Using iTunes on Windows is awful.

Seriously Apple... why do this? Are you just trying to torture Windows users? Is this part of a scheme to make people feel like their Windows PCs are too slow? Well, I'm not falling for it. This software is incredibly aggravating to use, and I'd wager it's like that because Apple just doesn't want to waste time making Windows versions of iTunes work properly.

Why use it then? As it turns out, you sort of have to if you have an iPhone and want to avoid a big headache. I will give Apple this, they make a really, really cool phone. But does the software have to be so terrible? Maybe I'm just more conscious of it because I abandoned it long ago, only returning recently when I got the phone. Why is it that the program freezes for like 3 seconds whenever I want to view my phone info? And why does the store have to take forever to open a page (this may actually be a universal issue)? This pile of poorly coded refuse must take 5 seconds to start up; about 4 seconds longer than it should. I mean, Google Earth launches in less time.

When iTunes was fresh and new, it wasn't bad. It was light-weight and ran okay. Version 4.1 was a 19MB download. The new version 8.1? Oh, just 80MB. It has gotten bloated and slow. Of course, the bundling with Quicktime has something to do with that. Installing iTunes seems to give Apple the right to bug you with all manner of prompts asking about installing their other shit. No thanks Apple, I don't want the MobileMe control panel. Fix MobileMe first, then we'll talk.

And about the store... it is not a browser, despite its repeated attempts to trick me into thinking it is. The tiny little forward and back buttons are stupid for this application. There must be a better way to navigate a store within a program. And why the hell can I not highlight ANYTHING? All I want to do is copy a URL. What is Apple's problem with copy an paste? First on the iPhone, now they don't even want my computer to do it.

It's just goddamn awful.