Neither... All this ensures that the open format mp3 will definitely survive for some more time to come... and Maybe MS will be the big winner.
All this hoo haa about real networks files not being played on the iPod and Apple blocking them, reminds one of the format wars on in a related industry: Consumer Electronics. There too we are debating SACD vs DVD-A and HD-DVD vd BD-DVD. In that market, I'll ultimately buy a device which plays both the competing formats (if they survive the war). So I will buy a Pioneer that plays both DVD-A and SACD not a Sony which plays only SACD. the most compatible, either on the hardware end. if that is not available then I'll look to whichever format has more software (This has parallels in the Betamax story)
And MS will be the big winner. Why? Because every manufacturer (Apple and Sony excepted) that makes Digital Audio Players supports Secure WMA. Soon enough (god only knows when) the numbers will tip in that direction. Moreover this phenomenon will be led from Asia, where there will be a huge market for cheap Digital Audio Players. Now once there is a critical mass of ppl who have such players and they can see that music is available from several stores (MSN, Napster, MusicMatch and what have you...). You can see which way the wind will blow. It is also logical that lots of companies (indirectly) promoting the format (Secure WMA) is better than only one company promoting it's own (Apple AAC).
Don't forget some of these players are giants, MSN, Samsung (via Napster), they have huge distribution muscle across the world. Samsung sells consumer electronics, Apple so far has been catering to an expensive niche in a computer market. Samsung has even more distribution muscle than Sony in India, while Apple has next to no distribution in markets like India and China.
Some business analyst actually said that people will end up switching from the PC to the mac after the iPod. Which is a silly notion, in fact the reverse is equally likely to occur. Why? The installed user base of Windows is really huge, along with this user base comes a huge developer community. This developer community after years of hacking around in Windows is more or less at home with anything to do with Windows. e.g. recently a hack doing the rounds is changing the picture/icons on the iPod screen. WIndows only. All the MacHeads are furious that how is it that a it is available on Windows first and not on the Mac little realising the source of the hack (they assumed it was from Apple, while it was from an independent Windows Programmer). Now repeat this instance over and over again... hundreds of programmers, hudreds of hacks. not all will port to the Mac. So what does a mac iPod user do if he wants to do all the fun things that a windows user can do? The choice is obvious...
I feel that Apple is doing great dis-service to the iPod by not letting other formats get on board and not licensing their proprietary codec to other manufacturers. This venture too risks going the way the other Apple businesses operate, i.e. in expensive niches.
Update: Damn! I should have turned off the comments... All rude, abusive posts have been deleted and will be deleted again if posted again. Be sane people, it is just an OS, it's not worth getting uppity about... regs CP
Its been like four years and we see where the market has gone.. MS will dominate digital music when crack monkeys fly.
ReplyDeleteIf WMA files become all the rage - which has so far failed to happen - Apple will flip a switch in their firmware and, voila, your iPod now plays WMA.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that it's ok for Microsoft to be a monopoly, but not Apple? Why should Apple share the fruits (pun intended :-) of it's labor and monetary investment with anyone?
ReplyDeleteIBM was urged to license the family jewels by Gates and Intel in the 80s and look at what happened to them. Instead of being the dominant force in mainstream computing, they're barely surviving in a niche.
Everyone wants to play with Apple's marbles and if they refuse it's their business not yours.
The dominant format by a very wide margin will always be MP3. If it is ever replaced, it will be replaced with MP4 aka AAC.
ReplyDeleteAll online stores have equivalent quality and equivalent price. Ease of use varies widely but the easiest combo to use by far is iPod, iTunes, iTunes Music Store. Why use any other? iPod owners are not asking for more choice.
iPods are made in Asia and have the best volume discount parts pricing. Who can compete?
When counting Mac programers don't forget Unix and Linux programers. All of their work can easily be used on the Mac.
Windows has more hackers. That is a bad thing for Mac users, how is that a bad thing for Mac users? I though that big lead in viruses, worms, trojans, adware and spyware that Windows has was a good thing for Mac users. What's the score now? 100,000+ to what? 0 in the wild. We are happy there are more hackers on the Windows side, not pissed off.
