[Parky]

I have checked on both my machines and the UK iTMS is messed up.

The front page shows the UK flag, but if you look at any tracks they are in $.

If you try to link to a Genre you get the UK list, but when you go to the page it is the US selection, same with the Browse option.

If I try to access my account from the front page (which shows the UK flag), I am told I can't access the US Store and will be taken to the UK Store, but it's still the same.

I have tried to change county and it has no effect, looks like they have problems somewhere!

Ian

[willed]

No probs here... maybe they've fixed it already?

[Randman]

About half of your threads are gripes/whinging about the iTMS. Gotta just relax. It's probably a slight glitch after adding new tracks and doing the free single of the week.

[Parky]

Originally posted by Randman:
About half of your threads are gripes/whinging about the iTMS. Gotta just relax. It's probably a slight glitch after adding new tracks and doing the free single of the week.

I think if you look back that half my threads are not about iTMS, and even if they were what the hell has it got to do with you! I don't comment on the topics you post.

I did not winge, I simply stated that there was a problem.

Ian

[Randman]

I was actually being a little sarcastic on the first part of the thread, before I gave what is the likely reason for the ****-up. That said, your response does show you're a little high strung mate.

And just for the hell of it, here are your iTMS-related threads...

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
and 10.


Those are threads you created, btw, not just participated in. And how many have are negative and/or critical? So, you were saying ... ?

[drive-thru]

All I can see is someone moaning about the iTMS UK and another person getting worryingly close to 'Stalker Status 3' (and there are only 5 levels).
Oh and willed is there too.
And I will be in a second.
And soon probably manofsteal, unless I'm already too late on that one.

[Parky]

In future I won't bother to inform or discuss, sod you all.

Sort your own problems out.

I don't know why I bother to help people in here, which I have done many times if you bother to look those up as well.

As usual in this hell hole you get set upon by a bunch of gits with nothing better to than pull others apart.

You seem to have nothing better to do that waste your time trying to destroy or pull apart other users. Check back in my posts and find where I do what you have done.

I suggest rather than belittle others you invest your time in getting a LIFE

[Parky]

And just for information, the 'slight glitch' means that the UK store is now unavailable at all.

A really good way to make money, have a store, then make sure it's closed to customers.

It's a common reoccurring problem with the UK Store, either it's not accessible and users are told to install the latest version of iTunes (even though they have it), or we are continually getting tied into the US Store.

It's a joke of a service some days which totally defeats the object of an online store.
Amazon would be out of business if they had the service Apple provide on the UK iTMS.

At the moment I can not get into the UK store front page, I am told to install the latest version of iTunes, funny as I bought a track earlier today with the same version I have now. If I got to the Browse area I get the US list, if I select a Genre I get taken to the US Genre page, if I select the UK store I am told to install the latest version of iTunes. Does this sound like a glitch? Check the Apple Discussion boards, it happens every week on the non US stores.

But of course I'm not allowed by the MacNN Forums police to speak freely about these things, I simply have to shut up and let them discuss any old crap they like.

Well tough, I will winge about anything I like, if you don't like it - THEN DON"T BOTHER TO READ IT, and waste your time, you sad, sad, gits.

Crawl back under your stone and stalk someone else.

[Parky]

I would also like to know how my factual comment that started this post off is considered to be 'moaning'.

I did not slag Apple off, or complain, I thought I was informing others.

Still although I love Apple I'm not a total sad git who thinks they do no wrong.

I will still use these forums to read up and get answers to my problems, but like the others in this thread I will not bother to provide support, I will simply knock others down for bothering to contribute.

[drive-thru]

Calm down.
Apple updates the iTMS every Tuesday. With any update on such a large and heavily used system there may be some short-term problems for some users. If it doesn't work then try on a different computer (you did) and give it time.
Willed checked the store 45 minutes after your post and it was fixed. We don't need to hear about it every time something goes wrong. I understand that some of your posts are more helpful to some users, like some albums not being complete/falsely advertised, but your post isn't really going to help anyone this time. If I was heading to the iTMS your post wouldn't have made me think "Hey, it didn't work for Parky, better not try it myself just in case." Ok, maybe if someone checked it out and it worked for them it might help you track down a problem with your computer, but since it didn't work on either of yours (and let's face it, it clearly was just a problem with the site) that's not the case.

