OSNews: http://www.osnews.com/story/22065/Apple_s_Five_Worst_Products_Ever Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2013, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Tue, 21 May 2013 13:49:55 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif OSNews.com http://www.osnews.com For sure the new Shuffle http://www.osnews.com/thread?380743 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380743 The perfect case of adding some great new technology, but then removing something that is really useful. I'd love to have the ability to use voice commands... but to be stuck with a single pair of headphones and no other means to use the player without them? Forget it.

I'm sticking with my 2nd generation shuffle. The perfect blend of function and size! Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:50:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (nathbeadle) Comments I like coverflow! http://www.osnews.com/thread?380744 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380744 I agree with the almost everything in this article except for the negative comments about cover flow. I am old enough to fondly remember the wonders of the LP cover and I was eventually reconciled to the small CD cases (try rolling a spliff on a CD box - I have and its not so good) but I was afraid that going digital would mean good bye to all the lovely covers in my music collection.

Cover flow is the perfect solution, there if you want it and not there if you don't. Some of my albums I have been listening too for over forty years and their covers are images from my past life and when I scroll through cover flow the images leap out and tickle my memories. What Apple undertsood from early on was that people have an emotional relationship with their music. Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:56:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Tony Swash) Comments No Pippin? http://www.osnews.com/thread?380745 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380745 Really, the Apple-Bandai Pippin set-top box/game console didn't make the list? Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:59:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Ravyne) Comments Comment by schoate09 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380746 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380746 The iTunes criticisms I can vouch for all the way.

In the old days, circa 2005, before video was added, and iTunes 4.7 was the latest version, iTunes was a pleasure to use, despite it's foreign interface, even on Windows.

It was about 30 some odd MB to install, launched relatively quickly, and had little other bloat besides installing Quicktime, which provided the necessary frameworks for it's audio playback.

Today, my Core i7 with Windows 7 64-bit launches iTunes 8 slower on a clean, fast, fresh OS install, than my Pentium 4 did with Xp running iTunes 4.

Little in the way of actual functionality was added, and what really brings my piss to a boil is the size of updates for this program (even though my Comcast connection is quick, these updates still are larger than they need to be).

I still use it for my iPod shuffle (For running), but I much prefer WMP or Winamp for my daily listening. Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:01:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (schoate09) Comments RE: No Pippin? http://www.osnews.com/thread?380747 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380747 My guess is they're sticking to products under the modern Apple (although the Quicktake doesn't qualify).

The Pipin' was under a non-jobs era where Apple was almost a completely different company. (See: Newton) Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:01:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (schoate09) Comments Price? http://www.osnews.com/thread?380749 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380749 I'd say one disappointing thing about Apple in general is their prices. Don't want to complain too much about it, but it certainly hinders adoption in other parts of the world (where $200 magically become EUR200 for example).Edited 2009-08-26 21:11 UTC Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:11:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Buck) Comments Beginning of the fun and entertaining 1984 days bad PR http://www.osnews.com/thread?380750 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380750 For Apple?

So this is day 1? But bad PR looks different to me .. where are all these posts for the campaign with that big announcement. I feel kind of let down TBH. Thom denied that any of his bad Apple PR posts belong to that campaign .. so is this supposed to be the first or will we have to wait a bit longer? Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:15:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (kragil) Comments RE: No Pippin? http://www.osnews.com/thread?380754 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380754
Really, the Apple-Bandai Pippin set-top box/game console didn't make the list?


Was that actually a *bad* product? Or just a highly unsuccessful one? Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:19:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Delgarde) Comments RE: No Pippin? http://www.osnews.com/thread?380755 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380755
Really, the Apple-Bandai Pippin set-top box/game console didn't make the list?


First thing I thought. Like iTunes or not, it doesn't belong on the list, the Pippin does. Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:28:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mlankton) Comments Other products http://www.osnews.com/thread?380756 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380756 The wireless radio adapter thingie (airport express)

http://www.apple.com/airportexpress

The Apple TV.

( And, in my opinion, though not everyone else would agree)

Iwork.
Iphoto. Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:30:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Bill Shooter of Bul) Comments RE: Other products http://www.osnews.com/thread?380759 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380759 Hey what's wrong with Airport Express?? It's a really cool device if you travel (very small, multi-voltage, good performance).

If you want a full featured router then you have Airport Extreme (sucks).

IMHO Airport Extreme is the bad one not the Express!!!! ;) Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:59:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (sergio) Comments RE: Other products http://www.osnews.com/thread?380760 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380760 The Airport Express is great. I actually get 100Mbit over my Wifi-network. Not many Wifi-routers will give you that. The Extreme has even better performance since it has Gbit-WAN.