Strange how you believe that "secure" WMA will be the format of choice for MP3 players. In Apple'c case, as long as iPod users are allowed the wider choice for their music formats... the iPod will live on to become the No. 1 choice for MP3 players.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how your logical mind works but it obviously flawed thinking... linking Secure WMA with a wider manufacturing base of MP3 players. Secure WMA is a format that encodes music for copyright protection. It has nothing to do with manufacturers (whose real interest is in selling players). Until and unless, the/a service (to provide music in Secure WMA) becomes prevalent in Asia, no one who buys players will encode their music in Secure WMA format. The players are already here, the service is not... so how can "Soon enough the numbers will tip..." make any sense. People who buy players (especially in Asia) is not be bothered with whether their players will work in a format that is not already present and prevalent... they buy them for gratification... which their CURRENT/PRESENT music gives/provides.
You say that there is a huge market for cheap DA Players in Asia... Apple is working hard to meet that demand, they may introduce a cheaper version, iPod flash in Jan '05. It will likely be very good looking and more importantly... CHEAPER. I think they will sell plenty in Asia. Remember the services are not yet available here. The critical mass of ppl you say may just be the ones who have iPods instead.
And don't forget that Apple is in knots with HP in the distribution of the iPods, what makes you think that HP won't be allowed to distribute other iPods versions?
The notion that ppl will switch from using WinTel PCs is not silly. It has a lot more sense, (though it is obvious you can't sense it) than is common thought. Many ppl, on just using iTunes for Windows alone, are considering switching PCs, I'm not talking iPods even. As for your windows hacks... it just for a niche group of ppl who truly go geeky over such frivolous issues. Do you really thing that "MacHeads" go furious over not being able to do such things on their Macs... boy I begin to think you're pretty juvenile now. Believe me, I speak for "MacHeads", we have better things to do.
Apple is promoting AAC especially where it comes to its own service. It has to do so... to differentiate its products so as to provide a better service. Good service invariable means a certain amount of control. You can't have that with WMA and with so many other MP3 players out there. AAC is also an open standard, recognized by a wide consortium of parties. It is not Apple's AAC only.
HunKiat - Singapore
Did someone forget to add that HP is also in the iPod business?
ReplyDeleteHP has worldwide distribution clout, better than Samsung!
Picking up on HunKiat's comment that...
ReplyDelete"Many ppl, on just using iTunes for Windows alone, are considering switching PCs..."
A friend of mine who uses Windows calls Win iTunes the best program he's ever used. He said experiencing the quality of Apple software was a "kick in the head" and that his next computer will be a Mac.
Your commentary includes several fallacies.
ReplyDeleteFirst, you are assuming that the average consumer is a tech geek like you (this is not meant as an insult). I am much better informed about technology than the average consumer, but not quite a "geek". I regularly read about technology and consumer electronics. However, even I know virtually nothing about the SACD vs DVD format war about which you write, and wouldn't make my purchse decisions on that basis.
The "average" consumer, who most people will admit are almost completely uninformed except for what they learn from the manufacturers' own marketing, doesn't care about the tech details. They just want the product to work for the intended purpose when they buy it. For the iPod, this means that they can listen to the music they already own (either from CD, or MP3 if already on their computer) and the can buy music online for it. The second part would be a problem if any of the iTunes competitors offered something better than iTunes (cost, selection, etc.), but they don't. All people know is that their kid is asking for an iPod for Christmas, and nearly everything they read in the press about it is positive, including iTunes and all of the iPod accessories available.
The only way that you would see a groundswell of "desire" for WMA support from the general marketplace (specifically kids/teens), would be if the strong windows "hacker" community hacked WMA to disable DRM and it was possible to swap WMA files over P2P networks.
As for the other comment regarding "hacks", most people don't care and won't mess with their iPod anyway.
Oh, by the way, those legions of great windows programmers who are responsible for Microsoft's xbox are currently doing all their coding for the new xBox on Powermacs.
"I feel that Apple is doing great dis-service to the iPod by not letting other formats get on board and not licensing their proprietary codec to other manufacturers. This venture too risks going the way the other Apple businesses operate, i.e. in expensive niches"
ReplyDeleteFUD pure and simple. The whole point of licensing is to get your product out there but first you must gain majority marketshare. Apple cannot do that by "assisting" Microsoft by standardizing WMA. Let's think logically here.
Q3 Apple sold what 2 million iPods. Q4 Apple might double that to 4 milling. That's 6 million iPods in 6 months and the run rate may double for 2005 if they announce Flash iPods. Apple is moving forward at an astonishing rate yet the fear mongers are revising history and trying to draw parallels with Apple losing a commanding lead. It hasn't happened. Macintosh never had more marketshare than PCs.
First to market is key and gaining critical mass. Look at the 3rd party products for Napster vs iPods...game over Apple wins. Who has the mindshare.
