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Then, in the summer of 2002, Apple dropped the price of the 5Gb model to $299, made the 10Gb model $399 and introduced a 20 Gb model for $499.

At this point, the iPod was selling like hotcakes even though its average price was $400.

Now they've introduced the smaller, lighter, COLORED (oooh!) 4Gb iPod mini for $50 less than the older 5Gb iPod.

These are going to sell great now, but just wait until Apple drops the price on the iPod mini. I predict that we'll see them at $199 by this summer, and then EVERYONE will have one, including me.

I hate to be one to defend to microsoft here, but get off your high horse.

In actuality, there are as many PC's in the house as there are Macs. None of them run Windows, of course. I don't run Windows unless someone is paying me to do so - and they pay me quite well for that particular torment. I've used more than enough OSes, be they Mac, Windows, UNIX, or things you've probably never heard of (lucky you) to be able to bash Windows from a thoroughly objective viewpoint. :)

So, your points (such as they are):

The main reason that Macs seem so relatively bug-free is because the platform is so obscure and tightly controlled. "Tightly controlled" on the other hand... is that a BAD thing? I'm not sure. Windows, like Topsy, "just growed," and it's now got a decade plus of stuff piled atop other stuff, and so on. Which of course makes fixing it very hard. OS X has the advantage of having been able to ditch legacy stuff to a large extent.

You don't have the variety of hardware that you have on a PC, you don't have the variables PCs have.

Now, there may be things that work on the Windows because there are drivers, and don't work on the Mac because there aren't. Dunno. I do know that a fair percentage of the external peripherals I buy come with driver disks for Windows, yet are "plug and play" with the Mac. (And actually, I've observed this trend for several years with Linux, as well.)

And before you try to get off acting like a mac is immune to viruses, think again. It's entirely possible to write a virus for a mac, even OS X that can be quite destructive. Probably wouldn't take more than a few hours by a bored enough person. I'd do it myself, but I have better things to do with my time, like sex, than to write viruses.

Also, last time I checked, the near-month service packs that Apple puts out for their OS take longer than 5 minutes to download and install.

In conclusion, please share whatever pills you are taking to get to that reality, because they seem like they're pretty fun.

1. 10GB Apple iPod
   
2. 128MB Digitalway
   
3. 20GB Apple iPod
   
4. 128MB iRiver
   
5. 40GB Apple iPod
   

How is this off-topic?? RTFA...wait, there is no article.

This may help.

This is when you look at one of the other rebuttals:

codepoetry
MacObserver

Yeah! For real! I can't believe anyone would infringe on Microsoft's infringement

Hmmm... He hasn't made the Apple Death Knell Counter yet.

Bryan Chaffin from The Mac Observer goes into some of the points mentioned in the original article: The Back Page: PC Apologist Asks If We Mac Users Are Now Humble

One interesting point made is that those who say that Mac OS X suffers fewer security and virus problems than Windows only because there are fewer Mac users just don't have a leg to stand on.

If you want to read a well thought out and constructive rebuttle to this article, click here.

Everyone talks about us Mac zealots, and yet no one ever talks about the Anti-Mac zealots, and let me tell you there are a lot of them.

I like this idea for Mr. Ralsky - send a Christmas card

Now try to find a team of lawyers that can successfully prosecute such a case in Romania, China or Russia! These sorts of scams generally do not originate in places like the US or UK.

Course not!

"Maybe you can ask that clown for help"

don't be talking about Steve Jobs that way. you might make him shit his pants.

... these /. mac fags should go get their own site and leave real enthusiasts/nerds alone.

Okay. I'll bite. Dear Mister Troll sir...as to us having a site of our own...we do. In fact we have several from which to choose. And, pray tell, what in your tiny little troll-like mind leads you to believe that Mac users are all of a particular sexual orientation of any kind at all? Or that mac users don't qualify as nerds? And by some strange twisting path of logic that we don't in some way belong here?Newsfalsh! The mac now not only sports a command line environment, but you can set your environment to your shell of choice!

I know, I know, please don't feel the trolls. Move along. Move along...

Umm, who has the RIAA wrongly sued?

For starters, this woman and this guy.

