Apple has released iTunes 11.0.3 which offers several new features and improvements, including:
• New MiniPlayer. MiniPlayer now includes a beautiful new view that showcases your album artwork. In addition, a progress bar is now built right into MiniPlayer.
• Improved Songs View. You can now enjoy your album artwork while in Songs view.
• Multi-Disc Albums. Albums with multiple discs now appear as a single album.
• This update also provides performance improvements when searching and sorting large iTunes libraries.
For information on the security content of this update, please visit: support.apple.com/kb/HT1222
iTunes 11.0.3 is available via Software Update and also as a standalone installer.
More info and download link (OS X (187.50 MB) Windows (84.98 MB) Windows64 (86.70 MB)) here.
Thank god… It’s about time they let that bloated useless piece of…OHhhhhh…you mean “release” as in “inflict on non-spotify aware public” ohhhhhhhh.
Apple consistently ignores that change can be a bad thing.
As wonderful and great as we all know, Apple, the company to be is not perfect. Apple does not always hit a home run with the changes it imposes. There is an arrogance about Apple; there always has. Yet, sometimes, “Thinking Different” does not make sense until much later. We are not involved directly with Apples’ master plan. We are the users whom at many times are treated like Lemming though Apple wishes to believe they freed us. And sometimes we just have to accept the change. Computing is always changing. And, I remain trusting, that Apple still is focused to its grass roots upstart, the core values, the DNA of Apple – to empower the rest of us with a simpler computing experience and truly get down to the task at hand.
Html5 vs Flash was major disturbance in the force. Specially for professional coders. Apple just robbed me of my lively hood. I am forced to seek other alternatives. Wait. Oh I see there is a greater importance and major shift as to why this occurred. An entirely new platform and machine had taken the world by storm. And Apple was right. And Apple might always have the best intensions for us all… yet it is not always clear.
iMovie for me became more friendlier and possibly easier for me a hobbyist to use it. Yet my experience, I can not say for sure if the changes incurred a less powerful product over bettering it in the long run. Final Cut Pro X was another major change that caused a backlash in the professional industry. Some believe it made the product less powerful where other think the change invited newcomers to change the learning curve. We can not truly assess where Apple wishes to be and do. Yet, simplification and power to use all is the all encompassing theme still. And more clearly towards the broader consumer market. Not tiny professional niche markets where Apple excelled in the past.
I do not think Apple is perfect. The software and hardware eventually win me over due to tasks becoming simpler. And changing my own habits and adapting to the new. It all takes time and a willingness. However, there is some changes Apple does that I believe the intuitiveness in simplification is lost. The root core belief for Apple is to produce computing experiences that are empowering for the rest of us – to make it intuitive and simple, non-intimidating can be blurry and hard to see.
Still, in the bigger picture of things, all I know is both sides have a good points… and I feel Apple has remained on coarse with its new plans. Arrogantly perhaps, but defending us form the dark side of computer complexities.
I hope one day I can tell Siri to do my job. Then I will buy thirty iMacs. Ha ha.
I couldn’t give a shit about Spotify, or any streaming music system that relies on patchy cellular networks that give you a paltry data allowance each month, and charge the earth for the privilege. Maybe for those urban dwellers with free wifi everywhere, but step outside into the countryside, and kiss your fancy streaming playlists goodbye.
I like to own my music, not rent it.
and i’m a musician that could do without both because i cant substitute listening to music for food water or air.
I agree Apple *needs* to get iTunes back to being a bad ass program. It has strayed.
Why does everybody hate iTunes so much? I realize it’s lacking a few features that would make library management easier, and there are some UI issues, etc. but they seem like minor annoyances, and the application is overall pretty great – especially for free. But, listening to some of the comments on the subject, you’d think iTunes was the name of an employee at Apple who was caught clubbing baby seals to death.
Spotify is nice – I like it – but there are huge, gaping inconsistencies in the experience between desktop and mobile, so I certainly wouldn’t hold up Spotify as some sort of example of superior software.
If one of you who thinks iTunes is so bad wouldn’t mind indulging me, what’s so bad about it?
IMHO, the main reason for any dislike is that iTunes is too much of a muchness- too much is dependent upon it. And, at least in my case, if I have my three i-devices hooked up, it takes about four minutes to actually fully boot up.
yes ITunes is bloated in too many ways:
Even the name iTunes just doesn’t fix anymore.
Apple has let it grow into something more than a media player. Its hand down code out grew its musical jeans.
