected to your computer. foobar also starts up in about 2 seconds flat. if you want to download/listen to other peoples itunes, look for mytunes redux. look for yamipod or anapod if you want to do even more with your ipod.

ditch itunes. download foobar2000 and k-lite mega codec pack.

NOTE: assuming you have a static IP address and arent behind an NAT router, you may want to consider going to oldversion.com and downloading itunes version 4.1. why? because that version let you enter the IP address of a friend (NO restrictions, will work for people on opposite sides of the world!) and direct-connect to their itunes and copy as many songs as you want.

gate1975mlm reviewed v7.1.1.5 on May 2, 2007

iTunes for Windows 7.1.1.5 is not new! Its been out well over a month at least!

Needs much better Vista support!

mukerjee reviewed v7.1.1.5 on May 2, 2007

It defies at least my logic why Apple wants to stick to Windows 2000 and XP and no support for Vista.
Till there is a support for Vista ( most of the Windows computer you buy today in market is coming any way with Vista) there should only be a 1 ( there is no 0 rating possible :( )

Radu Coc reviewed v7.1.1 on Apr 21, 2007

Worst media player I ever used. I need this ONLY to see the apples trailers.

Greg_E reviewed v7.1.1 on Apr 1, 2007

Requires AAC+ support before it is useful for me.

Zerbe reviewed v7.1.1 on Mar 27, 2007

I loathe iTunes, but Apple was bold enough to put the ipod updater into it and its the only way to update your ipod firmware now, other than that, I uninstall it after I update my ipod.

fc*uk reviewed v7.1.1 on Mar 19, 2007

Needs aac+ support.

thebig429 reviewed v7.1.1 on Mar 19, 2007

Needs support for AAC+ streams.

frankwick reviewed v7.1.1 on Mar 19, 2007

I haven't tried 7.1.1 yet, but I think I will look elsewhere. I am disappotined with where itunes is headed. It looks like a kid's toy and actually lacks the depth of features I have been waiting for. In fact, itunes is now making me consider another device for my next purchase. I've had two ipods (light years better than my original Samsung Yepp), but I will look at another product in 2007.

I am going to try WMP11. It has a new look so will take getting used to. I saw a plug-in for WMP11 and ipod but it is not free. I think it was around $12 or so. Not a bad price to pay.

danielvilela reviewed v7.1 on Mar 9, 2007

The Cover Flow now is very fast on Windows XP machine. I like iTunes because it's realy organize the files on folders. WMP11 don't do this.

sQin reviewed v7.1 on Mar 7, 2007

i must agree with most reviewers, every version of itunes becomes bigger and bigger cpu resource hog. v4 was ok, about 20-40 mb usage, v5, v6 - 40-50mb, v7 - 60mb and more...

tickleonthetum reviewed v7.1 on Mar 6, 2007

Kronix2 said: "iTunes is a heap of junk, on Windows at least. The moment somebody releases a free, fully-functional iPod plug-in for WMP, iTunes is toast. Constant 99% CPU utilisation, terrible load times, atrociously unresponsive, forcing you to install QuickTime...the list goes on."

I agree with these totally. The software needs a serious overhaul.

Making fun of your opponents OS is a rather sad and pathetic ploy. Let's see and here why your product is better, not why the opposition is worse, as your bound to say that!!!

kronix2 reviewed v7.1 on Mar 6, 2007

iTunes is a heap of junk, on Windows at least. The moment somebody releases a free, fully-functional iPod plug-in for WMP, iTunes is toast. Constant 99% CPU utilisation, terrible load times, atrociously unresponsive, forcing you to install QuickTime...the list goes on.

There's MGTEK dopisp, but it isn't free. I'm sure you can find it on the darker parts of the web. Website: http://www.mgtek.com/dopisp/

And to AntiochMedia, the Mac vs PC ads are childish propaganda shorts which only appeal to smug Mac fans. Macs are apparently for fun, unlike PCs which are for work. And yet, in another ad they promote MS Office for Mac...which is for work. There is a reason Apple only has 5% of the marketshare, you know.

ZenoLabs reviewed v7.1 on Mar 6, 2007

36MB of pure s***.

AntiochMedia reviewed v7.1 on Mar 6, 2007

Jesus.

This is a fantastic piece of software that does an incredible job integrating with the most popular MP3 player on the market. It's also good for people like myself that have no need for an iPod to manage music. It does a wonderful job of ID3 editing and it's reasonably fast when compared to similar programs such as Yahoo!'s ridiculous music program and Songbird.

There's a reason that Songbird is seeking to replicate the iTunes experience with a more powerful foundation -- iTunes is a brilliant piece of software.

Most of the posts on here are ridiculous anti-Mac trollings.

How do Apple's marketing campaigns factor into a software review? Their Mac vs. PC commercials are funny and most of them tackle ONE single Mac feature and compare them with Windows features. Exceptions include the one that makes fun of Vista's security stuff and another makes fun of the upgrades needed to run Vista. Both of which I find hilarious and valid as a Vista user who likes Vista and sees room to improve.

If anything, Apple are doing service to Microsoft by presenting software flaws in an amusing way.

Kriff reviewed v7.1 on Mar 5, 2007

It's still slow and hogs resources. I'm glad it's not the only choice in syncing with iPods.

sjc001 reviewed v7.1 on Mar 5, 2007

AntiochMedia, you just don't get it. Apple shouldn't have to resort to such underhanded tactics. PC manufacturers never had to stoop so low. This is why Macs are such a distant second.

lileoj reviewed v7.1 on Mar 5, 2007

Until it supports Vista I still think apple is tryin to piss off windows users with ipods. INTENTIONALLY. This is bad karma on Apple, takes alot of respect I had for them in the past away.

-Wanted- reviewed v7.1 on Mar 5, 2007

"Windows Requirements: Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 or later or Windows XP."

Still no support for Windows Vista?

aszure reviewed v7.1 on Mar 5, 2007

iTunes is decent. Thats about as good as I can give it.

On windows, there are many many other program which have more features and compatibility (winamp, mediacenter, windows media player). However I am not going to say it sucks. It does. Its just not all that fantastic.

slipdisc2 reviewed v7.1 on Mar 5, 2007

"iTunes 4 adds the ability to share music among your Macs, play and encode AAC files, and view album art."

itunes 4? Gee, I was looking for version 7 at least.

To all those who complained about how bad itunes is, maybe you should have given a little more thought to which mp3 player you should have purchased in the first place.

horsecharles reviewed v7.1 on Mar 5, 2007

Works ok on Vista for me...and install can be done w/o Apple's QT:

(google for appropriate apps & instructs to accomplish the following)

1. Wipe your system totally free of QT...completely!
2. Install KL Mega Codec Pack w/QTAlternative.
3. Decompress ITunes installer & run ONLY the ITunes setup.

OAKsider reviewed v7.0.2 on Feb 20, 2007

@kanchanmhatre:

[CAPS]THIS IS NOT TECH SUPPORT[/CAPS]

I will not jump on the "iTunes sucks" bandwagon, it seems overfilled atm anyway. I love iTunes, which of course means I must be computer illiterate. Best library management, best UI, great sound quality and enhancements. But I think it is obvious Apple is stalling on making it work properly with Vista which is unprofessional at least. For XP, I don't even own an iPod and still default to using iTunes everyday, great stuff.

kanchanmhatre reviewed v7.0.2 on Jan 23, 2007

Please can anybody tell why i m getting this error when i am trying to install Itune 7
error:"INSTALLER ENCOUNTERED ERROR BEFORE ITUNE CAN BE CONFIGURED"

PLEASE CAN ANYBODY HELP ME ON THIS

Elanessé reviewed v7.0.2 on Dec 28, 2006

iTunes is a piece of crap. It's slow as hell, and requires QuickTime which changes my whole video settings in my browser. Sadly there's no alternative which can manage my iPod shuffle the way I like it. Neither MediaMonkey does, nor Winamp in combination with the iPod plugin. Nicely done Apple. I give it one point for the ability to fill up my iPod.

muka3d reviewed v7.0.2 on Dec 17, 2006

Bloated, slow, and far too automated.

On the other hand, it is very easy to use for computer illiterates.

darkpepe reviewed v7.0.2 on Dec 15, 2006

This piece of crap makes me wanna puke!
Since my iPod nano doesn't allow to install Rockbox (2nd gen) I'm looking for an alternative, but haven't found one yet :(

Diam0nd reviewed v7.0.2 on Nov 4, 2006

iPod - great piece of hardware. iTunes - worst piece of software.

mikeyx11 reviewed v7.0.2 on Nov 1, 2006

The UI is nice, but a nice UI is useless when the program is slow, bloated, buggy and limited.

enrom reviewed v7.0.2 on Nov 1, 2006

Es imposible bajarlo desde www.itunes.com y desde www.betanews.com. Además no puede ser que un aparato como el iPod tenga semejante impresentable software. Conclusión: nos engañaron a todos. Ahora estoy por pasarme a comprar todo lo que sea mp3 en la empresa Creative.

benZin reviewed v7.0.2 on Nov 1, 2006

iTunes is a good app. Stick with the 6.x for a stable version.
http://www.filehippo.com/download_itunes/

CodecPack reviewed v7.0.2 on Nov 1, 2006

You don't need this if you own an iPod. The latest version of Winamp works very well in combination with an iPod.

netean reviewed v7.0.2 on Nov 1, 2006

Bearing in mind what this does: essentially it's a music player, playlist editor and music browser (for the god awful, drm'd iTunes Music store) it's 35Mb.

Perhaps this is essential for iPod owners, but what a big, bloaty bit of software!

DudeBoyz reviewed v7.0.2 on Nov 1, 2006

Update seems to work fine here. I'm glad they are fixing bugs.

I like that when you change characteristics of the file via the GET INFO field, it can actually be setup to change file and folder names and locations to keep up. It does it automatically if you click the checkbox.

That saves me time, and for that I'm appreciative.

It still lacks a simple collapsible tree structure for artists, and I can't change the first field (name) to another location, though the other columns can be re-ordered.

The search function works well, but it is a slight pain to have to actually create a separate playlist to burn a CD.

Fidelio reviewed v7.0.2 on Nov 1, 2006

And people complains about Microsoft software being buggy... iTunes 7.0 is the buggier software I've ever seen from Apple... maybe they are learning to develop the Redmond way???

Now, I'm stuck with a media player that doesn't talk with basically anything else, and the software is a piece of crap.

Long live to Zune... and show this Apple guys how to do things better!

tp reviewed v7.0.2 on Oct 31, 2006

what a waste. get rockbox

ZenoLabs reviewed v7.0.2 on Oct 31, 2006

Still bloatware. And buggy. s***ware.

kindbud1 reviewed v7.0.2 on Oct 31, 2006

"The installer encountered errors before iTunes could be configured"

same error for 7.01 and same for 7.0

what a piece-of-s***!!!

burles07 reviewed v7.0.2 on Oct 31, 2006

great! a new version already. its just bug fixes. i find this version even more stable than the previous builds 7.0 and 7.0.1.

no problems! great work! =)

dumaiso reviewed v7.0.1 on Oct 2, 2006

iTunes is great. There were lots of bugs in the first 7.0 release, but now it's running with no problems. The best feature in iTunes for me is the way it handles the music folder. I set it to automatically organize my musics, and it writes the tags and files names correctly.

iTunes is a great media jukebox, if you're looking for a small and fast music player, stick with foobar2000.

Crispy777 reviewed v7.0.1 on Oct 1, 2006

Tried it and uninstalled it. What a piece of bloated crap. Apple please...

Winamp & Media Player Classic here.

JoeTheZombie reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 28, 2006

I've always used iTunes for my music since it came out for the Windows platform, but from version 7 on, it simply sucks. It uses over 469MB of RAM just idle... not even playing a song.

Stick with the 6.0.5 version...

Codex reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 28, 2006

Installed 7.0.1, had 7.0 before, ran smoothly without any errors.

I like the new view options, (cover browser). Hmm iTunes may take abit more resources than other players but powerful machines will love iTunes ;-)

Works best for me, giving it a 5

matt2971 reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 28, 2006

Ewww... nasty nasty bloatware. I don't own an ipod myself, but a friend had one as a birthday present and asked me to set it up on his PC.

