September 7, 2010

The Apple update that has made it impossible for me to watch video or open iTunes.

Thanks a lot. I can't even go anywhere on line without a pop-up window telling me what I already know: Your update sucks.

I woke up this morning thinking the charmingly mellow James Taylor song "Carolina in My Mind," started watching a video of it on YouTube, decided to buy it in iTunes, opened iTunes, got prompted to update software, and now iTunes opens only to crash immediately, so I can't buy it, and I can't even get to the YouTube video anymore. If I see the phrase "Plug-in failure" a few hundred more times, I may lose my mind... or my 25-year-long love for Apple.

ADDED: This and today's cool Google doodle have motivated me to try Chrome as my new browser. Safari had been crashing repeatedly even before the current update. Unfortunately, I still can't get Flash to work.

UPDATE: By the end of the day, Apple had an update (or updates) that appeared to solve the problem.

55 comments:

Ann Althouse said...

And yes, I've tried updating the Flash plug-in. What's next, before kicking in the screen?

Kylos said...

I was able to get it working again by manually downloading and reinstalling iTunes after the latest update caused it to be unable to launch. You may try that.

HT said...

I wonder if I should wait to do an update.

Pastafarian said...

Let us know when they fix it -- so that we can avoid updating iTunes until after it's fixed.

Speaking of Apple failures: My iPod Touch was suddenly unable to connect to my wireless the other day, so, like an idiot, I Binged the problem and followed the instructions on monkeying with settings given by some anonymous clown; and now it's completely screwed up.

My solution: I bought an iPad.

That's right: One of their products failed, and I rewarded them by purchasing an even more expensive product. I just can't live without these things anymore.

billm99uk said...

Gah! Updated last night and haven't tried it since. Now I'm worried :(

Kylos said...

Alternately, perhaps you have an old visualized plugin installed that is not compatible with the latest version. I doubt the plugin error is flash related, since apple seems to hate flash.

If that's the case, try moving the plugins from Library/iTunes/iTunes Plug-ins in you home folder to your desktop and relaunching iTunes.

shirley elizabeth said...

Once you update it your shortcut buttons no longer work...you have to go to the program file and create new ones...if that's the problem.

Anonymous said...

The latest iTunes update for my iMac and my kid's macbook also wouldn't work at first, but seems okay after reinstallation.

Automatic_Wing said...

Elvis had a pretty effective solution for this type of problem.

Hoosier Daddy said...

I'll risk asking but did you restart your comp after downloading it? I did my update this morning and it works for me.

Robert Cook said...

It's always good practice to:

1. Wait for user reports of problems with software updates before updating onseself, and:

2. Create a bootable backup of one's startup drive to another drive before installing new software. If the new software wreaks havoc with one's system, simply clone the bootable backup (pre-update) back to the primary drive.

Do you use Time Machine? If so, you may be able to go back to the backup prior to your software update.

I use SuperDuper! It's a great product, with a limited free version available. I loved it so much I paid $30.00 for the more feature-rich version.

kjbe said...

A friend of mine is having trouble with the update on her touch. For myself, the ipod app on my ipad crashed after the install. Friday night I went to the Apple Store and they did some kind of full restore. It's working now after resyncing, not from the backup but from scratch. So far, it's working...

Fred4Pres said...

Steve Jobs is not amused by your whining.

Calypso Facto said...

How dare you "talk about [it] like a dog", just because it totally f*d everything up.....

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Thanks for the tip..

Hold the update.

GMay said...

Looks like Apple took a page from the Microsoft operations guide.

KCFleming said...

Robert Cook: "I loved it so much I paid $30.00 for the more feature-rich version."

Goddamn capitalists.
=)

Bob Ellison said...

Why are you still buying music from Apple? Amazon sells it for less, at higher bitrates, and without DRM.

Dark Eden said...

Same thing happened to me, I uninstalled and reinstalled iTunes and it cleared it up.

Anonymous said...

And Apple has the gall to criticize and ban Adobe Flash.

Huh!

paul a'barge said...

Are we talking ITunes on a PC Or on a Mac?
What version of ITunes did you have before the update?
What version of ITunes is the "bad" version?

MayBee said...

I'm still irritated that every time I update iTunes for my iPhone, my music library disappears. I have to search out the old one and copy it back into the right place.

tim maguire said...

Wow, for that kind of service, you may as well have a PC.

