Comments on: iTunes 8.1 falls short on promise of Genius

If you update to the new version, you're not likely to find the promised Genius button in the lower-right tool bar when in the library for TV or movies.

[DevTop]

The marketing problem with naming your product ?Genius? is that you immediately put your product on a pedestal, and there?s nowhere to go but down.

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/

[mrcjacobs]

WOW! Apple over promises and under delivers.... I would never have imagined it possible ((lol)).

[kcotham]

@mrcjacobs
Will the trolls stay under the bridge please?

[tipoo_]

Still worthless. I thought it was just my computer, i'm still on a single core so it was understandable. but when i saw it lagging on my friends Phenom II (quad core) i was thoroughly convinced that its crap.

[mike451]

Big Deal!

[sartor1]

Also note that you can't import your music into mp3 format using the itunes plus quality. You must import your music into Apple's ACC format.

[Perry_Clease]

Can you elaborate a bit? Are you importing from a CD or what?

[kcotham]

@sator1
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.

[ausernamenoonehaschosen]

You're incorrect, you can import in mp3 at high bit rate, it's easy and obvious. Stop trolling, if that's what you're doing.

[JaxBearsFan]

Pretty typical garbage from CNet. We get it, Apple sucks. iPods blow. No one is using Apple products, nor should they, they're subpar, substandard, etc. etc. etc. All I ever read here is how bad Apple products are and how much better Microsoft & PCs are.

Even as a PC guy, I'm tired of reading garbage like this.

[LE_Studios]

I feel you I have had a Mac mini over a year I just upgraded to 500GB Hard Drive from Western Digital as well as 4GB DDR2. I purchased in January iLife '09 and iWork '09 plus I'm already a MobileMe user with a max 60GB Online Storage with 600GB Monthly Transfers. I also got a 16GB iPhone, also noted I got the first 8GB iPhone in '07 before getting the 16GB in February '08. My experience is been great. Honestly I've accomplished more with Apple in one year then I had with 15 years with Microsoft. I'm more organized and I got more accomplished with Apple with their products and services. I expect Apple to be best, but no ones perfect if Apple make a mistake they will fix it, immediately and may reimburse us for the inconvenience that's the difference between them and Microsoft. This what makes Apple work so hard on hardware and software to be different from Microsoft. I got the Xbox 360 and it's better then the Sony's PS3 and Nintendo's Wii especially with areas of online gaming, communications and content delivery, but it by far from perfect. Xbox 360 Red Rings of Death was a major issue and now they have systems dying without RROD and because its not related to that Microsoft is not honoring repairs beyond the initial 1 year. That's turning out to be a bad invest for gamers. This may be my last year playing the 360. I hope a company like Apple would make a game console better then the 360 with better online interactivity. PCs may be cheaper but you spend more money to get software that come standard on a Mac even if it doesn't cost is not astronomical for example Microsoft's Office 2007 vs Apple's iWork '09. iWork.com was worth it to me but I made more presentations with Keynote '09 then I did with Powerpoint. Like someone said earlier in the year "Microsoft Office is a habit not a neccessity." Also another point Apple's Boot Camp can run Microsoft Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 natively on Macs with Intel Processor. As I really hate Microsoft I put Vista on my Boot Camp because some companies don't 100% support Apple primary example GoDaddy and Web Hosting Servers. I can build way better website on Apple's iWeb but I gotta deal with GoDaddy for now. If it wasn't for my Lil Brother's website I wouldn't think about installing Vista on my Mac. It works fine and yes it really is faster then a PC with Vista. Point is Apple still a better choice. If anyone don't like iTunes so much what are you using to play music? Windows Media Player or Zune? If so then your life really is a joke.

[LE_Studios]

I got another problem! It says I'm upgraded to iTunes Plus but I had 154 Albums left yo upgrade, 232 singles tracks and 37 Music Videos where it would have cost me $559.34! I can't upgrade my music I paid for to iTunes Plus!

[LE_Studios]

Never mind they fixed it I was about to royally pissed on this issue.

[bowlie1]

Movies?? Videos??? From iTunes???? Not in Switzerland. Be nice if Apple got off their duffs and started to make these available outside the US.

[kcotham]

@bowlie1
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.

[MadLyb]

Why did Apple go back to bundling Quicktime with iTunes?

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?

[kcotham]

@MadLyb

What are you babbling about? You can download QuickTime by itself at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/

Get your facts straight.

[MadLyb]

@kcotham

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.

[kcotham]

@MadLyb

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.

[MadLyb]

@kcotham

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.

[kcotham]

@MadLyb

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.