Bite it. I STARTED my post with "While I see that some people would like a "World" iTunes with every flavor under the Sun given equal footing, I would despise it."
I am expressing my view as to why I don't want it - too much to filter through and that time is valuable to me - more valuable that potentially missing out on some great post-Soviet Rock or whatever.
And everyone knows The Office was originally British - you think you have some insider track on that?
While I see that some people would like a "World" iTunes with every flavor under the Sun given equal footing, I would despise it.
I think of myself as open minded and live in a culturally diverse neighborhood. Still, I like my music to be "Western" and if I were faced with a "most popular downloads" list monopolized by the shear numbers of Chinese lets say, I would be frustrated quickly.
From FTA, it looks like Apple allows us to switch our "neighborhood" if you will so it isn't like they are censoring the content.
Bottom Line: I like my TV "The Office" style, not "Anime" style. Does that make me a crabby American? maybe, but it puts me in league with my culture and I have no problem with that.
It is fair to say that Linux has come a long ways in usability - but if you are honest and objective, you will certainly find it difficult to argue modern Linux is an easier user experience than modern OS X or Windows.
My examples of web browsing and photo viewing were not to say that it can NOT be done in Linux, they were to say that the experience is not as easy as with OS X. In MY experience with Red Hat and OS X, I found the ease of use to be breathtakingly different.
This is how I see the three platforms measuring up:
LINUX - Since it doesn't embrasce DRM, content providers are not interested in supplying their creative to it. This means only non-commercial or very small indy media would be available. Further, since Linux is more of a "hacker's OS" it isn't well suited for households where a non-tech may want to jump on the web or download photos from the family digital camera. No Thanks.
Windows Vista - "DRM isn't just for music any more." This should be the Vista theme. Actually it has started a while back. I love how MS office refuses to register becuase the key has been used too many times - no matter the computer hasn't changed, just been upgraded with more RAM and newer hard drive. But MS can't even decide on one DRM schema so they implemented "PlaysForSure" AND a non-compatible "Zune" DRM schema - THIS IS MORE FREIGHTENING! If the DRM provider stopps supporting the DRM content you are SOL. ONE THING IS FOR CERTAIN - Either the Zune will fail or Plays FOr Sure will fail (is it too soon to think both have already failed?) and those who bought DRMed content and expensive players will have nothing to show for it. Which leads me to...
Apple OS X - Making a DRM choice is important. One thing I like about Apple is that there are no license keys to type in. There is no "registering with big brother" even for high end software. Plus Apple is REASONABLE - $129 for a single OS upgrade or $199 for a 5 license Family Pack! Apple doesn't rely on DRM to secure their software, only the media that Apple doesn't even supply. Apple fought for user rights when they negotiated DRM with the RIAA and in my opinion, the rights are pretty good. I can still burn mixed CDs to give to friends, I can play on my work, home, and laptop computers - be they Mac or Windows - and I can use on a variety of iPods. I don't pretend to have super human ears or need OGG support and since I find the convenience of iTunes out weighs the "quality" of buying the CD/DVD I have settled into enjoying the DRM Apple is selling.
This is my opinion. I have switched from Windows to Linux to the Mac and I don't see myself switching again until Windows, Linux, or another OS make radical advances.
Go Zune yourself. I was making a joke. Take your anti-Apple agenda somewhere else.
Microsoft sucks - the reality was that it wasn't just a typo, it was a system failure that "conveniently" prevented two MS-competitors from participating in the on-line discussion.
You can still buy CDs and rip them or buy from iTunes (also great) nd then burn to CD so you always have a "backup" if you want to change formats in 10 years.
Unless I cannot find it, I always buy from iTunes first.
- I do NOT want physical media (takes up space, landfill, etc) - I do NOT have super-human hearing and cannot tell the difference in quality - I do NOT enjoy going to the mall and shopping for music BY THE ALBUM ART (itunes lets me listen) - I do NOT find the DRM "evil" so I don't care about it - I do NOT find $0.99/9.99 "evil" so I don't care about it
For me, iTunes is great. Do I need to write an article to refute this one?
