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Topic: Apple

How Amazon has proven that iTunes is totally obsolete

Summary: Isn't it time Apple just put iTunes out of our misery and killed the blasted thing off?

David Gewirtz

By for DIY-IT |

How many of you bought Kindle Fires recently? Go ahead. Raise your hands.

Wow, that's a lot of you. Okay, how many of you are running apps on the Kindle Fire? Yeah, that's what I expected. Most of you.

See also: 7 reasons the Kindle Fire is better than the iPad

How many of you have music or videos on your Kindle Fires? Hmm...same sorts of numbers. Almost everyone in the room.

See also: 12 things that kinda suck about the Kindle Fire

Okay, here's the million dollar question. How many of you installed some big, ungainly, memory-hogging, unreliable, poorly designed program on your PCs or Macs, just to be able to configure and manage your Kindle Fires?

Anyone? Anyone? Ferris? Bueller? Bueller?

What you hear, ladies and gentlemen, is the sound of silence. No one had to install anything like the beastly iTunes to do anything with their Kindle Fire. In fact, no one had to install any software whatsoever to manage their Kindle Fires (as long has they had access to a Web browser).

See also: When to buy an Android tablet and when to buy a Kindle Fire

Amazon has proven that there's absolutely no need for an iTunes-like interface to accomplish everything Apple claims iTunes is needed to do.

That sound of silence you're hearing is Amazon proving that iTunes is totally obsolete. Isn't it time Apple just put iTunes out of our misery and killed the blasted thing off?

Topics: Apple, Amazon, Hardware, Mobility

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165 comments
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  • RE: How Amazon has proven that iTunes is totally obsolete

    "How many of you bought Kindle Fires recently? Go ahead. Raise your hands."

    Not in my budget, sorry. That, plus I really don't see the point.

    "Okay, here???s the million dollar question. How many of you installed some big, ungainly, memory-hogging, unreliable, poorly designed program on your PCs or Macs, just to be able to configure and manage your Kindle Fires?"

    Okay, now - how many of you installed such a thing to manage your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch?

    (silence)

    Oh, yeah, that's right - everybody upgraded to iOS 5.

    Problem? =)

    "Isn???t it time Apple just put iTunes out of our misery and killed the blasted thing off?"

    Even though it isn't required for their devices anymore, they're probably gonna stick with it - it's still part of their ecosystem, and last I checked it's still the largest music store. It's in its golden years, despite the technical issues, and killing it probably isn't a good idea.
    CobraA1
    Reply Vote

    • RE: How Amazon has proven that iTunes is totally obsolete

      @CobraA1 How did you get the upgrade to iOS 5? Oh, that's right, through iTunes.
      ryanmc
      Reply Vote

      • Ummm... Huh?

        @ryanmc: I got my iOS 5 update over the air. You had a choice, and still do.

        Meanwhile, I happen to like having a library bigger than my iPad/iPhones/iPods can handle. I don't know about you, but at 15,000 plus tracks, my library is bigger than any single i-Product short of an iPod Classic.
        Vulpinemac
        Reply Vote

      • That large!?

        You must own a Zune!
        ego.sum.stig
        Reply Vote

    • RE: How Amazon has proven that iTunes is totally obsolete

      @CobraA1

      Zune Pass...enough said.
      Rob.sharp
      Reply Vote

    • RE: How Amazon has proven that iTunes is totally obsolete

      @CobraA1 Three Words:
      Digital
      Rights
      Management
      rphunter42
      Reply Vote

      • RE: How Amazon has proven that iTunes is totally obsolete

        @rphunter42 <br><br>Lack of DRM is an excellent reason to get music through iTunes =).

        That, plus the high quality AAC format at 256 kbps.
        CobraA1
        Reply Vote

      • @CobraA1 .. AAC's great but it's not the only good reason

        @rphunter42 ... to use iTunes. It's not the only format that returns great sound quality audio files. As you'll know, because iTunes can also encode in Apple Lossless, AIFF, MP3 and .wav, it covers pretty much a very wide base on quality audio file formats for importing into an iTunes library.

        When synching my iPod, i personally prefer 192Kbps (Quality: high), 44KHz, VBR, encoding with .mp3. For some reason i just prefer the (what i like to think of as) warmer tones that .mp3 delivers over AAC encoded files. I suppose i could encode at a higher bit rate (e.g. 256 or 320), but i'd be bumping the file sizes a bit too much (after all, i've only got an old 20GB, 4th Gen', B&W).
        thx-1138_
        Reply Vote

      • RE: How Amazon has proven that iTunes is totally obsolete

        @rphunter42<br><br>three more:<br>Get<br>A<br>Clue.<br><br>Hint: iTunes has been DRM free for a LONG time. Thanks for putting a sign around your neck stating "I don't know what I am talking about".
        .DeusExMachina.
        Reply Vote

    • LOL... David Gewirtz... PWNed!