For pete's sake folks give Apple some time to gain marketshare before screaming about licensing. Armchair MBAs need not apply here. In 2 years you will see iTunes/iPods penetration in unbelievable numbers..be patient.
WMA is NOT an option for anyone seriously interested in music. I consider myself one of those having had a 10,000-track music server since 1999, using hi-rez mp3 and nowadays mp4 and AIFF. Why would I want my music in a proprietary non-standard format that doesn't play on the best (by far) portable audio player and jukebox software? Also, please remember when you're considering the format wars that is is Apple's AAC/mp4 format that is an industry-wide standard from the same MPEG group that created for you the .mp3 and .mpg formats in the first place. Many, many other manufactureres helped create these platform-independant formats. Microsoft never suppported .mp3 and .mpg and wanted WMA and WMV to undermine them so they could own the media formats. To this day, these file formats do not work well on most non-Microsoft OS's, although limited support is of course available. Simply because the most popular OS uses it does not make it better.
ReplyDeleteFinally, try to separate your thinking into two boxes - the format issue (AAC/MP4, WMA, AIFF, etc) and the copyright protection issue. DRM'd AAC is functionally no different than DRM'd WMA, and DRM'd WMA is certainly no more portable than the Apple solution. That is surely the point?
You don't realize that Apple is hedging its bets here. It's going to ride the tide of iTunes/iPod popularity as long as it can. but if other music stores start selling more music in secure WMA format, it will simply license WMA use and allow the iPod to play music from those other stores. (It's already technically possible to play WMA on an iPod; Apple just hasn't found it necessary or worth it to license it.) Result: the iPod is the only player capable of playing music from all online stores, which equals more demand for the iPod. Apple wins.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, if iPod sales somehow fade, it will license the AAC/Fairplay format to other stores. The iPod will still be a market leader, it just won't be dominant, so it will be attractive for the online stores to sell music that can play on it. Suddenly the iPod becomes the only player in existence that can play music from all online stores, including iTunes (remember that in this alternate hypothetical iTunes itself remains dominant). Same result as above: more demand for the iPod. Apple wins again.
Of course, demand for both the iTunes store and the iPod could drop precipitously, and at the same time. Then Apple would of course lose. But that's just a nightmare scenario, nobody believes it might happen -- not anytime soon, anyway.
So who's going to "win" here? Depends on what you mean by win. Apple will assuredly milk lots of cash and mindshare out of all this. MS has a chance of making its WMA format close to dominant. But if MS tries to turn the format into a cash cow by rasing prices when it achieves near-monopoly (like it does with Windows now) iTunes will still exist as a viable, and in this case cheaper, alternative. And the cost of switching to iTunes rather than WMA is much, much lower than the cost of switching to Mac computers from Windows computers. So MS will effectively never see true dominance in the music arena.
There are huge numbers of windows developers, and mostly they are developing anit-virus, anti-trojan, anti-spyware software and uninstallers.
ReplyDeleteShould have known better than to comment on Apple... Anyway, marketing class profs would tell us, you need to turn your customers into fans. And the word fans is derived from Fanatics. I guess Apple has suceeded there...
ReplyDeleteAnyhow... Lots of responses. Thankfully most of them are trying to reason not launching into a harangue. Before I respond to the responses. Marvelous thing technology, scary sometimes... At the time of this writing, there were 8 comments on my blog (il ogged of to write this), 6 of those originated from Windows 2K/XP and four of the six were using Internet Explorer 6. I also know from which part of the world, but I digress...
Lots of responses, so let start at the top
Anonymous wrote:
Its been like four years and we see where the market has gone.. MS will dominate digital music when crack monkeys fly.
I write:
Don't be too sure. MP3 (like DivX and XVid today) was a geeks format for many years till it became simple to play with WinAmp. and then later through WMP and other windows apps on a Windows platform. If you mean quality wise it is poor. sure an Audiophile would puke on the mp3 and WMA format. He can barely digest Dolby Compression let alone all this. The whole point is, it doesn't matter. a step back into history: VHS vs. BetaMax. Nobody cares abt quality, marketing is what counts.
Anonymous wrote:
If WMA files become all the rage - which has so far failed to happen - Apple will flip a switch in their firmware and, voila, your iPod now plays WMA.
I write:
Yes I agree, it is actually as simple as that, which is precisely the point I'm trying to make. They should try to make the Apple Lossless the rage.