Just relax, if the store doesn't work Apple will probably fix it within an hour or so. If not fixed within a day then send feedback to Apple and discuss it here if you wish. Randman pointed out that you discuss problems with the store a lot. I found it funny that you do, and also that Randman bothered to find all your posts about it (and that he did it within 40 minutes). If I were you I'd be more worried about that than not being able to use the iTMS for 45 mins.

(Maybe we do need those sarcasm tags after all).

[Chris O'Brien]

Ten minutes after I got the e-mail from Apple about their 'New Music Tuesdays' I checked out the store. As usual: nothing wrong. I perused for about half an hour without seeing what you are describing.

Maybe it's only isolated...

Oh - and I've been on intermittently ever since and there's been no problems. Maybe you just caught the bad patch?

[Parky]

Originally posted by drive-thru:
Calm down.
Apple updates the iTMS every Tuesday. With any update on such a large and heavily used system there may be some short-term problems for some users. If it doesn't work then try on a different computer (you did) and give it time.
Willed checked the store 45 minutes after your post and it was fixed. We don't need to hear about it every time something goes wrong. I understand that some of your posts are more helpful to some users, like some albums not being complete/falsely advertised, but your post isn't really going to help anyone this time. If I was heading to the iTMS your post wouldn't have made me think "Hey, it didn't work for Parky, better not try it myself just in case." Ok, maybe if someone checked it out and it worked for them it might help you track down a problem with your computer, but since it didn't work on either of yours (and let's face it, it clearly was just a problem with the site) that's not the case.

Just relax, if the store doesn't work Apple will probably fix it within an hour or so. If not fixed within a day then send feedback to Apple and discuss it here if you wish. Randman pointed out that you discuss problems with the store a lot. I found it funny that you do, and also that Randman bothered to find all your posts about it (and that he did it within 40 minutes). If I were you I'd be more worried about that than not being able to use the iTMS for 45 mins.

(Maybe we do need those sarcasm tags after all).

If you bother to check the time between my posts you will see that the store still had problems 5.5 hours after I first reported it.

This is not an isolated problem and it does not always happen on New Music Tuesdays (which is a joke in itself as the UK gets real new releases on a Monday).

It is not just isolated to me either as I am in communication with Apple Support who report that many users in the UK are constantly being told to install new versions of iTunes and can't access the store because of it. They are also looking into the issue where UK buyers get trapped in to the US store for days sometimes.

All this does is make the store closed to UK shoppers and infuriates you when you want to pop online to buy music. Over the past few weeks I have been able to access the store 50% of the time only.

I don't see Amazon or other online retailers have these sorts of problems, not every week anyway.

Ian

[chalk_outline]

Originally posted by Parky:
If you bother to check the time between my posts you will see that the store still had problems 5.5 hours after I first reported it.

This is not an isolated problem and it does not always happen on New Music Tuesdays (which is a joke in itself as the UK gets real new releases on a Monday).

It is not just isolated to me either as I am in communication with Apple Support who report that many users in the UK are constantly being told to install new versions of iTunes and can't access the store because of it. They are also looking into the issue where UK buyers get trapped in to the US store for days sometimes.

All this does is make the store closed to UK shoppers and infuriates you when you want to pop online to buy music. Over the past few weeks I have been able to access the store 50% of the time only.

I don't see Amazon or other online retailers have these sorts of problems, not every week anyway.

Ian

This is payback for G5 speed thing. Apple hates England.

[Randman]

Actually I was being sarcastic in my first thread. But one does have to admit that Parky does seem to create lots of posts on the status of the iTMS.
However, I did make my comments in mostly good-natured fun before offering some sage (imo) commentary on the situation.

