iTunes 8 Bug List

[tkermit]

So far, it appears that the vast majority of "problems" with iTunes 8 relates to users' understanding of iTunes preferences, AirTunes configuration, and understanding new iTunes controls and features. So far, I haven't seen a "bug" of any kind. My iTunes works perfectly. I'm listening to music now via AirTunes. No "choppiness" or any other undesired activity. If users would take a few minutes to familiarize themselves with the new version, they'd find out how to use it, instead of immediately blaming things on a bug or design flaw.

that's plain ignorant and I find it pretty rude. Just because you don't experience any bugs certainly doesn't mean none exist. And there are a lot of airTunes problems out there that certainly don't have anything to do with the 'user's understanding of Airtunes configuration'.

It goes without saying, that some users will experience problems that are not due to bugs - and that's okay, too.

 

[GGJstudios]

that's plain ignorant and I find it pretty rude. Just because you don't experience any bugs certainly doesn't mean none exist. And there are a lot of airTunes problems out there that certainly don't have anything to do with the 'user's understanding of Airtunes configuration'.

It goes without saying, that some users will experience problems that are not due to bugs - and that's okay, too.

If you take the time to actually read my post, you'll see I said "the vast majority of "problems"". I didn't say there are NO bugs. I also didn't say ALL users. I said most problems are attributable to people not knowing how to use the software. As far as the "AirTunes problems", the solution is a firewall setting, not a "bug" in iTunes.

 

[tkermit]

If you take the time to actually read my post, you'll see I said "the vast majority of "problems"". I didn't say there are NO bugs. I also didn't say ALL users. I said most problems are attributable to people not knowing how to use the software. As far as the "AirTunes problems", the solution is a firewall setting, not a "bug" in iTunes.

I've read your post several times. You make it sound like, the fact that your iTunes works perfectly (which is great) is in some way support for your argument, that most users don't actually experience bugs (like choppiness) but would only have to 'familiarize themselves with the new version'. I'll apologize if that's actually not what you meant

as for the linked airtunes problem: In some cases the non-obvious solution (to the not so technically inclined) is to change a firewall setting, but even then iTunes should either automatically make that change or ask the user to make it (which, if I remember correctly, it used to do), so I would certainly consider it a bug. Especially when it's a change in behaviour from the former version.

edit: actually, I remember OS X asking to allow incoming connections to iTunes...iTunes hopefully wouldn't be able to change this by itself... I, myself, by the way don't have that problem, I only came upon the thread...

edit2: Also, with respect to the white 'ghost' window problem. I don't have that either, but I also 'heard' it somewhere else and find it entirely possible that the problem comes only up with certain hardware/software configurations. And that's the case for a lot of bugs.

 

[GGJstudios]

I've read your post several times. You make it sound like, the fact that your iTunes works perfectly (which is great) is in some way support for your argument, that most users don't actually experience bugs ...

Actually, the fact that mine works perfectly is an indication that the software isn't the cause, or it would give me the same problems that it gives everyone else.

I'm referring to the dozens of posts in many threads where people complain "iTunes 8 has a bug!" or "iTunes is broken!" or "iTunes won't let me..." or "I can't get rid of Genre" or "I can't get rid of iTunes Store links"..... only to have someone post a simple answer and the OP sheepishly says "Oh, OK! All is right again!"

I'm suggesting that if people would take more than 30 seconds to explore their software, they'd find many answers to their perceived problems. That would leave these forums less cluttered and available to those who have true problems and need help. Too many seem to use the forums as their first resource, even before reading documentation or the help feature of a software application.

Even when there's an issue, such as the AirTunes issue, it's more appropriate to say, "I'm having a problem connecting to AirTunes with iTunes 8" rather than "iTunes 8 is broken!" or "iTunes 8 destroyed my AirTunes!". It's a new version. It doesn't work exactly the way the old version does. That means you may have to learn something new. So don't make your first assumption that the software is "broken". It's far more likely that the user just needs to learn something new.

 

[tkermit]

I'm referring to the dozens of posts in many threads where people complain "iTunes 8 has a bug!" or "iTunes is broken!" or "iTunes won't let me..." or "I can't get rid of Genre" or "I can't get rid of iTunes Store links"..... only to have someone post a simple answer and the OP sheepishly says "Oh, OK! All is right again!"

I'm suggesting that if people would take more than 30 seconds to explore their software, they'd find many answers to their perceived problems. That would leave these forums less cluttered and available to those who have true problems and need help. Too many seem to use the forums as their first resource, even before reading documentation or the help feature of a software application.

Even when there's an issue, such as the AirTunes issue, it's more appropriate to say, "I'm having a problem connecting to AirTunes with iTunes 8" rather than "iTunes 8 is broken!" or "iTunes 8 destroyed my AirTunes!". It's a new version. It doesn't work exactly the way the old version does. That means you may have to learn something new. So don't make your first assumption that the software is "broken". It's far more likely that the user just needs to learn something new.

