Most of the people who use ITMS would have bought music on CDs. The only thing that ITMS has done is that it has removed the step of these people ripping their legal CDs & putting them on ipod.
What evidence do you have of this? I don't know that I have seen any facts that show this is or is not the case.
For me and my friends, I can say that we all used Napster and now, we buy singles from iTMS, use p2p when iTunes doesn't have the single, and for albums, I prefer using iTMS while most of my friends buy the CD and then rip into iTunes and archive the CD.
But that's just my own experience. I'd like to see a real study.
Okay, I do get the sig now - very witty with the "afire" addition. To be clear, I didn't mean to suggest you replace "light" with "build" twice, only once. 'Nuff about that though.
So I think we both agree that traditional broadcasters won't like this new medium - but then again, no industry likes competition or alternatives. Every business wants to have the monopoly. So I am not too concerned that TVLand will have to start offering the TVLandMusicStore.com to buy content off of.
I think on-line distirbution of music or movies or what-have-you is very beneficial to content authors but also providers who add value. Think of TVLandMovieStore.com offering background info on the Brady Bunch as well as forums and of course, the ability to buy any eposiode discussed. That adds value and puts TVLandMovieStore.com in much more control over their revenue stream becuase they can drive buyers to content rather than just getting ad revenue off the re-runs on TVLandTheCableChannel.
(1) It's "Build a man a fire..." that starts the quote. Your quote doesn't make sense.
(2) You have a great point that the broadcast infrasturucture would suffer - but there are ways to combat this:
- by distributing purchased content, royalties from these purchases would offset the cost of royalties to broadcast the same content. This would lower operational costs for broadcasters
- purchased could be limited (to start) with "re-runs". There are plenty of cable channels now that just show re-runs. If those went off the air because of the iTunes Video Store, I for one would not shed a tear
- purchased content could certainly have ads in it and those ads would probably sell far higher than a one time prime time ad because they would be forever archived with the media.
- the player could have ads built in. The movie is encoded with "ad" flags at certain points and when that point is reached, there is a 30 second pause and the player displays a randomly selected ad from the server.
Sure, not all these solutions are ideal, but broadcast TV hasn't really ever changed - even the broadcast-to-cable-to-satelitte switches have been evolutionary. This is a chance for the industry to evolve.
So how would that work? Would music stores distribute DRM-wrapped versions of their content via an open P2P network? If so, I want a cut of the money my P2P client/server is saving them on distribution costs. How about "upload 10 songs, download an unlocked song free!"
I see it working more like this: - user goes to the iTunes Video Store (for example) - user pays $X for a movie - iTunes Video Store begins download of a.torrent on a private network only iTVS can access (or the.torrent is encrypted or whatever) - iTVS downloads the movie, unencrypted (just like iTMS does today) and adds Fairplay or whatever DRM to it - User watched movie
Instead of tracking bandwidth usage, etc, the use of p2p torrents just keeps operating costs low, allowing iTVS to sell for less (just like Barnes & Nobel sells the same book cheaper at BN.com than at their retail stores).
...is to embrace on-line distribution - even p2p itself!
Look at how the iTunes Music Store put a dent in on-line music sharing by providing a better shopping experience and keeping the price low enough that people will choose it over p2p.
Now if the RIAA/etc would recognize the benefits of p2p for distribution of large files, they could benefit from companies like Apple and Napster running storefront trackers. The user would purchase the.RIAA/etc_torrent of "Movie ABC" for $X that could only be used by their client software (iTMS, MusicMatch, etc) to download the music video or movie or what have you, then encrypt it. (This is what Apple does with the iTMS and why DVDJon was able to create another client that buys iTMS tracks but doesn't encrypt them.)
The benefits would be an on-line revenue stream, lower costs of network bandwidth because of the torrent, and a way to win favor with the p2p file sharers today.
Why is this recall not coming from the Original Equipment Manufacturer? I mean, does Apple actually make the batteries being recalled?
