notcloudy wrote:
If you are still having problems after the latest update - try calling APPLE support -- the latest fix for podcasts happened because a person did work with Apple support to get it done.
I have a much better idea. We've already paid handsome sums to Apple for hardware and, in some cases, software. Their developers are well-compensated and, presumably, apply industry-standard practices, especially testing, before pushing software out for general release with promises of improved operation, speed, accuracy, etc. In fact, they are apparently so confident in their coding abilities that most users receive a 'push' notice of new versions and/or have their iTunes set to automatically update itself, based on a typically high level of trust in Apple. It is, therefore, not our problem to resolve.
As an indispensable conduit for media, purchases, marketing, etc. as well as management of our devices we are all at the mercy of iTunes. Support personnel are just that; they are not developers. They are subject to the same dead ends in flawed software as any end-user.
Many (most?) of us have jobs, families, and activities to be getting on with. We chose Apple products and services because they complement our lives, not the other way round. It should not require a house-of-cards balancing act to get hardware and software to operate as advertised. It should not require hours, days or weeks of end-user time to identify and troubleshoot problems, especially when such identification means only one thing: a bug i.e. a software problem that cannot be overcome without re-coding i.e. all affected users must endure reduced or a complete lack of functionality until such problems are addressed.
Beta testing is a wonderful thing; it relies on a diverse and/or large test audience's ability to 'kick the tires' in ways the developers might never imagine but must ultimately take into account in order to provide a stable platform. But beta testing is still testing - it is not general release. It seems that haste is making serious waste where iOS apps as well as iTunes itself are concerned; developers and firms are standing the value proposition on its head where new features and stability are concerned.
It's all very well to say a workaround exists or a fix is forthcoming but in the meantime many users are experiencing data loss through no fault of their own and, as we've seen, spending inordinate amounts of time uninstalling, manually removing items, reinstalling, reconfiguring all with no guarantee of efficacy.
Apple built an empire on proprietary hardware and software. Fair play to them. It is not too much to ask, however, that changes billed as improvements have a basis in reality. Moreover, it is imperative that such changes have no deleterious effects.