I interviewed at Microsoft years ago for a summer internship.
They knew I was studying for a CS degree and my resume included several eCommerce sites I had build by myself.
When interviewing with one person, he asked me all these questions about writing code. As it turns out, he just wanted me to write a simple if..then or select..case statement - something very basic like that. I couldn't understand what the hell he was asking me to do. I remember being very frustrated that I couldn't "get" what he wanted. Now perhaps that was the test - communication skills - I don't know, but it pissed me off because once I realized what he wanted, I was totally competent to do it.
Another question was to figure out, outloud, how many natural blondes there were in the US. Just to see how one would approach the solution.
Over dinner, I had a discussion with a project manager about how to deal with a project with a fixed budget, staff, and feature set that was behind schedule. He said that there was no hope of implementing all the features in the alloted timeframe, no additional resources available, and the ship date was set. I thought to myself that this must be a common MS issue. Anyway, any suggestion I had, including figuring out what features were able to be modularized so they could be added in a point release, were dismissed. The only thing I would not recommend, which I think he wanted me to, was to cut QA - but I just don't agree that QA should be pushed to the early adopters, that just isn't acceptable to me.
That interviewing turned me off to ever wanting to work for MS and contributed to me trying out Linux and then switching to OS X.
I think there is a place for that sort of challenge, Mensa perhaps, but it broke down in execution because I doubt the interviewers were skilled in executing those types of connundrums so the process of working through them was much more about communication or an interviewing giving a "hint" than actually solving the problem.
As for the proveyourworth.com site, I liked the concept and challenge very much, though it shouldn't be used as the only interview criteria.
If MS were really about sharing files, then why would it need WiFi to do this at all? I mean, Bluetooth is fast enough for transfering ONE song every once and a while. It would allow the Zune to be less expensive to manufacture and potentially better on the battery.
Does the WiFi create it's own little network so I could be on a camping trip and share music or do I need to be in Starbucks so the WiFi can connect to Microsoft and track what I am doing with the music I paid for?
What exactly is your point? You have managed in two posts to misstate the facts of the market, and then turn your statement about "selection" of content into "selection" of players. For the record, if all devices played the same stuff, I would STILL choose and iPod because of the click wheel that is EXCLUSIVE to the iPod.
You sum up your debacle with an obvious statement that non-DRM MP3 files are common to all players (I chose iPod, Zen, and Zune cause that is what we are discussing). To that, I simply say "DUH". Back before there was a DRM solution, iPods gained market tracking among MP3 players because they were better players! At that time, DRM adn DRM-lockin (a very real thing) wasn't an issue.
I own an iPod because I think it is the best device and it comes from an innovative company so I won't have to be waiting around going "I wish my player did that" when cool features I want are avaialable on the iPod - features like a dock connector that gives me access to a HUGE multi-million dollar accessory market. Not just leather cases, but real accessories that offer real integration. Sure there will be accessory makers for other players...as there are today...but there won't be the huge market because it doesn't pay for an accessory maker to invest $$$ into R&D for a player with a tiny slice of the market.
Look, do what you want, I'm just a guy on Slashdot, but don't base your decision on ignorant defiance of Apple, base it on something substantial.
Do people really want to share music in this way? I mean, when I am with a friend who has a cool song on the iPod, I just listen to it on their iPod, if i like it, I write it down and buy it. choice made. Yeah, it requires a pen instead of "marking it" to buy in the Zune market place...
but what if the Zune market place doesn't have the freaking song? As the article suggests, some music isn't required to be paid for...so why should I be limited to share it three time?
Microsoft's solution: you can't! They said in the Zune announcement that shareing will be possible for "some" songs - want to make a bet as to wether non-DRM songs count as "some"?
Worse, I don't see this as a feature to force a platform buying decision. It's like choosing Linux because of the icons. You may have a preference, but there are much larger features that have a massive impact.