My initial reaction of course, was to try to perseude him to take it back an get a better device for much less money - the Archos Gmini for instance.

When that failed (he's fallen for the "ipods are cool" thing), I had to look for an alternative to itunes, and managed to find a freeware alternative that just synchs back and forward between the PC and the device in a few clicks.

Problem is... I've forgotten it's name!

KayNine reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 28, 2006

iTunes 7 is really a great advance in usability. The side bar isn't cluttered but nicely grouped. I like the cover flow feature. 7.0 and 7.0.1 installed nicely, run smoothly and without any problems. No problems syncing with my G4 iPod.

Murphmeister reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 27, 2006

Apple showed the real contempt they have for their customers upon 7.0's release. What a buggy, error prone POS. I have lived through several iTunes updates, begrudgingly.

Now I've going back to Winamp, who now have iPod support. Why the hell would you want iTunes!?

kindbud1 reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 27, 2006

what a PIECE-OF-s***! i couldn't install 7.0, and this one won't install either.

error:
The installer encountered errors before iTunes could be configured.

mikeyx11 reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 27, 2006

Looks really nice but runs like absolute crap if you have a music collection of more than like...10 tracks.

tp reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 27, 2006

i would never buy an ipod but i got a free 30GB photo/video and thinks it ok.. but as a pc user i found itunes to be absolutely intolerable, to the point that i had to cave in and buy anapod explorer. anapod isn't great either but its much better than itunes.. itunes even when it works how it is supposed to is so steve jobs 'i will own you and control how you use your computer'. its not intuitive and it crashes and doesnt detect the ipod half the time and can't update it even though it says there is an update available.. you cant drag and drop photos.. it got worse imo at 7.0 too..

DudeBoyz reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 27, 2006

While it seems the Mac version is more stable (I also run OS X), 7 is a nice step up, and I'm glad that they are patching it to make it more stable.

The album grouping view is very nice to have as an option, though the 3rd option, that "Jukebox" one is a bit bulky looking.

I also like that you can now manage the IPOD from directly inside iTunes. Makes it simpler.

I do wish the default view offered collapsable and expandable groupings based on artist (like Music Match and so many others do) and I also wish in the default view I could make Artist the first column, but those are fairly minor items.

The GET INFO feature is pretty nice, especially when you can select all the songs on an album and update them at once, but I do wish it had the ability to rename the file based on tag info, like Music Match's Super Tagging, but all things considered, it's a good, free app.

HOWEVER, I do resent having Quicktime forced on me during the install. So, a score of 4.

improvelence reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 27, 2006

I have never had itunes crash on me EVER.
I love this software.
So what if its a little slow...look at what it does...EVERYTHING.

If Itunes were a girl, I would marry her and giver her my seed to create generation after generation of special babies.

linkdup reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 27, 2006

what are the changes with this version?

7.0 is nice imo. and my rating is based on using that as 7.0.1 is downloading now.

GBH reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 27, 2006

im going to give it a 5, its so easy to use, it doesnt crash anywhere near as much as certain people claim, and I love the download album artwork option and the new artwork preview in v7

altho its bloaty as all hell in v7 I dont care its eye candy, if I didnt want eye candy i would use winamp.

mjm01010101 reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 27, 2006

The quality of this software has actually gone downhill over the years. Bloat, crashes during install/first run, inability to burn CD's under limited user rights when before it worked.

I begrudglingly install this where needed, but otherwise I avoid at all costs.

This version fixed a universally buggy 7.0, so I give it an extra point for that.

crowbar82 reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 27, 2006

Desides

I dont agree with you. The v7 is VERRY, VERRY bad and its full with buggs.

Desides reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 27, 2006

From the reviews I've read, it seems people hate iTunes simply because they don't like Apple. Sad.

7.0 is a good release, and 7.0.1 should hopefully fix the reported issues people have been experiencing.

Daddy_Spank reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 27, 2006

What a stupid program and waste of resources on a computer... (yeah please go ahead and flame me)

gate1975mlm reviewed v7.0.1 on Sep 27, 2006

I hope this update fixes lots of bugs!

Aires reviewed v7.0 on Sep 15, 2006

I wanted to put a film onto my iPod and despite doing it time and time again - it did not work! I used Anapod and it worked perfectly first time. Avoid this junk!!

aepasa reviewed v7.0 on Sep 14, 2006

Apple, please give my "eye" interface back.
Thank You

abear27 reviewed v7.0 on Sep 13, 2006

There are alternatives, but I can't honestly see anything else that really compares. iTunes does an excellent job of organizing my music library.

I haven't had any problems with this release at all.

improvelence reviewed v7.0 on Sep 13, 2006

I am just happy it works on 64 bit XP again. Its bloated but I cant live without it now. I did notice a few clicks in my sound while it was updating my library...so it gets a 4 because my dual core system with 4 gigs of ram should be able to handle it.

Note. It's much faster on macs....

Also, does anyone know if CD burning works in X64 now without having to go and download the seperate gear 64 bit aspi drivers? I already had them installed so I dont know if it does or not and I am too lazy to uninstall and find out.

alanpalmer reviewed v7.0 on Sep 13, 2006

As others have said, it takes up too much space and uses too much RAM. The install of iTunes took about 30 seconds on my machine, but the (unwanted) install of QuickTime took about 5 minutes. I've no idea what version I had before; it was installed by the previous version of iTunes and I've never looked at it. Minor note: it had lost by username and password to the iTunes store after the upgrade. If such basic details are overlooked, what else? That said, I quite like the new choices of interface.

testman reviewed v7.0 on Sep 13, 2006

Orbiting234, to be fair, it's not Apple's fault, it's a symptom of Windows Installer, which seemingly does this when you first launch an application that's installed using it (it's done this for me for Windows Live (MSN) Messenger). However, you can move the shortcut after you have launched it and it won't try to add it back again.

igal_alkon reviewed v7.0 on Sep 13, 2006

Well... it Works fine on 64-bit XP, so it seems, don't get anymore crap error like in version 6.

but damn, 60MB of ram? and it really feels slow, like i have 1GB of ram, and pretty fast CPU, but they just turned this one into a godzilla.

Captain Hook reviewed v7.0 on Sep 13, 2006

Urrk... Back to version 6 again.
It feels to me that this is Bloatware, Adware and not what I expected to my iPod at all.

I wonder if Apple has found out that they really lives and makes money from their customers.

As a customer I feel like that I am getting fooled with all this crapware they put in into iTunes.

All the time I have to log in, getting a account and buy, buy, buy this and that and bla, bla, bla.

To much crap here. I just want to put my music and videos on my iPod. I don't at all need all the crap in my iTune.
I want to have my on control what I WANT in it!

sQin reviewed v7.0 on Sep 13, 2006

v6 design was better, overall performance was faster. Now with some new features implemented, itunes v7 became so slow. Look at WMP: since v9 it becomes faster and faster. Even album art view doesn't slow down performance.

kindbud1 reviewed v7.0 on Sep 12, 2006

piece of sh*t. can't even install it.

“The installer encountered errors before iTunes could be configured”.

IgnacioJN reviewed v7.0 on Sep 12, 2006

It's nice, I like it.

But it really takes a lot of resources, specially when you add multiple folders to the library.

Erator reviewed v7.0 on Sep 12, 2006

Lot's of new features!

New in iTunes 7:

*Movies

Buy Disney films from the iTunes Store and go to the movies without leaving your comfy chair.

*Cover Flow

With Cover Flow, you can flip through your digital music and video collection just as you would CDs.

*Automatic Album Art

As long as you have an iTunes Store account, iTunes will automatically fetch available album art for any CD you imported to iTunes.

*New User Interface

Enjoy better views, an improved Source List, and easier way to navigate your digital entertainment collection.

*iPod Games

Just $4.99 in the iTunes Store, iPod games give you hours of fun.

*iPod Summary

Get at-a-glance information about everything on your iPod. iPod summary chart.

*Download Manager

Make the most of your time by telling iTunes in what order to download content from the iTunes Store.

*Higher Video Resolution

Every movie or TV show you buy from the iTunes store downloads at 640 by 480 pixels: four times better than before.

*Onscreen Video Controls

Play all your iTunes video on a brand-new interface that gives you more control, even at full screen.

*Multiple Libraries

Build your collection over multiple libraries, and keep them on different hard drives to save space.

*Library Backup

A new “Back Up to Disc” menu lets you easily back up your entire iTunes library to CD or DVD.

*Gapless Playback

Live albums, classical works, or any work that sounds best when it’s continuous, now seamlessly transitions from one song to another.

*Ratings and Parental Controls

View ratings on the iTunes Store and filter out music, movies, and TV shows you don’t want kids to access.

darkpepe reviewed v7.0 on Sep 12, 2006

Piece of crap. The only reason U would want to use this was to buy DRMed crippled 1$ rip off songs.

gzapata reviewed v7.0 on Sep 12, 2006

I like the Album Art thing. But, it doesn't work with my iPod. From the iPod I can't get an artwork, or when i pass from my library to the iPod, the artwork disapears. Also, from the iPod the different views, like from the iTunes library. I have the iPod 30GB photo. Anyone else with these problems?

tdebug reviewed v7.0 on Sep 12, 2006

destroyed my MP3 collection.
MustDieWare.
Beware to use.

pjb reviewed v7.0 on Sep 12, 2006

Seems to work ok. Slight UI change which is nice.
Plays without any problems here.

ZenoLabs reviewed v7.0 on Sep 12, 2006

Bloatware. With Quicktime. Nothing more to say.

deadmonkey reviewed v7.0 on Sep 12, 2006

Hmm. iTunes 6 has been fine but 7 keeps skipping really badly during playback. Can't be my system as it has happened on two seperate computers both of a very high spec. Back to 6 for now I guess. It is a shame as the album art thing is very nice.

update: to sophist_dreams - actually it is skipping on MP3s I made myself with iTunes as well as MP4 tracks bought from ITMS. These tracks play fine in Itunes 6, WinAmp and Windows Media Player so it appears to be a iTunes 7 problem.

update 2: looks like it is a known bug ... http://discussions.apple...ad.jspa?threadID=637696

Banquo reviewed v7.0 on Sep 12, 2006

I'd love to have tried it out, but it won't even work.

"The iTunes application could not be opened. An unknown error occurred."

Great Windows programming as usual, Apple.

awx reviewed v7.0 on Sep 12, 2006

They toned down the Aqua look in v7!

ajua reviewed v7.0 on Sep 12, 2006

First: It uses tons of RAM (not that important nowadays but seems that it doesnt matter to developer to improve it)
Second: The features itself are just basic compare with other players.
Third: The need to install Quicktime (wich really sucks) is a very negative thing.
Fourth: The best media player/manager is J. River Media Center, Although many reviewers of other players calls them iTunes clone or iTunes alternative, the real thruth is that Media Center or other Players have been around for several years with that feautures. So the thruth is that iTunes is a Media Center clone, not the other way around.
Fifth: The lack of basic things such as remove files from databse that no longer exists in your hard drive is really annoying.

For the best experience of music management/playing use Media Center from J. River its not expensive and it has tons of feautures and flexibility to siut your needs.

castiglione reviewed v7.0 on Sep 12, 2006

cricri_pingouin, you know that you can drag/drop files into the library? So, you don't NEED to click on File -> Add to Library.

This version (7.0) is a leap-and-bound improvement over the others.. it even does gapless playback.

Desides reviewed v7.0 on Sep 12, 2006

"Why can't I just browse my PC folders to where I have my music? Why do I have to right click and do "Add to playlist" to actually copy files on the thingy?"

