Recent Comments:
Napster unleashes a-la-carte, DRM-free MP3 store {Engadget}
May 20th 2008 1:27PM Megaparticle, John,
Quix is completely correct.
You two are misguided for reasons that have little to do with the facts.
FACT: Apple originally wanted to sell DRM-free music, but only added DRM because the labels would not sell without it (and Apple needed a store). Google "steve jobs rolling stone". QUOTE from JOBS: "When we first went to talk to these record companies -- you know, it was a while ago. It took us 18 months. And at first we said: None of this technology that you're talking about's gonna work. We have Ph.D.'s here, that know the stuff cold, and we don't believe it's possible to protect digital content. --No one's gonna shut down the Internet. And it only takes one stolen copy to be on the Internet. And the way we expressed it to them is: Pick one lock -- open every door. It only takes one person to pick a lock. Worst case: Somebody just takes the analog outputs of their CD player and rerecords it -- puts it on the Internet. You'll never stop that. So what you have to do is compete with it."
FACT: Microsoft "opened" up its "ecosystem", and it only proliferated DRM everywhere, and caused the problems Apple foresaw, to the point where Microsoft is now "killing off" support for people that need to reauthorize music they've purchased in the future (if they change machines, etc). Check out the recent stories on the MSN music servers.
FACT: Apple would GLADLY sell music without DRM, because they use their store as a loss-leader (they are now selling digital movies at a $1 per sale loss). Apple knows that they have other "controls" on retaining customers, like their brand, ease-of-use solutions, and cultural strangle-hold. Not to mention their patents and arrangements like the Made-for-iPod program. If it makes it easier on consumers to use their products (and they sell more hardware through that reason) Apple is for it.
FACT: Apple TRIED to "force" the issue. Don't you remember? They made their huge announcement with EMI and offered it to all of their other partners. Universal snubbed them, and everyone else began to realize that they could use this as a lever. --Only, Apple still wins. If all the other stores become iPod compatible, and still require people to load their iPods through some joint solution with iTunes... Apple wins. Apple would not have created iTunes if ease-to-use solutions had already existed. They felt they could do it better.
FACT: Apple would even make FREE non-DRM music and content available through iTunes if they could... oh, hang on a minute... they already DO! They're called podcasts, and you can move them wherever you like. "Foot-traffic" is king, and creating barriers discourages consumer usage and the entire "ease of use" experience.
The music industry needs to sell DRM-Free music EVERYWHERE. People will continue to buy from iTunes regardless, and they're only creating more and more buyers that are "locked in" to DRM. Apple has left the door open for more new "iTunes Plus" partners to see the light. They only need to walk into it. It's moronic.
Why hasn't anyone hacked the Kindle? {Engadget}
Feb 28th 2008 8:40AM You know... I suspect people do not "get it", as to WHY someone would want to hack the Kindle. Let's put it this way, I'll slide the knife in nice and slow.
#1. Kindle has free wireless Internet.
#2. A BETA web browser allows browsing the web.
#3. HACKED = PROXY SERVER
All three of those points lead to the fact that using the Kindle, you CAN actually access the real Internet... and at 3G speeds. If you wanted, you could hack the Kindle into a high-brow, thin, wireless modem for your laptop or ultra-portable with NO MONTHLY FEES.
Who cares about runing Doom on it, or putting in some feature that it was never meant to have. Hello... FREE INTERNET calling!
Xbox goes profitable, almost like a grown-up business {Engadget}
Jan 25th 2008 7:30AM It' STILL too positive towards Microsoft.
Sony finally admitted that they got production costs down so that they're charging around the same thing that it's costing them to produce them. I think the ball is still in Microsoft's court. So their entire division is profitable (nebulously speaking)... cool, I guess. Celebrate. Let's see you get the console and mp3 player profitable too. I'd like to think the video game industry isn't a contest of who can lose the most money forever and ever and ever.
