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Some of the folks, above, have posted comments about how you can simply use control+Alt+delete to get rid of unwanted files in iTunes. Of course you can. But if you read the original blog entry, you'll discover that that's not really the point. The point of much of what this blogger has said is to be able to do these tasks in *fewer mouse/key clicks* so that you can perform cleanup or maintenance in a reasonable amount of time — say 20 minutes instead of spending your entire FRIGGEN DAY (or night).

Even if the person complaining at the top of this page is disorganized in the way he maintains his iTunes library, so what? Let's face it: Not everybody is a tech geek or neat freak. So if Apple's sorting features allowed *normal users* to "clean up" their library easier, I would say that the onus is on the software engineers — who are getting PAID to think of such things — to make such tasks easier on the rest of us (aka "end users").

My problem with iTunes occurs under my native Mac OS X 10.3.9, and nobody can fix it (that is to say that it has been over a year and it's still broke). I've downloaded dozens of updates over the past year so that I am using the latest iTunes software, but the issue is never resolved. What problem? Well, if I want to launch iTunes I have to restart the computer (a dual processor G4). If I fail to reboot and launch the iTunes app RIGHT AWAY, the library goes through the appearance of loading — meaning that I see the status bar moving — and then… nothing. Nada. Zilch. Where is my playlist? It doesn't appear. Where is the window? It never materializes. Why is there a spinning beach ball? It won't stop no matter how many hours it spins. Why can't I get the sprung app to quit without doing a force-quit? (To stop it from "not responding"?)

Even if I reboot the computer and immediately launch iTunes so that I can get the application to launch correctly, my troubles are far from over. If I let iTunes sit open on my desktop for too long and I walk away or use another application and then try to switch back to iTunes, say as little as 1/2 hour later, the application will have frozen with nothing but that infernal rainbow beach ball. What the heck it is doing is anybody's guess. Looking at the Terminal Window doesn't reveal any clues.

So I call a family member who supports Macs for a living, and even with that kind of help at my disposal, his guess is as good as mine. I am told to reinstall QuickTime (did that, no improvement). If that doesn't work, the next step is to remove the iTunes files from the system and to reinstall from scratch (tried that too, but the iTunes download from Apple failed to launch. Go figure — I'm right back at square one). Meanwhile, if I go to Google there is nothing I can find on this issue. How do you even Google it? "iTunes library launch failure"? "iTunes stop responding"? UHGGGGGGGgggggggg! I HATE computers. They do not save time. They waste time. It is said that the average person will spend two years of their life standing in line. If that's true, it could also be said that the average computer owner will spend 15 years in front of a computer keyboard. (And that could even be a conservative guess since most full time working people use a computer on the job!)

And lest you think this is another ignorant newbie writing to bash Apple, this rant is coming from someone who has been a loyal Apple user since the Apple IIe days (that's the 1980s, for those of you who were born 15 years ago). Once upon a time, my friends and family members considered me the resident Mac expert. Now I'm just as befuddled and angry as the rest of the non-geek population.

Since most Internet readers who post comments love playing the "blame game", let's ask where the bulk of the responsibility for these boulder-sized software problems rests (to include, let us not forget, even the ability to take for granted a clean download from the Apple Web site, or a glitch-free installation of the original OS). Do we finger the non-geek computer-using population? Or are we better off expecting the people who *make their living writing code* to work the kinks out before they solicit the rest of us to become UNPAID VOLUNTEERS? I don't know about the rest of the folks reading this blog, but I personally do not have the time or desire to serve as an unpaid software tester for any software manufacturer. There was a time about 15 years ago when I would have considered fiddling with my computer for hours on end a "learning opportunity" or a "challenge" to be conquered. Well, let's just say the computer "honeymoon" is over.