Because that's counter-intuitive. A more efficient method is, you know, dragging and dropping your music folder into the iTunes window. Which it then automatically catalogs and lists under Library. You expected complexity where none exists (loading music via My Computer?!), therefore created problems for yourself.

iTunes works wonderfully, the integrated music store is well-built, and the interface is streamlined and simple. I installed iTunes 7 a little while ago (upgrading from 6), and it's still great. I'd rank it a 5, but the Library view gets a little sluggish at times.

cricri_pingouin reviewed v6.0.5 on Sep 8, 2006

Right, so the missus got an iPod Shuffle. Thanks God she got it for free.
I have an iRiver myself. How do you put music on it? Easy, you plug it on ANY computer, it's detected as a drive, you simply copy/paste songs on it (MP3, OGG, whatever), you unplug it and presto: you can play your music. You can also use it as a pen drive to carry documents.
So the Shuffle: I plug it on USB, it detects it, I copy songs on it. Happy until there.
I try to read the song: error. Right, maybe the MP3 is faulty? So I transfer another one. Error. Right, so it looks like I definitely need to install iTunes, as I originally feared.
I really really didn't want, but hey, no option heh? On a second thought, I can't recall seeing any Apple product giving you an option.
So anyway, I come here to get iTunes. WHAT? 35MB? Just to allow me to copy music on the thing? Not happy, but again, do I have a choice.
So I install it. WHAT? Why the heck does it want to install Quicktime? Is that a darn video player? No! Is there an option NOT to install Quicktime that I do not need nor I want? Of course not!
So I install it, say "No" to 20 questions asking me if I want to do lots of things that I sure as hell didn't want to do. Thanks God it asks for that (well, it didn't ask about connecting to the internet, but the firewall blocked it).
Now I'm in. The interface is rubbish, confusing and counter intuitive. Why can't I just browse my PC folders to where I have my music? Why do I have to right click and do "Add to playlist" to actually copy files on the thingy?
Next, I was curious. What format are the files on the thingy now? Are they smaller? So I open the file explorer... and the iPod which was there as a drive before I installed iTunes isn't showing anymore!
I close iTunes, unplug and plug back the shuffle thingy hoping to see it back in the file explorer... oh, iTunes fires up! I can't recall it asking "do you you to launch on connecting the shuffle". Of course, it didn't ask. And of course, no way to see the thing in explorer anymore. Oh wait, so I can't put other files anymore? Documents and stuff?
I'm off to try Yamipod now.

tickleonthetum reviewed v6.0.5 on Aug 25, 2006

This is a great program, but, I've only given ita 3 because: not every one want's or can afford an Apple iPod. They are very expensive compared to other MP3 players, and so iTunes needs to expand it's support on the Windows OS to include othe makes and standards. I, and most other peaople, are not going to buy an expensive MP3 player just because the software is cool. Secondly it pushes it's iTunes store, etc. just a little to much. I never buy music or video over the net and never will. I would like to be able to install it without those features, as they are never going to convert me...

Letterman reviewed v6.0.5 on Jul 26, 2006

I can't understand why so many low ratings. It is slow? Sure! Waste memory? Absolutely!! It does what it should do? Yes, it does.

Great application to get your library organized.

You bet it has it's flaws but don't use it as a "one-file-player". For that, use Media Player Classic. If you want to see your library, create playlists, podcasting and so, use iTunes.

kise reviewed v6.0.5 on Jul 21, 2006

I love ITunes for my Ipod but the version update 6.0.5 broke my 6.0.3 version. I got several errorcodes from quicktime and Itunes after the update.

I got runtime code 0X80040707 for QT:s .CPL file, I got Application Error code -3 for QT.EXE and some ITunes.exe Application Error code that I didn't even bouther debug.

A lot of people suggested installing/uninstalling/removing codecs/removing Windows KB KB908531 etc for solutions, but nothing helped me.

Then I tried to (1) Install Itunes (with QT), (2) Ignored the Error codes, (3) installed QuickTime Alternative 1.71 (without removing original QT)

And Now It Works! hope this helps someone.
Still I Give Itunes 3/5 instead of 5/5 cause the crappy boundled QuickTime crash.

oliver.cam reviewed v6.0.5 on Jul 9, 2006

Doesn't install on Windows XP Professional 64-bit. :(

improvelence reviewed v6.0.5 on Jul 7, 2006

Wow...they decided to make this update not work on a 64 bit version of windows....what the hell apple.

Looks like I am stuck with 6.4

bbfc reviewed v6.0.5 on Jun 30, 2006

It may not be the best 'player' out there, but the Music Store is fantastic and loaded with exclusives, plus the software is simple to use.

spiked reviewed v6.0.5 on Jun 30, 2006

The ONLY thing good about iTunes is that it lets you access the iTunes Store. Although it's not the perfect online music store, it's mature, popular, and pretty decent overall. As of iTunes, the GUI bites and the installer bites more. Sure, you can uninstall QuickTime afterwards and replace it with QuickTime Alternative, but you can't disable the iPod Helper Service even if you don't have an iPod because every time you launch iTunes, it re-enables and starts it. Think you're clever by deleting the cached MSI? Sorry, at every launch, iTunes directly (not via MSI-based shortcut) invokes repair on itself, in order to enforce its association with the context menu of audio CDs (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AudioCD\shell) and you can't turn this off. Then there's the Gear ASPI driver it installs to support its CD burning. Don't want to use iTunes for burning? Apple doesn't care. You get what Apple decides you should get, and your computer should work the way Apple decides it should.

Gig-E reviewed v6.0.5 on Jun 30, 2006

The very first version was pretty good. Did the basics, sync, play and was really good for mass ID3 editing. The new versions trys to do too much. Hangs while try to drag and drop filenames and mandatory use of quicktime is rediculous. Overdone on integration with the store and you're just out of luck if you forget to deauthorize your PCs before formatting. Too bad, it used to be a good program. I'm running out of choices for players, they're all getting bloated, even winamp is going way downhill.

spear^se reviewed v6.0.5 on Jun 30, 2006

Bloatware since the firstversion Apple just add more stuff to it but dont spend a minute to optimze the code thats sad since i like the interface over most other programs
but as it iTunes are useless to me to laggy

ajua reviewed v6.0.5 on Jun 30, 2006

thousands of users say that many other programs are "iTune clones" but no matter the ignorance, it sucks big time. it doesnt even have a "remove" missing files from library wich is a pretty standard feature nowadays. the mother (or father) of all library enabled programs out there is J. River Media Center. you just have to try it to see what you have been missing if you use iTunes (wich is a Media Center clone in all the extension of the word). the ram usage of itunes is an insult for users since many programs with the same (or more) features only need 10-20 mb of ram.

ZenoLabs reviewed v6.0.5 on Jun 30, 2006

Bloatware.

Pixelsmack reviewed v6.0.5 on Jun 30, 2006

I have 2200 sonngs, my buddy has over 14,000 songs. iTunes is the best hands down. Tried TOO MANY others.

But I also admit we are both a fan of the music store and videos, so the integration is gnarly.

lwcc reviewed v6.0.5 on Jun 29, 2006

I haven't seen a better app for organising tons of music. The reviews saying it lags once you get to 1000 tunes are nonsense, since I have about 4000 tunes.

I assume most people who complain never clicked the "Browse" button... or just hate Apple.

GS5 reviewed v6.0.5 on Jun 29, 2006

Itunes for windows sux big time. Winamp's media library kicks itunes a** and so does mediamonkey. But I guess mac users are use to mediocrity. (sorry macheads but I just couldn't resist)heheh ;-)

Banquo reviewed v6.0.5 on Jun 29, 2006

Forgie, QuickTime is still available seperately. As for iTunes, I can't figure out how Apple who makes such good software for their own platform does such a lousy job with Windows. Do they intentionally write crappy programs trying to make Windows look bad?

zridling reviewed v6.0.5 on Jun 29, 2006

I didn't think Apple could beat AOL for worst app ever. But if this is what apple people like, I fell sorry for them. Like QuickTime, this is a virus, not a program.

pwned32 reviewed v6.0.5 on Jun 29, 2006

lags like crazy when you have alot of songs. i only use this becuase i have to for my ipod.. this is slow as hell. the new windows media player is very good and much quicker than this, it also orginizes the library much better. too bad people are forced to use this shiney turd, and too bad it forces us to install quicktime.

spear^se reviewed v6.0.4.2 on Jun 24, 2006

Nice interface with bad code more than 1000 mp3's from my orginal cd's laggs down my computer
Intel Pentium 4 HT @ 1GB ram // stay away from this

hellrazor238 reviewed v6.0.4.2 on May 17, 2006

this program sucks $0.99 per song or $1.99 for most videos plus most of the good songs are performed live and they suck but at the rate i download songs i would have paid like $450 and and you could get better quatily downloads for FREE from limewire bearshare etc.

photonboy reviewed v6.0.4.2 on May 9, 2006

-Pro: good, basic audio player and all that most people need to play, burn or upload to their portable MP3 player
-con: needs better "watch folder" capability for when folders are deleted or changed

OAKsider reviewed v6.0.4.2 on May 4, 2006

A clean, well-designed, professional media player. Many options, great organization, and works well both on Macs and Wins. My Favorite Audio Player. Highly Recommended.

war593122 reviewed v6.0.4.2 on May 4, 2006

When playing a video it uses 100% cpu for about 5 secs. :( Annorying as hell. And even the interface freezes for about 30secs randomly.

alanpalmer reviewed v6.0.4.2 on May 4, 2006

Excellent, works seamlessly with my iPod. It's also used by me to play background music while I'm working at the PC, and is as good if not bettter than the other media players I've found. I have found that a few MP3s fail to import, however, although they work fine in other players.

Zankur reviewed v6.0.4.2 on May 4, 2006

Well,very good player....but itunes still forces on ur face its quicktime player and also more importantly its good only for ppl where itunes music download services are available,whats the use of this player otherwise?????
There are many trimmed apps which do the same....so 5/5 if ur in region where music downloading services are available,and 1/5 where it doesn't...

UTAKER reviewed v6.0.4.2 on May 4, 2006

EXCELLENT PROGRAM, does what it is supposed to do
but still more music format is needed, atleast, so that one can convert from other formats to m4a and not only a few that it currently supports. Also, a little tweaking so it takes less resources would be nice.

ncoday reviewed v6.0.4.2 on May 4, 2006

This version is not new?? Its been available for a long time now.

stopbuggingme reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 29, 2006

I had iTunes 6.0.3. When tried to install 6.0.4, the setup program kept trying to look for iTunes.msi (the install package) so I directed it to where iTunes.msi was, but the setup program rejected it saying it's not the right package. So I'm going back down to 6.0.3 instead.

Erator reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 6, 2006

Great freeware program!
One suggestion is a built-in updater that can update the program without having to download the whole installation every time there is a minor release like 6.0.3 to 6.0.4.
Also the ability for real gapless playback, especially for Trance tracks that bleed into the other.

JSchwage reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 5, 2006

Still my number one choice in media players. I do have to admit though that iTunes isn't very nice when it comes to memory usage. I'm only giving iTunes 4 stars for it's memory usage.

oopl reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 3, 2006

iTunes' core is Quicktime. That's why they bundle it together. If Quicktime really bothers you, go ahead and download Quicktime Alternative. That's what I do.

forgie reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 2, 2006

Without an option not to install Quicktime, iTunes will never be a viable choice.

jshurst reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 2, 2006

I'm middle of the road on iTunes. I use it with my ipod and it works great. The Visualizer has stunning grafix, not that I use it much. I don't, however, use it as my default music player. People are right when they say that it is a memory resource hog. I also hate Quicktime. I disable it from startup everytime I upgrade iTunes (to do that go to Start->Run (type in regedit). Drill down to the following path "My Computer\HKEY_LOCALMACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" then delete qttask (or quicktimetask, something like that, can't quite remember). At least it doesn't startup any more when the computer boots.

I do love the way it organizes music, just don't use it as your default player.

xoineg reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 2, 2006

I have been using iTunes since it came out for the Mac (I used it for windows too) It is a great piece of software. Helps me keep music organized, and have never had any problems syncing with the iPod. Other software like Musicmatch, windows media player or real player don't even come close to the way iTunes handles your music. It is very simple to use and you can create different formats from CD's. You don't have to use the apple codec, but you have the choice of using mp3 format at very different rates. The best feature is the ability to search your hard drive for music and organized all into one big folder. If you don't have the name of the artist you can just click and change it or select multiple files and change the name of the artist at the same time., which helps keep the files organized on your pc. This is a great addition to your computer even if you don't have an iPod.

sQin reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 2, 2006

this version is noticeably faster than 6.0.3 on my slow machine

photonboy reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 2, 2006

I'm not sure why people are reporting this as using much cpu cycles.

