iTunes 8.1 falls short on promise of Genius
Updated at 10:44 a.m. with a comment from Apple.
Apple's notes on iTunes 8.1, an update released Wednesday, as was a new iPod Shuffle, promised a list of new and improved features.
Among them is an update to the Genius feature that makes recommendations based on favorite music that users select from their own library, and lets them play clips of those recommended songs from a sidebar.
It's a neat and convenient feature, which is why the Internet was abuzz when it was rumored, and then Apple's iTunes 8.1 release notes confirmed, that the iTunes 8.1 update "adds Genius sidebar for your Movies and TV Shows."
It would be really convenient to watch a video clip in sidebar without having to enter the iTunes store home page.
But after updating to the new version, there is still no Genius button offered in the lower-right tool bar when in the library for TV or movies.
If you try choosing a TV show from within the Purchased library and click on the Genius button you get this message, "Genius sidebar only works with music. Select a song in your library to see related music."
While declining to comment on how this Genius gaffe happened or who was at fault, an Apple spokesman did return my call to say simply, "The feature isn't live yet, but it will be in the coming days."
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. E-mail her at candacelombardi@gmail.com. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET. 
The Genius feature ? new in Apple?s iTunes software ? recommends music that you may like based on the songs in your current playlist. It worked well enough for a while, prompting me to buy about a half dozen new songs it recommended. But the Genius feature worked only for a few days and has been broken ever since, in spite of a few iTunes upgrades.
Perhaps Genius is actually an Idiot Savant.
http://www.devtopics.com/itunes-genius-not-so-smart-after-all/
Will the trolls stay under the bridge please?
AAC is what you meant. And it isn't "Apple's" format. It's the audio portion of MPEG-4, a superior format to MPEG-1 Layer 3 (mp3). And you are completely incorrect. Open iTunes, go to Preferences, choose the General tab, click on the Import Settings button and chose which format you would like to import music as. Your options are: AAC, AIFF, Apple Lossless, MP3, and WAVE.
Why would you want to use an inferior format? AAC provides much better sound quality at the same bit rate than a MP3 file.
Even as a PC guy, I'm tired of reading garbage like this.
It's not Apple that's at fault for not providing content outside the US. It's the record companies, the movie companies, and the foreign governments. They've all got to get together and hash out the details. I'm sure Apple would LOVE to be able to sell the content on their site to everyone, everywhere.
Remember, the thing that people complained about the most was the DRM content. They blamed Apple. It wasn't Apple deciding to use DRM. It was the greedy record companies. Aim your frustration in the right direction, namely the big four media providers, and your own government.
I don't want iTunes, just QuickTime. I guess they need to artificially run their adoption and download numbers up some more like they last time they bundled the apps.
That time, it took 3 months to get the standalone installer back. Wonder how long it will take this time?
What are you babbling about? You can download QuickTime by itself at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/
Get your facts straight.
- by MadLyb March 12, 2009 3:59 PM PDT
- @kcotham
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- by kcotham March 13, 2009 10:49 AM PDT
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- by MadLyb March 15, 2009 5:43 AM PDT
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- by kcotham March 16, 2009 4:34 AM PDT
- @MadLyb
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(21 Comments)Facts are straight. You should go to the URL you provided and actually read the page before putting fingers to keyboard.
"QuickTime 7.6 with iTunes" is the only choice. If you go to the version availability page, it only lists "iTunes 8 + QuickTime 7.6". Maybe it is different for other OSes, but for XP and Vista, this is all you get.
Apple did this right after iTunes first launched and they are at it again.
That's what you get for not being clear in your whining. And what you get for not using a Macintosh.
Because with a Macintosh, using Safari, you are offered the option to download either QuickTime 7.6 for Leopard, or QuickTime 7.6 for Tiger.
So, you jumped me for stating a fact, basically calling me a liar, then when I refuted your claim, you accuse me of whining and try to shame me for not owning a Mac?
What are you? 12?
I was simply stating a fact that Apple is once again, bundling iTunes with Quicktime, and that it limits the distribution of Quicktime and artificially inflates the adoption numbers of iTunes.
Looking at your comment history, I see a trend, so I will leave you to your defensive rants of all things Apple.
My "defensive rants" as you put it are just a voice of reason in opposition to the wolves that mis-state the FUD as fact. 99% of the time, the complaints, such as yours, aren't relevant, let alone accurate. People love Apple when they do something right, but turn on them like a pack of hungry wolves if there is even a hint of their doing something wrong.
And yes, you should be ashamed for not owning a Macintosh, as should every other Windows user! Have a sense of humour will you?
You WERE whining about something that had nothing to do with the article in question. Who cares if they are serving up QuickTime and iTunes together on Vista. Ever think that there may be a technical reason? One might require the other to function. Keep your vitriol in check. Think, then type.