After reading an observation by Nergal in another thread I thought this might be a handy reference point for people having problems with ITunes updates.
It also deals with the problems faced by many with the latest iTunes 11.1.4
I listen to podcasts with iTunes and it's been absolutely horrible ever since their cloud service began. Podcasts jump to the next podcast while in the middle of the previous one or just skip some altogether. The timeline control bar disappears. Played and remaining times disappear. It's absolutely horrendous.