I have tried and benchmarked many routers and nowadays I only recommend Airports to people. So far they have beaten the competition, by a lot. Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:05:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (fx__) Comments RE: Comment by schoate09 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380761 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380761 Ah, I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers the days back when iTunes wasn't bloated, slow, and generally horrible. I only ever start it to put songs on my iPhone, and it's fairly painful to even do that. Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:07:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (FreakyT) Comments RE[2]: Other products http://www.osnews.com/thread?380763 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380763 Ok, its clear some people like the express. Guess I misjudged its popularity.

But still:

I actually get 100Mbit over my Wifi-network. Not many Wifi-routers will give you that.


Uhm are you saying that other 80211 N routers don't provide 100Mbit? That's not my experience. They all seem to be pretty much the same. If you're comparing it to a 80211 G or B device, then, yeah, they can't go as fast. Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:16:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Bill Shooter of Bul) Comments iTunes? ...oh, the *new* iTunes http://www.osnews.com/thread?380764 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380764 I was surprised by iTunes, until I read the explanation and realized that I haven't used it since about 2005.

I gave up on iPhoto because it, too, was a spinning beach ball factory. I once told a friend that Apple could fix iPhoto by applying some of its ideas in iTunes to iPhoot. Looks like they did the reverse. Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:21:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (jack_perry) Comments The i-bomb http://www.osnews.com/thread?380768 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380768 How in the world did the current exploding iPod miss this list? At least the Newton didn't mame or mutilate. Perhaps after the ubiquitous and volatile iPod takes down a commercial flight it will not be so easily forgotten. The inevitable expose' describing Apple trying to force the victim's families to sign confidentiality agreements should be interesting, though.Edited 2009-08-26 22:40 UTC Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:39:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (sbergman27) Comments RE[2]: Comment by schoate09 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380777 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380777 Are you guys both using windows? (curious) as I have it on my mac and I've not a single problem, 57,000+ tracks too..

I wonder if the windows version is just particularly crap, which seems odd, you'd think Apple would want to make it nice to showcase their software.. then again, what do I know. Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:17:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (godawful) Comments RE[2]: No Pippin? http://www.osnews.com/thread?380787 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380787 It was a bad product. It was released with a slow processor for it's task, and an outdated software platform for what it was meant to be. Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:42:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (schoate09) Comments RE[3]: Comment by schoate09 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380789 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380789 I'm running it on Windows. I've run it on Mac, and it is much better on OS X, but it still feels a little more bloated than it needs to be. You're right, it's definitely a bigger problem on Windows, and I feel that Apple would want to make sure the Windows app runs well, like you said, to showcase what they have to offer.

iTunes does a lot of things well, it's biggest problem (on Windows at least) is performance. Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:43:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (schoate09) Comments RE: The i-bomb http://www.osnews.com/thread?380792 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380792
How in the world did the current exploding iPod miss this list?

Oops! I blinked. Now it's "exploding iPhones", as well:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8223005.stmEdited 2009-08-26 23:54 UTC Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:54:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (sbergman27) Comments iTunes? http://www.osnews.com/thread?380797 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380797 I love iTunes!

I would like it to be a tad faster to launch, but I can live with waiting 2 seconds (that's on a 3yo iMac).

I find it easy to use, navigate etc... Not sure what the problem is. Maybe the Windows version sux, maybe that's it...

Oh, I was a SoundJam fan back in the day, so I haven't just started using this thing.

I would like to see iPhoto run up faster and work smoother though, and Exposé mode for Safari needs some work too, I've had Safari die quite a few times there (latest version).

I love the iPhone, but they may have not bothered with the camera, I hope they update that, if I don't have a camera on me, and want to take a photo, I still think twice before using the iPhone (I have the 3G, not the 3GS, so maybe it's improved a little, but from what I hear, it hasn't).

Not sure how iTunes made the list.

Oh, the QuickTake wasn't a bad product as such (well, OK, it was), but it was just ahead of it's time, needed technology to catch up (a lot) - lol. I don't think it should have been on the list.

The Pippin defn. should have. It was a terrible product. Kind of Apples way to try and sell a lot crap (even for it's day) h/w that it couldn't sell otherwise. Great idea, very very very poorly executed. It was basically an LC from memory...

Can we include products that didn't quite make it like Copland. Again, a great idea, but it would have been poorly executed, though I loved the idea of OpenDoc!!! Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:11:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (thavith_osn) Comments RE[2]: Other products http://www.osnews.com/thread?380808 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380808 Agreed, Apple sent me a free Airport Extreme after an issue I had with an old Linksys. (They blamed my issues on a router, despite them telling me all my old stuff works). Took that POS and sold it, bought a MUCH, MUCH nicer newer Linksys. Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:11:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (schoate09) Comments RE: iTunes? ...oh, the *new* iTunes http://www.osnews.com/thread?380809 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380809
I was surprised by iTunes, until I read the explanation and realized that I haven't used it since about 2005.