Yet another Anonymous wrote:
Why is it that it's ok for Microsoft to be a monopoly, but not Apple? Why should Apple share the fruits (pun intended :-) of it's labor and monetary investment with anyone?
IBM was urged to license the family jewels by Gates and Intel in the 80s and look at what happened to them. Instead of being the dominant force in mainstream computing, they're barely surviving in a niche.
Everyone wants to play with Apple's marbles and if they refuse it's their business not yours.
I write:
At no point did I say that it is not okay for Apple to have a Monopoly. Every business has a singular dream (even if unexpressed) of being a monopoly. I don't expect Apple to be any different.
IBM did it sure, but remember, it was microsoft who ensured that their OS runs on many more computers from different vendors. IBM's mistake was signing the bum deal (from IBM's perspective) that they did with MS. They should/could have fragmented the OS market back then. But when you are dealing with a kid, you think you know everything. They are surviving in a niche (in fact they divested partly recently, it was bound to happen. I like to think I foresaw it last year (see the post on IBM), but other ppl could see it coming as well). Correct me if I'm wrong, Apple did the reverse, yet Apple is in exactly the same position that you describe for IBM... in a niche :)
BTW, my guess is that IBM's research budget would be more than MS Sales in a year. or it at least used to be a few years back. Not bad this niche... eh?
It is certainly Apple's business. As a consumer I have a right to know as to the expensive hardware I buy today will be interoperable with even more expensive hardware I buy tomorrow. What hardware you ask? AV recivers, Sound Bridges etc. Secure WMA is currently interoperable with tons of other in the market consumer electronics products. So what does that tell you? I have the right to know if the music I buy in India is playable on it or no.
Lastly, if it is none of my business, then it is certainly none of yours. :))
Yet another Anonymous wrote:
The dominant format by a very wide margin will always be MP3. If it is ever replaced, it will be replaced with MP4 aka AAC.
All online stores have equivalent quality and equivalent price. Ease of use varies widely but the easiest combo to use by far is iPod, iTunes, iTunes Music Store. Why use any other? iPod owners are not asking for more choice.
iPods are made in Asia and have the best volume discount parts pricing. Who can compete?
When counting Mac programers don't forget Unix and Linux programers. All of their work can easily be used on the Mac.
Windows has more hackers. That is a bad thing for Mac users, how is that a bad thing for Mac users? I though that big lead in viruses, worms, trojans, adware and spyware that Windows has was a good thing for Mac users. What's the score now? 100,000+ to what? 0 in the wild. We are happy there are more hackers on the Windows side, not pissed off.
I write:
Yes, I agree to the point about MP3's dominance, but i said it first... The whole point is about a format that is acceptable to the music industry (not the users, right now nobody cares about the users). So u need some element of copy protection, which is where the whole discussion (argument? harangue?) is leading off from.
iPod users are not asking for any choice... hmmm, then how come Apple blocked the real Player format from the iPod?
Again i never said it is bad thing, you read it that way. I'm sorry I can't help you with that.
Are you telling me, that Mac doesn't need an AntiVirus? Besides any media marketeer (yours truly has been one) will tell you. you need an audience to be able to market to it. Windows provides that audience. Maybe the MAc community is not big enough for anyone to really make money out of writing spyware for it
Finally, someone who left a name
HunKiat wrote:
Strange how you believe that "secure" WMA will be the format of choice for MP3 players. In Apple'c case, as long as iPod users are allowed the wider choice for their music formats... the iPod will live on to become the No. 1 choice for MP3 players.
I write:
Yes, I know, that's exactly the point I'm trying to make.
HunKiat wrote:
I don't know how your logical mind works but it obviously flawed thinking... linking Secure WMA with a wider manufacturing base of MP3 players. Secure WMA is a format that encodes music for copyright protection. It has nothing to do with manufacturers (whose real interest is in selling players). Until and unless, the/a service (to provide music in Secure WMA) becomes prevalent in Asia, no one who buys players will encode their music in Secure WMA format. The players are already here, the service is not... so how can "Soon enough the numbers will tip..." make any sense. People who buy players (especially in Asia) is not be bothered with whether their players will work in a format that is not already present and prevalent... they buy them for gratification... which their CURRENT/PRESENT music gives/provides.