It also seems like battery recalls are happening more and more on electronic devices. Is it that we are using more batteries or is there something going on with battery manufacturing?
Dell issued a large recall last year, this is Apple's second recall on batteries I believe. Certainly there are others that I don't know about.
The long lines at the Genius Bar are exactly why Apple recommends a reservation.
Apple is also greatly expanding Genius bars in future store to combat this exact problem.
As for Lies and the Lying Liars that Tell Them, I can only say that either (1) you missunderstood, (2) the sales rep was missinformed, or (3) it is par for the course, just like at other PC retailers.
Apple certainly doesn't intend to pissoff customers. It was Apple's displeasure with the way their products were being sold in retail channels that led them to spend HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS to create a better experience.
If that experience is not to your liking, give them some grace because they have only been doing it for less than two years! Why don't you write a letter to the store manager and let them know instead of lashing out on/.?
So your recently stolen creit card not only includes charges for a weekend trip to Vegas you didn't take and life time subscriptions to "websites" you swear wouldn't interest you, but now you get socked with a million micro-payments for spamming yourself!!!
It's not that Apple Stores are "more than" stores. It's that most computer warehouses are less.
I disagree with this statement.
The expectation I have of a store is that I can see the products for sale, touch them, examine them (perhaps I cannot use them such as at a food store, but as the price increases, I can, like at a car dealership). I expect to be able to ask questions about the product itself, "how many 'foo' does this have?" "what does 'bar' mean?" I lastly expect to be able to purchase the item or atleast place an order for one.
Apple takes it way further. The Genius Bar allows me to ask detailed technical questions and even fix my technical solution. The studios allow me to get training on software. This is a way new concept for most stores but it is catching on. A home decore store won't teach you how to decorate your house, but some cooking suply stores have instructional kitchens where you can go and watch chefs cook.
The concept is very appealing because it turns the whole 'sales' aspect of the store into an information station, where I can also buy the products I just learned about.
The whole part about CompUSA sreading miss-information, and the part about the closing italic tag I agree with.
Okay, so Apple opening a retail store, even in a country that didn't have one before, it not news to get too excited about.
But it does give us an opportunity to discuss Apple's retail stores and how that are more than just "stores". AppleInsider has a nice piece on the Apple retail stores and it gives insight into how Apple is once again following their "Think Different" mantra. (It also tells us how Apple has over 100 retail stores, plans to open 20 more this year and is opening stores at a rate of one every 10 days.)
For instance, Apple stores feature "Genius Bars" that allow anyone to walk up (or make an appointment) and get technical help with their Mac concern. They can even send a computer out for repair on the spot.
Genius Bars don't float your boat (sure, even Best Buy has a computer service window, though "Genius" may be too strong a title for the staff), then try the instore theaters that host free and for-a-fee software demos and tutorials to help users get the most out of appe like iLife, or delve into Pro products. They also host third party software demos.
This really is the first time that someone can go to a store, buy a computer, and then sit down and learn how the heck to use it. HomeDepot has been doing this sort of thing with weekend project classes with good success and it is nice to see the practice making its way to the IT sector where so many people (who don't know what/. is) feel so very intimidated by technology.
From the blog: Is it confusing if IE has tabs, but other core parts of the Windows experience, like Windows Media Player or the shell, don't have tabs?
Um, What's been at the bottom of Excel for over a decade? Oh, excuse me, those are "worksheets", not "tabs". How could I be so insensitive?
I don't care what component in my AV arsenal is delivering the media - my wife cares even less.
If Apple intros a remote that can logically control the devices and allow a PowerMac or iMac in the office to deliver H.264 HD to a flatscreen in the Den while being controled via an Apple Bluetooth remote or what-have-you, then Apple will have a major leg up in the "digital hub" realm.
And why not? the pieces are all coming together. G5's with H.264 in QuickTime 7, Dual-layer DVD for archiving, VESA mounts on iMacs....