And if you believe our poster child 12 year old actually had >1000 tunes on her PC (on a dialup in less than 90 days), you're dreaming.

In this article the reviewer notes that the real (and under reported) benefit of the new 'metal' interface is the ability to choose classic finder behavior, i.e. persistent windows etc. and the new file browser paradigm (which I happen to prefer, but I was weened on windows, not classic)

Cheers

For example, their OS should not include a "Buy Music Now" button that forces people into a specific solution.

Why??? Give me ONE good reason WHY it shouldn't have such a button? Has ease-of-use been totally tossed out the window with the advent of the open-source movement? So what if MS is biased towards their own services with their OS. It would be STUIPD of them to advertise competitors services with their OS. It's called business. MS plays that game very well.

For that same reason I think the 'monopolistic practices' judgement against MS regarding IE is hogwash. The entire time it was just Netscape whining that MS made a better product and more people used it. Yes MS undercut Netscape's business, it happens every day. It's called a capitalistic society. Yes MS made it extremely easy to just use IE instead of a 3rd party solution. In my opinion it would be a poor design decision in their OS to do anything but. KDE has a default web browser. MacOS has their own default web browser. But when Windows includes their browser with the OS its antitrust. Looking back now on the 'include a browser with the OS thing' it was nothing but starting a trend. What development team in their right mind would ship an OS nowadays without a web browser ready to use out of the box. "Hey, lets make our operating system harder to use because Netscape likes to whine." Who's bright idea was it to create a business plan off charging for a web browser anyways? The instant I paid for Netscape 2.0 I thought to myself that this is a stupid idea. Unfortuantely at the time there really wasn't much of a choice. (Mosaic? Hah!) I'm of the opinion that if MS hadn't stirred up some competition in browser market that the web would be a very stagnant place to visit. (Although, as a web developer it pisses me off that now that they've won the war they've scrapped innovation in favor of the status quo.)

No one would whine if Apple put in a 'Buy Music Now' and the only choice by clicking that button was their distro service. Oh wait, they already did. Its called iTunes.

To give you another example, have you ever used the 'Print these pictures online' button in WinXP? It's rather handy. Granted, MS is directly associated with 1 of the 3 choices of online print shops and I'm willing to bet that they get kickbacks from the other 2, but regardless its convenient. As I recall Apple does something similar (and probably has been doing so longer) and I'd also be willing to bet that the services they point you to give them revenue in one form or another. Also keep in mind that MS's Print Online 'Button' is extensible. Gallery does just that and allows WinXP users to publish right to their photo gallery from their desktop. (Quick plug: If you're looking for a web-based photo gallery, there is no better choice than Gallery. Check it out.) So knowing that MS has allowed extensibility in the past and has not 'forced' you to use only a specific set of service providers for media type applications if they ever did put a 'Buy Music Now' button on the desktop what would make you think they would limit it to their (as yet non-existant) service without giving a choice?

MS OSes are like the road system. Sure you can offroad in certain areas, especially if you are an enthusiast, but to conduct your normal day-to-day business most people need to at least interface with the roads.

How is that any different than MacOS? Out of the box its (allegedly) a 'complete' package. Joe Sixpack would be perfectly happy browsing the IntarWeb and checking his spam with what comes with the OS. Maybe a personal finance manager and a game or two. The problem is that there was a paradigm shift a few years back on what an OS is and you missed it. We're not using DOS anymore. The OS isn't just the shell that you run your programs from anymore. Its become an entire package and what's wrong with th

Let's compare Microsoft to September 11th. September 11th cost the US economy $100 billion. Microsoft born worms have cost the US many billions as well. Code Red alone cost $2 billion. Sobig cost one billion. If we were to add up the costs of every dinky Microsoft worm all the way back to 1984, I'm sure we could arrive at $100 billion in documented costs. The documented costs, of course, pale by compairson with the undocumented costs of lost work. Those costs further pale when you consider the intentional waste of the upgrade cycle which forces users to ditch their hardware every three years. I just love walking into a 8 year old set up of Unix on PCs and see it working just as well as the day it was made without any adminisrtation. I hate walking into the typical Microsoft nightmare, which has not been "rebuilt" for a few years.

