http://tidbits.com/ iTunes 11 brings with it an attractive new interface, which Adam Engst suspects may inform the interfaces of future versions of OS X and its bundled applications. But while some of these changes (the return of color and larger fonts, in particular) are generally welcome, other changes in iTunes 11 are more troubling. en-us Copyright 2012 TidBITS Publishing Inc. Sun, 30 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST Sun, 30 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST editors@tidbits.com (TidBITS Editors) editors@tidbits.com (TidBITS Editors) http://tidbits.com/images/tb_logo_152x55.png http://tidbits.com/ 55 152 TidBITS badge http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_17214 Sun, 30 Dec 2012 16:36:55 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_17214
I also regret moving to Lion but too late to go back to Snow Leopard which was a smooth operating system. It's all part of the corporate plan to get everyone and all the software onto the wretched CLOUD - then they will control everything and have nobody able to produce cheaper software.

The latest is definitely no longer the greatest as far as Apple are concerned.

Say NO to the CLOUD!]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_17199 Thu, 27 Dec 2012 12:23:34 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_17199 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_17192 Wed, 26 Dec 2012 20:46:35 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_17192
Why do I need to replicate work I've already done? If Apple wants to make the order played as stated in Up Next, then the least they can do is preserve my order across upgrades.

I don't want to use iCloud. I don't use iPhones or iPads. I just want iTunes to behave logically on my MacBook.

I'm kicking myself now. In the beginning I was reluctant because I figured Apple would make great efforts to take away my app and my music along with it. Now they've done that, and I've got to find other toys.

]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_17048 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 11:58:35 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_17048 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_17030 Sun, 16 Dec 2012 10:37:25 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_17030 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16967 Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:10:18 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16967
http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/userinterfaceissues/index.html#d13dec2012]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16916 Wed, 12 Dec 2012 02:53:07 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16916
As for all the new buttons and navigation tools, I haven't made up my mind whether I like them or not. They will certainly take some getting used to. But I share Adam's dismay at the prospect of trying to teach others how to use the new iTunes. I've been reading articles like this one to learn as much as I can, but I doubt most Mac users will take the trouble.

So, like Adam, I think iTunes 11 is a mixed bag in regards to what it portends for changes in the OS X UI. The gray interface came to iTunes 10 first before it infected the entire OS in OS X 10.7, Lion. I hope iTunes 11 presages the return of color to the Finder, but, at the same time, worry that the iTunes modal interface may be applied to it as well. That would indeed be a disaster. The Finder is not just another application. It's the very key to using the Mac OS. Tinkering with it is asking for trouble.

Now that Jonathan Ive is in charge of the entire Apple interface effort, it's anyone's guess whether he will restore usability as a paramount Apple value. Some of his designs, like the old Apple hockey puck mouse, have been less than stellar - despite Tim Cook's high opinion of Ive's taste. The new iMac is another case in point, where utterly pointless changes in form dictated, or permitted, a serious degradation in usability. I'm not at all clear that Ive can see a product from a user point of view. Elegance in industrial design is just vanity if it's not also useful.

I am one of the sullen grumblers of which Adam wrote in regard to our displeasure with the iTunes 10 interface. And I've not yet subsided into silence about the graying of the Finder in OS X. Given these examples, I remain skeptical of the quality of Apple's vision going forward. Tim Cook claims to be proud of how involved Apple customers are in providing feedback on Apple products. It remains to be seen if he sincerely gives a hoot or if he's just blowing smoke. If usability does not rise in Apple's esteem, in my not so humble opinion, smoke will be his legacy.]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16907 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 18:37:55 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16907
Where the selection/focus will be when navigating between certain views/items in v11 is often challenging or seemingly impossible (for me) to reliably predict. The amount of extra keyboard/mouse/trackpad interaction quickly became significant and frustrating.
]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16830 Mon, 10 Dec 2012 06:38:32 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16830
http://tidbits.com/article/13432