Apple DOES HAVE a solution for sharing files...they allow bloggers to post playlists with links directly to the music store. You can discover music, sample it as much as you like, then buy it in a click. _for me_ this is a better solution. Your milage may vary.
I could say the opposite if I had more WMA+DRM media than AAC+DRM, although I would have better selection, since Microsoft is more openly licensing (read: 'is licensing') the WMA+DRM codecs than Apple is with AAC+DRM.
iTunes and the Fariplay DRM account for 80% of the legal music market. Microsoft's WMA DRM accounts for 20%...so yeah, you "could say the opposite if.." but that isn't FREAKING REALITY.
I'll ignor the FACT that Apple licensed Fairplay to Motorolla and just pretend I'm in your world.
Further, I don't see how you have more "selection" by having multiple stores with the same content. The iTunes store has over 3 million songs and thousands of exclusive tracks.
And finally, for the record, here is a list of supported file types: iPod : AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV Zune : MP3, AAC and WMA (unofficial) Creative Zen W : MP3, WMA, WAV
You are an IDIOT tool. An Apple tool for sure. Lets take MS out of the picture for a sec. The Creative Zen had many things right better than the IPOD. The IPOD is very propietary. itunes fairplay media is proprietary crap. Kudos for MS to support so many open file types! If MS only supported WMA than I would agree with you, but thats not the case.
Okay troll, you need to take a look at the original context - The supproted file formats. While the Zune supports WMA and the iPod does not, the iPod supports Apple Lossless, Audible audio books, as well as Apple's Fairplay file types...and I contend that supporting the file type that 80% of legally downloaded music is in (Fairplay) is more important to the market than supporting the 20% (WMA).
Why you want to bring beleagured Creative into this is beyond me but we can scrap over them for a minutes too.
The Zen has followed the iPod step for step. You can point out that the Zen has a radio and the iPod has a radio accessory if you want, but I contend that I didn't buy a $300 music player to listen to Clear Channel's Britany Spears crap. Further, how convenient is it to manage a music collection of several thousand songs without the benefit of the click wheel? I couldn't imagine trying to get to "R.E.M" when starting in the "A's" with Microsoft or Creative's traditional up/down click keys (The Zune's keypad is circular, but it it still and up/down/left/right pad, not a scroll wheel).
And so what the hell is so bad about an iPod or that it supports proprietary DRM? It doesn't make you convert MP3's to play on it. What the hell is Microsoft's DRM? It is proprietary too. Oh, you mean that Apple doesn't license Fairplay? Well then how in the hell is Motorolla selling cell phones that play Apple's Fairplay DRM protected songs? Certainly it couldn't be a license agreement could it?
And finally, for the record, here is a list of supported file types: iPod: AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV Zune: MP3, AAC and WMA (unofficial) Creative Zen W: MP3, WMA, WAV
PlaysForSure is not DRM. WM-DRM is DRM. Both PlaysForSure and Zune use WM-DRM. PlaysForSure is nothing more than a logo slapped on a player (portable or network connected) saying that it will play any music or video purchased from a store that also has the logo. Zune is a player and a store that are tightly integrated together to enable some of the little niceties that are harder to do when one has to worry about being compatible with a variety of devices or a variety of online media stores.
While we are getting our facts straight, why don't you do a little research - yeah, Plays For Sure is a marketing initiative, but it is also a system...a system than the Zune doesn't support in favor of it's own Zune Marketplace. Don't believe me, check out thesearticles.
As for the claim you make about Windows Media Player being miss represented by Apple, why don't you offer a link to the site? I searched Apple's website and couldn't find any mention of WMP 10 or 11 on the site at all. Perhaps I am just an idiot...or perhaps you are just "remembering" something that didn't happen.
Right on parent poster! Apple isn't saying that in order to make "Made for iPod" devices Garmin/Bose/Whomever cannot make a "Zune for S..ure" accessory too.