My advice, take glicthes here and there in the world of technology and most comments in Lounge threads here with a grain of salt. Neither issue is major enough to have a coronary over.

peace

[nath]

Originally posted by Randman:
It's probably a slight glitch after adding new tracks and doing the free single of the week.

No it isn't. It's a major issue with the UK store (only) which Apple Support are aware of but apparently unable to remedy. It has been present since the launch and has got worse recently.

[Randman]

The US site has also had hiccups since the beginning and they seemed to happen on Tuesdays when the new music was released and traffic increased to the site.
But the problems usually get fixed in a quick amount of time.

[Parky]

Originally posted by Randman:
The US site has also had hiccups since the beginning and they seemed to happen on Tuesdays when the new music was released and traffic increased to the site.
But the problems usually get fixed in a quick amount of time.

They might get fixed but the UK Store is again broken.

The front page is not accessible and when I go to Browse I get he US Store, it seems we are trapped in the US Store yet again.

It's Saturday afternoon in the UK and people cannot shop at the UK iTMS, is it a New Music Tuesday problem ? No it's just the same old issue many people in the UK keep on getting.

Store closed - no sales.

[Parky]

For those that doubt this is a serious problem I suggest you have a look at the Apple Discussion boards in the iTunes for Macintosh area.

There are many posts and threads about problems with the iTMS Stores in Europe.

Of course all you Americans won't care one bit, and will just be as arrogant as usual and tell us to quit complaining, well tough.

At this rate the iTMS in Europe will have no customers left.

Ian

[TETENAL]

I haven't had any problems with the German iTMS yet.

[Parky]

Originally posted by TETENAL:
I haven't had any problems with the German iTMS yet.

That's one of the problems, not all users have seen it, it does depend on when you use it.

Some days I have no issues at all, and then for days I can't get it.
I don't change anything, fix anything, reboot, nothing, and suddenly it's working again.

Maybe it's something to do with ISP, cache's, etc . Whatever it is Apple need to find a full solution rather than telling people to trash preferences and cookies every time it happens.

If like me you visit lots of sites that you have cookies for, deleting them is something you don't want to do on a regular basis.

If you have to mess around every week with preferences, cookies, cache, etc, etc just to get access to the store then why bother.

Ian

[TETENAL]

The iTMS has nothing to do with your browser cookies. There is no point in deleting them.

I haven't had any problem with the German iTMS and I have never deleted the iTunes preferences since version 1.

[Parky]

Originally posted by TETENAL:
The iTMS has nothing to do with your browser cookies. There is no point in deleting them.

I haven't had any problem with the German iTMS and I have never deleted the iTunes preferences since version 1.

Don't tell me, tell Apple, here is the email they are sending out to users with problems :--

Dear Ian,

Thank you for contacting the iTunes Music Store.

We recommend you sign out of your account first. Click the account field and then the button "Sign Out". Proceed to the UK store if you are not already there, then sign back into your account. If you are still having issues connecting to the correct store, you may need to clear your internet files (your cache, cookies, history, etc.). Another suggestion which occasionally results in a positive outcome is deleting the iTunes Preferences on your computer and restarting the program. If the issue persists please reply to this message. If you would like us to reset your account please mention this in your reply.

Sincerely,

The iTunes Music Store Team

As you can see, it's not very helpful as after doing all of the above it still does not work and you have a lot of 'fixing' to do to get back to your previous settings, etc.

Have a look in the Apple Discussions if you don't believe there is a problem, all the users posting there seem to have a major issue with the store. Maybe it's just the UK Store?

Ian

[TETENAL]

I believe you have a problem. Just because you said the iTMS Europe is broken, I wanted to point out that I have yet to hear of a problem about the iTMS Germany.

Are all who report these problems in the Apple Discussion boards from the UK? Maybe it's an ISP that's at the root of the problem?