I agree. Certainly, I wouldn't defend such threads or posts. I also happen to think that iTunes 8 appears to be relatively bug-free (going by the lack of widespread reports to the contrary).

I'm just not sure largely dismissing (possibly) valid bug reports by citing your own lack of bugs is particularly nice. Even if you get the impression that a lot of claims in that direction are not justified.

Like I said, I think you're largely right, but I can empathize with people who unlike me don't have a lot of technical expertise and may misinterpret certain behavior as a bug.

 

[tkermit]

Actually, the fact that mine works perfectly is an indication that the software isn't the cause, or it would give me the same problems that it gives everyone else.

indication is the key word here...Unless you can claim to have the exact same hardware and software configuration including all external devices you can't know whether your experience is the same as everyone else's. You might just be lucky.

edit: Also, your claim, as I understood it, was that most reported problems were due to misunderstanding and not bugs. So, even though the fact that your software appears troublefree may be an indication that it is for most people, it certainly can't indicate that most of the bug reports are bogus.

 

[GGJstudios]

indication is the key word here...Unless you can claim to have the exact same hardware and software configuration including all external devices you can't know whether your experience is the same as everyone else's.

If the problems being reported were due to flaws in the software, it would affect me the same as those reporting the problems. My hardware is not unique (see my signature) and I'm running Mac OS X, 10.5.4, the same as most of the people who are claiming bugs.

It's the same as so many who scream "virus!" when they have problems they don't understand. While it's completely possible that iTunes 8 has true bugs, it is FAR more likely that problems are user-related, rather than software bugs. Even the title of this thread is inappropriate, since none of the problems can be officially documented as "bugs". It would be more appropriate to say "need help with iTunes 8".

So what bugs have actually been identified, that can't be addressed by user settings or other things?

 

[tkermit]

If the problems being reported were due to flaws in the software, it would affect me the same as those reporting the problems. My hardware is not unique (see my signature) and I'm running Mac OS X, 10.5.4, the same as most of the people who are claiming bugs.

I honestly think it's slightly naive to think that way. Your configuration is unique even within a group of people who are running 10.5.4 on the exact same hardware. Bugs can depend on slightly different settings in all parts of the operating system and program itself, different firmware versions, the kind of programs installed, etc. Also - how intensely have you really tested iTunes thus far ? (in all its aspects)

I remember the first Windows-based beta of Safari. American users were largely happy and congratulatory about it, while Europeans thought the program was unusable in its current state. On some (international) forums posters would insult each other for suggesting that the release seemed to be a failure from their point of view. As it turns out, the beta, installed on European language versions of Windows, actually produced tons of rendering errors to the point that the browser indeed seemed to be unusable. The posters didn't realize this difference between them and Apple didn't publish this info and possibly wasn't aware of it. The problem was subsequently rectified in the next version.

My point is, don't assume your experience with a sofware product on one certain configuration is representative in a major way.

You don't just call it a bug, when it happens on a certain clean install in a lab machine, or by chance with your exact configuration. There are lots of possble environments in which software is supposed to behave correctly.

While it's completely possible that iTunes 8 has true bugs, it is FAR more likely that problems are user-related, rather than software bugs.

I don't get why you think that reported problems that are perceived as bugs are FAR more likely to be user-related than bugs, especially when said users were comfortable with the former version and not that much has changed.

Even the title of this thread is inappropriate, since none of the problems can be officially documented as "bugs". It would be more appropriate to say "need help with iTunes 8".

So what bugs have actually been identified, that can't be addressed by user settings or other things?

The white ghost-window problem certainly appears to be a bug (although, as I said, I personally don't experience it). I've also heard reports of said airTunes choppiness that I wouldn't question the validity of. Personally, I also have a problem with airTunes. Additionally I have the problem, that clicking the 'upgrade all applications' button within iTunes' iPod/iPhone programs panel at first does nothing, when clicked again claims there are no upgrades, and finally initiates the download after I've clicked 'check for downloads' in the 'store' menu.

Now, I don't claim that these problems are universal or that the culprit is always iTunes itself. They are certainly bugs, though - only their source is unclear. My problems certainly have come up with 'iTunes 8'.

 

[GGJstudios]

Now, I don't claim that these problems are universal or that the culprit is always iTunes itself.

My point exactly.

They are certainly bugs, though - only their source is unclear. My problems certainly have come up with 'iTunes 8'.

You can't prove that they're bugs. By your own admission:

...Therefore it would seem like iTunes may not even be the culprit here. ...

Regarding that particular issue, if you change your firewall settings, it works. Now it may be that iTunes 8 interacts differently with Airport Express than iTunes 7 did, but that doesn't automatically make it a bug, only a difference. Many new programs for the Mac don't run on older processors, only on Intel. That doesn't represent a bug; it's a difference, by design.

Until you can properly document that the software is not working as designed, you can't accurately call it a bug. My point is, too many are quick to label something a "bug" or "flaw" without fully examining the issue, doing basic troubleshooting, and eliminating other possibilities.