I write:
I'm confused with what you are saying. you are talking about now, I'm talking about tomorrow. When is that tomorrow, I don't know. If I did, then I'd be working for one of these companies. You are talking about ripping music, I'm talking about buying it. Okay let me put it this way, When Samsung launches music store in India, ostensibly with Napster wth Indian content. What will the iPod owners like me do? where will I buy IndiPop and film music, that will play on my iPod? (I agree, India is bad example, but you can extrapolate)
HunKiat wrote:
You say that there is a huge market for cheap DA Players in Asia... Apple is working hard to meet that demand, they may introduce a cheaper version, iPod flash in Jan '05. It will likely be very good looking and more importantly... CHEAPER. I think they will sell plenty in Asia. Remember the services are not yet available here. The critical mass of ppl you say may just be the ones who have iPods instead.
I write:
What about iRiver? or Creative? they already have flash players on the market. Anyway your questions are rooted in today, the issues I raise are based in tomorrow. Besides a Flash Ipod simply means that it is available at a different Price Point. The iRiver and creative player would be cheaper than the iPod (I'd like to think otherwise, but I doubt, it will happen)
HunKiat wrote:
And don't forget that Apple is in knots with HP in the distribution of the iPods, what makes you think that HP won't be allowed to distribute other iPods versions?
I write:
HP is a niche player in Asia and also most of the world. It still does not add up to the distribution muscle that Samsung (or LG or any other large consumer durable/electronics company) has... PC industry vs Consumer Electronics and Durables
HunKiat wrote:
The notion that ppl will switch from using WinTel PCs is not silly. It has a lot more sense, (though it is obvious you can't sense it) than is common thought. Many ppl, on just using iTunes for Windows alone, are considering switching PCs, I'm not talking iPods even. As for your windows hacks... it just for a niche group of ppl who truly go geeky over such frivolous issues. Do you really thing that "MacHeads" go furious over not being able to do such things on their Macs... boy I begin to think you're pretty juvenile now. Believe me, I speak for "MacHeads", we have better things to do.
I write:
If you find my logic improbable, the reverse is equally true, which is what I wrote initially. Lets leave it at that. The whole programmer thing was an argument to try and look the other way. It is weak one. I agree.
I don't use Windows, because I get some perverse pleasure in it. I use Windows because I find it easy to use, it is easily supported by my office staff. My parents can use it between their work places and the home. the computers (we have three) can be supported by friends and neighbours when both me and my brother are away from home. That is why I use Windows. Ease of use. Hassle free to use. I used to use linux some time ago, when I was doing a computer programming diploma, but I quickly got over it, once I moved to B-School and then started working. Also the novelty wore off.
If you had better things to do you wouldn't be writing this long earnest piece defending Apple/Mac/iPods/iTunes/iTunes music store would you? (no offence meant, so please don't take any)
Incidentally I owe some people an apology. MacHeads is rude. lets call them Apple Fans... :)
Apple is promoting AAC especially where it comes to its own service. It has to do so... to differentiate its products so as to provide a better service. Good service invariable means a certain amount of control. You can't have that with WMA and with so many other MP3 players out there. AAC is also an open standard, recognized by a wide consortium of parties. It is not Apple's AAC only.
I write:
Is this control also related to actively blocking third party applications that allow you to copy music of the iPod and music?
I have to disagree with you codecs. Apple lossless is not an open format. AAC is. There is a difference. I hope you understand what I'm saying here. Secure music is not in AAC, but in Apple Lossless, which is what this whole thing was about.
Yet another Anonymous wrote:
"Many ppl, on just using iTunes for Windows alone, are considering switching PCs..."
A friend of mine who uses Windows calls Win iTunes the best program he's ever used. He said experiencing the quality of Apple software was a "kick in the head" and that his next computer will be a Mac.
I write:
You may want to ask him, what are the other apps on Windows that he uses, for sourcing, creating music, movies etc. If you get my drift... :)
I'm editing comments now. Much of what I had to say is above
Yet another Anonymous wrote:
First, you are assuming that the average consumer is a tech geek like you (this is not meant as an insult). I am much better informed about technology than the average consumer, but not quite a "geek". I regularly read about technology and consumer electronics. However, even I know virtually nothing about the SACD vs DVD format war about which you write, and wouldn't make my purchse decisions on that basis.
I write:
The word is geek is no longer an insult. it's a badge of pride. and I wear it proudly. my msn id is madgeek@h... :)
What would you base you purchase on? what if the tiles you wanted were available only on the format that you "didn't" have. What would you do?
Yet another Anonymous wrote:
Oh, by the way, those legions of great windows programmers who are responsible for Microsoft's xbox are currently doing all their coding for the new xBox on Powermacs.