– its not such a simple application to use
– it can be confusing at times
– it handles too many things
– its sort of a web browser that points to Apple things
– it handles purchases or music movies games and books
– it plays back music and movies, yet plays no games
– integrated FrontRow to manage and playback media
– it backs up and restores the software and media
– it can rip and burn music
– it can burn backups of your purchases items
– it can manage other Apple ID accounts as well
It does a lot of things but it use to be during the iPod fame a super Music and CD utility player. Wish they would remove the purchasing power to the App Store application. But that would stripe it down to being a media player, and even at that, comparing FrontRow to other media players, Apple needs make it excel XBMC and PLEX. Play more codecs and encode too to other formats. Under-the-hood, I think, Quicktime is handling these core features of playback. Music and Movies, effects and controls, so why is iTunes then limited to the media Apple sells?
Search function is anything but a search function. It’s more a “lost in space” journey.
Well, the biggest complaint I hear is that it’s “bloated”, but I don’t buy it. Just because iTunes does a lot of things doesn’t make it “bloated”. “Bloat” implies that all the functions you don’t use get in the way of using the functions you want (think of the morass of icons at the top of Microsoft Word for the best example), or it implies that all the code is making the application too slow to launch or run.
I haven’t experienced either of those problems. Functionality in iTunes is easy to find, despite all the stuff it does. And slowdown? Don’t know why, but I haven’t experienced it. I use iTunes every day, plugging in my iPhone to sync podcasts, as I have for about eight years now. It still launches in about the same time it always has.
So yeah, iTunes does a lot of things. But “bloated”? I just don’t see it.
No, if you ask me, the “problem” with iTunes has to do with its popularity. The fact that it does everything, does most things very well, is the portal to the most popular media retailer on the planet, and is free means that just about everyone uses it, and (this is the important part) they feel they have no choice.
That’s not literally true, of course. There are replacement applications for everything iTunes does. But none of those applications offer the one-stop-shopping experience that iTunes does, and if you’re like just about everybody, you’re going to be buying your music and videos on iTunes anyway, so why bother with the hassle of another app?
So my theory is that the average consumer these days doesn’t really see any viable alternative to using iTunes. People don’t like being in that situation — it makes them grumpy and nitpicky. It doesn’t matter how good iTunes is (and I love iTunes 11, I’m sorry), people will find something to bitch about as long as they see it as the only viable music organizer/device syncher/CD ripper/media store out there.
——RM
May be unique to me, but I have two iTunes accounts (Canada and USA) and App updates are now problematic. I use to log into one store and do all the app updates bought through it, I would then log out of country A and then log into country B and repeat the app updates. With the update, when I am in Country A and the update sees a Country B app it now aborts the entire update process. So now I have to update apps one-by-one.
It seems for every fix, they now break two working functions.
Whoever is the stupid idiot running iTunes (probably Eddie Cue) should just allow you to update your apps. You’re already purchased them, so why make you jump through hoops just to update them?
More iTunes silliness.
Good point,
Specially if the person has provided Apple with
the very same credit info. It should not matter what country the accounts claim set from. As some apps are specific to each country this has caused issues… fix it. Explain why legally the (ie) Yulp app for USA is not allowed to run / not available for download on my Canadian iPad.
A customer simply thinks these accounts could be consolidated as one and Apple would be so willing to accommodate this. Is that wrong? Would it improve things – sure would.
I update my apps through my iPad, then synch back to iTunes. Find it far easier than the computer route..
Background: I have been a Mac user since 1988. Never ever touched the keyboard of a windows machine. I have been buying Apple hardware regularly (Besides Newton I even have a Pippin among other Apple stuff, believe it or not. I don’t know how many of you can say that). So far i have never had any complains regarding the hardware and the only software complain had to do with iMovie which I consider to major catastrophy in terms of usability (I consider the last user-friendly version the iMovie HD). Unfortunate for me, Apple had to come out with iTunes 11, the app that, after Safari is the app I use daily (even more than mail). I will not go into details (I have written comments in Apple’s appropriate forums) but ALL the most important functions (for me) have either disappeared or changed for the worst. The only positive thing I can say about 11 is that I welcome back the colored icons. I would not have said a word if Apple had allowed me to re-install a previous version (like I can do with iMovie). But Apple prohibits me doing that. As I see it, for no other reason than pure ARROGANCE. ( thankfully I had a time-machine backup). So how does the future looks for me? Well, I will not be able to use OSX 10.9 because it will surely install iTunes 11. Also I will not be able to buy any future Mac that cannot run Mountain Lion. Thank you Apple. NOT!!