In the end, Apple could have gone with the USB hunk but since a full size USB is larger than a Nano and a mini USB port doesn't carry power (I could be wrong here) I don't see how that would have worked out.
The fact that Apple only introduced that functionality (gapless playback) yesterday into the iPod after five years, and it didn't stop it from becoming the runaway market leader, would show that it isn't a must have.
AC - You usually have such crap to add to the discussion. Thank you for an insightful comment!
Or not...The 24" iMac is in Apple stores as well as the new nanos as of yesterday. I wasn't interested in checking out anything else but they were available to buy (nano purchased) not just a display a la the Dell Store.
Supporting more file types is irrelevant to me. I want it to support THE FILE TYPES I USE.
I don't have any WMA media. I do have iTunes Fairplay media. It doesn't support that.
Further, all these "Features" are typical MS lies - the file sharing won't work with all media, It may have a screen that is 0.5" larger but will it play movie content? Are you sure?
It doesn't even support MICROSOFT'S VERY OWN "PLAYS FOR SURE" DRM!!!!
Apple offers a radio that is inline with the ear buds and does a nice job integrating. It also doubles as a remote adn is $29 add-on I believe. Check store.apple.com
That, and the iPod is grossly overpriced. MS doesn't have a history of overpricing their consumer products, although Apple does. As long as it's reasonably priced, I'm getting one.
The rumored price is $300 for the 30 GB version. The 30 GB iPod is $250. So, pretty much, same pricing strategy.
Um...Office isn't over priced? Vista isn't over priced? $300 is 20% more than $250...that isn't overpriced?
Slashdot Mirror
Bite it. I STARTED my post with "While I see that some people would like a "World" iTunes with every flavor under the Sun given equal footing, I would despise it."
I am expressing my view as to why I don't want it - too much to filter through and that time is valuable to me - more valuable that potentially missing out on some great post-Soviet Rock or whatever.
And everyone knows The Office was originally British - you think you have some insider track on that?
While I see that some people would like a "World" iTunes with every flavor under the Sun given equal footing, I would despise it.
I think of myself as open minded and live in a culturally diverse neighborhood. Still, I like my music to be "Western" and if I were faced with a "most popular downloads" list monopolized by the shear numbers of Chinese lets say, I would be frustrated quickly.
From FTA, it looks like Apple allows us to switch our "neighborhood" if you will so it isn't like they are censoring the content.
Bottom Line: I like my TV "The Office" style, not "Anime" style. Does that make me a crabby American? maybe, but it puts me in league with my culture and I have no problem with that.
WTF is Apple Talk?
I've been an OS X user since 2001 and I have never used Apple Talk to do a thing.
I was shocked that after I forwarded a personal email from Steve Jobs to 100 of my closest friends, I did NOT receive a free iPod as promised.
It is fair to say that Linux has come a long ways in usability - but if you are honest and objective, you will certainly find it difficult to argue modern Linux is an easier user experience than modern OS X or Windows.
My examples of web browsing and photo viewing were not to say that it can NOT be done in Linux, they were to say that the experience is not as easy as with OS X. In MY experience with Red Hat and OS X, I found the ease of use to be breathtakingly different.
This is how I see the three platforms measuring up:
LINUX - Since it doesn't embrasce DRM, content providers are not interested in supplying their creative to it. This means only non-commercial or very small indy media would be available. Further, since Linux is more of a "hacker's OS" it isn't well suited for households where a non-tech may want to jump on the web or download photos from the family digital camera. No Thanks.
Windows Vista - "DRM isn't just for music any more." This should be the Vista theme. Actually it has started a while back. I love how MS office refuses to register becuase the key has been used too many times - no matter the computer hasn't changed, just been upgraded with more RAM and newer hard drive. But MS can't even decide on one DRM schema so they implemented "PlaysForSure" AND a non-compatible "Zune" DRM schema - THIS IS MORE FREIGHTENING! If the DRM provider stopps supporting the DRM content you are SOL. ONE THING IS FOR CERTAIN - Either the Zune will fail or Plays FOr Sure will fail (is it too soon to think both have already failed?) and those who bought DRMed content and expensive players will have nothing to show for it. Which leads me to...