I gave up on iPhoto because it, too, was a spinning beach ball factory. I once told a friend that Apple could fix iPhoto by applying some of its ideas in iTunes to iPhoot. Looks like they did the reverse.


I'll second that. Hell, all of iLife seems to be unstable. Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:12:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (schoate09) Comments Hockey-puck mouse http://www.osnews.com/thread?380821 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380821 Hey, the hockey puck mouse was the best single-button mouse I ever used. It had a comfortable weight behind it and was quite comfortable. People who complain about the length of the mouse cord must be blind - it was designed to plug into the USB hub on the keyboard, so the length was perfect.

Sure, I prefer to be able to use a scroll wheel and a second (and third) mouse button, but the hockey puck rocked. Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:14:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (3rdalbum) Comments RE: iTunes? http://www.osnews.com/thread?380866 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380866 The Windows version does, indeed, suck. My experience is the same, iTunes is actually quite nice on OS X even if it does take up more memory than is perhaps strictly necessary, but on Windows... it's a bloated, slow memory hog that feels like it's about to crash at any moment. Come to think of it, all of Apple's Windows software is that way. Maybe they hope people will switch to Macs instead, or else don't think spending developer resources on the Windows versions is very important. Either way, it is a rather strange decision on their part. Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:39:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (darknexus) Comments what about http://www.osnews.com/thread?380870 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380870 OS 9..

:p Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:07:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (siraf72) Comments RE: iTunes? http://www.osnews.com/thread?380879 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380879 I hate iTunes!

It's really one of the worst applications I have ever used. It's so slow and amazingly even more slower when iPod is connected. It can't auto add files to library, it can't download cover art without registering, I can't click right and just sync files I have to drag and drop. And saddest part, this shitty program ruins one of the best portable music player I ever had. But it's not Apples fault, I mean I choose this path since otherway would be to suffer dreadful Creative players. I rather suffer that small time of first importing new music to iTunes and then syncing than having to use crappy music player all time. Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:42:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Karitku) Comments Not too many for me http://www.osnews.com/thread?380886 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380886 Let's see...
1.the puck mouse (there were some claws like extenders we called the cat which you could attach to these)
2.MacOS 9 , man, that was a crappy one. I have started on 7 and from 7 till 9, MacOS seemed to spin downward. Luckily came OS X ...
That's about it Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:13:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Budd) Comments RE: Hockey-puck mouse http://www.osnews.com/thread?380907 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380907 I guess your mileage varied ;)

I agree with the Wired article (how long since I last agreed with anything on Wired?). I _hated_ the hockey puck mouse. It was pretty (especially seeing the ball moving around) but oh the pain of using it! Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:59:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (B12 Simon) Comments RE[3]: Other products http://www.osnews.com/thread?380908 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380908 I'm actually saying that the N-routers I have tried don't give full 100Mbit. I have tried with my brothers Linksys router which I do believe only supports 2.5GHz but I got about 50Mbit against that one. A friend tried with one of those expensive D-Link routers that have two antennas and got between 50-60 Mbit.

I will admit I have only tried with Mac's so it may perhaps work better with other wifi-cards?

I think I will save all the results I get with different routers in the future, but of all the ones I have tested so far, against my Mac, the Airports have been almost twice as fast. Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:05:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (fx__) Comments The Fine Line http://www.osnews.com/thread?380918 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380918 I think there is a fine line between a stupid product and a crap one; iTunes for example is the epitome of a crap product and I hope that with the announcement of a iPod refresh in September that we'll see a Cocoa re-write of iTunes which will once and for all purge iTunes of its horridness. I have a 140-150GB music collection - and let me tell you, it isn't a walk in the park when it comes to managing it with iTunes.

I've tried Songbird and it is a horrible player - so bad it actually made be go back to using iTunes. Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:46:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (kaiwai) Comments RE[2]: No Pippin? http://www.osnews.com/thread?380950 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380950 Yeah, I considered mentioning the Pippin myself, but it was never even really released, so I don't count it. Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:41:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (David) Comments RE: Hockey-puck mouse http://www.osnews.com/thread?380964 http://www.osnews.com/thread?380964
Hey, the hockey puck mouse was the best single-button mouse I ever used. It had a comfortable weight behind it and was quite comfortable.


Seriously? Had you used the previous Apple "teardrop"-style mice? They weren't great, but they were a hell of a lot more comfortable to use than the iPuck. Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:29:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (StephenBeDoper) Comments