I write:
Correct me if I'm wrong, the toolkit for Mac just came out? right? Halo and Halo 2 happened before this? or do I have the dates wrong?
Anyway, You have just validated what I've been trying to say. This just goes to prove that MS is securing the XBox future.
Just imagine that for a moment: A Mac guy writing software for a MS product... What does that tell you about the product and MS?
Finally someone with a name and profile
Hi hmurchison
hmurchison wrote:
"I feel that Apple is doing great dis-service to the iPod by not letting other formats get on board and not licensing their proprietary codec to other manufacturers. This venture too risks going the way the other Apple businesses operate, i.e. in expensive niches"
FUD pure and simple. The whole point of licensing is to get your product out there but first you must gain majority marketshare. Apple cannot do that by "assisting" Microsoft by standardizing WMA. Let's think logically here.
I write:
The whole point about licensing is that your product/format is available to more people, without you having to spend more money promoting it. It's not that Apple doesn't realise this, which is why they tried to woo Sony to climb on board the iTunes bandwagon... (this is a rumour, I don't know if this is true). If this had happened, then we would have been talking altogether a different ball game. Microsoft did a new thing lately. It started a marketing initiative called "Plays for Sure". heard about it? This logo will go on all new players that support Secure WMA (which is basically all of the industry excepting Apple and Sony.) What does that tell you?
Q3 Apple sold what 2 million iPods. Q4 Apple might double that to 4 milling. That's 6 million iPods in 6 months and the run rate may double for 2005 if they announce Flash iPods. Apple is moving forward at an astonishing rate yet the fear mongers are revising history and trying to draw parallels with Apple losing a commanding lead. It hasn't happened. Macintosh never had more marketshare than PCs.
I write:
Why I fear is because, Apple is not against one player. MS. It is also up against Samsung, iRiver, Creative, Sony and a dozen other hardware manufacturers. MS in one shot has not only fragmented the market for Hardware, but also ensured that the one thing that unites them is Secure WMA. (apart from the open formats, but we are talking about bought music here)
First to market is key and gaining critical mass. Look at the 3rd party products for Napster vs iPods...game over Apple wins. Who has the mindshare.
I write:
You are talking about First Mover Advantage (sorry, can't avoid B-School lingo). Marketing history is replete with examples where first to market did not necessarliy come out on tops. Since are talking about the computer world, lets stick to that... Internet Explorer vs. Netscape, Word vs. Word perfect, Wordstar. Google vs. Altavista etc. It is one thing competing alone against an 800 pound gorilla, it is another thing when the 800 pound gorrilla has to contend with a dozen other gorrillas. A non computer indutry example... is available in the American Car market.
For pete's sake folks give Apple some time to gain marketshare before screaming about licensing. Armchair MBAs need not apply here. In 2 years you will see iTunes/iPods penetration in unbelievable numbers..be patient.
I write:
True I don't have an MBA, I have measly one year marketing diploma from a virtually unknown school. But I've sucessfully launched a newspaper one year out of b-school, while saving my company a few crores (a crore is 10 million), so u can say that I'm not wholly unqualified.
If you find my logic failing put it down to old age (all of 25) :) and take a chill pill. All this is about a company, which couldn't care less if we all existed or not. Please feel free to continue commenting. I may or may not respond to the comments. If the comments are rude and abusive. I will delete them. As I have already done in the past few hours.
Haha, it's totally true. If WMA-based stores start taking off, all Apple has to do is flip a software switch, and bam, the iPod works with them.
ReplyDeleteRemember, kids, the iTMS sales numbers are bragging rights. They've always said the real money is coming in from the iPod hardware sales.
Rather, though, there's an equally good chance that the iTMS/iPod hegemony will end up bending others to their will, as opposed to Microsoft's. I mean, crap, dude, those market share numbers are pretty cut-and-dried.
Damn I can't edit my own comments. I was going to add that the Mac optimist in me really wants to believe that the iPod will lure tons of new users to the Mac platform, as it's beautiful and a joy to work with.
ReplyDeleteBut conversely, I'm typing this on a 2.8GHz peecee running Win2k, because my aging Quicksilver G4 800MHz is about to be sold off, since it couldn't handle the insanely large Reason files I work with. Sorry, fellow Mac users, but it's true - the price/performance ratio in the <$1000 range is completely owned by home-built peecees. It's not as elegant an OS, and it's not as inspiring a user experience, but when money's tight you have to go utilitarian.