      @CobraA1 ..remember Rosan Rosanadana.. oh.. iOS 5 doesn't actually require iTunes either? ..oh.. never-mind.. LOL...
      theFunkDoctorSpoc
      Reply Vote

      • RE: How Amazon has proven that iTunes is totally obsolete

        @theFunkDoctorSpoc Leave it to David to put out a hit piece on Apple whenever possible and as he so often does fall flat on his face when doing so.

        personallyly have never had any issues with iTunes. Is it the best software out there, of course not. Does it serve it's purpose, of course it does. What I find so funny is that most commenting negatively about iTunes hate Apple and probably have no real clue what they are talking about so are completelirrelevantnt in the conversation.
        non-biased
        Reply Vote

    • RE: How Amazon has proven that iTunes is totally obsolete

      @CobraA1 - If you buy a new iPad the ONLY way to get it up and running is to use iTunes.
      cdhanks
      Reply Vote

      • RE: How Amazon has proven that iTunes is totally obsolete

        @cdhanks Wrong. I just configured one last month with tons on music and apps and not once had a cable attached. Of course you have to understand how your iDevices/iCloud works, and the process didn't include /new/ music, but it nearly configured itself once my AppleID was entered.
        race_1
        Reply Vote

      • RE: How Amazon has proven that iTunes is totally obsolete

        @cdhanks When they first came out that was true. Now that they already have iOS 5 on them, you don't need iTunes anymore to get them up and running. The only reason you would need it is if you had ripped music you wanted to put on it and didn't want to use iTunes match and pay twice for your music. Other than that, you don't really need it anymore.
        hammeroftruth
        Reply Vote

      • RE: How Amazon has proven that iTunes is totally obsolete

        @cdhanks Go sit in the corner and let the adults who actually know what they are talking about have a conversation.
        non-biased
        Reply Vote

  • RE: How Amazon has proven that iTunes is totally obsolete

    @Tim Acheson: Tim, Tim, Tim. iTunes is free.
    wolfandfox
    Reply Vote

    • RE: How Amazon has proven that iTunes is totally obsolete

      @wolfandfox Even at free it's OVERPRICED!! Memory hog, Resource hog, unstable, badly behaved. They should pay you!
      Scubajrr
      Reply Vote

    • RE: How Amazon has proven that iTunes is totally obsolete

      @ Scubajrr

      Ah, if some were paying for such things, I would run Microsoft Windows all day long and be rich, rich, rich... ;-)
      danbi
      Reply Vote

    • I don't get it...

      @danbi<br><br>You say:<br>"Ah, if some were paying for such things, I would run Microsoft Windows all day long and be rich, rich, rich..."<br><br>That would seem to imply that you believe that Windows has some kind of problem with memory, resources and instability. Now, I am going to give you some credit here, I would hope if your someone who knows enough about IT that you even bother to visit this website, never mind post on it, that you would know that isn't true. So if you don't want to sound like just one more of the raving loonie tunes who cant live with the fact that the whole world uses Windows and it works for them just fine, you should explain your statement that you appear to think is humorous.<br><br>I suppose it must be some kind of joke but its so obscure its hard to follow.<br><br>On the other hand, if you are indeed just one more mouth without a brain behind it who insists Windows is lousy just because you have chosen another OS, then don't bother responding because whatever you have to say in that vein will be pointless and either a poor understanding of reality, or simply an outright lie. Like the ridiculous lies we hear too often about people on here who claim to be IT professionals who cant seem to get their Aunt Millie's Windows machine running right because its always so full of viruses and continuous BSOD. And we know thats a lie because simple folk around the world seem to manage their Windows machines around the world, by the millions and they are just fine. We all have an Aunt Millie of some kind or other in our family, and I have seen some pretty inept ones in my time, but one thing I have never seen is a Windows machine that couldn't be set quite simply to run like a top with minimal effort on the part of any real IT pro.
      Cayble
      Reply Vote

    • iTunes is a POS

      Even I agree with the Windows fanboys here and I don't usually do that.

      But that doesn't mean I trust the cloud to hold my music either.
      ScorpioBlue
      Reply Vote
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