I'm very careful about updates because you never know which one (but security updates are the worst) will crash your computer and refuse to uninstall. No matter what it is, if my computer will work without it, I don't install it.

Shanna said...

Why are you still buying music from Apple? Amazon sells it for less, at higher bitrates, and without DRM.

I buy mine from amazon too. Sometimes I look for a song and it’s randomly free! Awesome! Plus, I don’t have an ipod so it’s nice not to have to convert things to mp3’s.

Richard Dolan said...

It's telling you to turn all the gadgets off and enjoy the end of summer while it lasts. So take the hint. There will be plenty of time for the gadgets later on.

MadisonMan said...

It's telling you to turn all the gadgets off and enjoy the end of summer while it lasts.

Too late! But at least you can enjoy Autumn.

I'll be curious to see/hear if this update ensnares my kids.

Stan25 said...

I don't why everyone is having problems with iTunes. I updated to the newest version (10.0) as soon it was released and have had no trouble with anything. In fact, the latest version is the most stable one to date.

John said...

I Tunes has sucked for about four years now. When it first came out, I could hook my IPOD up to my computer and ITunes would show every song on my IPOD would be displayed just like the ones on my hard drive were displayed. I could then take songs off and put them on my Ipod by clicking and dragging them. Then sometime about four years ago, I Tunes decided that I had to "sync" my Ipod. And now I can add songs by clicking and dragging. But I cannot delete songs by the same manner. I have to "sync" my entire IPOD with a whole new song list that does not include what I want to delete.

Apple really makes a crappy product. If not for its wierdo hipster cult followers and people like me who got sucked in and are too lazy to change, I don't know who would buy their products.

Jim Gust said...

I had no trouble with the update. Get thee to a Genius Bar!

jungatheart said...

In my mind I'm goin' to Carolina...

Drew said...

iTunes 10.0 has one of the uglier interfaces Apple has ever invented. Because what everyone wants is MONOCHROME! Bleah.

Mary Beth said...

Mine opened without crashing. One of the changes that I saw first was the addition of "Ping". It's an iTunes-based social network. I logged on to it to see what it was like. It recommended that I follow 50 Cent, Daddy Yankee, Juanes and several other artists. Of the over 1000 songs I have downloaded, none are by any of the artists it tells me I should follow. I guess it is broken.

rhhardin said...

I never update anything unless driven to.

I'm still using /bin/ed for instance, because it's working.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

@rh

I have a design/cad/survey program called design-plus that works on DOS.

David said...

"Unfortunately, I still can't get Flash to work."

That lazy, no account Flash is a lost cause. He will break your heart every time.

sakredkow said...

Steve Jobs says you're just holding it wrong.
Hold this, Steve.

Tyrannomac said...

Been using Google Chrome for almost a year and a half. It's so much faster than IE. Some sites did not work in Chrome, but now they have an IE plug-in you can open those non-Chrome-friendly sites in.

Unknown said...

Yesterday I spent an entire afternoon at apple.com trying to figure out why my music was playing slowly on my new ipod touch. It was no less frustrating than a Microsoft visit. I tried to be modern and cool, and what do I get? Aggravation!

If the guy can't fix it today in my scheduled phone call, I'm returning it.

Glenn Howes said...

The major problem with iTunes is that it is an updated Classic Mac application and not a full blown OS X application. If only they could slow down long enough to actually rewrite it with their modern framework, a lot of these problems would just go away. But they keep slapping new features into and extending what was originally a music database and player application into being a complete digital hub.

Honestly, it's an embarrassment for Apple that this is their flagship product and not something reasonably well written like Keynote or, despite Professor Althouse's problems, Safari.

Having said that, I haven't had any particular issues with iTunes 10 for Mac other than the obnoxiously minimalistic icons. Actually seems a bit snappier.

Smilin' Jack said...

I'm amazed no one else has said it yet--allow me to be the first:

HAWHAWHAWHAWheeheeheesnorfle!

Get a PC!

Moose said...

Note to all Apple users complaining on this thread.

It's your fault.

That is all.

Anonymous said...

Hardly know where to start with this thread, especially regarding those who percieve all-things-Apple their most coolest (sic) religious experience.

"Chrome" to view Google's bouncy-ball logo? Reinstall to appease an iUpdate? And shelling out thirty iBucks like it's nothing?

It's a wonder iLiberals get their iPrinters to work.

The real shocker, however, is that anyone still living in the western hemisphere is actually using IE. I mean, it's like you want to change your identity - by proxy.