 

[tkermit]

You can't prove that they're bugs.
...
Now it may be that iTunes 8 interacts differently with Airport Express than iTunes 7 did, but that doesn't automatically make it a bug, only a difference.
...
Until you can properly document that the software is not working as designed, you can't accurately call it a bug...

Oh, come on, we're down to semantics now. You can't be serious. At this point I'm reminded of the saying "It's not a bug, it's a feature !".

Until Apple suggests something is by design, I'm fine with people calling sth. a bug when it doesn't work the way they can within reason expect it to work.


What do you call it, when a certain thing worked in iTunes 7 and doesn't in iTunes 8, assuming the only change was the update ? And should it be really relevant (to the user) whether the source for a problem is OS X or iTunes, when the problem comes up in iTunes 8 but didn't in iTunes 7 ?

By the way, did I get it right that you suggested on page 2 to 'allow all incoming connections' in the firewall settings to make airTunes work ?! This doesn't seem to be necessary for my part, but you do realize that the necessity of such a setting would be a bug in either iTunes or OS X, right ? That's not how it's intended to work.


just to add: after actually reading the beginning of this thread (shame on me, had only actually skimmed it before), I would concede that specifically this thread has had a certain share of reported problems that are not bugs, especially on its first page. But people already admitted that much.

 

[tkermit]

by the way: I'm sorry for derailing this thread. As I said I kind of get your point, and I hope you kind of get my point - I do enjoy arguing with you .

 

[Ade-iMac-177]

possible bug

I've found something, at least on my system that appears to be a bug. when keep video window above all other windows is selected the video window will only stay above the itunes window and not all windows like in version 7. this could just be a change in the way it works but if that is the case than the wording in the preference window needs to be changed.

 

[bassanoclapper]

Crashes & Lock-ups

Since upgrading today I've had two issues, both when trying to edit incomplete track details.

1st time iTunes just crashed so I sent the fault report in

2nd time my whole system locked up. Display 'jumped' a bit, then froze.
Nothing was clickable, though the mouse was moving on screen. Unable to force quit via the keyboard either. Had to power down via the dreaded button

Using OS X 10.5.4 on 2.4GHz 20" iMac

 

[Thedutchjelle]

Hello,

I've a weird problem while using the genre tab (and yea, I do like that tab ~_~ ).

The Folk genre has it's own image, but suddenly now it displays an album image instead of the Folk itunes genre images. I have no idea what happend, the genre of all the songs is just 'folk'

Anyone knows a fix/What happend?

 

[PeteB]

I can no longer choose "United Kingdom" (or any derivative) from the Country list.

 

[maccam]

You can't rename your home videos
I've tried everything. You have to drag it out, rename it, and than import it again. (one more mad)

 

[chedda]

Genius Arrow Keys

I like to use the arrow keys for previous and next they don't seem to work for me in Genius playlists am i the only one ? They work elsewhere in itunes.

 

[GGJstudios]

The Folk genre has it's own image, but suddenly now it displays an album image instead of the Folk itunes genre images. I have no idea what happend, the genre of all the songs is just 'folk'

To set the default genre image:
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/6216839/

 

[Wie Gehts]

After I updated I got that 3256 error that won't connect to my airport express, as did many others. I'm all up to date on firmware and software. Tried all the kludgey fixes. The only thing that works for me is unchecking 'block UDP traffic' in the advanced area of the firewall.

It was working fine up till iTunes 8. I'm on 10.4.11

 

[Thedutchjelle]

To set the default genre image:
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/6216839/

Thank you That worked.

 

[edcoche]

No, just drag the iTunes.app from your applications folder to the trash. You may need to lauch Activity Monitor from your Utilities folder and make sure iTunes Helper is not running. If it is, click on it and click the stop sign to stop the process. Then empty the trash. Then download and install iTunes 7.7. You don't need to move any libraries or other files. It won't affect your preferences or music files, artwork, etc.

So I did what you told me and this is what it said when I installed iTunes 7.7:

Any ideas??

 

[orangetrumpeter]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/559513/

no option to turn off iTunes Store links in version 8!

THIS IS DRIVING ME NUTS!

 

[edcoche]

THIS IS DRIVING ME NUTS!

Imagine how I feel. Thanks to 8.0 my nano can no longer add/remove music. I realize that keeping it out of the lake would have been my best course of action however it appeared to be working fine after it's revival. I had no idea a new version of software would have had such ramifications. I greatly wish I would have not updated my software. Dang software update. If that thing didn't pop up all the time I would check like once a month or when I'm having problems with OS X.

 

[Beric]

I'm getting this error:

The itunes application could not be opened. An unknown error occurred (13014).

.

 

[tkermit]

So I did what you told me and this is what it said when I installed iTunes 7.7:

Any ideas??

There should be a 'Previous iTunes Libraries' folder inside your iTunes folder.
In that folder, you will find backup files of your library index for each time that iTunes was majorly updated.

Replace your current 'iTunes Library' file with the one that has the datestamp corresponding to the time you updated to iTunes 8.

That should make it work.

(sorry for the crappy drawing)