I imagine that onboard sound is a lot less efficient than a sound card.

When I use Itunes with my Athlon 3000+ (1.8GHz) CPU and Creative Audigy sound card my CPU usage was approximately 1%(as seen in the Task Manager) and that's when my CPU is only running at 1000MHz. So iTunes was only using 10MHz to play my mp3 files!! I don't think that is very resource intensive, do you?

AntiochMedia reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 2, 2006

A terrible resource hog and a brilliant media player wrapped into one!

I would truly love to see Apple focus on fine tuning their Windows-Version of iTunes to be as fast as the native Apple-version.

I love iTunes and use both iTunes and WinAMP because both applications are creatively designed to enhance the experience of using your computer as a multimedia system. iTunes's built in music store doubles (as Amazon does) as being a beautiful catalog of music to browse through from time to time and listen to samples.

All in all, Apple have a great product. Better when run on a Mac though =). It's still worth a 4 as the performance issues are only an issue to users with a slower CPU.

kermalou reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 2, 2006

if you people hate it, why use it and complain.

itunes is my fav. audio player because it organizes my music exactly how i want it......blaxima, if you dont have somethine nice to say dont say it.

Blaxima reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 1, 2006

I really can't understand how people embrace apple over Microsoft when they're really the same sh8 different pile. Apple might actually be worse than MS when it comes to strong arming you with thier software. I don't want to install Quick Time I already got the codecs, well to bad cuz they want to force feed me this resource pig and its friend. No other software I have used is a bigger pain to deal with when it comes to forcing itself to load on start up. Also every other MP3 player on the market does not require you to install thier software to make it work.
As a audio player itunes is not feature rich enough for the amount of memory it uses. Did I mention how sh8 this is.

Jose reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 1, 2006

Has 100% cpu when trying to update sites; very bad if the site is busy or down. UI has lots of useablity problems (bad contrast on grids, arrows for navigation links aren't links). Looks like it was written by a high schooler. Good thing its free because it's garbage.

improvelence reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 1, 2006

I am very anal when it comes to my audio apps (i have probably tried allmost all of them for both windows, mac and linux...used winamp for years and years, but Itunes is just so addictive...it truly is a great piece of software. Itunes also runs great in wine. As much as I hate to say this, I find this piece of Apple software the most used app on my pc. Itunes is NOT that slow. Opens in a couple seconds on my pc, if it is bogging your system down then it is time to upgrade, plain and simple. One problem I have with itunes is that it takes a while to actually shut itself down and if you close it and then try to open it up too quickly you have to open it again because nothing will happen...but I can live with that since its not too often I close it out just to open it right back up, its usually an accident.

cooldude7273 reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 1, 2006

"iTunes 6.0.4 addresses stability and performance issues over iTunes 6.0.3."

I love iTunes!

mlevit reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 1, 2006

iTunes was and is still very good.

But recently it has been taking up more and more memory with every single new release.

I use iTunes because i have an iPod, and it is very convinient for me to do so.

If anyone out there knows another similar program with the same features as iTunes and can still allow me to manage and upload to my iPod i would greatly appriciate it.

Please email me at m_levit@optusnet.com.au

crashoverride reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 1, 2006

It does what it's supposed to and does it well. Memory use...well it uses a pretty good chunk. The memory usage is a non issue for myself but I think that's worth mentioning for people with limited memory.

bmrowe reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 1, 2006

People that are saying that Itunes is great and it doesnt use 'that' much memory are morons and obviously power users of their computer. There is no way a PC user should allow their memory to get eaten up gradually the longer the program runs; there is no reason for a PC user to be forced to install Quicktime (one of the most bloated players available). And finally there is no reason to have to have all the 'helpers' install themselves to run all the time when they infact are not needed for the program to function. There are millions of other players out there, maybe not as trendy for all you people who NEEDED to have an IPod instead of more functional and better performing players... I think this software needs to be revamped, until then I am counting the days until Songbird is fully functional

CyberDog reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 1, 2006

Way too heavy for a media player. Winamp is extremely light and does just as much as iTunes (and now it can do iPod transfers too :)

Heck, you could even use WMP if you wanted to. There's just no reason to use a resource hog like this when there are many better alternatives.

juhani reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 1, 2006

I like Itunes a lot. Only thing its missing is updating library for missing/deleted files.

aburton261 reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 1, 2006

Itunes is good on my system. I don't think over 1 billion downloads could be wrong. This is the best legal music software. as far as people who post saying it sucks, they just don't like paying for music.

NinjaOfLove reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 1, 2006

To the user below: saying people shouldn't post here if they don't like a piece of software is stupid. This is a review site, not a fan site.

Itunes is pisspoor conpared to many of it's contemporaries....don't like it? Don't post. :-P

tenebrusmke79 reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 1, 2006

That's definitely up to debate, I like iTunes, if you don't, then why post here?

Also, I have never really had to install QT with iTunes for a few months now, since it's updated to the latest version of Quicktime.

gate1975mlm reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 1, 2006

Love itunes!

Todd 13 reviewed v6.0.4 on Mar 1, 2006

iTunes is HORRIBLE. It will lag your system, isntall that horrid excuse for software Quicktime, and try to take over your media files. Oh yeah, and don't even THINK about letting it tag your mp3s. It will totally mess up your tags. Stay away from this crap. Stay far, far, away.

forgie reviewed v6.0.3 on Feb 26, 2006

requires full install of quicktime regardless of if you want it or not. doing the install and then later uninstalling just quicktime will then also break itunes. Terrible.

trebor reviewed v6.0.3 on Feb 16, 2006

It's okay...but have stopped upgrading from 6.01 after reading some very concerning feed-back issues, cum the G doubleU respect for laws and privacy! Not used to play real CD's and firewall+router set to block itunes from all in/out traffic.

yohimbe9 reviewed v6.0.3 on Feb 16, 2006

Its a heavy app and playing videos with it is a resource hog but I still use it as my primary playlist program.

BTW, From:
http://www.apple.com/sup...ownloads/itunes603.html

What’s New in this Version
- iTunes 6.0.3 includes stability and performance improvements over iTunes 6.0.2.

sQin reviewed v6.0.3 on Feb 16, 2006

with over 6000+ tracks takes more than 50 mb. thats too much

UTAKER reviewed v6.0.3 on Feb 16, 2006

*a little bulky (recource taking and big filesize)
*excellent mepg-4 aac audio compression w.r.t. quality
*not an alternatinve that i would want as a media player/audio player yet but excellent for ipod and sync and excellent if you want to convert audio cds to audio format especially m4a (mpeg-4 audio) which i prefer over other companies mpeg-4 audio converters
* a changelog will be very much appreciated so users know whats changed so they can install or choose not to install the minor change in ver [i mean the changelog here on betanews]

IgnacioJN reviewed v6.0.3 on Feb 16, 2006

What's actually new or changed in this version?

darkpepe reviewed v6.0.3 on Feb 16, 2006

Ugly as it can get. Just useful if you want to be ripped off (hello?! 1$ for only one song!?)

NEOBassDUDE reviewed v6.0.3 on Feb 16, 2006

Best program if you have an iPod or want to spend money on music.

Otherwise I'd recommend (insert media player here).

Although I like winamp best.

Muskie reviewed v6.0.3 on Feb 15, 2006

For what it is worth it has seemed to fix a couple issues i was having, (1) it was not showing "what your listning to" in msn messenger now it is again. (2) FoxyTunes extension in firefox was not working and now is again also.

Muskie

Esquire reviewed v6.0.3 on Feb 15, 2006

My iTunes detects the update just fine :P

robocellkid reviewed v6.0.3 on Feb 15, 2006

the iTunes application does not yet update to this when "look for updates" is clicked. i want this becuz i don't want to have to install quicktime when installing 6.0.3

gate1975mlm reviewed v6.0.3 on Feb 15, 2006

The best for listing to your podcasts!

wizard68sc3 reviewed v6.0.3 on Feb 15, 2006

Simply the best

irdepesca572 reviewed v6.0.3 on Feb 15, 2006

What are the changes?

Is this the "billion songs" version?

weirving reviewed v6.0.2 on Feb 4, 2006

Interface is very pretty, well laid out, and easy to use for casual and iPod users. It IS a big download for dial-up users, but REALLY! There is hardly any place left - even out in the sticks here in the Corn Belt - where one can't get a basic DSL or cable package that is nearly as cheap as dial-up! So quit pissing and moaning and join the Twenty-First Century! And yes, the memory and hard drive footprints are quite large, but with 512 MB of RAM or more on even modest machines, and storage at 50 cents a gigabyte and falling, is this really a deal breaker?

I DON'T like this software, though, for the following reasons:

It is a resource hog in terms of the CPU cycles it demands to do its job. If you have the latest dual-core Intel or AMD CPUs, the strain is not bad, but on a typical small home/office box like most of us have, iTunes can slow your machine significantly if you are, for example, listening while working on a Word document and also have copies of Firefox and Thunderbird up too. iTunes is also vulnerable to skipping under heavy multitasking loads. By contrast, Foobar2k NEVER skips. Nor even does the oft-derided RealPlayer 10 (which can also sync with iPod, BTW).

I also REALLY don't like how Apple shoves QuickTime down our throats with every iTunes download. What's more, I don't like the heavy-handed way iTunes wants to take my music files and recopy them into the iTunes folder, imposing its own order on files I have already taken great pains to organize MY WAY in the "My Music" folder. As always and ever, Apple software and Apple computers in general seem to always be telling me - the user - that they know best! Windows may be messier and less elegant to the eye, but it is nothing if not customizable.

Like others, I would really like it if iTunes supported more formats, especially the open-source formats like Ogg-Vorbis and FLAC. But if this is even possible, Apple is MORE hostile to anything open-source than Microsoft. Instead of letting us have FLAC or some other established lossless codecs like Monkey's Audio or Shorten, they saddle us with a thing called "Apple Lossless," a totally closed and proprietary format, ensuring that if you want a lossless compression codec playable through iTunes, you take theirs or nothing. Windows Media Audio is also often slammed for being proprietary (so, by the way, is MP3 - licensed by the Fraunhoffer Institute), but at least Microsoft will license it out. Apple refuses to do so, making sure that any lossless music files one makes through iTunes for playback either on computer or an iPod, can NEVER be played on a non-Apple device or piece of software. Greedy as always, God forbid anyone else make a buck on software or players that play files originally made in iTunes.

I listen primarily to classical music and opera. The iTunes way of organization is neither flexible enough nor comprehensive enough for this purpose. It allows more flexibility than it at first seems, though, but in the interest of interface cleanliness, Apple does a great job of hiding some of iTunes's cataloguing features. Insofar as cleanliness and elegance detract from functionality, Apple makes a bad trade-off.

One complaint I haven't read from anyone else on this forum is the lack of support for gapless playback of MP3 and AAC. For listeners of classical music, opera, as well as any type of live venue recordings, this is a real problem. Tracks will often go from one to the next without any period of silence in between. So there is an audible and annoying discontinuity as tracks change. One workaround people like me use is to rip the CD to a single image file with a cue sheet. There is only one file, so no discontinuities, and the cue sheet marks off the times of the track changes. This way, players that support cue sheets can play a continuous file with no clicks or hiccups, but still display the track numbers and allow for cueing of individual sections. Foobar2k supports BOTH gapless playback and playback from cue sheets. iTunes supports NEITHER.

Foobar2k has a notoriously simple and rustic - even ugly - interface, but nothing else crams so much useful function into so little space, demanding so little memory and CPU cycles in return. In my view, THAT is what true elegance in software design is about! With iTunes, beauty is truly only skin-deep. iTunes is like the stereotypical CEO trophy wife who expects a Park Avenue apartment, a nice convertible, and a bottomless VISA card, but who can't make a cup of tea and won't even bring you a pill when you have a headache. iTunes sucks up your computer's oxygen, doing too little in return, expecting to get by on charm and good looks.

random173 reviewed v6.0.2 on Jan 23, 2006

rickya100: quicktime is needed to decode/encode aac files :)
but maybe they should offer an alternative download excluding quicktime.