Apple OS X - Making a DRM choice is important. One thing I like about Apple is that there are no license keys to type in. There is no "registering with big brother" even for high end software. Plus Apple is REASONABLE - $129 for a single OS upgrade or $199 for a 5 license Family Pack! Apple doesn't rely on DRM to secure their software, only the media that Apple doesn't even supply. Apple fought for user rights when they negotiated DRM with the RIAA and in my opinion, the rights are pretty good. I can still burn mixed CDs to give to friends, I can play on my work, home, and laptop computers - be they Mac or Windows - and I can use on a variety of iPods. I don't pretend to have super human ears or need OGG support and since I find the convenience of iTunes out weighs the "quality" of buying the CD/DVD I have settled into enjoying the DRM Apple is selling.
This is my opinion. I have switched from Windows to Linux to the Mac and I don't see myself switching again until Windows, Linux, or another OS make radical advances.
Go Zune yourself. I was making a joke. Take your anti-Apple agenda somewhere else.
Microsoft sucks - the reality was that it wasn't just a typo, it was a system failure that "conveniently" prevented two MS-competitors from participating in the on-line discussion.
This type of attention to detail is par for the course from MS.
get an iPod, they are great.
You can still buy CDs and rip them or buy from iTunes (also great) nd then burn to CD so you always have a "backup" if you want to change formats in 10 years.
I'm not sure what to message to take from the pic: "Take a life threatening chance: buy a Zune!" comes to mind.
That made for a laugh over my morning coffee...thanks!
Unless I cannot find it, I always buy from iTunes first.
- I do NOT want physical media (takes up space, landfill, etc)
- I do NOT have super-human hearing and cannot tell the difference in quality
- I do NOT enjoy going to the mall and shopping for music BY THE ALBUM ART (itunes lets me listen)
- I do NOT find the DRM "evil" so I don't care about it
- I do NOT find $0.99/9.99 "evil" so I don't care about it
For me, iTunes is great. Do I need to write an article to refute this one?
I interviewed at Microsoft years ago for a summer internship.
They knew I was studying for a CS degree and my resume included several eCommerce sites I had build by myself.
When interviewing with one person, he asked me all these questions about writing code. As it turns out, he just wanted me to write a simple if..then or select..case statement - something very basic like that. I couldn't understand what the hell he was asking me to do. I remember being very frustrated that I couldn't "get" what he wanted. Now perhaps that was the test - communication skills - I don't know, but it pissed me off because once I realized what he wanted, I was totally competent to do it.
Another question was to figure out, outloud, how many natural blondes there were in the US. Just to see how one would approach the solution.
Over dinner, I had a discussion with a project manager about how to deal with a project with a fixed budget, staff, and feature set that was behind schedule. He said that there was no hope of implementing all the features in the alloted timeframe, no additional resources available, and the ship date was set. I thought to myself that this must be a common MS issue. Anyway, any suggestion I had, including figuring out what features were able to be modularized so they could be added in a point release, were dismissed. The only thing I would not recommend, which I think he wanted me to, was to cut QA - but I just don't agree that QA should be pushed to the early adopters, that just isn't acceptable to me.
That interviewing turned me off to ever wanting to work for MS and contributed to me trying out Linux and then switching to OS X.
I think there is a place for that sort of challenge, Mensa perhaps, but it broke down in execution because I doubt the interviewers were skilled in executing those types of connundrums so the process of working through them was much more about communication or an interviewing giving a "hint" than actually solving the problem.
As for the proveyourworth.com site, I liked the concept and challenge very much, though it shouldn't be used as the only interview criteria.
