Apple pushes out iTunes 7.3

As expected, Apple on Friday issued iTunes 7.3, which adds support for that ringy thingy that hits the market today.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The software contains a link in its help section to the iPhone manual, but when I went to check it out it was a dead link. I'm leaving the link here, because I assume at some point Friday it will be live.

There is also an iPhone tab in the preferences page. But if, like me, you don't have the super-gadget, all you get is a painful reminder that you are leading an iPhoneless existence.

"The following iPhones are backed up on this computer," the window reads, followed by a desolate white screen.

[oldrocknroller]

iTunes 7.3

The sort order for the song "Name" has been changed. Names beginning with numbers are now listed last.

[Lee in San Diego]

Name sort order

That is not a new feature. Click on "Name", the sort order will
reverse putting numbers at the top, same for other categories such
as "Date Added" or "Artist."

What is with the headline "Apple Pushes out iTunes 7.3", how about
"Apple Releases iTunes 7.3?"

[Mad Dog - Chi]

iTunes 7 sucks - that's the real issue

The real issue is iTunes 7 is a step back from iTunes 6.

My two teenagers have iPods and were happily using iTunes 6. Then my wife got a new iPod Nano, which requires iTunes 7. So we upgraded.

Now my kids say iTunes 7 on the PC sounds terrible. It skips and fades in and out. On top of that, the user interface is inferior. My kids say it is more difficult to load songs onto their iPods and it takes many more mouse clicks and is a lot slower.

Apple: fix iTunes!

[ltunes53]

i dont have that problem... nothing like that changed

as far as i know, nothing as basic or foundational as the "sound"
changed in itunes 7, loading music is as easy as ever. u might want
to check the computer itself. I agree that the colors were much
better, or more "aqua," in itunes 6, but i wouldn't say inferior.
yeah, my itunes doesn't skip or fade... then again i am on a MAC!

[sanjayb]

Far from it

You must have a buggy copy or an old computer. I don't have any of these problems with ITunes 7. ITunes makes music management a no brainer.

[darrenkeith3]

Thank Goodness I'm Not The Only One

I really do not care for iTunes 7 interface and his children are right. When it comes to loading podcast it's more of a hassle than anything. I really like Apple but at times Steve Jobs and his crew do not know when to leave a good thing alone. I have three iPods and the only reason I have to use iTunes 7 is because my video iPod will not work on iTunes 6. I keep iTunes 6 on one of my laptops because I really like that interface much better. I like how the podcast load and how I can make a better playlist from the iTunes 6 software than the lastest iTunes software. I will be writing about this soon on my blog as well.

Thank you so much for giving me that "push" to take this further. If you have older iPods and you still wish to use iTunes 6 go to oldapps.com and the past software programs for iTunes are there.

[ryork272]

iTunes is not bad, but not that good

Years ago I used MusicMatch as my MP3 organizer, burner and player. I loved it. You could actually burn a CD without having to create a playlist! I also automatically recognized duplicates within a playlist as you dragged and dropped them in. No need to go into a menu item and have it check for dupes. The only reason I use iTunes is because I have to. Period. It is the single most over rated piece of software I have ever experienced.