UTAKER reviewed v6.0.2 on Jan 12, 2006

excellent program but needs added support for a few more formats so i can easily convert from them to m4a like flac and monkey audio lossless file format

photonboy reviewed v6.0.2 on Jan 11, 2006

I only have one major complaint. I want the library to reflect the files that I actually have on my hard drive and it doesn't. If I remove any files then iTunes doesn't know this.
I have a free program called WxMusik that has the option to rescan your music directory every time. This option should be there for sure.

darkxiii_ndp reviewed v6.0.2 on Jan 11, 2006

I must say iTunes is great. Simple, nice GUI. But I using winamp now coz iTunes:
- Only support few format.
- Install packet too big.

crashoverride reviewed v6.0.2 on Jan 10, 2006

Music Store doesn't work.

rickya100 reviewed v6.0.2 on Jan 10, 2006

Ok I have to say that i am not the biggest apple fan, don't like their machines, nor did i admire the ipod up until the nano (which just managed to hit my sweetspot).

But when i moved from WMP to iTunes (just to see what it was like) i found a far simpler experience. Too simple at first but i gradually got used to the nice clean interface and only having features that i need.

As for the performance of iTunes it's not a problem for me. (50megs used when playing on a 1 gig system).

The only bad experience i have had with it so far is that a few times now it has given me an error that it can no longer write to the iTunes music library as i don't have sufficient rights (i'm the admin).

One question though, is that whenever iTunes consolidates the library does it copy or move the songs. Consolidation is the solution to the above problem.

Anyway overall a very competent player i just wish apple would cease bundling QT with it.

benZin reviewed v6.0.2 on Jan 10, 2006

bad on windows

tenebrusmke79 reviewed v6.0.2 on Jan 10, 2006

I am an iTunes loyalist, and also a QT loyalist, even though I don't have a Mac. I love both programs, and anyone saying anything bad about either program is just being bitter because they can't enjoy the program.

AlexBR1974 reviewed v6.0.2 on Jan 10, 2006

Forget about this piece of junk!
Get MediaMonkey!

irdepesca572 reviewed v6.0.2 on Jan 10, 2006

"iTunes 6.0.2 includes stability and performance improvements over iTunes 6.0.1."

mrx2811 reviewed v6.0.1 on Jan 9, 2006

I have been a Apple fan because of iTunes . It is the greatest media player . The best feature ( with me ) is Consolidate Library - rearange your music library on hard disc . iTunes search music very quickly ( not as slow as WMP ). iTunes is accustomed to people who have a big music library .

imanino reviewed v6.0.1 on Dec 25, 2005

I would love Itunes, regrettably, it's married to a problematic piece of software known as Quicktime which among other things, installs a real predatory piece of software called qttask.exe which had so much fun on my systems startups in the past (when I loaded QT independently) that I went to QTA. Never got to enjoy Itunes highway because I had to travel down the dirt road of Quick Time. I say to Apple what I say to my friends over at the Behemoth called MS. Stop bundling software. One, one of the bundle programs might be crappy. Two, in any case, I should not have to revamp my file associations to contend with QT when I don't want it anyway...I just wanted access to Itunes. It can be an option, but double dipping like this is what makes things like the Roxio built in communion with WMP endear both products to multimedia fans worldwide.

photonboy reviewed v6.0.1 on Nov 18, 2005

I am now an iTunes fan!!
I didn't realize that you could organize the albums better (edit-show browser). How new is this? I can't believe I missed this feature.

I found another album cover art importer that works better than the one at this site. You have several options.
http://louhi.kempele.fi/...ostil/projects/albumart/
**make sure to download the .exe file for Windows

Jose reviewed v6.0.1 on Nov 9, 2005

iTunes..what can i say about this player..it does have nice interfaces and all that stuff and it also has the online music store..For me one ppl that do not have credit card, this facility will be useless..It doesn't support mpc, flac, ape which are a better quality music rip than the others..Moreover, it takes a lot of memory..I wouldn't have used iTunes at all if not for syncing my iPod with it..overall, not a good media player (maybe for casual users who only listen to mp3 format it's fine..but certainly not for ppl who has large collection of mpc, flac, ape files)

PS: foobar2000 is the best

Zoroaster reviewed v6.0.1 on Oct 24, 2005

Rated 1 because zero is not listed.
I had up to now "tolerated" iTunes - that is, I had purchased music (if binary may ever be called music) - considering I was able, with the appropriate software, to get rid of the detestable DRM and therefore listen to *bought* music (rights) on any support. I have never accepted and will never accept DRM rights' implications and consequences, as well as I have never and will never sell bought music, or even distribute it in any way. But Apple and the whole of music industry is getting frankly excessively pretentious and arrogantly dominating in their conception of rights.
iTunes *bought* and downloaded music, from version 6, has made it even tougher - if not impossible - to evacuate the m4p jailing. Moreover, iTunes as many other softwares, has become bloated: it is fat, excessively ram and cpu consumming. It is led by the idea that more is always better, rather than better being the more we all aspire to.
I have removed this piece of freedom enforcement, and invite anyone who has a similar revolt to mine, to act in consequence.
You may have understood, I believe, I am definetly fed up with iTunes, Apple industry and their junkyard of emotionaly motivated emprisoning software.

UTAKER reviewed v6.0.1 on Oct 21, 2005

spiffyjeff, you certainly have not tested mpeg-4 audio in depth

it is an excelllent thing especially for ipod users but not limited to it, you can encode into m4a which is pretty good w.r.t. size and a standard unlike the closed windows standards like wma

note to the one who posted this news:
plz add a changelog so we know what changed before downloading

KayNine reviewed v6.0.1 on Oct 21, 2005

Ignored iTunes, used MMJB before, but started using iTunes seriouly when I bought my iPod. Since then, I really love the way iTunes manages my collection.

Partly because it is quite identical to the iPod navigation/ordering. It is so well thought-through, just like my brain always worked, when I searched for music to listen to.

Also the design is great! And despite any critics on it: I prefer the changed look since v5! And there were some very useful features added, i.e. folders in the left pane.

To make it short: definitly 5 stars!!!

pforkes reviewed v6.0.1 on Oct 21, 2005

iTune 5.0 and later sucks if you are an Outlook 2003 user. This is the 4th version (5.0, 5.01, 6.0 and now 6.01) that doesn't sync properly with Outlook 2003. I guess Apple just doesn't care.

Zankur reviewed v6.0.1 on Oct 20, 2005

I think i will have to improve upon my review for itunes 5,by saying its the best comprehansive media player available with gr8 sound,burning ability and something for everybody!

spiffyjeff reviewed v6.0.1 on Oct 20, 2005

"It is the WORST music player ever!
AAC format is ok at low bitrates, but nothing "comparable to OGG! OGG is the best at any bitrate! AAC does sound better than MP3, but it is only good if you are stupid enough to buy an IPOD..."

I agree with that, I've tested ogg, quality setting 0-10 they all sound incredible. Since then, I've ripped my cd collection to ogg, and bought an iaudio from newegg.com. iaudio is a competitor to ipod, and though it doesn't support aac, it does support mp3, ogg, flac, wav, wma, and mpeg, along with jpg and txt. I'm sure there will be a firmware update to support aac, lets see apple support this much, in even a simple player such as iTunes!

AntiochMedia reviewed v6.0.1 on Oct 20, 2005

I think it's great. The interface is well thought out and more intuitive and user-friendly than any other media playing application for a novice user. Combined with an iPod, this is a fantastic application that thousands of people enjoy.

I use WinAMP because I do not have an iPod. I used iTunes to purchase music for my wedding and occasionally purchase a song here or there when iTunes offers a rare b-side etc.

The people complaining about the AAC format on here are TROLLing. I personally prefer MP3 because it's the most compatible along the board and I am not fanatical enough to start ranting about using FLAC or OGG files for my audio for quality. My headphones aren't high quality and I use a laptop.

One real issue expressed here is that Apple's PC software design architecture is inherently slow, clunky, and more resource hungry than an application like WinAMP, foobar, or [insert application with cult-following here]. However, for most people willing to purchase an iPod and use their computer for purchasing music, this isn't as much of an issue as they aren't managing several thousand song files.

It would be nice if Apple pushed forward for better PC-native applications. I know that in comparison to Y! Music Engine, iTunes actually runs better on my computer -- which makes me disappointed in Y! -- if anything, iTunes's performance at least provides competitors with a way to get at least one edge.

AlexBR1974 reviewed v6.0.1 on Oct 20, 2005

It is the WORST music player ever!
AAC format is ok at low bitrates, but nothing comparable to OGG! OGG is the best at any bitrate! AAC does sound better than MP3, but it is only good if you are stupid enough to buy an IPOD.
ITunes has very poor sound quality.
Lousy set of options. Very low-configurable.
You best choice, and no doubt about it, is to use MediaMonkey to rip or convert.
And I use WinAmp with DFX plugin to play my music. Sounds awesome...
If you don´t like winamp, ok... use some other player, but be sure to use one compatible with DFX. You will get the best sound possible.

Banquo reviewed v6.0.1 on Oct 20, 2005

Working fine, seems snappier than the 5.x versions though I preferred the older style. SamiChang, can I use the iTunes music store with those programs? I didn't think so TROLL.

irdepesca572 reviewed v6.0.1 on Oct 20, 2005

It says in the readme:
"iTunes 6.0.1 features several stability improvements over iTunes 6."

SamiChang reviewed v6.0.1 on Oct 20, 2005

omfg!! who the hell need this cr@p when there is Foobar2000 and XMPlay?

Banquo:

The problem is do you ever buy music from the music store?

orizng reviewed v6.0.1 on Oct 20, 2005

slow as hell, as a media player, it cost 2-3 times of RAM and CPU as real player, media player,almost 5 times of winamo 5.1, whats the point?

aerthling reviewed v6.0 on Oct 16, 2005

It looks like they've done something about the memory guzzling. iTunes is using around 7-15Mb now, compared to the 30-40MB iTunes 4 & 5 used to use.

I wish, I wish, I wish the installer would ask before it puts shortcuts in the quicklaunch bar and system tray.

It's quite usable as a music player, and I find it's a great podcast manager.

mattnotley2004 reviewed v6.0 on Oct 13, 2005

umm... ??? ok, im confused... they just released iTunes 5 for Windows less than a month ago, why suddenly a major version number change.

5 to 6 in less than a month?

Still, iTunes is cool, a little buggy and sluggish ATM but time will fix those.

Yogurth reviewed v6.0 on Oct 12, 2005

It is a smartly concieved piece of software as far as usability goes, but very bad performer on Windows and with wrong assumption that everyone that uses it has iPod(installing unnecessary services for non-owners) is very bad. I'll stick to JetAudio for now.

One Loop reviewed v6.0 on Oct 12, 2005

I think that iTunes has only improved as of the later versions. It's got a great music library with a well built playlist system for both manual and "smart" playlists. The iPod syncing is very simple... setup a playlist and it will sync on its own. Sure, it could improve the memory usage, but I won't dock marks for that simply because the features and usability (yes, it has a very easy to use GUI) make it a good product.

yohimbe9 reviewed v6.0 on Oct 12, 2005

I've been using iTunes as my primary player for a while now but I gotta say I think the program is getting more and more sluggish. Even on my friend's 1.5 G4 laptop things are sluggish. He bought an episode of lost and when we played and resized the window it took a while for the UI to catch up to the mouse movements. Apple's got a great product, they just need to spend some time optimizing it now. But I still think its a great all in one media library/online store/etc program.

jennajon reviewed v6.0 on Oct 12, 2005

Dear Orlando:

Not any more.....(regarding your postings of sites to d/l 4.9 version.

MarvinK reviewed v6.0 on Oct 12, 2005

I don't see what all the fuss is about--how can anyone suggest this is bloated!? I mean, Microsoft--a company known for its slim and trim software--can barely squeeze their media player into 11MB. WinAmp--which probably shouldn't even count since it is an AOL software (how can you beat them for bloatedness!?) is 6MB. Even though foobar is only 1MB, the name is probably enough to understand why Apple can't compete with them. Do what you want--but I'm sticking with the 32MB download... and the marginal interface.