If MS were really about sharing files, then why would it need WiFi to do this at all? I mean, Bluetooth is fast enough for transfering ONE song every once and a while. It would allow the Zune to be less expensive to manufacture and potentially better on the battery.
Does the WiFi create it's own little network so I could be on a camping trip and share music or do I need to be in Starbucks so the WiFi can connect to Microsoft and track what I am doing with the music I paid for?
What exactly is your point? You have managed in two posts to misstate the facts of the market, and then turn your statement about "selection" of content into "selection" of players. For the record, if all devices played the same stuff, I would STILL choose and iPod because of the click wheel that is EXCLUSIVE to the iPod.
You sum up your debacle with an obvious statement that non-DRM MP3 files are common to all players (I chose iPod, Zen, and Zune cause that is what we are discussing). To that, I simply say "DUH". Back before there was a DRM solution, iPods gained market tracking among MP3 players because they were better players! At that time, DRM adn DRM-lockin (a very real thing) wasn't an issue.
I own an iPod because I think it is the best device and it comes from an innovative company so I won't have to be waiting around going "I wish my player did that" when cool features I want are avaialable on the iPod - features like a dock connector that gives me access to a HUGE multi-million dollar accessory market. Not just leather cases, but real accessories that offer real integration. Sure there will be accessory makers for other players...as there are today...but there won't be the huge market because it doesn't pay for an accessory maker to invest $$$ into R&D for a player with a tiny slice of the market.
Look, do what you want, I'm just a guy on Slashdot, but don't base your decision on ignorant defiance of Apple, base it on something substantial.
Do people really want to share music in this way? I mean, when I am with a friend who has a cool song on the iPod, I just listen to it on their iPod, if i like it, I write it down and buy it. choice made. Yeah, it requires a pen instead of "marking it" to buy in the Zune market place...
but what if the Zune market place doesn't have the freaking song? As the article suggests, some music isn't required to be paid for...so why should I be limited to share it three time?
Microsoft's solution: you can't! They said in the Zune announcement that shareing will be possible for "some" songs - want to make a bet as to wether non-DRM songs count as "some"?
Worse, I don't see this as a feature to force a platform buying decision. It's like choosing Linux because of the icons. You may have a preference, but there are much larger features that have a massive impact.
Apple DOES HAVE a solution for sharing files...they allow bloggers to post playlists with links directly to the music store. You can discover music, sample it as much as you like, then buy it in a click. _for me_ this is a better solution. Your milage may vary.
I could say the opposite if I had more WMA+DRM media than AAC+DRM, although I would have better selection, since Microsoft is more openly licensing (read: 'is licensing') the WMA+DRM codecs than Apple is with AAC+DRM.
iTunes and the Fariplay DRM account for 80% of the legal music market. Microsoft's WMA DRM accounts for 20%...so yeah, you "could say the opposite if.." but that isn't FREAKING REALITY.
I'll ignor the FACT that Apple licensed Fairplay to Motorolla and just pretend I'm in your world.
Further, I don't see how you have more "selection" by having multiple stores with the same content. The iTunes store has over 3 million songs and thousands of exclusive tracks.
And finally, for the record, here is a list of supported file types:
iPod : AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV
Zune : MP3, AAC and WMA (unofficial)
Creative Zen W : MP3, WMA, WAV
You are an IDIOT tool. An Apple tool for sure. Lets take MS out of the picture for a sec. The Creative Zen had many things right better than the IPOD. The IPOD is very propietary. itunes fairplay media is proprietary crap. Kudos for MS to support so many open file types! If MS only supported WMA than I would agree with you, but thats not the case.
Okay troll, you need to take a look at the original context - The supproted file formats. While the Zune supports WMA and the iPod does not, the iPod supports Apple Lossless, Audible audio books, as well as Apple's Fairplay file types...and I contend that supporting the file type that 80% of legally downloaded music is in (Fairplay) is more important to the market than supporting the 20% (WMA).
Why you want to bring beleagured Creative into this is beyond me but we can scrap over them for a minutes too.