I'd don't as yet understand how the Up Next feature isn't as useful as the shuffled playlists.]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16829 Mon, 10 Dec 2012 06:35:56 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16829
Not to excuse it, of course!]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16828 Mon, 10 Dec 2012 03:36:08 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16828 http://www.macworld.com.au/help/troubleshooting-itunes-11-81906/

And a forum relating to the removal of shuffled playlists:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4574502?start=0&tstart=0]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16825 Sun, 09 Dec 2012 16:43:27 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16825 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16820 Sun, 09 Dec 2012 11:36:02 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16820 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16815 Fri, 07 Dec 2012 19:46:46 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16815
Thanks a lot]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16811 Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:43:41 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16811
And yes, that little curved arrow icon is gone, but the popover that appears from the now-playing frame when you click the right-pointing arrow next to the song title has options to jump to the song, album, and artist. Personally, I just use Cmd-L, which seems to work everywhere for me.]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16810 Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:00:48 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16810
Can we no longer display a playlist in Shuffle order?

Also, we used to be able to GoTo the song currently playing by clicking the curved-arrow icon beside the song name in the "now playing" frame at the top of the screen. That's now replaced with a menu which is more tedious but I could live with that, if it actually worked. When the current song is not in the visible part of the list, and I press "Go to [song]", or Cmd-L, nothing happens.

Are customers meant to be happy about UI "improvements" that decrease productivity and simplicity...?

p.s. Thank you Adam for all the effort you put into sharing your knowledge with us - much appreciated :)]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16809 Fri, 07 Dec 2012 14:01:56 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16809 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16807 Fri, 07 Dec 2012 11:30:19 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16807 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16799 Fri, 07 Dec 2012 06:19:58 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16799
As a workaround, start playing a song where you want to jump back to, and then use Cmd-L to locate the current song (you don't even have to switch back to Music first).]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16798 Fri, 07 Dec 2012 06:18:03 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16798
http://tidbits.com/article/13419]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16794 Thu, 06 Dec 2012 12:59:21 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16794
“What I always do in Podcasts still works; Cmd+delete to remove selected podcasts. If it's an episode that has not been downloaded, it's simply gone, no confirmation, no sound effect.” I use Backsapace for the same purpose. What you state here also applies if the downloaded podcast file has been moved out of iTunes' Podcast folder]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16793 Thu, 06 Dec 2012 09:52:56 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16793
What I always do in Podcasts still works; Cmd+delete to remove selected podcasts. If it's an episode that has not been downloaded, it's simply gone, no confirmation, no sound effect. If it's one that was downloaded the usual modal dialog appears (Cancel, Keep File, Move to Trash) and pressing M activates the Move to Trash button and my system's move to trash sound plays.]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16792 Thu, 06 Dec 2012 09:46:42 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16792 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16791 Thu, 06 Dec 2012 09:44:21 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16791
As for passwords, maybe he's not saving his Apple ID in the keychain? Also, if you had a bunch of protected files purchased with different Apple IDs, you could get a lot of password prompts (at least once per unique Apple ID) if you never played those files in a particular OS X account before.]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16790 Thu, 06 Dec 2012 08:46:10 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16790
Now, you are returned to the top of your directory... That's a lot of extra scrolling if my son is looking for songs to add to a playlist, checking the playlist, and then returning to the Music directory.]]> http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16789 Thu, 06 Dec 2012 07:16:58 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16789 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16788 Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:30:19 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16788 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16785 Wed, 05 Dec 2012 12:51:24 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16785 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16784 Wed, 05 Dec 2012 10:48:03 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16784 http://db.tidbits.com/article/13422?rss#comments_16782 Wed, 05 Dec 2012 08:40:50 EST http://tidbits.com/article/13422#comments_16782
When I reset my location to the local disk, the button changes to Move to Trash and doesn't work with Cmd-M, as you say. So yes, it's a bug. I recommend filing it at http://bugreport.apple.com/]]>