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Why do I find iTunes so incredibly complicated?

Piggie

Piggie

macrumors G3
Original poster
Feb 23, 2010
9,282
4,321
Is it just me, or is iTunes a moster of complication for just copying thing to and from the iPad?

I don't know where to begin really. I seem to have to fight and struggle with it every step of the way when it comes to keeping things neat and tidy between the iPad and iTunes.

Podcasts appear to get stuck on the iPad and I can't get them off without watching them, or deleting them totally from iTunes, Movies seem to get lost, Music seems to not wish to sync across.

Perhaps it's that I just don't want to use iTunes for anything other than Syncing iPad data, and iTunes seems to want to be much more than that.

All I really want are some drag and drop folders to add and remove things, but it always seems like it won't let me do what I want.

It's hard to describe, as I've had so many issues.

Just now I had Podcasts on my iPad I don't want. For some stupid reason there seems no way to delete them on the iPad, in iTunes, under the iPad area, again there seems no way to delete them.
If I watch them, then they get removed, whether I want them gone or not.

The only way to get them off the iPad was to go into iTunes master folders at the top and delete them fully from the whole system re-sync the iPad, and then they go from the iPad.

Is it just me that finds this so difficult for doing something that should be so easy?
 
Yes, it's just you. ;)

I haven't had any problems. When you have your iPad plugged into your computer & iTunes, you can manage what you want on your iPad by checking boxes corresponding to playlists. I don't really use podcasts...I'm sure others will chime in.
 
Piggie said:
Is it just me that finds this so difficult for doing something that should be so easy?
Click to expand...

I see what your saying. iTunes is a bit complicated to use at first, but once you use it over and over again which you will because you have an iPad, you will get used to it.
 
Some times im like 'Oh crap how do I do this' but I usually don't have many issues. I have never bought owt from the iTunes app, I only buy from the app store.
 
ECUpirate44 said:
I see what your saying. iTunes is a bit complicated to use at first, but once you use it over and over again which you will because you have an iPad, you will get used to it.
Click to expand...

Well, I've used it for a year, and still don't really get it !

It seems like it want to be a "Media Centre" on my computer. But I don't wish to use it for that, and stopped it opening up when I play a music track of video file as it's such a clunky thing to open up just to hear a bit of a mp3 file.

I just use Windows itself to play video's and music as it fires up and plays the file instantly.

Last night I was really struggling with ebooks.
I had an error when syncing that iTunes could not find the data to sync the books anymore, even though they still seemed to be on my iPad and the icons were still on the iPad section of iTunes with tick box's next to them as I'm syncing "ticked/selected" items.

So, ok, I'll untick them, and the errors went away, but the icons are still in iTunes in the iPad section.

I'm thinking, wel, if it can't find the data and I'm not syncing then why are the icons still there, ok, let's delete the icons, as they are redundant.

So I click the icon, it gets a blue outline and right click hoping for a delete menu. No, nothing. So I highlight again and press the delete key. No nothing.

WTF..... Why can't I delete the dam icons if the files are not there.

I do some googling and find I have to go into iTune prefs and select for books to be shown in the main "top" menu in iTunes, in the library, then I can see these same books and delete them from there. THEN, their icons also get removed from the iPad section.

Sheesh !!!!!

Why you can't just highlight icons under the iPad section and delete them there, god knows.
 
It took me five minutes at most to figure out how to allow only the few songs I wanted synced on my iPad to transfer over. It's not so much complicated as counter-intuitive for some people, which I can understand.
 
PoleMan14 said:
Slide your finger across the podcast and the delete button will pop up.
:p
Click to expand...

On the iPad you mean?

On this issue............

Am I right in thinking (as I've experienced) if you copy say 10 Podcasts to the iPad, listen to 3 of them, and then go back you will find those 3 will have disappeared from your iPad without you selecting to do anything?

If this is the case. That's bloody stupid isn't it?
Is there a way of stopping this from happening, or has it been decreed that you should only wish to listen to a podcast once?
 