Hint: PC; Firefox; Adobe/Flash (current); AVG (free); ZoneAlarm firewall (free) for Starbucks (et al), unless of course you want your WiFi'd iLife to be an open iBook.

Chef Mojo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chef Mojo said...

I did the iTunes 10 update into OS 10.6.4. I've had absolutely no problems with the update. No iTunes crashes; iTunes Store works fine - I know this for a fact as I've been downloading apps for my new iPad... No problems with Flash and no Safari crashes. Not sure what's up with Althouse's Mac.

Jim Hu said...

Bug reports from exasperated people understandably tend to lack information. "It works for me" is a useless response, other than explaining why Apple may have not realized that their update sucks for you.

I assume "Plug-in failure" is something you see when iTunes crashes? Or is that a separate frustration with Safari?

If the former, it could be that something you (or a loved one with access to your Mac) installed is incompatible with the new iTunes. Go to
/Library/iTunes/Plugins. What do you see there? Try moving whatever is there to another location and relaunch iTunes.

If there's nothing in the iTunes plugins folder... then I'm not sure what to suggest. Note that there is a Library folder in your root HD and one in your user. Check both.

It's also unusual to not be able to get Flash to work at all. It makes me wonder if something is corrupted in your system. In which case, the thing to do is to back up everything, reinstall the OS from the DVDs, and use Migration Assistant to bring back stuff from the backup. Hope it doesn't come to that.

traditionalguy said...

Google Chrome is much faster, and it links to Google Maps easier.

DaveW said...

I didn't read the whole thread so if someone else suggested this, sorry. And I don't know anything about Apple machines anymore.

With Windows you can always use system restore to reset your machine to just prior to the latest update. I don't know if Apple has something similar.

I had a Windows update kill my networking for certain programs and I was able to clear that by restoring it back before the update. Later it reinstalled the same update and I had no problem with it.

FWIW.

/shrg

The Crack Emcee said...

I woke up this morning thinking the charmingly mellow James Taylor song "Carolina in My Mind," started watching a video of it on YouTube, decided to buy it in iTunes,...

And that's when I started laughing. I've got 20,000 songs on my hard drive - not one bought from iTunes. And I definitely wouldn't buy a James Taylor tune after discovering "You've got a friend" was written about some manipulative fucking guru. John Denver wrote "charmingly mellow" songs, too - all in the service of the est cult.

You hippies are either naive or subversively cruel.

"It felt like a very safe, very safe environment. It did not end well."

Yes, dear (pat-pat on the head) it's the desire for a superficial sense of safety that gets 'em every time.

My take:

Boomer and post-Boomer Americans have been happily funding every harmful idea/player out there - and possibly our own demise - through their willful ignorance and/or denial of reality.

Also, I work on a Mac but you'll never, never, never hear me say I love that cult or their products.

The Crack Emcee said...

Sorry - there should've been a link in there:

"It felt like a very safe, very safe environment. It did not end well."

Anonymous said...

Crack said...
I've got 20,000 songs on my hard drive - not one bought from iTunes.

I suspect this goes well beyond the concept of iBucks.

DaveW said...
With Windows you can always use system restore to reset your machine...

Automatically, too (say, if you happen to be in the kitchen).

Chris said...

Chrome is great. I use it on my admin mini notebook as a defacto OS, in conjunction with iGoogle, gmail, Google docs etc. I open up Chrome in the morning and I never have to look at my Windows desktop again.

Maggie Goff said...

No sales tax at Amazon, either.

The Crack Emcee said...

Almost Ali,

"I suspect this goes well beyond the concept of iBucks."

It sure does - it's called trading. I trade my collection, or a part of it, with others whose taste I respect. If there's overlap, I throw them away, but the great part is I discover lots of stuff I didn't know about - and it doesn't cost a dime.

Fuck iTunes.

Ann Althouse said...

"And I definitely wouldn't buy a James Taylor tune after discovering "You've got a friend" was written about some manipulative fucking guru."

Oh, that's as silly as the New Age bullshit you hate. I don't give a damn what stupid opinions artists have. Am I not to listen to Prince? To Cat Stevens? To... just about everyone?

Ignore them. They're good at what they are good at, not other stuff. I used to know a guy who would choose his *doctors* based on their political opinions. (He wanted left wing.) Insanity.

Anonymous said...

Firefox had a recent update that included something called 'plugin-container.exe' that rendered the browser unusable for me

gosh darn this fiendish internet