Finally gone! That was tougher than Norton to delete...
Apple gives fanbois The Sweetest Thing: A delete button for that U2 album
It's a Beautiful Day: Apple has created a utility to remove U2's Songs of Innocence album that was force-fed into people's iCloud libraries overnight. The delete tool, available from itunes.com/soi-remove, ejects the Irish boy band's free album from devices and iTunes accounts once and for all. "Once the album has been …
COMMENTS
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Tuesday 16th September 2014 08:32 GMT I ain't Spartacus
I didn't think it was all that bad. You could listen to it without your ears bleeding, and It had some tunes. Just rather dull ones...
I hadn't realised what Apple had done until I saw about the third headline, and actually read the story. I just assumed it was one of those things you could download for free, like they've often done at Christmas. Then when I checked, it was on my iPad already. I'm not sure the story's worth all the fuss. But I suppose Apple were rather rude. It also shows they've lost their untouchable coolness factor with the mainstream press, and now cop as much flack as any other huge multi-national. Although they still get more free publicity than most...
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Tuesday 16th September 2014 06:48 GMT Anomalous Cowshed
Worried sick from Giggleswick
<sarcasm on> O foolish Commentards! U2 are icons, they are modern-day saints! How dare you so lightly criticise their heavenly music after all they've done for the world - nay, for you in person! Without U2 what would you be? Compared to U2, what are you? Next to nothing. Today they offer you music to soothe your nerves, nay, manna from heaven, free of charge, like all the best things in life! And instead of praising them, and thanking them on your knees for this precious gift, you ungratefully blaspheme against them. The devil has clearly wrought its work among you screen-worshipping heretics!!! <enough sarcasm for today>
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Tuesday 16th September 2014 07:45 GMT jai
1st World Problems
Peter Cohen put it best:
But the inordinate amount of actual anger directed at Apple and U2 over this is so disproportional to the actual event, I’ve started to wonder about the mental state of some of those complaining. It’s really been off the charts.
If you fall into that camp, let me speak very plainly: I have no sympathy for you. I have trouble thinking of a more self-indulgent, “first world problem” than saying “I hate this free new album I’ve been given.”
http://www.imore.com/nsfw-apple-u2-and-looking-gift-horse-mouth
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Tuesday 16th September 2014 08:13 GMT Tony Paulazzo
Re: 1st World Problems
The album was given away to iTunes users by Apple
The album was force fed to iTunes users by Apple (FTFY) - it wasn't opt in (and barely opt out) - requiring a button on Apples web site to remove the tax dodging crooner off your device.
1st world corporate issues indeed...
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Tuesday 16th September 2014 09:07 GMT JDX
For goodness' sake
They never made you download it, they only made it available to download IF you wanted it. They did not upload the album into 500 million peoples' accounts, they merely set the permissions so that everyone could access it.
People concerned about security and privacy really should bother to do the slightest amount of research if it's something they are worried about, rather than remain totally ignorant while simultaneously complaining they don't feel safe.
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Tuesday 16th September 2014 09:51 GMT Matthew 17
Re: For goodness' sake
This!
However if you set iTunes or iDevices to 'automatically download all purchases' then the album would appear locally on your machine and not just in the iCloud to stream from. Where you'd then spend all of 5 seconds removing it just as you'd remove any other track or album you no longer wanted.
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Tuesday 16th September 2014 11:43 GMT Anonymous Coward
Um Bono, Um Bono, they have it downloaded to their iTunes accounts in the Congo
To be fair, whether or not you delete it, the automatic download (of an album you never "purchased" or knew about) would still have wasted some of your bandwidth. That- at least- may be a legitimate reason for complaint from those on cap-limited accounts.
That said, yeah... for the most part this has been blown out of proportion and smacks of this being week's First World Problem. I'm not a massive fan of Bonio and chums personally, but get over yourselves.
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Tuesday 16th September 2014 12:24 GMT Annihilator
Re: For goodness' sake
"Where you'd then spend all of 5 seconds removing it just as you'd remove any other track or album you no longer wanted."
Hans Moleman put it best: "You stole 4 minutes of my life and I want them back. Ah I'd only waste them anyway..."
Although it turns out it wasn't that easy to remove from your device!
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Tuesday 16th September 2014 13:30 GMT Simon Harris
I don't have any iThingies...
so, can someone with more knowledge of such things than me please explain why Apple needed to come up with a tool just to remove a particular set of tracks from one's account?
Isn't a delete function a fairly universal feature of operating systems these days?
Paris because... she probably knows about as much about iOS as me! ------>
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Tuesday 16th September 2014 14:01 GMT JDX
Re: I don't have any iThingies...
There's a difference between what's stored on your device, and what's in your account. If you own a phone, PC and tablet, you may have different content downloaded on each.
And you can't (that I know of) delete content from being IN your library. It's not in your library to begin with really, Apple just record in a central server which albums you bought and are allowed to download. "deleting" it doesn't make much sense if you paid for it, unless you want to hide your music taste from someone :)
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Wednesday 17th September 2014 00:38 GMT Ian Joyner
Such umbrage over a free album. If you don't want it or like it - simple solution don't download and listen to it! It's hardly intrusive.
Why not complain about the increasing intrusiveness of advertisements? Like U2 or not, their album is a result of their own work. Advertisements are just similar "hey look at me", but at a much lower level.
I would have preferred Yes's just released "Heaven and Earth", but I'm not going to get all bent out of shape like the Register or some here, making another pathetic attempt to mobilize the masses against Apple.