Columnist: ‘Apple’s iTunes is terrible, iPod just a hard disk with a Play button’

99 Comments

Jim Turley, editor in chief of Embedded Systems Programming, a sister publication of Electronic Engineering Times, writes, “Like zillions of others, I’ve got an iPod. But, unlike every other mammal on the planet, I don’t think it’s all that great. Frankly, I don’t get it. What’s the big deal? I’ve had MP3 players before and I think they’re terrific, but the iPod, frankly, is inferior to all of them. It’s just a hard disk with a Play button.”

Turley writes, “iTunes is terrible. It’s absolutely appalling, in my humble opinion. In no time at all, I’d erased all the content I’d laboriously downloaded onto my iPod. Twice…”


(Mac OS X dialog box inspired by MDN Reader “mike” – see Reader Feedback below.)

Turley continues, “The software’s operation is utterly counterintuitive, but with no other user interface it’s the only way to get your $300 hard drive to do anything at all… I could go on and on about how iPod only copies files one direction (from your PC to your iPod, never the other way); or how it obliterates all your content should you casually plug your iPod into someone else’s computer; or how it makes you keep a duplicate copy of every music file on your computer, wasting 20 Gbytes of disk space. Hey, I thought that’s what an MP3 player was for!”

Turley writes, “Alas, these and other glaring mistakes-which afflict no other manufacturer’s products-seem to trouble the general public not at all. They’re all enamored of iPod’s sleek white exterior. Yes, my friends, we have entered the age where high-tech electronics are sold based on the color of the plastic.”

Full article here.

[UPDATE: 8/16, 1:35am ET: Added iTunes dialog box graphic.]
Turley… Turley… Now, where have we heard the name Turley before? Let’s go to the archives… Oh, that’s right! This is the same Jim Turley who, in Mac 2004, was quoted by MacNewsWorld’s Jack M. Germain in an article about Apple’s G5 and servers as saying, “If Apple were to offer servers, it would have to run Linux or some derivative of the Mac OS because Windows is not an option.”

Turley said that only two years after Apple introduced Xserve, the company’s 1U rack-mount server and a mere three years after Apple introduced their Mac OS X Server operating system.

Folks, there are idiots and then there are royal idiots. We present you, King James Turley.

So, now Turley thinks that the iPod is “inferior to all MP3 players,” is nothing more than a “hard disk with a Play button,” and that iTunes is “utterly counterintuitive.” Are we supposed to care what this obviously ignorant and totally misinformed troller for hits thinks? Well, we don’t. And we’re not going to bother refuting his ludicrous statements, either. He insults 21+ million iPod owners as fools who are only “enamored of iPod’s sleek white exterior,” yet he’s the one who erased all the content he’d “laboriously” downloaded onto his iPod. Twice.

In case he ever figures out how to read his email:

Related articles:
A look at the G5 and an analyst who thinks Apple does not offer servers – May 04, 2004

99 Comments

  3. He must be on his way down to becoming a has-been or never-was. Taking pot shots at Apple and its products may be his only way of making some sort of comeback (back to one step below a slug) knowing that he’d be flamed, roasted and boiled in Grape soda….and his name will again become famous

    Reply

  4. “He is a SMART, tech-savvy guy who knows what he is talking about.”

    Nope, wrong. He might be smart, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he knows what he’s talking about. What should have clued you in is that he’s an embedded systems programmer, and probably very good at it. This means that he’s comfortable interacting with silicon at the lowest possible level. It also means that he probably knows jack about human interfaces, which is at the highest possible level. Haven’t you heard all the anecdotes about computer science professors who have no idea how to use a personal computer? Their expertise is theoretical, and in Turley’s case, while I’m sure he could do things in assembler language that would make your eyes pop out and roll across the floor, he probably couldn’t tell you why there’s a menubar at the top of the screen. Someone with his specialized expertise has nothing of value to say about human interfaces.

    This is an opinion, nothing more, and should not be taken as an expert analysis. The major reason why I dismiss this piece as nothing but a rant is the fact that he doesn’t offer valid reasons as to why it’s counter-intuitive. That and the fact that he obviously never read the instructions for his iPod. The reason that he probably found other MP3 players intuitive in his opinion, was that he likely expected them to be complex, and wasn’t disappointed. The simplicity of iPod probably threw him badly. Remember, the area of programming he deals with is so abstruse as to be impenetrable to most humans.

    Breathe, people, breathe. Hyperventilating over a troll is counter-productive. Ignore it and go back to enjoying your wonderful little clickwheel-equipped friends. And remember to play nice with his email; only lower primates hurl feces at people they don’t like.

    Ah, what the hell. Hurl away, citizens.

    Reply

  6. sad thing is there are LOTs of people like him. You see them at the apple store every day, claming their perfectly good iPods are broken. The only thing broken is between these peoples ears….but apple being apple, just blindly gives them new ipods in hopes that they will switch to apple computers.

    Reply

  10. I guess because he is an editor for embedded systems he is used to system with no UI. But the shear illogic of complaining that iTunes is counter-intuitive meaning complicated and then complaining that the iPod is just a hard disk with a push button is counter-intelligent. I guess he wants iTunes to consist of a single “do it” button and the iPod to have lots of flashing lights and buttons and switches. Maybe he should start an engineering firm with Enderley and Turdott.

    Keyword charge, as in I hope he doesn’t try to charge anyone for his utterances.

    Reply

  14. . I could go on and on about how iPod only copies files one direction (from your PC to your iPod, never the other way)

    —

    Ummm… it’s almost as if.. copying your friends MP3’s to your computer would be an easy way to STEAL MUSIC!!!

    Moron

    What?! You deleted your entire library!? What a twit.. !!

    Surely a window pops up if you Select All.. and then hit Delete..

    “Warning.. you are a complete moron.. this will delete all of your library. No good can come from this unless you.. bought a whole bunch of CD’s you hate and .. ripped them to your PC. If this is Turley again, hit OK”

    Reply

  18. Or hey! IN MY GLOVEBOX! I know all the chicks dig my glovebox more now.

    Now if only Alpine could design their head unit navigation as well as the iPod, it wouldn’t be a pain in the ass to find a particular song.

    Reply

  21. I have no problem using as a hard disk. I carry files on it all the time, not just music. I think that iTunes needs a few tweaks here and there, but what can you compare it to? Media Player… Winamp… If this guy Turley thinks that iTunes is counterintuitive… Stick to Media Player. Also, some of these issues would also be eliminated if he took a trip through iTunes Preferences, but then, that would be too much like a competent computer user for this jackass. My iPod is a constant companion, mostly in the car, saving me from the doldrums of inane radio commercials and DJ commentary. Personally, I could have the same effect with satellite radio, but I preferred to pay the one time price for my iPod rather than a monthly recurring. The iPod works, it has taken a beating on the road and still continues to work. I bought my because it was the most cost effective 40GB, reliable MP3 player out there. It hasn’t let me down. I know people that have had Dell Jukeboxes that they had to return because of problems, Flakey Archos and Creative Labs MP3 players as well. Sounds to me like this guy Turley would bitch if he got hung with a new rope. Unfortunately he for the rest of us he has a public venue that he can use to spout his idiocy.

    Reply

  25. So he deleted his iPod’s contents once. And then he goes and does it another time? A real genius.
    I quote the movie “Ruthless People”:
    “This may very well be the stupidest person on the face of the earth. Perhaps we should shoot him?”

    Reply

Reader Feedback

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.