iPod on Windows

niola writes "A story on Yahoo mentions the XPlay -- a cool software package that allows a Windows box with a FireWire port to mount the iPod as if it were a drive (gives it a letter too) so that you can upload songs to it. Looks really cool and has the ability to integrate with Windows Media Player." Will Apple sue over this? I guess it'll depend on whether or not they stand to lose money in lost Mac sales or gain money in extra iPod sales.

Comments

Huh?

[MaxVlast]

Why would Apple sue? It's not in any sort of violation of their copyrights, etc. Unless there's something funky in the license, people can use their hardware whenever and wherever and however they like. It's not like it's a song, it's a song player.

How different is this from connecting my Apple USB keyboard to my PC?

Apple won't sue--its a mutual benefit

[Spencerian]

Apple generally does not litigate against third-party applications of their products. That would be silly--it would ultimately discourage software and hardware additions such as PCI cards and software which might augment the Mac OS or its hardware. A computer is a computer, and Apple learned long ago to allow other companies to play when the rewards work both for Apple and others.

Other products which have had third-party adaptations, although not necessarily with the tacit blessing from Apple that XPlay has includes:

--the original iMac (an early expansion slot was used for video cards, although Apple discouraged use of the port and discontinued it on later models)
--LinuxPPC, other operating systems
--USB floppy drives (when the iMac dispensed with them)
--The Outback (the first, but unofficial, Mac portable, which used the ROM from a Mac Plus)
--Basilisk (PC software which emulates an early Macintosh, ala Virtual PC for Macintosh)

Apple tends to keep to themselves unless someone appears to be directly violating their copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights. Using the iPod is, well, using an iPod. Apple probably expects other companies to adapt it for their work. Saves Apple the trouble of manpower to create any software, but also releases them from supporting the iPod since a third-party (and non-Apple) product is in use, which may be a warranty violation.

Reasons Apple WON'T Like This

[sfgoth]

There are several reasons why Apple won't think this is the greatest news.

1) People really are buying Macs just to use the iPod. I know that the slashdot crowd doesn't fit that mold, but if you go into an Apple store and actually ask one of the salespeople, you'll hear story after story about customers that heard about the iPod, and walked out with an iBook to go with it.

2) This might raise Apple's support costs substantially. Every call to Apple's support line costs money, even if the customer doesn't really deserve the support. Does someone who buys an iPod knowing Apple doesn't support using it via Windows deserve 90 days of toll free assistance from Apple if XPlay corrupts data on the iPod? Should Apple have to support callers who are having problems with their FireWire ports on their PC? These are just examples, but keep in mind that Apple exists because these are exactly the kinds of problems PC users have all the time. What should Apple tell the users who call support with these problems?

Now, I don't think Apple should sue anyone over this software. But this isn't the excellent news most people think it is. Apple will be making less money per iPod sold because of this. The iPod's reputation of no-brainer ease of use might be tarnished.

In the end, hopefully Apple will sell more units, make more money, and get positive exposure to new customers.

-pmb

Re:For what it's worth

[mattdm]

Since my post is apparently +2 interesting and +1 funny (even if a bit -1 overrated) I might as well elaborate.

Said coworker is a programmer-geek type, not a sysadmin-geek type. He hates all things Microsoft with the appropriate level of passion, and has been using Linux for a while, with mixed happiness -- very impressed with the power and flexibility, totally happy with the *nix environment, but a little underwhelmed by the lack of polish on the graphics and multimedia end of things. (No flames please -- these aren't my opinions; I'm just conveying.) He'd been eyeing OS X for a while in a casual sort of way, but not with much seriousness.

When he got the iPod-gift, I suggested that hey, we might be able to play with some stuff to try to get it working on his Linux box -- there's others out there working on it. Hmmm, he said.

But then he came in the next day with his new Powerbook. :)

Re:The RIAA and the MPAA are enemies of Apple.

[Refrag]

Go ahead and order your iPod then.

What happened to the "XPod" name? Why did it change?
Apple Computer, a company with which Mediafour has always had an amicable relationship, expressed concern over our use of the name "XPod", due to its similarity to the "iPod" name. We chose to change the name to XPlay early on in the project.

Apple didn't ask them to cease and desist, they merely requested that it undergo a name change.