Is this killing anyone? Yes, it is. People in hospitals, cars and subways died in the big blackout a few months ago. It all points back to software that failed in the midwest, and I'm 95% sure that was a Microsoft failure. If we were to look at all the deaths caused by software failure, attributable to a mistaken use of Micfosoft software, I'm sure we could find more than 3,000 people and exceed the 9/11 toll.

Call me a zealot if you like. It does not change the truth.

Keep using that Microsoft junk. Just don't come whining to me when it cost you time, money and heartache. Especially stay away from me if you want to use it in a power plant or to operate traffic lights or some other place it does not belong. Someone will sue you for such negligence.

Now, how to go about getting them to sell my band's music on the store? Since we don't have a label, the split of sales would be a bit different, I'd assume there would have to be a different deal structure worked out. Does anyone else here on /. have an indie band, and have you tried to deal with iTunes? Any experiences/comments would be most welcome...

If your an indy band without a label you can try CD-Baby they have cut a deal so that indy artists can go though them to seel on ITMS. You can read about it here and here.

You could contact CD-Baby to find out more.

Can't disagree with the first point, but the second? Not really. There's at least one other jukebox app that has a substantially better feature set than iTunes and is just as easy to use. I tried iTunes for a day and got frustrated with its limitations. Other than purchasing the occasional track from the iTunes Store, I can't see myself firing it up again. (And no, I'm not one of those people who had stability problems; it worked just fine for me.)

How about 21 reasons why nobody would want that turd with brushed metal accents on their machine?

http://www.macobserver.com/columns/devilsadvocate/ 2003/20031007.shtml

I run netatalk on my Linux server and keep my home directory mounted via AFP on my Mac.

I wasn't aware of it until I set Console to launch when crashes occur, but now I see the crash occurs every time I authenticate - immediately upon login, or when unlocking my keychain, or unlocking System Preferences, and probably other times.

The fight between Dell and Apple to supply the laptops

While we're being nitpicky, it should be noted that the "40 or so" mac viruses only affect classic Mac OS, and many of THOSE were eliminated when System 7 replaced System 6. For OSX there are exactly ZERO viruses.

More in this editorial.

BTW, the free Disinfectant, discontinued around 1998, still protects against every Mac virus ever produced except for the MS macro ones.

... Microsoft could wind up paying $1.1 billion if all of the claims are filed which, historically, is not the case. Statistically only about 1/3 of the people and businesses who qualify for similar voucher actually get their share, but the settlement takes that into account too by dividing the unclaimed cash: Microsoft will get to keep 1/3 while the remaining 2/3 will go to California Public Schools in the from of free Microsoft software and grants.

Thus, if these predictions are correct, M$ will pay to users 1/3 of the settlement in actual claims. M$ can then keep 1/3 of what's left. This would leave M$ keeping (1/3)*(2/3)*($1.1 billion) = $244,444,444. This is, I guess, more than enough to pay the lawyers to try and keep this number as big as possible.

Considering this shows the iPod at #1 in dollar market share and within 1.5% of #1 in total numbers sold, I'd say Apple's marketing ability is pretty good.

• Belgium: 38%
• USA (currently): 58%

In short, your post simply confirms the original premise: the laptops are useless toys that do nothing education-wise. Sure, they might slightly improve students' understanding of computers. However, learning how to use Word and Powerpoint is something that can be done in just a few hours, and doesn't require students to have laptops.

Flame bait and ignorant.

Teachers like this one , and studies and newspapers back up my claim.

Do you work better on a good day or a bad day? Most work better when happy. I know this sounds amazing, but learning AND having fun is possible. Don't be a troll and don't try to deny the results. Attendance is up, kids are having fun, teachers are happy, test scores are good, etc. What more do you want?

The MacObserver states that System Ten has zero virii. Behold! the article.

Ohh, let's!

Gates Foundation - Charity or Strategy?
Microsoft Marketing Brings New Business and New Skeptics
Microsoft Donates "State of the Art" NT Systems To Mac Stalwart, Dartmouth
Defying a Microsoft World View
Special Report: MS Settlement under fire
COMMENTARY ISSUED ON OPEN SOURCE AND THE MICROSOFT DONATION IN SA
Your taxes are paying for the pricing practices of a proprietary monopoly.

