So yes, iTunes is now available for Windows, and Apple claims that it's the "best Windows app ever"-- to which we can only say, hyperbolize much, guys? After all, judging by several reports floating around the 'net, iTunes has "issues" on the Windows platform. For example, faithful viewer David McConnell notes that p2pnet.net dug up a post by a USA Today writer who was "looking to talk to people who've used iTunes for Windows today and are experiencing the same kinds of bugs." Apparently the poor lil' fella can't do anything with his purchased music without constantly being asked to authorize his computer. (Obvious question: uh, did he authorize his computer? More on that in a minute.) Furthermore, he reports that he's installed iTunes on two computers, and "both have crashed several times from the software."

Okay, granted, the proprietors of p2pnet aren't exactly likely to be unbiased on this topic, seeing as they'd rather remove their own livers with nothing but a Silk Effects+ and an ice cream scoop than ever say anything even remotely positive about a music download service that isn't free. But the problems reported are being experienced by a USA Today reporter, so p2pnet's obvious prejudices are largely irrelevant in this context. That said, faithful viewer mrmgraphics pointed out that said USA Today reporter (one Jefferson Graham) has now publicly trashed Apple's new software with a bunch of incorrect information.

"Is iTunes worth it? Not in comparison to its competitors," says Jeff. First off, he claims that AAC is a "closed Apple format," which is technically untrue; AAC is the audio codec for MP4 and is as open as they come, although it is true that the digital rights management Apple is using is not. Still, it's a little unfair of Jeff to lambast AAC as closed and proprietary as opposed to MP3, given that none of Apple's competitors sell music in the MP3 format; they all use Microsoft's WMA, which is a closed and proprietary beast. Just because more players support the WMA format doesn't make it "open," Jeffster; it just means that Apple's the only digital music player manufacturer who hasn't had to buckle to Microsoft's monopoly and pay its licensing fees just to stay in business.

Next, Jeff insists that since he doesn't have a FireWire connection on his IBM laptop, he "couldn't transfer a song from the IBM to the iPod" even if he wanted to-- and this is somehow a problem with iTunes. Never mind that if the ThinkPad has USB 2.0 and his iPod is a 3G model he most certainly can transfer his music. Never mind that if his ThinkPad doesn't have USB 2.0 or FireWire either built-in or added in, it doesn't meet the system requirements of the iPod in the first place and he might as well be complaining that his 8-track tapes don't play in his microwave oven. No, since his ThinkPad doesn't have FireWire and he thinks he can't transfer his music, that's all iTunes's fault. Mmm-hm.

Lastly, Jefferson states that every time he tried to play a purchased song, burn it, or transfer it to an iPod, he got an error message indicating that he needed to authorize the computer. "One problem," he says: "no information anywhere on how to 'authorize' your machine." Gee, no information anywhere, Jeff? How about in the built-in iTunes and Music Store Help, where our search for "authorization" turned up everything you'd ever want to know in about four seconds? Or if the Windows version has no Help (which we sincerely doubt), what about on the Internet, like right here on Apple's support pages? Okay, fine, a link to that information in the error message you received would have been very helpful (something for 1.0.1, Apple), but jeez, buddy, aren't you supposed to be a reporter? What, if the information isn't in the form of a brightly-colored USA Today pie chart, it doesn't get absorbed? How is it we can find this stuff in two places with no trouble at all, but you can't seem to find your own hinder with a map and a flashlight?

That's not to say, folks, that what Jefferson experienced wasn't a bug; it may well have been. Of course, it may also be that he tried playing his songs on a system with no 'net connection and therefore no means to get authorized and didn't know what was wrong because he didn't read the Help page. (Another note to Apple: you should probably add that info to the support article.) But to say that there's "no information anywhere" on how to authorize and deauthorize a machine is just plain false.

Now, Jefferson does have one very valid complaint, which is that iTunes keeps crashing his Wintel systems-- but frankly, given the heady brew of ignorance, incompetence, and total inability to find and read any sort of documentation whatsoever that is evidently sloshing around inside the man's cranium, we have to say, we wouldn't be at all surprised if the crashes are caused by something else. Probably not, but hey, this is the sort of doubt that a complete and utter lack of credibility can engender. Did we mention that all of Jefferson's trash talk occurred in a USA Today chat that started at 4 PM Eastern yesterday, roughly 90 minutes after iTunes for Windows became available? Now that's what we call serious research.

Okay, that's enough of that-- let's move on to bug reports from people who actually could solve a connect-the-dots puzzle on a placemat at Chuck E. Cheese without peeking at the answer. One AtAT viewer reports that he installed iTunes on a Windows 2000 system and thereby rendered the machine completely unbootable. He can no longer use Windows on that system at all. Say... apparently iTunes is the best Windows app ever!