[Parky]

Originally posted by TETENAL:
I believe you have a problem. Just because you said the iTMS Europe is broken, I wanted to point out that I have yet to hear of a problem about the iTMS Germany.

Are all who report these problems in the Apple Discussion boards from the UK? Maybe it's an ISP that's at the root of the problem?

It may just be UK users, but I can't confirm that, but it is not all UK users.

It may also be related to an ISP, but you would think Apple would still be interested in sorting out the problem, or do they just expect us not to shop there.

I don't have problems with any other shopping sites I use with my ISP so if it just affect the iTMS, maybe Apple need to think about the way it is implemented.

I also don't really see why it works one day and not the next, I'm using the same ISP every day. And why lock me into the US Store, as nobody in the UK on my ISP would really want to be using the US Store in the first place.

It is always bad on New Music Tuesdays, but all this weekend it have been broken.

Ian

[Parky]

I just thought I would test the German Store.

I got the German front page no problem, but if I select Moby from the new releases window I am told it is not available from the US Store.

Oh well no more posts on the subject now, I have decided to just let it be.

It's only music and I can buy that anywhere, it's Apple's loss not mine.

Ian

[TETENAL]

Right now I can select and browse the UK iTMS just fine. If you quit and relaunch iTunes I'm automatically brought back to the UK iTMS just as it should.

I can't test downloading though obviously. Previews work fine.

ps:

Moby from the German iTMS previews fine as well.

[Parky]

Originally posted by TETENAL:
Right now I can select and browse the UK iTMS just fine. If you quit and relaunch iTunes I'm automatically brought back to the UK iTMS just as it should.

I can't test downloading though obviously. Previews work fine.

ps:

Moby from the German iTMS previews fine as well.

It works for me now, but I have changed nothing, not even touched my machine since it was not working. I just clicked on the store and it is working fully now. And that is the issue, there is no reason that can be seen to why it works one minute and not the next. It's pot luck for many users, as you can see if you look at the Apple discussion boards.

I mailed Steve jobs yesterday (if he reads it or not, someone does and I usually get a response). My email has been passed onto the head of the iTunes engineering team. He mailed me this morning and asked for a lot of information and said they were very interested in getting the problem fixed. I have to give him lots of info and dumps from the terminal (pings, etc)

Apple at least seem to now admit that there is a problema and are looking into it. Let's hope it's fixed soon, as many user in the UK had no access at all over the weekend.

Ian

[TETENAL]

Well, that's some good news. Let's hope they can find the cause of this problem.

[Parky]

Read all about it :-

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=9859

Ian

[Parky]

I have good news about the UK iTMS problem.

I have been emailing the head of iTunes engineering in Cupertino all evening (differing time zones) and we think we have the solution.

I have been sending him tracedumps from my failed UK iTMS sessions and some hints from the Apple discussion board.

I have just had a call from Cupertino who said that they think it is in fact a caching problem with ISP's in the UK. Specifically NTL.

The suggestions got them to look in the right area and they are going to work on changing the headers they use to prevent UK ISP cache's causing this problem in the future.

He is going to email me later tonight and said that they hope to have it fixed by the time we get up in the morning. He can't say that it will be fixed for sure, but I will do some testing for them and see if we can make progress.

I will of course keep you all updated.

My communications with Apple about this started when I sent an email to Steve Jobs yesterday. He (or someone) passed the email on to the iTunes engineering team and I have been working with them since.

It has taken quite a bit of effort as well !! They really wanted to thank me for my efforts, that was the main purpose of the call.

Ian

[Parky]

The UK store is now fixed !!

Thanks to me and Apple.

Ian

[AKcrab]

Originally posted by Parky:
The UK store is now fixed !!

Thanks to me and Apple.

Ian

Yay! Go blow a wad at the store!!

[TETENAL]

Originally posted by Parky:
The UK store is now fixed !!

Was it the ISP?

[nath]

Originally posted by TETENAL:
Was it the ISP?

seemed to be a conflict between iTMS and the caching protocols used by several UK ISPs, most notably NTL. NTL are a cable outfit so possibly it was limited to these kinds of ISPs.

