Apple’s iTunes 10: An Off-Key Upgrade

Unless you’re a big fan of Ping or have fancy AirPlay speakers, iTunes 10 is a flop. It’s not faster. It does not automatically include existing settings in different albums from previous 9.x versions. And it is much, much less attractive.

Also, at least for me, it introduced a glitch. Since I upgraded my Mac to iTunes 10, every time I connect my iPhone to my computer, for some inexplicable reason, the ImageCapture application launches and stops the syncing process until I close app. There does not appear to be a straightforward way to stop it from happening. (Any help here is appreciated. Image Capture 6.0.1 does not have a Preferences file to fix and the one in iTunes does not offer any help.)

My biggest complaint, though, is the new look and feel of iTunes. Is BORING the new cool at Apple? Have color highlights that help navigate through software been banned by aesthetics idiots at the company? Is making an application more difficult to use considered hip and cutting edge? By comparing version 9 on my wife’s machine and version 10 on mine I’d say Apple responded with a resounding “yes” to all those questions.

Sometimes app developers, particularly on the user-interface side, feel compelled to change things just to rationalize their existence on a payroll. They eschew the famous expression “If it’s ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Instead, they just rush ahead and break things.

I wish I had never upgraded to iTunes 10. My advice to others is to skip it as well.