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iPod on Windows

Posted by pudge on from the always-a-follower-never-a-leader dept.

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.

2 of 321 comments (clear)

  1. Apple won't sue--its a mutual benefit by Spencerian · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.

    --
    Vos teneo officium eram periculosus ut vos recipero is.
  2. Re:For what it's worth by mattdm · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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. :)