Why would anyone use an ipod plugin for winamp or foobar---when they can get their metrosexual fix with iTunes!? Plus, they'll be able to think about just how cool they will be the whole time they wait for the 32MB download!

Orlando reviewed v6.0 on Oct 12, 2005

Indication, you said you would give anything to go back to version 4.9 of iTunes. Well uninstall the version you have now and go back to version 4.9 here...

http://www.versiontracke...sx/10227&vid=214625

or download it from here...

http://reviews.cnet.com/...05-3669_7-20201986.html

Duh.

ServerMechanic reviewed v6.0 on Oct 12, 2005

Works great for me.

I'm even downloading an episode of Desperate Housewives.

Quicktime 7 is great too.

Apple kicks butt.

mjm01010101 reviewed v6.0 on Oct 12, 2005

On my GF's PC, Crashed during the install, and now quicktime doesn't work. I'll deal with this later. Much later.

foobah reviewed v5.0.1 on Sep 29, 2005

Blimey! What are Apple playing at?
On a 3,6ghz machine, 1gib ram, 60+mb ram is totally unacceptable.

There are thousands of players with More functionality than iTunes, using 1/10th of the memory.

I know, who cares with 1gib + ram. Well, I do. And thousands of others. Surely the idea of having more ram is so that apps take up proportionately less, otherwise the benefit of more ram is negated by resource-hog applications.

Springhaaze reviewed v5.0.1 on Sep 24, 2005

This player is cute and all BUT what can it REALLY do. Not much. If you have used iTunes for a while, or for just a short time, I REALLY suggest you check out MediaMonkey. I used to be stuck on iTunes, but after I found MediaMonkey my use of iTunes faded FAST! I mean there is almost nothing that it can't play... FLAC, AAC, AC4, MP3, MP3pro, MP2, MP1, OGG, WAV, WMA, APE. It is truly amazing. You can auto-tag from Amazon with the track/title/artist/album art and all that in a manner of a few clicks! If iTunes does it, then MediaMonkey can do it better! AND WITH A LOT LESS DOWNLOAD AND MEMORY USE! MediaMonkey also has full iPod functionality! I have sampled many player's quality in my quest for greatness and nothing has surpassed MediaMonkey. It is fully customizable and accepts all WinAmp plugins and you can use the built in Monkey's Audio player or if you have winamp installed you can select to use winamp as the player through MediaMonkey. Well enough said, iTunes used to be good, but now it is TOO BIG and TOO hard to run! www.mediamonkey.com! CHECK IT!

indication reviewed v5.0.1 on Sep 24, 2005

iTunes has been messing up ever since I got 5. I would do anything to go back to the stable 4.9 cause I'm tired of getting errors whenever I open up 5.

DudeBoyz reviewed v5.0.1 on Sep 21, 2005

I'm not sure I like the new changes to the interface from 4.9. But bug fixes are good to see I guess. Seems to work just fine.

pforkes reviewed v5.0.1 on Sep 21, 2005

5.0 didn't synchromize my MP3s, nor mr my Contacts and hangs when sync'ing my Calendar.
5.01 has the same problems.
I wish I had stuck wih 4.9.
Obviously not tested by Apple with Outlook 2003.

Birger_nord reviewed v5.0.1 on Sep 21, 2005

Its a great software. But the damn whole-package-downloading-before-updating is so incredible annoying.

Please fix it Apple.!

horsecharles reviewed v5.0.1 on Sep 21, 2005

Various install issues, no support for 9x, 30 megs & ascending w/ every update, DRM...somewhere Steve Jobs is singing that old Paper Lace song: Billy, don't be a hero, come back and make me your wife!!!

photonboy reviewed v5.0.1 on Sep 20, 2005

One major complaint. Updating. If you've updated you know what I mean.

nickpowers101 reviewed v5.0.1 on Sep 20, 2005

The program itself feels a little bulky - I'm sure Apple could do more work to make it more lightweight. That said, it's very functional, incredibly easy to use and has a great user interface.

arossetti reviewed v5.0.1 on Sep 20, 2005

Nice that they axed Bonjour. Bonjour, I guess that's French for good bye...

Zoroaster reviewed v5.0.1 on Sep 20, 2005

I have never had any problems with previous 5.00 version. But I notice that this new 5.01 has removed the Bonjour Service, and that I had myself disabled this service as soon as I saw it : any link?
Otherwise, installing 5.01 over 5.00 was a breeze; even the QuickTime qttask I had removed was not reinstalled, the install having apparently focused only on iTunes... and Bonjour (including its folder in \Program Files\.
Generally speaking, I have the feeling the race is getting to the point of sacrificing quality, but that's another topic I guess...

EDIT for a smile: 'Bonjour' in French means rather 'Hello' but, in a dated form, was also used to say 'Good-bye'.
As the Beatles's sang, "You say Hello, and I say Good-bye..."!

yohimbe9 reviewed v5.0.1 on Sep 20, 2005

linkdup: do you know that Ctrl+M will take you to mini-mode? and in the options (right-click the title bar) you can set it for always on top

UTAKER: According to MacNN (http://www.macnn.com/art...ples.itunes.5.01.update/) it "features several stability improvements"

to me 5 and 4.7 are pretty much the same except for some visual tweaks. i haven't completely explored the new stuff yet and probably won't. but overall, even though it can be a little pokey i still like it as my primary music player.

sweet sassy molassy

ker7099 reviewed v5.0.1 on Sep 20, 2005

I just wanted to add to linkdup's reply to MarvinK. iTunes includes QuickTime when you download it so your not downloading just one 32mb app, but 2 apps bundled together. Hence the larger file size.

linkdup reviewed v5.0.1 on Sep 20, 2005

MarvinK, your a moron.

iTunes is great. My only two beefs with it are that preformance wise it's a little slow, and there is no option to minimise it to the top of the screen like I can with winamp. Where it's always visible but not in the way because it's an unused part of the interface.

Speed apple...... speed. Oh and pull that stick out of your pooper.

edit to yohimbe9:
"linkdup: do you know that Ctrl+M will take you to mini-mode? and in the options (right-click the title bar) you can set it for always on top"

yeah I know about that but you cant make it as skinny vertically. its still WAY to big in that mode. winamp is the size of my title bar. so it's never ever in the way of menus and such.

tc reviewed v5.0.1 on Sep 20, 2005

I love iTunes but ever since I upgraded to 5.0 and even now with 5.0.1, I can no longer burn cds. "Disc burner of software not found..." :(

UTAKER reviewed v5.0.1 on Sep 20, 2005

excellent program
WHERE IS THE CHANGELOG for this release?

MarvinK reviewed v5.0 on Sep 10, 2005

I don't see what all the fuss is about--how can anyone suggest this is bloated!? I mean, Microsoft--a company known for its slim and trim software--can barely squeeze their media player into 11MB. WinAmp--which probably shouldn't even count since it is an AOL software (how can you beat them for bloatedness!?) is 6MB. Even though foobar is only 1MB, the name is probably enough to understand why Apple can't compete with them. Do what you want--but I'm sticking with the 32MB download... and the marginal interface.

Why would anyone use an ipod plugin for winamp or foobar---when they can get their metrosexual fix with iTunes!? Plus, they'll be able to think about just how cool they will be the whole time they wait for the 32MB download!

sQin reviewed v5.0 on Sep 8, 2005

scrolling in playlist is so slow, but memory usage same as winamp 5 on my 256mb machine ~10mb.
btw its design beats all other players

tmservo reviewed v5.0 on Sep 8, 2005

I am pretty unhappy as a registered Quicktime 6.0 Pro owner; install Itunes, you have to take Quicktime 7, and of course, Apple offers no discount at all in going form registered 6.0 to 7.0 quicktime.

nickpowers101 reviewed v5.0 on Sep 8, 2005

It doesn't feel as bloated as the 4.x versions plus the interface is a nice improvement over an interface that was pretty rock solid to start with. Overall, a good media player.

improvelence reviewed v5.0 on Sep 8, 2005

What the hell did they do to the sound quality in this release? I love Itunes but something is seriously wrong with the bass in this release. The new interface is nice though, but I had to screw around with the equalizer for an hour to get it right.

brunok reviewed v5.0 on Sep 8, 2005

It really is a bit bloatware, BUT it has the best library management around. WMP, Winamp, QMP etc don't have a nice library management (actually, they suck). Musicmatch is pretty good, but the playlist sucks. And all those iTunes clones don't have a good ID3tag editor, or they lack iTunes library functions, a good equalizer, artwork, sound quality etc. One of the clones crashed a lot (too many bugs)...

But anyway, 50mb isn't that much...it runs fine here.

Eric20 reviewed v5.0 on Sep 7, 2005

Love the new version, the new interface is alot cleaner looking. And it seems to run faster than previous versions! I dont think iTunes is bloatware at all. Love this version!

netwiz562 reviewed v5.0 on Sep 7, 2005

Even with my 2Gigs of ram, I consider 50 megs of memory used to have a nice music library complete bloatware.

kise reviewed v5.0 on Sep 7, 2005

The User Interface cleanup is nice. That's about all..

The Bonjour service just totally sucks. (http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/bonjour/)

I don't need ITunes Helper Services, QuickTime Service nor Bonjour Services, Ipod Services only.

I Guess 90% of people (99% in EU) ain't using Bonjour.

I agree ITunes 5.0 is bloatware.

Banquo reviewed v5.0 on Sep 7, 2005

Bonjour is a networking service of some kind, most probably for connecting to iPods or other computers running iTunes. I don't know much about it but I do know that I do not need it, nor do I need the iPod service running in the background since I don't even own one.

lwcc reviewed v5.0 on Sep 7, 2005

Regarding the ongoing complaint that iTunes is "bloated", consider this:

Most PCs ship with 1GB of RAM nowadays. iTunes, on my PC with my music library's large database loaded into memory, takes up about 50MB of RAM.

That's only 5% of my physical memory. That is NOT "bloated".

If you want something real to whine about, whine about OGG. (No one cares about OGG, btw.)

arossetti reviewed v5.0 on Sep 7, 2005

ServerMechanic - Burn to an audio CD then rip to mp3. Poof! Of course that assumes that the songs in question have burn rights. Excuse me for a second, someone claiming to be from Apple is at the door... ;)

Not a bad piece of software. It's always been kind of bloated, but it does what it's supposed to do.

lwcc - iTunes is a 33MB download. It won't work without Quicktime 7, which is a 32MB download. In contrast, WMP is an 11MB download, and not many have accused MSFT of writing lean software. Millions of folks are still on dial-up, and "bloat" in this sense is certainly a valid criticism. How much RAM a program uses is actually a poor definition of bloat. In fact, an efficient program would use as much available free memory as possible, to the extent that it will enhance that application's performance.

Zankur reviewed v5.0 on Sep 7, 2005

Itunes is good for users in america and canada where u can download songs*legally*,but otherwiswe wats the use of this 32mb huge software when u have better jukeboxes and media-players like winamp who do better job with no-headaches,only worthwhile stuff is ipod which is must-have!!!!

ServerMechanic reviewed v5.0 on Sep 7, 2005

Just average.

I use iTunes because that's how I download my music. I just went from iTunes 4.9 to 5.0 and I like how 5.0 looks.

However it installed something called "Bonjour" that tried to go into startup but I blocked it.

It took a LONG time to install. I'd say the previous versions (even with quicktime included) have taken about 40 seconds to install. This took about 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Makes you wonder what the heck it's doing for that length of time.

If I could figure out how to move all my locked iTunes music to MP3 format that was no longer protected, I would never use iTunes again.

I would tend to agree with other folks. It's become too bloated.

I also did notice that the bass is messed up. On both my desktop and laptop it's like it's on too much since this new install. What the hell?

crowbar82 reviewed v5.0 on Sep 7, 2005

DarkMana

OMG!! We use it becouse we have a iPod!

acascianelli reviewed v5.0 on Sep 7, 2005

Bloated...