I hate to break it to you, but the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation isn't Microsoft. They are completely different entities.

And a change of pace:
SuSE Linux Donates Software to Allentown, Pennsylvania Schoolchildren

Is it a real tech fund that they could use to buy decent hardware or will it be a tax write off by printing licenses? Or is it just marketing?

I'm a die-hard Jobsian fan, but I have to side with Tibco on this one. They've had the name since 94, they are now owned by Reuters, and they've got their niche and a solid product. Apple should quietly settle, change the name, and hope that their investors won't look too deeply into this. Sorry, but they could've resolved this years ago, why the arrogance?

Here's some good info on the company, and what this is all about.

There's this idea that Windows has more security vulnerabilities than other OSes. I think the Slashdot crowd belives this primarily due to the fact that every single one is made a big deal of on Slashdot, but Linux (and other operating system) vulnerabilities aren't treated the same way. Why wasn't the Sun cachefs vulnerability posted here? Or the RedHat unzip arbitrary file overwrite vulnerability? Or the RealPlayer vulnerability? And Debian has a buffer overflow that may potentially be exploited remotely (and this is a component of qmail, supposedly the super-safe mailer).

So your "Volvo" isn't as safe as you'd like to think it is. I'm not saying Microsoft hasn't made it's share of security blunders. IIS used to run with full privledges; that's was just a bad idea. And I'm sure you can point out others. But for every Microsoft security nightmare, there are open source security nightmares as well: Bind and SendMail come immeditely to mind.

In contrast, one of the few OSes that can claim to be pretty secure is OpenBSD. That's their goal, and they've features for that goal. And even still they have the occasional vulnerability. And that article, in case you choose not to follow it, is dated August 18th 2003 - 4 days ago! And interestingly enough, it looks like Apple's Mac OS X suffered from the same vulnerability.

I've just found vulnerabilities in just about every major operating system within the past week (err, 8 days). Every vendor patched it, and moved on. Certainly that isn't always ideal, and unfortunately very few people take steps to remove large design problems. For example, buffer overflows just shouldn't exist and there's many languages where they don't. Why does everyone still suffer from them? Because we all suck. Get off your high horse and walk around in the real world for while.

even Linux has like 5 times the market share of Macs.

Apple has publicly stated that they're working on getting the iTMS working for Windows users (by the end of the year (macobserver story)), and as of the end of April Apple had a job opening on their website for a developer of iTunes for Windows (macrumors story).

So yes, there will be a Windows version of iTunes.

Found here

Of course I can't verify they are *right*, but as of beginning of 2003, it seems Apple had 1 in 10, and what with the iTunes music store, it has been implied they have 1 in 8...

Check out these articles from macobserver and the website of luxology on their view of G5 performance. The whole spec-crap is totally irrelevant. Only applications matter:

Luxology's response

The mac observer on GP performance

If Slate wanted to generate as much reaction as possible for an article, Boutin couldn't have chosen a better way to sensationalize some pretty tame analyst conjecture. This story isn't new, and heck - I even suspect that regurgitated analyst conjecture has been wrong in the past. But even if it isn't wrong this time, who cares? Boutin presents an eclipse of MacOS by Linux as another death knell for Apple, when in fact it presents the greatest opportunity Apple Computer has seen in decades. This is for 3 fundamental reasons:

1. Linux will not be replacing Macs, they'll be replacing current & future Windows boxes. They will be the new systems of price-conscious IT managers or consumers or who would have otherwise used cheap Windows systems anyways. Where Linux is making desktop inroads (with the corporate & enterprise set) Apple has never has had, and probably never will have, any significant acceptance. And nobody can credibly say that Apple's core users - people who work with graphics & music, publishers, etc - will dump their platform and be using Gimp et al instead of Photoshop & MSOffice this decade. Neither will the grandmas of the world anyday soon be getting Linux boxes instead of dead-simple iMacs from their adult children so they can chat with the grandkids. Boutin is right that Linux is growing, but Linux is not eating into Apple's market share to any significant extent.