But Parky and his email to The Steve (TM) appear to have fixed it!

we're not worthy!

[Parky]

Yes it was the ISP, but Apple made a change that fixed the problem.

It was due to an intermediate cache that NTL have in place.

Apple have changed the headers in iTMS to make the cache work differently.

Seems between us we got it sorted anyway, I have been happily shopping on the store today.

Now they need to give us New Music Monday as that is the day music is released in the UK, not Tuesdays like the USA. Apple are missing a days sales every week, when people can buy from stores the day before stuff appears on iTMS. Worse still because of this timing albums appear in the wrong release week. As an example Celine Dion has a new album out this week, it was released in the UK on Monday 11th Oct, but only appeared on UK iTMS today Tuesday, but it appears in 'last weeks' releases because the release date is in the range of Tuesday - Tuesday of last week. It has never been in the 'this week' list!

Ian

[Randman]

You should be glad the Celine Dion album was postponed as much as possible. Geez dude, as much props as you get for bulldogging Apple about the ISP problems in England, talking about being miffed over not being able to get a new Celine Dion album early enough is scary. Very scary.

[Parky]

Originally posted by Randman:
You should be glad the Celine Dion album was postponed as much as possible. Geez dude, as much props as you get for bulldogging Apple about the ISP problems in England, talking about being miffed over not being able to get a new Celine Dion album early enough is scary. Very scary.

It was only an example :-) I don't want to buy it !!

Ian

[Randman]

Originally posted by Parky:
It was only an example :-) I don't want to buy it !!

That's what they always say. If I had to choose between no iTMS and Celine Dion, I'd have e-mailed Steve-o back with a curt, "Uhh, nevermind."

[Gee4orce]

Just to point out that some new releases are on there on a monday, and in fact they are available earlier than you could get them in the shops. The Prodigy album was an example - downloaded and playing on my computer by 7:45 on monday morning

Good to see a happy end to this problem - goes to show that unless you tell the Mothership directly, they don't necessarily know that there is a problem.

[Parky]

Originally posted by Gee4orce:
Just to point out that some new releases are on there on a monday, and in fact they are available earlier than you could get them in the shops. The Prodigy album was an example - downloaded and playing on my computer by 7:45 on monday morning

Good to see a happy end to this problem - goes to show that unless you tell the Mothership directly, they don't necessarily know that there is a problem.

So when did they add that album to the Store?
Did they add it on a Monday? I have not seen that before.
What I usually see is albums that have a release date that is on a Monday appear on iTunes on the Tuesday after.

Ian

[Parky]

They just gave me a £100 Gift Certificate for helping them!!

And would like me to continue to give them feedback from a UK perspective.

Ian

[Twilly Spree]

Originally posted by Parky:
They just gave me a £100 Gift Certificate for helping them!!

And would like me to continue to give them feedback from a UK perspective.

Ian

[kenazo]

Originally posted by Parky:
They just gave me a £100 Gift Certificate for helping them!!

And would like me to continue to give them feedback from a UK perspective.

Ian

Wow good job Parky! Does that make you an official member of the Apple family? Do you get exclusive discounts now?

[typoon]

Great work. I'm glad to see that all your issues with iTMS are now resolved. It's great a company like Apple listens to feedback even though it might take some prodding. I don't know of too many large companies that would do the same thing Apple did with you.

[willed]

Originally posted by Parky:
They just gave me a £100 Gift Certificate for helping them!!

And would like me to continue to give them feedback from a UK perspective.

Ian

Nicely done! Good job you persisted despite the nay-sayers.

[Parky]

Thanks for the support, I'm really pleased I was able to help.

After all the times I had brought the iTMS problems up on here, and been pulled apart for doing it, I can only say I told you so.

Ian

[moonmonkey]

Originally posted by chalk_outline:
This is payback for G5 speed thing. Apple hates England.

But, Apple loves Parky.