DarkMana reviewed v5.0 on Sep 7, 2005

omg why u use itunes use winamp it so better make faster with music on the cd try again next time apple LOLOL

theheff reviewed v5.0 on Sep 7, 2005

There are a lot of improvements in 5. It seems to be less bulky, better GUI, and just all around quicker. Quicktime comes packaged, which also has a lot of improvements.

flashhh reviewed v4.9 on Aug 24, 2005

The jukebox is great, sound quality is good, but also iTunes is a real biggy.

teebiss reviewed v4.9 on Jun 28, 2005

iTunes has become a big, fat cow. musikCube does everything iTunes does (sans ITMS) and uses way less resources.

improvelence reviewed v4.8 on Jun 24, 2005

There are a lot of things that Itunes has that musikube does not, and vice versa. Itunes is still a better piece of software all around and the network sharing feature is really cool. For those who whine about itunes taking up too much memory....you should be whining about that fact that your PC sucks. Itunes runs fine on my machine and combined with winamp for on the fly playing, it's all I need.

Nikkie reviewed v4.8 on Jun 5, 2005

''What other music player has an interface like iTunes, ability to organzie and search music on the fly''

Musikcube and wxMusik

http://www.musikcube.com/

http://musik.berlios.de/

shaydre944 reviewed v4.8 on May 17, 2005

A great music program. Living in a college dorm makes the sharing feature incredible. I also love the simplicity and the fact that it organizes your folder for you. My only complaint is that the playlists do not let you change the order around, it is either random or you have to put it in there exactly how you want it to be played (or by artist). Great work though, works flawlessly on windows.
-shaydre944

UTAKER reviewed v4.8 on May 11, 2005

Perfect
iTunes and iPod are all you need if you are a music lover but even if you dont own an iPod you will love iTunes; it just gets better time after time
whats changed is a little mystery so as there isnt a changelog that one can find on their website but

It includes new Music Store features and support for transferring contacts and calendars from your computer to your iPod (requires Mac OS X version 10.4 on your computer)

The introduction of playback support for QuickTime video content is a good feature in this release. Apple has something up its sleeve, nonone knows what yet! :P but it must be something good in hardware. Playback of .mov and .mp4 has been added

The Minimize/Title Bug is fixed.

Video music content!!!

It has excellent quality of AAC (m4a) ripping, and yes music is all about quality w.r.t. filesize too

It's an overall good media jukebox.

erehwoN reviewed v4.8 on May 10, 2005

I love iTunes, and here's the most I can find about this update: http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000323042773/

tc reviewed v4.8 on May 10, 2005

Anyone know what's new in this release? I use iTunes as my player but don't know why i should bother updating.

Eric20 reviewed v4.8 on May 10, 2005

I love iTunes, ive used Winamp, and Musicmatch in the past. And since I DO Pay for my music, its a great help to me. Its the best music player ive used so far.. My only complaint would be that I wish It could play .ogg files, and it would be nice if I could convert files to the Mp3 pro format.

danilloOc reviewed v4.8 on May 10, 2005

Using too much memory and how in this world a juckebox / player don't let the user choose the name of the music files and folders.

Another missing feature is a "Playing Now" section on the left panel, so the user can listem a album and can browse the library for other music or manage the media or something like this.

For now i choose MediaMonkey or MusikCube that do all this and use less memory.

zridling reviewed v4.8 on May 9, 2005

Yikes, seriously slow and what a memory hog.

colbyrichison reviewed v4.8 on May 9, 2005

I like how people compair this to Winamp. Don't get me wrong, Winamp was great before AOL bought it. What other music player has an interface like iTunes, ability to organzie and search music on the fly. If you want to see if you have duplicate files, you can do that too! As for the change log, It shows what has been updated when you install. This is a great music player and I can't wait to see what they have next

bigsexy022870 reviewed v4.8 on May 9, 2005

Winzip still is the king. Since i don't pay for music i just have no need for this. I have tried it just for the playing of music. Winamp just sounds much better.

brunok reviewed v4.8 on May 9, 2005

Even though it's really bloated (using 35MB right now) for those people with lots of RAM that really doesn't matter. iTunes is stable, has a nice interface, easy-to-use, rather good ID3 tag editor, fast and organized library system, nice playlist management, easy and reliable ripping and burning, and great sound engine (the EQ and the Sound Enhancer make a difference, I couldn't find a better combinaton with WMP, even with 3rd party plug-ins). I tried MusikCube, but it's just not the same...

AntiochMedia reviewed v4.8 on May 9, 2005

I always enjoy following iTunes ... it's so cute that it's hard to be angry at how poor the performance in the windows port is =)

I'm guessing that v4.8 is a maintenance release that allows new features in the store to function -- but does not include any new features in the application itself --

From the Install screen:

What's new in iTunes 4.8
iTunes 4.8 supports new features on the iTunes Music Store.

ch0jin reviewed v4.8 on May 9, 2005

Lol,
where can I find the changelog?

bretthowell reviewed v4.8 on May 9, 2005

Such simple and intuative browsing, far better in my opinion than the traditional "tree" browsing. But I agree with the previous reviewer and my media player of choice is Window Media Player.

A fantastic and "mature" replacement to iTunes for managing your iPod is Ephod, with the added advantage that you can use it to hook your iPod up to multiple computers without loosing your entire music collection in the process.

Erator reviewed v4.7.1 on Feb 11, 2005

I had always used Winamp since the beginning of MP3s and I have to say that the latest versions of iTunes are excellent, especially when you want to research an artist or album, need to organize your files, update ID3 tags in groups, rip music on the fly into various formats.

For the price, which is FREE, I have to say this piece of software is pearl.

Only improvements I see are:
1) Allowing for extra-long filenames when importing/ripping CD's
2) Re-writting the program in C# or optimizing it to lower it's footprint and increase it's response time (pretty has it's weight)
3) More ripping options when selecting the naming of files.

brunok reviewed v4.7.1 on Jan 12, 2005

iTunes isn't a full-featured player, and it's a big resource consumer. But I noticed that it has a slightly better sound, and the playlist/database management is a lot better than in WMP, Musicmatch, Winamp etc. Plus, it looks great and it never crashed my computer, it's very stable. The ID3 tag management is fairly good too, and everything in iTunes is very simple.

Primis reviewed v4.7.1 on Jan 11, 2005

iTunes really boasts nothing other players don't have. The one nice feature is the simplified ripping and somewhat-simplified organization. WMP already does most of this too though, and not everyone is goign to want this feature or care.

On the other hand though, it's a resource beast in comparison to other players. The memory footprint is often in the 25 MB region, whereas Winamp rarely tops 14 MB and Quintessential Player rarely tops 8 MB. It also has a bad habit of spiking and seizing up all your resources when just trying to switch a track or something -- dumb little things like that.

Unless you absolutely need the simplified ripping and all the extra library management stuff, there's no real reason to us iTunes. The audio output quality is no better than anything else out there (arguable worse in a few areas even), and most of the rest is just bloat to anyone just wanting a good, simple player with good output.

-- Primis.

cristoforo reviewed v4.7 on Nov 30, 2004

Great program! This is the centre of my PC music experience! I dont even own an iPod (yet!). It efficiently plays audio CDs and general music files, great options for ripping audio into files. Great UI and very concise, easy and quick to use.

Needs more work on the "check online for update" feature, which can often cause the software to become unstable. But apart from that excellent!

pjb reviewed v4.7 on Oct 26, 2004

Installation went well. It would be nice if the installation file gave the option to upgrade quicktime, but I guess 4.7 needs the latest version to run correctly. The programme is clear, concise and easy to use.

MrPuddles reviewed v4.7 on Oct 26, 2004

Works even better and can now be minimized to the notification area.

yohimbe9 reviewed v4.7 on Oct 26, 2004

4.7 is mostly the same as the 4.6 unless you have an iPodPhoto. They did add "Show Duplicate Songs" which could have saved me some time last week. But in general its really nice. I still use WinAmp for sigle MP3 files but most of my Albums have been imported into iTunes. At first I didn't like the fact that you couldn't create subfolders from an album but I think it's better that way. Great product - and I'm really happy its free!

lilda8615 reviewed v4.6 on Jun 29, 2004

i dont prefer i tunes id rather use winamp or wmp because itunes has to convert and does it slowly and also there is no minimized control bar lik wmp it alright but i dont prefer or recommend it

Morsel reviewed v4.6 on Jun 10, 2004

I truly like iTunes. One comment in version 4.6...what's with that "Price" tab that can't be removed?! Duh!...

ksramer_stl reviewed v4.6 on Jun 10, 2004

While this may be a good piece of software for surfing, downloading and recording software, it doesn't play nice when uninstalled. After I removed iTunes it blew away my CD drives in the OS. XP reported I had two drives but the driver was corrupted. Thanks to Elby CloneCD (no longer available) I was able to restore the drives.

contranj reviewed v4.5.0.31 on Jun 6, 2004

itunes is great i have an ipod and over 6500 songs and i wouldn't be able to manage all of it in any other program like winamp. winamp was awesome when i had 500 songs but anything over 1000 needs itunes, even if its only for the "keep my music organized" feature.

itunes (playing / organization) + tag&rename (tagging) + soulseek (for downloads) = happy digital music collection

Zankur reviewed v4.5.0.31 on Apr 30, 2004

ok! good quality of sound and good new features,but for countries where downloading music is not available!u wouldn't bet them to download a software of 19mb,when same things available with other players!Pretty useless if u don't wanna download&pay for music!

mmebane reviewed v4.5.0.31 on Apr 28, 2004

Grr... I just downloaded 4.2 last night...

JT_Palmer reviewed v4.5.0.31 on Apr 28, 2004

Also New Lossless Codec included and the ability to import WMA files and encode into AAC...Music Video on Demand, Radio Charts, and iMix...Not bad updates, but they still have room to improve!!!

animecabbit reviewed v4.5.0.31 on Apr 28, 2004

Cool, updated! iTunes program itself doesn't find an update but you can go to apple.com to get it. The update seems ok, I didn't really notice anything new yet. Only glitch I saw was the first time iTunes ran, it flashed in and out of the screen quickly and sorta freaked me out. Thought it crashed! So far, so good! =)

randal2k reviewed v4.2.0.72 on Dec 21, 2003

It's awsome... the sound enhacement is great, the library setup is very cool, it's not resource heavy. this program is great!!

Pizda reviewed v4.2.0.72 on Dec 19, 2003

To quote golbex (below): RealOne clone, but not as buggy.

primalgoo reviewed v4.2.0.72 on Dec 19, 2003

I absolutely love this program and it's definitely my jukebox of choice... But WHY did they remove the button that makes it into the mini player?? Now I have to go into a menu or use a keyboard shortcut??? Why ?? Why would I want to maximize my iTunes ?? I wouldn't I just want that miniplayer button back!! That's why I gave this new version a 4 instead of a perfect 5. Other than taking out that feature this program is perfect and a good way to organize my mp3's!!

Tidus41 reviewed v4.2.0.72 on Dec 19, 2003

Great =)

jywalt reviewed v4.2.0.72 on Dec 18, 2003

I've been a WindowBlinds user for years now.What attracted me to the Stardock products at the time was that Style XP 1.0 wasn't refined,well after using this beta I think I'm going over to Style XP.TGTSoft offers some very good alternatives to Stardock.I think it still has a way to go, the price is right,and you get a great XP look on your desktop.

capnqwest reviewed v4.2.0.72 on Dec 18, 2003

Excellent player. It's a lot more stable than MusicMatch and the interface is great. I just wish it wasn't such a resource hog. Even when it's not loaded it has three different related processes running in the background. I still give it a 5 (Windows).