2. Linux acceptance means more willingness to look at all alternatives to Windows. If we, as consumers or enterprise managers or whomever, are considering going with something other than what we're used to, all options are suddenly open for discussion. The hard part is stepping away from the psychologically safe, familiar zone of Windows to start with; after that, most people don't care what they run so long as they can do what they need to with minimum hassle. The more people use Linux, the more they will consider a Mac, and vice versa.

3. More Linux adoption directly results in more Mac software. Porting is easy, and how many app developers wouldn't spend a few days (nearly a worst-case scenario) to make MacOS X-compatible versions of their software for minimal cost, opening up a market of millions? Furthermore, the more people using Linux, the more users out there will be familiar with the *nix conventions and tools that are also permeate MacOS X, so switching from one to the other will be increasginly like going from KDE to Gnome rather than to/from something foreign.

Boutin is wrong to imply that growing market share for Linux will eat away at Apple's customers. Analogies to Sun & SGI are misleading, since these companies are competing with Linux in the same market spaces that Linux has strength in, and may not show enough beneficial differentiation from Linux to be considered a better solution for the same needs. Apple, however, is very significantly differentiated in the minds of most people from Linux - how many people would confuse the two? - and presents real & imagined specialized benefits that are not seen to be available elsewhere, certainly not with Linux. I won't even comment on his analogies to the XBox vs. Playstation & Gamecube, it's so irrelevant. Wost of all, Boutin pits Linux vs. Apple, predicting Apple will be another "friendly fire" casualty. The two communities have so much to gain from one another by an increased acceptance of either, that one should really consider a success for one to be a success for the other (and the *BSDs as well). A nice try at inflammatory writing, though.

You can read the timeline here. It's an IBM chip.

Again?? Damn... That must be like the 27th time.

The simple truth is that Apple matters. There are things they innovate (like Quicktime, the Newton, and Firewire, etc etc etc) that are ahead of their time. They also can take existing markets and make something far and away better than what is there (iPod being the most recent example). What's more, they can take someone else's technology and make it acceptable (USB, anyone?) And they also can produce things that change the way you think about 'X'. In this latter category I'd put the GUI, Quicktime, and most recently the Music Store. I have completely changed the way I look at music, thanks to the iTMS and my iPod.

As long as they keep this up, and I don't see why they can't, they will matter and will draw people who want to speculate about the latest and greatest.

Mac is dying? Just like the other 27 times apple has been declared dead, right?

Some rumor sites claim the PPC prices will be lower than Motorola's G4. Who knows for sure? I would think IBM would offer the lowest prices possible to speed adoption of the chip. I have also read on the web that IBM's costs for G3s were lower than Motorola's because their production facilities were better. *shrug* If PPC970 truly is 25-35% lower than G4s its a no-brainer for Apple to use them.

If the prices are that low I wouldn't expect Apple to lower prices though. The pro models have been fairly consistent at their current price point for some time. I'm sure other costs have gone up with new features like Hypertransport, Firewire 800 and USB 2.0 (how much does Intel charge for that?). All o fthis si specualtion until the hardware actually comes out of course.

As for the stock comment, prices go up and down. I seem to recall a stock split a few years back. The stock has gone up recently with the iTunes sales announcements. However I think stock price is one of the least indicators about how well a company is doing - and certainly has nothing to do with the price of mac hardware.

Sure it is. It's built in to QuickTime, and QuickTime is freely available for anybody who wants to use it.

1 - Quicktime is only available on 2 platforms.
2 - Show me how you encode your AAC audio in Quicktime again for free.

And technology matters... why?

You go watching VCR tapes, I'll watch DVDs; this argument is settled then.

Oh, right, this is Slashdot.

Yes it is. I knew you were in for a rude awakening.

Seeing as how there are more iPods out there than there are all other digital music players COMBINED, I'd say you're wrong about that.

This is a know-it-all troll response. Last I checked iPod has 27% market share if you count dollar amounts sold. If you count units sold, Apple is #3 in the market - RCA and RIO ahead of it.