I concur, sapiens, like so many great software titles, i.e. Photoshop…iTunes has become bloated; usability sacrificed for “meaningless features” that have veered the once-superb application into a quagmire of “where the fuck did they put (insert command here) this goddamned time?” It is nearly impossible, unless you’re Steve Jobs, to ruthlessly edit updates whose only real function is to justify the existence of the programming staffs that update them.
for instance: “where the fuck did they put total files/total time data under Music or Movies this goddamned time?” Remember when it was conveniently located on the bottom of the window?
It’s still there. Under View > Show Status Bar.
thanks!
In my opinion I wish Apple would make iTunes strictly a media tool, not a store for iOS apps.
Let the App Store application handle the purchases of apps for both Computers and iDevices. And let iTunes allow purchases of Music and Movies as it is a media player also.
If not – then iTunes should be simplified to only being a media player and Apple to re-invent the App Store to manage PURCHASED only and App Store then relates to Apple Store not applications store. One application to make purchases makes and another application to play the purchases is logical.
I would think Eddie Cue has a clue, and follows the Apple streamline simplification process not to add and make iTunes the all encompassing bloated application it has become.
yeah, I like that idea.
Apple has taught us from the start… to think different,
if we don’t like something – do it ourselves.
So Botvinnik, we can team up and we shall find away to dissect iTunes and remove the purchasing abilities.
Then transplant the music and movie portions into the AppStore and show Apple we are right.
That consumers will find it easier, pleasing and a more trusted experience. A one stop purchasing application for tickets, events, music, movies, games, books and programs.
The AppleShop. Possibly to even order hardware too. After all, Apple has our credit info.
So, you do the coding I will supervise – LOL. – cheers
lol, hey man I just draw pictures.
@ MDN: update your link. The proper one is :
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1614
Let us hope that Apple truly made meaningful performance improvements when searching and sorting large iTunes libraries.
Although I have many iPhones, iPods, and Macs, I hardly even open iTunes anymore on my Macs. I buy my movies and TV shows on AppleTV, I buy my music on my iPhone, I buy my books and apps on my iPad. I only open iTunes when I want to stream a DVD I ripped or register a new iOS device. Sometimes I leave it on for backups for my iPad.
I’m not against them addressing everyone’s concerns, but iTunes just isn’t on my radar much anymore. OTH Safari could use some work since I haven’t configured it to kill off the flash plugin.
Goddamn crap ware, is this version going to fix the bug that prevents by ipad backup from restoring because it thinks it’s “corrupt or not compatible with my iPad” ? BS its corrupt, I’m sure its a bug !
There is a setting to stop syncing on connection.
As I understand, Sync is not the same as Backup however for a Company who prides themselves on simplicity and ease of use, iTunes is bloated with confusion also.
The iTunes 11 interface seems clean, maybe truly fixed bugs but yes coded for 64bit. But overall, and over time I need that to see if it really is Better. And not just for me but from others opinions too.
Hope Eddie Cue can solve those matters too. But I believe he will not. I believe he is positioned to better deal with the business side making connections, striking deals with the cable and entertainment companies – as such – to come on board under the iTunes umbrella of past success not to better the application. But being the iTunes team leader lets hope.
Good good.
The performance improvements are extremely needed. And more is needed just to handle large libraries.
Another time I really hope Apple will deal with when it comes to iTunes is general performance. One if the reasons seems to be iTunes imabiity to use more than one core… Which is totally unbelievable these days. Incan not use iTunes built in player any more to play files when I download or use my iTunes librarie because when iTunes is working everything chokes and stops. I have to select “show in explorer” and use VLC to play videos. I don’t understand why iTunes can’t use one core and the built in player another core. Or why iTunes can use more than 1 core somethings just flow smoothly. As I said, when I download a file iTunes has to save it to the HDD everything just stops for 10 seconds and iTunes becomes unresponsive and unusable. Even though we have gotten performance improvements for viewing and scrolling through large libraries this is still a big issue and have been for every version… I 4 cores, why can’t iTunes make use of Them?
And no, I don’t hate iTunes like many seems to do for some reason. I use it for Podcasts mostly though. I have tried many other Apps but no one handles podcasts like iTunes even though iTunes isn’t perfect. What I would want to see in iTunes the most is performance improvements and multi core support.