iTunes 11.3 freezing when refreshing podcasts

What amazes me is that they haven't even had the time to acknowledge that this is a real problem. That's ludicrous.

Let's face it. After this amount of time, we'll probably not see an update to solve the problem. To make things worse, a friend who is participating in the Yosemite beta testing, told me that iTunes 12 has the same problem. I'm hoping our pleas for help will be heard before the new OS update. He also said there is a change in the UI. Apple, feel free not to mess with something that doesn't need fixing. If it ain't broke, don't mess with it.

Actually you got it wrong. Apple, when it comes to iTunes, seems to have the policy that if that feature is not broken, BREAK IT! I have submitted bug reports and so have others and it is extremely well documented that it is BROKEN but it falls on deaf ears. Makes me want to see if the Windows version of iTunes works as it used to and maybe I should become a Windows switcher. Come on Apple, fix the problem as for me, it was not in iTunes 11.2.2. Let's go back to iTunes 7 when stuff just worked. Not upgrade or add a feature and break the app. Get it together Apple. I am embarrassed and I go back to being a dealer, development partner and servicer to 1977 if you do not count my Apple I. Make your basics work right OR, get out of that market and let a third party make it work. I am now thinking of finding a new podcast app. My music works and my movies and TV shows work (hated when my video movie content I added to iTunes became home movies though-that person should be chastised) but lately, podcasts seem to be a hangup for your to allow us to chose how we want to see them and play them. Was never an issue before. So end this nightmare and fix the problem. Thank you

A bit of hyperbole and inapt analogy there, Silkefromdeu. I was not happy having problems with iTunes but I figured out a way to get by fine that isn't too aggravating—which I hope continues. That's just me. I can live without list view, and the couple times I ventured off the reservation, with a windows notebook and Monkey's Audio I was driven crazy. I hope Apple gets on the stick for the sake of others still having problems, though.

I was having similar problems for weeks, and thinking WAY back to Word and PageMaker on OS 7.5 tried a similar recovery that worked for me.

1. I moved the following four files to a temporary directory:
   • iTunes Library Extras.itdb
   • iTunes Library Genius.itdb
   • iTunes Library.itl
   • iTunes Music Library.xml
2. Then I started iTunes, which created new versions of these files.
3. I then quit iTunes and waited to make sure it had finished saving updates to these files.
4. I finally removed the new copies and put to originals back.

iTunes 11.3 now works fine for me. No uninstall/reinstall, and all my playlists and media survived.

I tried it. Still have the problem. Thanks for the idea though.

what amazes me also that I see nothing from all those journalists making a living from writing geeky sounding stuff about Apple seems to have noticed

that makes me really suspicious - who are these guys and gals? - if it were a political scandal they'd be out in force all over the place

could it be that for the fourth power Apple can do no wrong????????

here is the latest top news according to Google for Apple iTunes Podcasts - to me that sounds like another nanny-ing service which doesn't suit my needs but maybe it'll have some manual options also.

If this is true then Apple is certainly aware of having a podcast problem which makes their efforts to dis-improve the service so very effectively even more mysterious. 11.3 provides a podcast service (leaving the freezing and beachballing of list view aside) that can never have been tested by anybody using podcasts

http://www.businessinsider.in/Apple-Will-Buy-Swell-A-Personalized-Radio-And-Podc ast-App-To-Give-iTunes-A-Shot-In-The-Arm/articleshow/39173596.cms

I'm all but certain the reason there isn't any reporting is that it isn't much of a story. A bug affecting (apparently) a minority of users, and which for most of them is (albeit annoyingly) workaround-able. And I say this as someone who is INTENSELY annoyed by it.

Many tech sites posted big, scathing stories on - for example - the Final Cut Pro X - I distinctly remember a headline which quoted someone to the effect of "Final Cut Pro X is UNUSABLE". There's no conspiracy here, just an annoying bug and a lack of will to acknowledge it (not, unfortunately, unusual for Apple).

so you think that spending 5 hours on the phone with an apparently apt help desker with no improvement to the problem isn't worthy of hyperbole?

if so then you judge products you spent money on by different quality standards than I do.

I firmly believe that customers need to be protected from companies that ride roughshot over them like that, stealing thus hours and hours of their time need some very painful slaps on the wrist and not caveat emptor stoicism.

I quite clearly said I found the problem intensely annoying. I just don't think tech news sites are that interested in covering it, because compared to outright disasters like the launch of final cut pro X, this is a relatively small thing. Not because "for the fourth power Apple can do no wrong".

Look, I think apple's approach with itunes is terrible too. Not having an easy capability to downgrade, release notes often missing things that have changed, and a feedback system that seems as effective as throwing your suggestions into a black hole, these are all very annoying things. But accusing the tech media of some conspiracy just makes you look silly.

I found the work around by accident here on the community site, not in a 5 hour session with the help desk.

Maybe we Podcast lovers are so marginal as to be neglectable but the supply side is anything but given that my most listened to providers are the BBC and its German equivalent, both hardly negligible entities.

The BBC seems to have reacted to it and adjusted its podcast offerings to MyPodcastView's demands, their German twin seems to be still working on it. Since both are news outlets there are two possibilities: either they weren't alerted to the changes in time or they neglected the alerts or there were no alerts at all. During the last toss up in September 2013 I was told by German public radio that Apple had told them that there were no changes that would affect their offerings and they believed Apple even after I alerted them to the mess that Apple's imposition of its cloud (undeletable and unhideable episodes) on their podcast offering had created.

There is neglect since I wouldn't call people who just sound company PR to the public deserve to be called journalists.

They aren't interested in publishing Apple's toss ups even those who constantly moan that Apple is such a closed system couldn't care less saying anything negative about Apple.

PS:

maybe it is different if another company for profit damaged by Apple's recklessness and neglect is hurt, but mere consumers of stuff that's free of charge are of no interest. No self-respecting snob would tolerate getting caught advocating for them.

maybe Germany is different. But since we pay, just like the Brits do, a hefty monthly fee to our public radio we expect them to advocate for us even if no profit generating issue is concerned. ... and I think rightly so - if you compare their advocacy in other contexts to compacency when it comes to podcasts, a service their employer is providing, the difference is glaring and unacceptable if there still is something like jounalistic honour.

both the BBC and German public radio promote iTunes on their websites - the German one a lot more prominently than other podcatchers, which since advertising is forbidden to them already makes for slightly doubtful behaviour.

I checked again and can't find the prominently displayed iTunes sign on the Podcast-offering site any longer, only this in the text - so it seems like this mess-up is noticed - why then aren't they informing the users? Also on the site they are linking to for podcast software iTunes isn't featured as THE choice any longer - but of course this can just mean that Apple will close its podcast service as it closed down its RSS-feed with Mavericks.

Maybe it is all part of a good bye to things for free on the net ... and since journalist probably have paid the heaviest price as long as that culture dominated they'd be all for it. I'd be if I were a "journalist"

http://www.podcast.de/software/podcatcher/betriebssystem/macos/

iTunes-Nutzer: Sofern Sie das Programm iTunes bereits installiert haben, können Sie direkt auf unsere Podcast-Seite im iTunes-Store wechseln oder aber einen Direktlink aus der Liste am Ende dieser Seite wählen.

http://www.deutschlandradio.de/podcasts.226.de.html