Obviously not. Look at the sales figures. Oh, wait, we're back to that "technology" thing again, huh? Pet Project X or Toy Device Y is superior to the iPod because of some nebulous idea of "technology." I forgot again.

See above.

Tell you what. Take a hundred people, chosen at random. Say "Vorbis." Ninety-eight of them will go, "Huh?" Now say "Ogg." Ninety-seven of them will go, "Huh?" but two of them will go, "Oh, that music thing the Slashbots are always complaining about. That thing that's like MP3 only not as good because nobody supports it."

What a silly argument. There was a time when about same number of people would call AOL the Internet. Many still do; maybe everyone should call Internet the AOL then. Since you don't understand the difference between Ogg and Vorbis even though the website is called www.vorbis.com, and do not care to, there is/was no point in further explanations.

The encoding format is called Ogg. I don't care what you think it should be called. It is called Ogg.

You got it the wrong way around. It IS called Vorbis by its authors. You think it should be called Ogg.

No, thanks. Instead, I'll concentrate on keeping my feet firmly planted in the real world.

You cannot even comprehend when something as clear as above is explained to you. There's nothing "real" about it.

--Where did you get those numbers for XP? Oh that's right, you pulled them out of your ass.

Google Zeitgeist says 31% XP, 21% W2K, 4% NT, 3% Mac, 1% Linux. There are a bunch of other sources like IDC, market research companies, your or your friends' company if you/they're working for a huge company especially doing/selling cross-platform products/services.

I encourage you do your own research and share with us.

--You SERIOUSLY underestimate the number of Linux users out there. And you have nothing to back up your claims.

IDC says Linux may surpass Mac OS in 2005. Today there are less than 30 million Mac user and the Mac share is at least 3 times bigger than the Linux one.

Is my 10- million Linux user a SERIOUS underestimate as you claim? I doubt, you didn't write any smart or valuable information.

Go away, troll.

== WolfriderV6 == I'm willing to admit that *I just might* be wrong... Are you??

An article on Macobserver.com:

Best Buy & Microsoft Named In Scam Lawsuit

That is the problem with any single-vendor DRM service. You are relying on the benevolence of a monopoly holder. Apple can go a long way to making the service more attractive by assuring users that they will have access to their content regardless of chosen platform (e.g., Macintosh, Windows, Linux, etc.). Perhaps if Apple open sources its DRM system, it would quell fears that buying content from the AMS is a bad long-term investment.

The Mac Observer has a list of Apple Knowledge Base articles which are essentially a fragmented FAQ for iTunes 4 and the new music download service. Have at it!

How to Keep Music Store From Appearing Don't want the Music Store to show up in your iTunes sidebar? Apple explains how to disable it.

How to View Purchase History If you're trying to remember what you purchased, here are instructions on how to browse your purchase history.

Issues Purchasing Songs From Music Store Apple offers troubleshooting tips if you are unable to complete a purchase at the Music Store.

About Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) What's this AAC stuff? Apple gives a definition.

AAC and MP3 Codecs Compared Apple explains the difference between MP3 and AAC.

About Authorization and Deauthorization Authorization, deauthorization, and what it all means in regards to Apple's new music service.

About Interrupted Downloads Dialup users take note: Worry not about your modem dropping out. Your song will be waiting for you when you return.

Burning Playlists with Purchased Songs Yes, you can burn your playlists to a CD. But the same playlist will only burn ten times.

How to Use The Shopping Cart Trying to keep your credit card statement short, or want to lump all of your downloads together? Check out the shopping cart.

How to View Album Artwork Miss taking a gander at the case of the CD you're currently listening to? You can now do so virtually.

About Apple ID and Password Apple explains what your Apple ID is and how it pertains to the Music Store.

Buying Music Requires U.S. Billing Address Unfortunately, you're out of luck for now if you live outside the United States.

Playing Purchased Songs on Your iPod Your 99-cent tunes are as mobile as you are, thanks to the iPod!

How to Purchase Songs With 1-Click Jeff Bezos may have patented it, but that doesn't mean you can't use it to get your music!

Some AAC Files Won't Play In some cases, iTunes 4 or an iPod won't play an AAC file. Here's why.

Music Store Connection Speed For best results, use the fastest internet connection you have.