The Zen has followed the iPod step for step. You can point out that the Zen has a radio and the iPod has a radio accessory if you want, but I contend that I didn't buy a $300 music player to listen to Clear Channel's Britany Spears crap. Further, how convenient is it to manage a music collection of several thousand songs without the benefit of the click wheel? I couldn't imagine trying to get to "R.E.M" when starting in the "A's" with Microsoft or Creative's traditional up/down click keys (The Zune's keypad is circular, but it it still and up/down/left/right pad, not a scroll wheel).
And so what the hell is so bad about an iPod or that it supports proprietary DRM? It doesn't make you convert MP3's to play on it. What the hell is Microsoft's DRM? It is proprietary too. Oh, you mean that Apple doesn't license Fairplay? Well then how in the hell is Motorolla selling cell phones that play Apple's Fairplay DRM protected songs? Certainly it couldn't be a license agreement could it?
And finally, for the record, here is a list of supported file types:
iPod: AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV
Zune: MP3, AAC and WMA (unofficial)
Creative Zen W: MP3, WMA, WAV
Who the hell is incompatible now?
Whoa - Easy there, trigger.. let's get our facts straight, shall we?
PlaysForSure is not DRM. WM-DRM is DRM. Both PlaysForSure and Zune use WM-DRM. PlaysForSure is nothing more than a logo slapped on a player (portable or network connected) saying that it will play any music or video purchased from a store that also has the logo. Zune is a player and a store that are tightly integrated together to enable some of the little niceties that are harder to do when one has to worry about being compatible with a variety of devices or a variety of online media stores.
While we are getting our facts straight, why don't you do a little research - yeah, Plays For Sure is a marketing initiative, but it is also a system...a system than the Zune doesn't support in favor of it's own Zune Marketplace. Don't believe me, check out these articles.
As for the claim you make about Windows Media Player being miss represented by Apple, why don't you offer a link to the site? I searched Apple's website and couldn't find any mention of WMP 10 or 11 on the site at all. Perhaps I am just an idiot...or perhaps you are just "remembering" something that didn't happen.
I wish the mod system went to 6!
This is this biggest piece of crap to come out of Redmond sinc ethe brown Zune.
Right on parent poster! Apple isn't saying that in order to make "Made for iPod" devices Garmin/Bose/Whomever cannot make a "Zune for S..ure" accessory too.
In the end, Apple could have gone with the USB hunk but since a full size USB is larger than a Nano and a mini USB port doesn't carry power (I could be wrong here) I don't see how that would have worked out.
The fact that Apple only introduced that functionality (gapless playback) yesterday into the iPod after five years, and it didn't stop it from becoming the runaway market leader, would show that it isn't a must have.
AC - You usually have such crap to add to the discussion. Thank you for an insightful comment!
Or not...The 24" iMac is in Apple stores as well as the new nanos as of yesterday. I wasn't interested in checking out anything else but they were available to buy (nano purchased) not just a display a la the Dell Store.
Supporting more file types is irrelevant to me. I want it to support THE FILE TYPES I USE.
I don't have any WMA media. I do have iTunes Fairplay media. It doesn't support that.
Further, all these "Features" are typical MS lies - the file sharing won't work with all media, It may have a screen that is 0.5" larger but will it play movie content? Are you sure?
It doesn't even support MICROSOFT'S VERY OWN "PLAYS FOR SURE" DRM!!!!
Apple offers a radio that is inline with the ear buds and does a nice job integrating. It also doubles as a remote adn is $29 add-on I believe. Check store.apple.com
That, and the iPod is grossly overpriced. MS doesn't have a history of overpricing their consumer products, although Apple does. As long as it's reasonably priced, I'm getting one.
The rumored price is $300 for the 30 GB version. The 30 GB iPod is $250. So, pretty much, same pricing strategy.
Um...Office isn't over priced? Vista isn't over priced? $300 is 20% more than $250...that isn't overpriced?