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HP to Launch Music Service, Player In 2004
securitas writes "HPShopping.com CEO Peter Appl told Reuters that HP will launch its own branded online music service and a portable MP3 / digital music player in 2004. Appl (the CEO) said that the newcomers would compete with Apple (the company's) music products such as the iTunes music store and iPod music player, among others. HP expects its store to be a branded version of an existing service. Appl also said that the launch will take place at the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. Compaq sold its own line of digital music players, now discontinued, before its merger with HP. Mirrors of the Reuters story at CNN and Boston.com. A quick check shows that HPMusic.com resolves to an
'HP customer care local language selection' technical support page, and the domain has been registered since 1999."
I'm awefully distressed that Apple's music player isn't getting more recognition in consumer electronics houses. I went to Best Buy recently to pick up a much needed case fan, and was surprised to see that they carry iPods. Unfortunately, they have all their iPods in a locked transparant glass case at floor level, making it very difficult to look inside. Additionally, all the iPod boxes are oriented in such a way that the size is the only visible part of the box. On top of this case is the latest offering from Creative Labs, in a nice clear plastic case, showing off the (rather bulky) HDD MP3 player. It is impossible see what the iPod even looks like in the display. As I was doing my Christmas shopping at the time, I had my own iPod with me. I was asked about it by two moderately interested individuals, who were complete unaware of the presence of the product in the store. It's really too bad that the bottom line plays such a big role in the way these products are marketted. Best Buy has a much more significant markup on the other MP3 players, but its a little deceiteful to tuck the good stuff away like that. OK, enough of my griping. - J. B.
Sorry, the indestructible tools and engineering heritage portion of HP got spun off to Agilent. :(
If HP or Apple or whoever later decides to stop supporting the format then I am screwed, I can't legally convert the files to another format unless the vendor is nice enough to provide me with an officially sanctioned tool. Do you think they will do that instead of forcing me to buy another copy in a different format?
Yeah, Apple would never allow you to do something like burn them to the non-DRM'd CDs you love so much.
As many times as you would like. [1]
Or have their DRM'd files be based on an industry standard. [2]
[1] From http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/: "You can burn songs onto an unlimited number of CDs for your personal use, listen to songs on an unlimited number of iPods and play songs on up to three Macintosh computers or Windows PCs."
[2] See http://www.apple.com/mpeg4/aac/
- (c) 2018 Hank Zimmerman
Equipped with a 192-bit DAC for maximum output quality
That's probably market-speak for an 8-channel by 24-bit DAC, useful for 7.1 channel audio.
Sound recording feature with 1MHz sampling rate
Sony's SACD system, based on pulse density modulation, does 2.8 MHz at one bit per channel.
Nearly all portable players support WMA, it's just that since everyone kept their collections as MP3 no one ever used the feature.
Microsoft made the licensing terms of WMA so easy that companies were able to throw it on as an extra feature for next to nothing.
Jack Valenti and Orrin Hatch will be first up against the wall when the revolution comes.
I've actually been following the Karma's progress quite avidly on the riovolution forums. In theory, it's the player I want to own: ipod-sized, ogg support, involved developer community, ethernet interface.
But let's be honest here: Rio released the Karma several months and QA cycles too early, and the early buyers got used as unwitting beta testers of an unready product. The original ipod had its share of issues, but they didn't include regularly restarting in the middle of song playback.
The 1.25 firmware looks like it might actually be of production quality, but I'm gonna wait a few more weeks before risking my money on it. I'm sympathetic to the corporate upheavals that the Rio team has been through lately, but their QA process is just not trustworthy right now.
News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters? Like hell.
Not so. There are songs at both the iTunes Music Store and BuyMusic.com, for example, that have harsher limitations from BuyMusic than from the iTMS.
Why is CNN, a Time Warner owned channel, on cable services besides Time Warner's own cable service? Isn't Time Warner selling its cable channel to a competing cable service and helping the competing cable service? Why is the competing cable service buying the rights to air CNN when they're essentially funding a competitor?