How to Contact Music Store Billing Support Didn't buy it, but got charged for it? iTunes will help you work it out.

iTunes Music Store: All Sales Final Once you've bought it, it yours. No refunds.

System Requirements Sorry, that old Quadra isn't going to cut it. Here's what will.

About Music Store Parental Advisories Some %&*#!&@ music may not be $%*&@%# appropriate for children. Apple can help you decide.

About Third-Party MP3 Players and AA

The Mac Observer has a list of Apple Knowledge Base articles which are essentially a fragmented FAQ for iTunes 4 and the new music download service. Have at it!

How to Keep Music Store From Appearing Don't want the Music Store to show up in your iTunes sidebar? Apple explains how to disable it.

How to View Purchase History If you're trying to remember what you purchased, here are instructions on how to browse your purchase history.

Issues Purchasing Songs From Music Store Apple offers troubleshooting tips if you are unable to complete a purchase at the Music Store.

About Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) What's this AAC stuff? Apple gives a definition.

AAC and MP3 Codecs Compared Apple explains the difference between MP3 and AAC.

About Authorization and Deauthorization Authorization, deauthorization, and what it all means in regards to Apple's new music service.

About Interrupted Downloads Dialup users take note: Worry not about your modem dropping out. Your song will be waiting for you when you return.

Burning Playlists with Purchased Songs Yes, you can burn your playlists to a CD. But the same playlist will only burn ten times.

How to Use The Shopping Cart Trying to keep your credit card statement short, or want to lump all of your downloads together? Check out the shopping cart.

How to View Album Artwork Miss taking a gander at the case of the CD you're currently listening to? You can now do so virtually.

About Apple ID and Password Apple explains what your Apple ID is and how it pertains to the Music Store.

Buying Music Requires U.S. Billing Address Unfortunately, you're out of luck for now if you live outside the United States.

Playing Purchased Songs on Your iPod Your 99-cent tunes are as mobile as you are, thanks to the iPod!

How to Purchase Songs With 1-Click Jeff Bezos may have patented it, but that doesn't mean you can't use it to get your music!

Some AAC Files Won't Play In some cases, iTunes 4 or an iPod won't play an AAC file. Here's why.

Music Store Connection Speed For best results, use the fastest internet connection you have.

How to Contact Music Store Billing Support Didn't buy it, but got charged for it? iTunes will help you work it out.

iTunes Music Store: All Sales Final Once you've bought it, it yours. No refunds.

System Requirements Sorry, that old Quadra isn't going to cut it. Here's what will.

About Music Store Parental Advisories Some %&*#!&@ music may not be $%*&@%# appropriate for children. Apple can help you decide.

About Third-Party MP3 Players and AA

Apple markets better, that's why I kind of love apple. Steve jobs can get up on stage and talk about a 800mhz computer and DVD burner likes it's the next coming of Christ. I'm not sure how he does it, but I think it has something to do with the idea that things are different in the apple world - that when you buy an apple you'll be different too, or at least be part of a crowd that's different, and that somehow makes it better.

It's been done before, and better. Pressplay, eMusic, MusicNow just to name a few have been around for a while. They offer high quality music downloads, the exact price and file format might be a little different, but a for-pay music download service this is nothing new.

It's only available on the Mac. Apple's current Market share is currently 2.1%, for comparison Dell's and HP's are 17.3% and 15.8% respectively. So what's the point? How does only offering a service to 2% of the possible customers seem like a good idea? The only reason that makes sense to me is not to sell songs for 99c, but rather sell people on the Mac, and the idea that you can do things you couldn't do before if you have Mac.

Why pay .99c when there are still p2p systems that let you download for free? The last nail on this services coffin is the fact that people can still download music for free very easily, and of perfectly good quality, often higher then what you'll pay for. Just before writing this post I downloaded three full cd's from soulseek at 192kbit at about 70k per second, why would I want to pay 30 dollars to do the same thing plus have to deal with DRM? I

Apple makes money selling Macs, not software. Apple is selling people on the idea that when you get a Mac you're joining an exclusive and therefore better world, that in some way your life will be better, even if that is the farthest thing from the truth.

-Jon