Given XBox's tremendous sales, only initially costing $500 in cost to PS3's $800 cost, and... not having a Blu-Ray, cell processors or HD-DVD player inside (thank god), you'd think they'd have already celebrated that milestone. Have they? Meanwhile, Apple and Nintendo produce hardware that makes a profit out of the starting gate. So what you will, but that just impresses me... when companies product a product, mark it up from their cost, and sell it. Suddenly, its about how much a company can afford to LOSE to dominate a market... and not simply how GOOD their device is for customers. The Wii is really showing them up in this regard. Microsoft is doing it again with the Zune... which is fine, but again... it disturbs me AS A CUSTOMER, because if a company decides to simply "dump" their product on the market, irrespective of cost... people WILL buy them, and then the price will be sky-high for newer models. It wouldn't be a lowered cost as an indicator of success, it would be artificial and disruptive. Like HD DVD right now.
The sooner Microsoft and Sony finish optimizing their production into the ongoing path for profit, the better.
iPod touch owners rally to get new apps for free {The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)}
Jan 17th 2008 7:42AM Schizophrenics. Between the hacking, the whinning, and the cheapskatedness... it's all a bit much. It's $20 people. Don't even say its the principle. They're doing a FAVOR for new iPod Touch owners and standardizing the new features. For exisiting Touch owners, they're offering an optional upgrade fee. Apple went out of their way to get SkyHook for WiFi node location finding. They're not breaking their Touch accounting out over 2 years (as they are for iPhone and Apple TV). iPhone owners (most anyway) pay Apple part of their monthly fees on top of that. The Touch is the Touch. It's a snapshot product. Apple WILL NOT add new products/features to the Touch without charging you. Get USED to it. And, if you're going to drone on and on and on about hacking, don't pretend that your jailbroken phone wit pirated iPhone apps is a new "feature" that you can use to compare what Apple has done with this new CHEAPO upgrade. Come on, now.
iPhone firmware 1.1.3 video walkthrough posted {Engadget}
Dec 31st 2007 12:38PM Few people will care about MMS moving forward. It's a horrible legacy product tied to a checkboard and strange and inconsistent fees and extra charges. If would be easier to e-mail someone a movie attachment via Email than over MMS. Saves you from getting choked to death when they find out that you gave them a charge of $10 for 20 seconds of bad video.
Not all is lost: partfoundry developing GPS module for iPhone {Engadget}
Dec 15th 2007 5:17AM Because that's a bit of a dead-end. Now that Apple's announced 3rd party app support, hacking the phone will be of less interest to even those who've partaken in the behavior so far. Even if, after months of sweat and toil... you succeed. What's to say Apple hasn't already succeeded, and is just working on testing the new drivers? It would be Bootcamp all over again, except without the cash reward.
Not all is lost: partfoundry developing GPS module for iPhone {Engadget}
Dec 15th 2007 5:13AM Well, hell... its Valentine's Day month. Bound to be loads of sex going on. 'Cause you know El Jobso likes a lot of sex in his products. Let;s just hope Apple doesn't pull that February 29th garbage with the API... or that actual public deployment methodology is available at the same time. You hear that? We're on to you, Jobs!
Apple relents, sanctions custom ringtones! {The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)}
Dec 14th 2007 5:20PM Erica... I'm honestly losing track of the iPhone announcements, but not you too! I think we discovered last month that iTunes 7.5 and firmware 1.1.2 enabled the ringtone rename thing-a-ma-bob again. Right? It all works. Garageband is definitely the icing on the cake, because it is THE signal of a policy change... at least now that they've released the ringtones store, and the Garageband update (and garnered the press they wanted). I dunno... I'm happy, but also... ambivalent. We just tick the checkbox. Next stop... 3rd party apps, GPS and more Bluetooth profiles hoo-haw!!!
iPhone gets video recording capabilities {Engadget}
Dec 14th 2007 5:21AM No... I'm just trying to cut you a slice of reality. It's one of those moments when you say something, y'know... and it sounds like a commercial? But... eh, what can you do? It's now December 14, 2007. One year from now, I won't care about this thread but I'm pretty sure that original iPhone owners will still be being paid higher dividends on their investments than your "regular phone" comment would imply. We'll see though, right?
iPhone gets video recording capabilities {Engadget}
Dec 13th 2007 8:28PM HEADINGS... Oh, I get it... so you're not interested if the headings are accurate for the article, you just want to whine and complain that simply reading them makes you feel like there is inequality... despite the actually facts. Wow. Dude, go get some sleep. Come back when you've got a real point.