Alex T. reviewed v4.2.0.72 on Dec 18, 2003

Much better than 4.1.1, runs alot faster, uses less memory. Still needs a minimize to systray option.

zuhair reviewed v4.1.1.54 on Nov 22, 2003

this things rocks man it has many functions the sound just cool.this things is just like music match jukebox but it dose more with the smart play list i can sort my mp3 file and play it easy.this things rocks

pjbm92 reviewed v4.1.1.54 on Nov 20, 2003

The Real Windows Requirements
Windows XP or 2000


450 MHz Pentium class processor or better,


64 MB RAM minimum/256 RAM recommended

goFurShELF reviewed v4.1.1.54 on Nov 10, 2003

well, it's good, even though it's apple. decent interface...nice search feature; although it is reminiscent of Real Player...it's not so buggy or annoying, and it's a good combintion of a live feed player and a local source player / mp3 cat...Not my fav, but one of the top 5

golbex reviewed v4.1.1.54 on Oct 23, 2003

It reminds me of... what was that program?... RealOne! (shudders)

animespy reviewed v4.1.1.54 on Oct 23, 2003

Rather play using M$'s built in player... or even better, Winamp 5. As for the audio quality, everything sounds the same to me, no matter what prog I'm using to play my music. I guess you guys have really awesome speakers and sound cards, cause I personally can't tell. :/

softssa reviewed v4.1.1.54 on Oct 23, 2003

Can't they have a lite version without QuickTime.

Opera can (Without JRE), why can't Apple.
Think Different.

frekio reviewed v4.1.1.54 on Oct 23, 2003

It seems that the people who give this program a low score either just say something stupid like "it sucks!" or have some other random and dumb reason.

Anyways, it is a resource hog, but it's great (especially if you have an ipod). It did a great job in helping me clean up my mp3 id tags, and I like the radio stations etc, etc. If I just want to play mp3s I'll probably use winamp, but this program does a whole lot more than that. Plus the store is great even if it doesn't have everything random type of music on the planet.

ph33rda3mon reviewed v4.1.1.54 on Oct 23, 2003

Very smooth program, runs good. Ive run into problems loading more than 5-6,000 songs into it at one time. Crashes. Also it runs iPodservice.exe and iTuneshelper.exe all the time. But, overall its a smooth program, and it has excellent sound quality.

IanT3cs reviewed v4.1.1.54 on Oct 23, 2003

Had it for 24 hours now, and still enjoying the efficiency and simplicity of it.
Beats Windows media player hands down. And none of this DRM garbage built in either.
If only us pay more Brits could have MP3s for the equivalent of 99cents as in the american music shop! I might even abandon file sharing, but until then, I'll use itunes to play what I've got.And you can easily turn off the shop.
Tried burning my most played songs to CD, and guess what, it worked like a dream. Great at organising and creating groups by multiple filters. Internet radio works much better than any other offering, including the bloated WMP 8. (I won't update to WMP 9 until M.S remove digital rights management)
Great work Apple. Can we have OS X 10 for P.Cs now, PLEASE?

Tenoq reviewed v4.1.1.54 on Oct 23, 2003

Gotta laugh at all the idiots voting a '1' for this, based on the music store feature. This is a SMALL part of a wonderful package. It'd be like judging Winamp on it's ability to play DVDs :P

Very impressed... audio quality is good... i'm having a hard time deciding between this and Winamp5!

CyberInferno reviewed v4.1.1.54 on Oct 23, 2003

iTunes 4 is a program I was greatly anticipating because of its widespread fame in the Mac community. I'm not sure if I'm disappointed or impressed at this point. The only innovative feature (other than the music store that I won't be using) is the sharing feature. It works well across campus, and it's kind of neat being able to listen to others' music legally.

Also, you can't beat the interface for iTunes. It's very attractive, something that foobar2000 can only achieve with some effort (and it's still not as attractive IMO).

However, I have some complaints with it. First of all, on my 2GHz 256mb RAM machine at home, iTunes will skip while playing songs if I minimize or maximize a window while playing. The memory usage is outrageous, averaging about 30 megs (26 for iTunes.exe, 3 for iTunesHelper.exe) for me while playing songs. This drops down to a more reasonable 15 megs (12 iTunes.exe, 3 iTunesHelper.exe) while minimized. My main player is foobar2000, which uses 12 megs while playing and about 3.5 megs minimized. I've never had foobar2000 skip while playing any songs.

The iPod synchronization is great, too. I copied my AAC/MP4 files to the library, and they were immediately added to my iPod. Later, with iTunes shut down, I updated all of the tags on the files on my hard drive to include the total track number. Not only did iTunes notice the change, but it updated the files on my iPod for me. That alone brings the rating up to a 4.

My second rant about iTunes is lack of format support. foobar2000 supports about every format you can think of (if it's not included, there are plug-ins available for it). And the download is still much smaller than iTunes. iTunes doesn't support mpc, ape, flac, or any other well-regarded formats other than MP3, AAC, and WAV.

Third complaint: iTunes doesn't play nice with AAC/MP4 files encoded by Nero. They work perfectly fine in foobar2000 (and on my iPod synched with vPod), but iTunes requires me to unwrap the .mp4 (to get the raw AAC file), rewrap the .mp4, then rename it to .m4a. Fortunately, foobar2000 provides the tools to do this without too much effort.

There are just better tools elsewhere. For ripping, there's nothing better than Exact Audio Copy. For encoding, I like to keep an archived copy of my music in Monkey's Audio, then compress those into whatever formats I choose using foobar2000. iTunes is great at being a simple to use program, and it earns a four with its great iPod synchronization and music sharing features. It could become a five if the memory situation and playback incompatibilities were fixed and more formats were supported.

MrPuddles reviewed v4.1.1.54 on Oct 22, 2003

Works great w/ an ipod... couldn't make things easier. I won't use the Music Store, but it works great w/ my CDs, etc.

moog4 reviewed v4.1.1.54 on Oct 22, 2003

Jesus Christ, This build is even worst than the last one!!

MBeech reviewed v4.1.1.54 on Oct 22, 2003

I don't know what everyone is complaining about with sluggishness, I have 1 GB RAM on a CELERON 2 GHz and it runs fine. No skipping and the store runs great. If I am going to buy music this is the way. I will admit, it is a bit more of a resource hog than Winamp 3...

WickedLester reviewed v4.1.1.54 on Oct 22, 2003

macesoul, You said that you would never install it. If you did not install it then how can you rate it?? I give it a 5.

yohimbe9 reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 18, 2003

for everyone that's just comparing this to Winamp 2 (the MP3 player out there IMHO) please look at the additional features that iTunes gives you. not just playlists, but multiple playlists all in one window. not just a internet radio player, but a collection of dozens of internet radio stations. not just a place to store MP3s, but you can sort by almost any ID3 tag. yes, the program is slower than winamp 2, but it does so much more and does it in a unified interface.

will fisher reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 18, 2003

Its even worse than winamp3.

rdburke reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 17, 2003

I am not into downloading music for a price and you can turn off the iTunes Store feature. This is the best Audio encoding and playback program I have ever used. It also has cd burning feature and the playlists are so simple to create. Try it for yourself.............or not...........but I am convinced....THE BEST!!!
Now if I could just afford an iPod.
Thanks,
R.D.Burke
rdburke@bellsouth.net

macesoul reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 17, 2003

The only thing worse than giving money to the RIAA is having them split it with Apple.

Wouldn't use it. Ever.

Banquo reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 17, 2003

It is not available in other countries yet because there are licensing issues that need to be cleared up. Copyright laws vary from country to country; the RIAA is only applicable to this country and they are the only ones Apple has made a deal with so far. It's not because Apple only does business with people in the "good ole USA". So relax and wait for them to make it available in your country, and try to keep your hatred for the US to a minimum if possible.

robbit reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 17, 2003

Typical, release the software and forget to tell the rest of the world that they can't use it unless you live in the Good ole US of A.

What a load of arse!

pjbm92 reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 17, 2003

It Rocks

pohlman reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 17, 2003

Well... if you have a new machine, I guess. Mine meets the minimum requirements and even with everything else shut down this thing is sloooooow and the music is unlistenable. This is the first program I've ever run across that won't run on my machine (including Adobe Premier and other media editing software that should be quite hefty) and it's a simple media player/browser app? I thought Microsoft was bad for forcing hardware upgrades. I'll stick with emusic and Winamp, thank you.

davtro81 reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 17, 2003

I really like this program, it is user friendly! I really like the preview music feature and the way you can browse your music. The music store first gave me an error message "not enough memory", but this was due to the Norton Internet Security firewall settings. Disable the firewall, connect, and the enable the firewall :-) I don't think the memory is a problem, it doesn't use more than IE. I'm glad it's using RAM instead of hd! If you want to minimize RAM usage you can turn off the win services for ipod and CD burning. Good work!

daverage reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 17, 2003

What a shame. I read all kinds of stuff and the argument was....will it be like quicktime, great on mac and bad on pc. And guess what it is!!. All i can say is 26mb footprint....no thanks. Ephpod and foobar will do the trick for me and put together they only take up 18mb. (3 for foobar and 15 for ephpod)
Shame it could have been the best!

jpalo reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 17, 2003

For bying music this software might be quite good.

For managing your music collection, uploading them to iPod, creating playlists, etc. this program is no good.

To be frank, there are no good programs on Windows for this purpose.

dragondaw reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 17, 2003

This program is sad. i have 1GB of ram. with background apps running i have about 620mb left. and i still can't get to the music store when i click for it. i get this error message "We could not complete your Music Store request. There is not enough memory available". what more does this program need? looks like it's back to Kazaa for me. without getting to the music store to reg. i can't buy anything! argh!

neo1980 reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 17, 2003

I have just one thing to say to those who are complaining. Update Windows XP from MS Updates, upgrade your computer to 21st century products and remove all spyware. then see this program fly

patman reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 17, 2003

I was really looking forward to this program, and it failed to deliver. The first thing it did was wipe everything off my Ipod as it brilliantly synced with my empty music library.. and then proceeded to crash 4 times as I tried to add music to it.

antonbest reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 17, 2003

I'm not a big fan of mac programs pretending to be for windows. This is a slow program and takes up alot of memory waste of time for me

kichik reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 16, 2003

I really don't like this... It works way better on the Mac. On Windows it takes a lot of memory (40MB for just playing an MP3), wastes many CPU cycles (10% just for playing MP3s and 40-50% when browsing the online store), it is slow (just try scrolling some window), songs skip (probably just my old computer but it's not that's slow... I have P3 800mhz and 512MB or RAM) and the download is 19MB! The way I see it, this iTunes version is a bloated and sluggish beta. I wish I could say it's my computer's fault, but similar results were seen even on high end PCs (2+ GHz with 1GB DDR RAM).

tylerj99 reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 16, 2003

does everything it says it will do, and quite well i might add. I've had no problems with the software lagging my computer, the mp3's play perfectly, and the burning option is quite convienant. I'm very impressed. Plus it's cool how it's similar to the OSX version, with the same Aqua appearance and buttons. Maybe one day I'll be able to dual-boot my Dell with OSX!!!!!

dmille6 reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 16, 2003

Does everything promised. It works very well. The new version of Music Match (8.1?) definately improves on the iPod stability and compatibility, but you can tell iTunes was designed for the iPod, its quick,simple,free and it works. what else could you ask for.

hahawoo reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 16, 2003

This feels like a beta, takes a lot of memory, slow UI, skips while playing MP3s!!!

MrPuddles reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 16, 2003

I just got an iPod the other day. iTunes works a lot better than the MusicMatch bundle that comes with the iPod. You can turn off the iTunes store so that you don't have to deal w/ it if you don't want to purchase music. It works just like MusicMatch or Windows Media Player. I prefer WinAmp for simple Mp3 playing, but if you have an iPod or like to catagorize your music, then this software is a must. A+

Zulithe reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 16, 2003

P.S. another memory tip - Unless you plan on burning CDs with iTunes you can disable GEARSecurity in your Services. That is all it seems to be used for.

k3vmo reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 16, 2003

If you want to conserve a little bit of memory, log in to Windows as an admin, go to your list of Services running. There is a service that is installed with iTunes called iPod Service. Stop the service and set it to Disabled (setting it to manual will still allow iTunes to start it up when it starts up). Now you have freed up a little bit of memory! I'm not going to say I'm 100% sure of this fix, but it looks like it works fine for me. Running on WinXP.
Hope this helps some of you complaining of the mem. footprint!

Adidas1532 reviewed v4.1.0.52 on Oct 16, 2003

this is pretty much identical to what you find on the mac. they did a great job porting it to the pc... however i find that it always tops out my memory usage. it used approx. 43k in task manager, vs winamp's 7k footprint. thats the only reason i can find to dock it a star. other than that, definitely recommended.