iTunes: Still Slowing Down Windows PCs After All These Years 519
colinneagle sends this quote from an article at NetworkWorld:
"I run a very nifty desktop utility called Rainmeter on my PC that I heartily recommend to anyone who wants to keep an eye on their system. One of its main features is it has skins that can monitor your system activity. Thanks to my numerous meters, I see all CPU, disk, memory and network activity in real time. the C: drive meter. It is a circle split down the middle, with the right half lighting up to indicate a read and the left half lighting up for write activity. The C: drive was flashing a fair amount of activity considering I had nothing loaded save Outlook and Word, plus a few background apps. At the time, I didn't have a Rainmeter skin that lists the top processes by CPU and memory. So instead, I went into the Task Manager, and under Performance selected the Resource Monitor. Under the Processes tab, the culprit showed its face immediately: AppleMobileDeviceService.exe. It was consuming a ridiculous amount of threads and CPU cycles. The only way to turn it off is to go into Windows Services and turn off the service. There's just one problem. I use an iPhone. I can't disable it. But doing so for a little while dropped the CPU meters to nothing. So I now have more motivation to migrate to a new phone beyond just having one with a larger screen. This problem has been known for years. AppleMobileDeviceService.exe has been in iTunes since version 7.3. People complained on the Apple boards more than two years ago that it was consuming up to 50% of CPU cycles, and thus far it's as bad as it always has been. Mind you, Mac users aren't complaining. Just Windows users."
Get Rid of iTunes! (Score:3, Funny)
And replace it with the Rainmeter skin that plays MP3s.
iTunes (Score:3, Funny)
People complained on the Apple boards more than two years ago that it was consuming up to 50% of CPU cycles, and thus far it's as bad as it always has been. Mind you, Mac users aren't complaining. Just Windows users."
The reason is two-fold. First, iTunes scans your folders for new files periodically if you don't let it manage your collection for you. Second, it's constantly searching for an iDevice using the 'mobile' service; All that CPU is being eaten making windows calls to each attached USB bus and being asked "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" And then, of course, launching iTunes as soon as one is detected. You can disable this service with no ill-effect, but you have to do it manually. iTunes will then throw up a warning and then continue on its merry. That, by the way, is also on the Apple message boards.
Now yes, Apple shouldn't have done this without telling its users: Hey, enabling this is gonna slow your junk down! -- But on the flip, Microsoft's hardware abstraction layer is a terrible, horrible, implimentation that makes every access from userspace terribly expensive. And worse? Some of the documentation specifically says they want it that way! On purpose! Everytime I have to work with HAL I'm filled with a strong urge to strip all my clothes off, burn them, then take a cold shower while shivering up in the corner, scrubbing my skin raw, chanting "must...wash...away...the sin..."
I guess what I'm saying is... Shame on both of them. Now if you'll excuse me, I have another shower to take.
Re:why does your phone need software running on yo (Score:5, Funny)
That's SIGKILL yourself in shame.
Re:No iTunes for the Windows Store (Score:5, Funny)
I can tell you that the Windows version of iTunes is probably the shittiest piece of software ever written.
Then you haven not used FileMaker, the VB 6 IDE, or any VB 6 app.
Re:What are you using iTunes for? (Score:5, Funny)
Clearly the problem is that he's using Windows. If he's bought an iPhone, then the next step is to buy an iMac to plug the iPhone into, and then a new iPhone, because his old iPhone won't work with his new iMac. Also a black turtle neck. And a picture, "Steve Jobs 1955 - 2011" for his wall.
Personally I don't buy iCrap. I have a picture of Dennis Ritchie on my wall, and underneath, his widely celebrated comment: Steve Jobs is a cunt*.
* This is not an actual comment by Dennis Ritchie**.
** To my knowledge.
Re:No iTunes for the Windows Store (Score:4, Funny)
Re:why does your phone need software running on yo (Score:5, Funny)
It's kinda sad that the extremely sophisticated design of that communication isn't really there to facilitate advanced functions... it just facilitates advanced lockdown. You don't tell the device what to do; you tell it what you'd like, and then ask if that's okay. Given that, I applaud The Evad3rs for making iOS devices bend to their owners' will.
Re:why does your phone need software running on yo (Score:5, Funny)
You can use the SC in the command line to enable the service when you need it and disable it when you don't using a BAT file. (sc config servicenamehere start= disable)
Well, clearly this will never be the year of the windows desktop until users never have to interact with the commandline for anything. They should scrap entirely in fact because users should never need it.
Re:No iTunes for the Windows Store (Score:4, Funny)
As somebody who uses VB6 daily
You've already disqualified yourself.