I agree with Piggie. Not that I have much experience with the iPad, but iTunes itself just doesn't seem all that intuitive to me either. I have both Mac and Windows based computers, but come from a Windows background. Perhaps that is why I don't find it intuitive. I too would prefer some other way to deal with my files on my iPad.
 
Am I right in thinking (as I've experienced) if you copy say 10 Podcasts to the iPad, listen to 3 of them, and then go back you will find those 3 will have disappeared from your iPad without you selecting to do anything?
Click to expand...

This doesn't specifically refer to iPads, and I only tried podcasts for a while when I first got an iPod a few years ago, but Podcasts are subscription based, and I think you have to do something to actually save old broadcasts or else they expire or are removed when new podcasts come in. At least that's what I seem to remember anyway.
 
Ladybug said:
I agree with Piggie. Not that I have much experience with the iPad, but iTunes itself just doesn't seem all that intuitive to me either. I have both Mac and Windows based computers, but come from a Windows background. Perhaps that is why I don't find it intuitive. I too would prefer some other way to deal with my files on my iPad.
Click to expand...

I guess all I'm looking for is like 5 folders

Movies
Books
Music
Podcasts
Pictures

I then connect my iPad, and either drop new things in, which get added to my iPad or delete things out which get removed from my iPad.

That seems so simple. I just don't understand how something so simple can get turned into something so complicated.

Perhaps, as I said above, it's because iTunes is trying to be a all encompassing entertainment and data control package.

It's a pity that the iPad sync software was not something totally separate to iTunes.
Also I think it's that Apple see the iPad not as a separate stand alone device, but just something for you to take your iTunes "media" with you on the move.

To me, I don't use iTunes, I don't want to use iTune for any "Media" it's just a means to get stuff on and off the iPad and it's too much for just that.
 
Synching the iPad the first time with iTunes is incredibly slow. It still took about 20 min to synch my iPad 2 the first time (I have 15GB left out of the 29 Gb).

The first iPad 1 took almost 45 minutes. Crazy.

That being said, iTunes for the "advanced users" just sucks. I always have to disable, rearrange folders, manually manage my music and video.

I really don't know why apple (or other companies) dumb down products and want people to keep things in libraries. I store all my important files on portable hard drive plus back them up on DVD.

I wipe out my computer every 3-4 months because I don't like crap accumulating on them.

I just wished apple allowed advanced users just to drag whatever they wanted into their iPhone/iPad/iPod and manually manage their files and music.
 
iTunes is a passable, but poor, program. I got used to it, but there definitely are some features missing.

1) Cataloging non-mp4's.
I want iTunes to be my media hub but I live in the real world and have avi's that arent allowed to join the club.

2) Automatically Detect Moved/Renamed Files.
iTunes should be able to scan media folders to detect when a new file is put in, an existing one is renamed or a file is deleted. Giving a file the dreaded "!" and nothing more is outdated because it iindicates a problem but does nothing to fix it.

3) Multiple iTunes Folder Locations.
The way to minimize files getting lost/duplicated is to allow iTunes to manage the library. But the problem with that is my laptop is 500GB and my iTunes library is 1TB. So auto managing my internal library and manually managing an external drive all into a single iTunes library is ridiculously difficult.
 
I honestly think iTunes could use a UI change to be more simpler. I get it just fine and I have the sync set up perfectly so that it puts exactly what I want on there. However, I get 3-4 calls a week from relatives asking for iTunes help. That gets annoying.
 
wait a year and after you have 50G of apps, magazines, and music see how long it takes to sync....... three days later........
 
mayassa said:
wait a year and after you have 50G of apps, magazines, and music see how long it takes to sync....... three days later........
Click to expand...

It should only take that long once, when syncing for the first time, unless you are constantly adding or removing new stuff that needs to be synced. If a file is already on the iPad and iTunes, it checks them and if they are the same, itskips over them.
 
Piggie said:
On the iPad you mean?

On this issue............

Am I right in thinking (as I've experienced) if you copy say 10 Podcasts to the iPad, listen to 3 of them, and then go back you will find those 3 will have disappeared from your iPad without you selecting to do anything?