Or better yet, watch what Microsoft does with all of its X-Boxes, SmartPhones, Media Center PCs, etc. They're essentially taking over the specific-use PC market and working their way up and cannablizing PC sales along the way. They're competiting with PC manufacturers like Dell who sell their stuff. That was the number one fear from a PC manufacturer's standpoint when MS announced the X-Box.
Another example more directly related is Microsoft selling music themselves. They're going to be "competing" against companies that have licensed their WMA DRM technology.
In the business world, if you can sell a product through an outlet, even your competitors', you need to consider it. If it's mutually beneficial, then it will be done. Furthermore, from a CEO's perspective, it is better to compete and have a chance at a market rather than just give up and let someone else take it over without a fight. From the consumer's point of view, enjoy the competition while it lasts. This is the time to take advantage of the promotions, coupons, etc.
It doesn't necessarily. That why you have to wait for the store to open. If they offered better service, convinence (whether it be one-click shopping or less restrictive DRM or such), and prices, then you would choose it just like a brick and mortar store where certain similiar qualities like service, price, convinence (easy to get to, easy to find the stuff you're looking for in the store) convinced you to buy from there.
Well, for starters, there's all of them, since everything from the iTMS can be played on up to three authorized computers, each of which has full usage rights (can burn CDs, transfer to iPods, use songs in projects made with the other iApps, stream music to other computers on the network, etc.). The up-to-three authorized computers can be changed at any time (deauthorizing one computer to authorize another), so the music's not tied to a specific machine; you can take it with you to your next rig when you upgrade.
By comparison, anything bought from BuyMusic.com has full rights (burning, transfer to portable players, etc.) on only the "primary computer," i.e., the one on which the music was actually downloaded. Even if the music can be played on other machines (not all do; I'll mention a few examples), the "secondary" machines can't burn CDs of it, can't load it onto MP3 players, etc.
Aside from that, there's the simple fact that BuyMusic's DRM isn't uniform even across its own catalog, let alone equivalent to anyone else's. Some songs let you play on up to three computers, some on just one; some things let you transfer it to players an unlimited number of times, some just 10 times, or 5, or something else (there may be some that don't permit it at all); some let you burn to CD an unlimited number of times, some just 10 times or 5 or 3 or whatever.
But wait; you wanted specific examples. Ok, here you go - these are all albums available at both outlets, but with tighter restrictions from BuyMusic.com than from the iTMS:
- Try This, by Pink. From BuyMusic, this allows only 10 CD burns.
- Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues, by Stevie Ray Vaughan. This supports only 5 portable player transfers and 5 CD burns.
- Kevin Mahogany, by Kevin Mahogany. This allows only 3 CD burns.
- Let's Dance, by David Bowie. This allows only 1 computer, 3 player transfers, and 3 CD burns.
- 16 Biggest Hits, by Johnny Cash. 5 player transfers, 5 CD burns.
- John Philip Sousa's Great American Marches I - 1 computer, 3 player transfers, and 3 CD burns.
- 8 Mile soundtrack, by Eminem. 1 computer.
- Are You Experienced, by Jimi Hendrix. 1 computer.
- Heavenly Place, by Jaci Velasquez. 3 CD burns.
- Evil Empire, by Rage Against the Machine. 5 transfers, 5 burns.
That's 10 albums BM.com sells with tighter restrictions than the iTMS has, right there. Once again, the iTMS permits use on up to three computers, changeable at any time and with full usage for each, while even if a BM purchase permits playing on three, only one can burn the track to CD or transfer to a player, and one can't deauthorize the primary computer to authorize a new one, so you're stuck burning CDs and filling players with that music from that one machine; also, the iTMS permits unlimited iPod transfers and unlimited CD burns for every track.
Hell, not only are the actual restrictions themselves on BM music a hassle, but just the fact that different selections have different restrictions is a pain - who wants to keep track of how many more times one can do this or that with this track or that album?? The fact the usage rules are uniform for all tracks from the iTMS is nice in and of itself; the fact those rules are more lenient than what you'll find at BM is nicer still.