iTunes for Windows is out

[Asher]

19MB download? Holy bloatware batman! A full install of Winamp is 2.2MB, and it plays videos as well.

The install is typical of the annoying Apple installs we were used to with Quicktime. It doesn't even ask you, it simply installs QuickTime 6.4. Not only that, but it adds some **** to your startup so you have a gloriously useless memory-hogging QuickTime tray icon by default.

It's also somewhat weird how iTunes demanded access to the internet the second I opened it, even at the installation wizard's first screen.

It requires "special" drivers for burning to CDs and DVDs -- huh? What kind of design is this? This also requires a reboot after an install.

The GUI seems to be remarkably inefficient, when I resize the window there is a noticable delay of when I move the mouse to resize and when the window redraws -- and it's choppy when it does so. And the CPU is an Athlon 64 3200+...

It doesn't recognize WMA as an audio format whatsoever, which is somewhat of a pain considering 95% of my audio files are in WMA format. The least they could've done is take a couple hours and simply call DirectSound's WMA decoder, doesn't add to file size nor complicate the program. But I suppose for political reasons they want to shun MS' format and only support MP3 and AAC (no OGG either).

The interface is huge, and virtually uncustomizable. I'm not a fan of the brushed-metal look. There is no equivalent window shade mode (Winamp) or taskbar mode (WMP) I could find, which is annoying for playing it in the background.

It's a resource hog: Playing a simple 4 minute MP3 it uses 32MB of RAM and 3-5% of my Athlon 64 3200+. The exact same song in Winamp 2.91 uses "0%" of my CPU consistently and 7.6MB of RAM.

What am I missing about iTunes' purported greatness?

[Q Classic]

you're missing the fact that it was originally designed to be a mac program.

it's one of the only mac programs capable of doing all it does.

thus, it's great on the mac, but on the pc, where there are numerous lightweight alternatives, many which don't do everything itunes does (do everything badly, or do a few things really well seems to be the design ethic with pcs).

for instance, winamp doesn't have built-in burning capability, nor is it capable of purchasing music.

what it boils down to is this: you and i have been spoiled by the simplicity and light weight of winamp. i believe that you, like me, detest the all-in-one programs, like musicmatch jukebox or kazaa; you probably like windows media player, which i'm not a fan of (too heavy, although the toolbar is nice).

when you stack up any of those programs against a simple player like winamp, they're naturally going to come up lacking.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Q Cubed
for instance, winamp doesn't have built-in burning capability, nor is it capable of purchasing music.

Winamp can purchase music through the MiniBrowser (which is how the iTunes music store works too)

I don't think the excessive bloatiness of iTunes is worth its built in burning capability, since that's available in WMP (which is also far less of a resource hog) or other programs like Nero, Easy CD Creator, etc.

you probably like windows media player, which i'm not a fan of (too heavy, although the toolbar is nice).

WMP is my favorite "all in one" program, but I only use it for ripping my CDs. I use Winamp to play them.

[Spiffor]

The fact they sell music to download in a convenient way. Now, if only they could sell the MP3 file and forget about the Mac-ish crap around, they'd do something really phenomenal.

I suppose Apple will manage to lose its marketshare in the legal-MP3-downloading market of the future, because of all the crap it puts with. As an average consumer, if I have to choose between paying €2 for a bare "Nirvana - Rape me.mp3", or paying €2 for the same file, but only readable with a crappy and obnoxious software, guess what I'll choose ? Not Apple

But ITunes is great in the sense it opens the way to legal and massive music downloading. It is a market of the future,and it is the way music will be ditributed in a few years anyway.

[Q Classic]

Winamp can purchase music through the MiniBrowser (which is how the iTunes music store works too)

well, i stand corrected. i turn off the minibrowser first thing.

I don't think the excessive bloatiness of iTunes is worth its built in burning capability, since that's available in WMP (which is also far less of a resource hog) or other programs like Nero, Easy CD Creator, etc.

i don't think the excessive bloatiness (imho) in wmp is worth it either.
nero all the way, and winamp2. winamp3 is bloaty.

[Asher]

WMP9 uses 8.5MB of RAM and 2% CPU playing the same song.

[Hueij]

Asher is complaining about bloatware? Complaining about a reboot after installing something??

[Asher]

Even WMP9 and Office 2003 don't require you to reboot these days.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Spiffor
The fact they sell music to download in a convenient way. Now, if only they could sell the MP3 file and forget about the Mac-ish crap around, they'd do something really phenomenal.

I suppose Apple will manage to lose its marketshare in the legal-MP3-downloading market of the future, because of all the crap it puts with. As an average consumer, if I have to choose between paying €2 for a bare "Nirvana - Rape me.mp3", or paying €2 for the same file, but only readable with a crappy and obnoxious software, guess what I'll choose ? Not Apple

Um, Spiff... They would be using mp3 if the record companies would allow it. But they aren't: that's why they are using the DRM protected AAC (mp4) format. That's also why all the other legal download services that sell big label music use WMA. The record companies won't let them sell mp3s.

This software isn't really for all Windows users anyway - it's for Windows users who own ipods. Apple won't make that much off the store but they are making heaps from ipod sales.

There was a guy who rang in to a computer show last night on TV and was complaining about all the other services not supporting the ipod. I guess he's happy now.

[Asher]

AAC isn't MP4...

[Agathon]

I thought AAC was the audio layer for mp4. All my ripped AAC files have the extension m4e or something like that.

It doesn't make much difference. mp3 is alright for listening to crappy pop music but if you want reasonable audio quality you have to use WMA or AAC (I've never tried ogg). Ripping at 128kb/s is pretty crap too. I usually use 256 or more.

[Agathon]

I was right:

AAC: MPEG-4 audio

AAC (for Advanced Audio Coding, a big part of the MPEG-4 specification) is the cutting-edge audio codec that’s perfect for the Internet. AAC encoding compresses much more efficiently than older formats like MP3 (which iTunes still supports, by the way), while delivering quality rivaling that of uncompressed CD audio. In fact, some expert listeners have judged AAC audio files compressed at 128 kbps (stereo) to be virtually indistinguishable from the original uncompressed audio source. iTunes 4 and QuickTime (6.2 and higher) are all you need to get started.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/overview.html

[ixnay]

Musicmatch Jukebox now has an online music store with identical prices to Apple's store ($.99/track, $9.99/album). Not sure what format they're in, though, as I haven't tried buying anything from it yet.

edit: Ah, they're WMA tracks.

[Agathon]

Just to show that he's a real idiot, during the unveiling Bono called Steve Jobs, "the Dalai Lama of Integration".

Surely there must be an internet archive of dumbass things said by members of U2

[Agathon]

I thought this was funny

http://www.downhillbattle.org/itunes/