If this is the case. That's bloody stupid isn't it?
Is there a way of stopping this from happening, or has it been decreed that you should only wish to listen to a podcast once?
Click to expand...
It's a setting you have. iTunes is actually pretty flexible in what it does with podcasts after you listen to them and how many/long it show keep them. iTunes > Podcasts > Settings (at the bottom).

Most of the issues I've seen with people using iTunes stems from coming from a Windows background where you can manipulate a file anywhere there is access to it. On OS X generally that's not the case. Usually you can only manipulate a file from the Finder (think Explorer) or from the main library within the app. Ex. Click on Podcasts then you can delete it or whatever.
 
TheWheelMan said:
It should only take that long once, when syncing for the first time, unless you are constantly adding or removing new stuff that needs to be synced. If a file is already on the iPad and iTunes, it checks them and if they are the same, itskips over them.
Click to expand...

Don't have Zinio app do you? This makes a back up take days...
 
I don't necessarily think iTunes is complicated, it has just gotten too big. Parts of it need to be re-written since they just don't perform as well as they should. Plugging an iPod into your computer shouldn't freeze iTunes, and updating an iPhone's software shouldn't stop you from controlling playback of your iTunes music because of a dialog box. (I think they fixed the last one recently, but I don't remember).

ECUpirate44 said:
The 30 pin connector has got to go. Its from 2001 for God's sake.
Click to expand...

Do you know how crazy of a suggestion that is? It's not just used for syncing, it is how accessories connect to the device. So between all the current cables, speaker systems, car adapters, docks, etc, this would cost everyone hundreds of millions of dollars to replace.
 
Piggie said:
I guess all I'm looking for is like 5 folders

Movies
Books
Music
Podcasts
Pictures

I then connect my iPad, and either drop new things in, which get added to my iPad or delete things out which get removed from my iPad.

That seems so simple. I just don't understand how something so simple can get turned into something so complicated.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure where you're having trouble ...

Create a new playlist, call it Music.
Create a new playlist, call it Movies.
Create a new playlist, call it Podcasts.

Set the iPad up to automatically sync those 3 playlists.
Any changes you make to those three playlists will be synced.

As for Books and Pictures, they need to be managed from the appropriate tab. Make an album for photos, set it to sync that one album only and any changes you make to that album will be reflected. This should be conceptually the same as the playlists above. Books is the only (comparatively) awkward one.
 
noire anqa said:
I'm not sure where you're having trouble ...

Create a new playlist, call it Music.
Create a new playlist, call it Movies.
Create a new playlist, call it Podcasts.

Set the iPad up to automatically sync those 3 playlists.
Any changes you make to those three playlists will be synced.

As for Books and Pictures, they need to be managed from the appropriate tab. Make an album for photos, set it to sync that one album only and any changes you make to that album will be reflected. This should be conceptually the same as the playlists above. Books is the only (comparatively) awkward one.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I shall try this method.

Perhaps also, it's as was mentioned in an earlier post, it's harder for windows users than it is for Mac users.

As a windows user I don't use, and don't want to use ANY program to manage my media for me.
I have Windows Media Player and of course Media Centre, but I just don't want one thing handling my files.

I just have my Music files, my Video files, my Photo's etc, in well organised folders, I click on the file I wish to view/play and the "player" I have assigned to that type of media fires up and plays it for me.

That's what I like and it feels a very clean, fresh, easy and open way of doing things.

Having a big heavyweight program attempt to organise and play/display all my media for me is a feeling I do not like, It feels a very "controlled" and "closed" way of dealing with my media.

If Mac users are used to this way of working, I can understand why they don't understand what the issue is when people say they don't like iTunes as they are used to this type of control.
 
I do agree that iTunes is a bit unnecessarily complicated. Still, it's not hard to master if you stop whining about why it does this or doesn't do that and just go along with how it is. I just googled "itiunes manage podcast" and the answers to OP's questions were in the first few links.
 
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