With Star Wars III coming, I couldn't help but offer the idea that an MS buyout of Red Hat would create a huge "disturbance in the Force". MS would end up owning the leader in Linux software packages, but I think that a MS branded Linux would not be particularly well accepted by current Red Hat customers or current Windows customers.
MS would benefit if they wanted to move the next-version-of-Windows-after-Longhorn to a Linux codebase, but they don't need to buy Red Hat to do it.
Instead, MS would simply create a vacume in the Linux world which would be quickly filled by another distro vendor.
As I mentioned: - G5 processor can decode H.264 - didn't say other processors could not, only that the G5 can. - 1 GB Either is much faster than cable and adsl today - but 1 GB either would be great for playing a movie off your own home file server if you have a network. - "dramatic display" refers to the VESA mount - not the 17"/20" screens.
* The iPod Photo cannot actually take photos. Apple gives us a misleading product name, once again!
In addition, the "iPod" does not actually turn you into a "Pod" and the if you have a deck of 52 "iPod Shuffles", you cannot actually shuffle them (though the end caps may pop off if you attempt a "bridge")
Lots of people are speculating about the "iPod Video", even though Jobs and others have pointed out that while music is a "background" to daily taskes, watching a video is an action that few want to commit 2+ hrs to on a 2" screen.
But, I propose that the latest itteration of the iMac G5 is the perfect "iPod Video". Here's why: - G5 processor can decode H.264 - Upgraded graphics cards in the iMac line can now handily manage HD video - Beefy 1GB Eithernet can get content (from the iMovie Video Store?) in a flash (too bad Cable/DSL lines can't fill that but it's atleast faster than a USB2 iPod connection) - BTO options for internal 400 GB at 7200 rpm means no HD lag or filled drives - External Firewire drives and the Dual layer DVD burners in the iMac G5 allow for archiving large video libraries - 17" and 20" flat screen options also have VESA mounts for dramatic display opportunities - standard bluetooth means wireless keyboards and pointers from the sofa - add an Eye TV 1080i tuner and you have a great PVR
Even if Apple introduced an "iPod Video", I am not in the market. But with an iMovie Video Store, an iMac G5, cable/ADSL modem, and a stack of dual layer media, I am in the market to dispose of my Blockbuster membership card.
Battlestar Galactica drove me to use bittorrent for the first time just a few weeks ago. I had been TIVOing BSG and watching it when my wife was out, but somehow the season finale had been accidentally erased!
Needing to know is the Cylons were going to destroy Kobol and BSG, I downloaded Bittorrent, found a great tracker, and within a few minutes, was getting 0.9 kbps of a 4 GB torrent of the entire 1st season.
I'll let you know how it turns out - only 28 more days to go!
I think that when a company releases a patch for this type of thing, they should also make the patch report attempts to abuse the exploit.
One problem is that many of the exploits rely on a series of steps being taken, some of which may be perfectly acceptable but in concert, create the exploit.
If forinstance, an exploit overflowed a buffer with an infinite loop, an Apple patch may rewrite that piece of code so it cannot create that infinite loop scenario. All of a sudden, the exploit code no longer exploits anything, but there is no way to know that it would have since the code has changed.
I don't know about other programmers, but I find creating good error handling routines to be one of the most challenging aspects of software development because you have to plan for every eventuality, be it expected, malicious, or just a bug.
Just looking up your own phone number requires eight button presses, for goodness' sake.
Just looking up my own TCP/IP address on Windows XP took me four mouse click/double clicks. (Wanted to see if I could even do it without the command line.)
Trouble is, it took me eight minutes to figure out which control panel icon I could find it under...
(HINT: you don't actually double click your network connection, that gives you a useless screen where you can check how many packets you recieved or change your network TCP/IP driver. Instead, you single click the icon, then look down on the left hand side of the explorer window and expand the "Details" tray to find your IP - good grief!)
Gates was half right when he compared the iPod/iTunes success to the PC market software.
Thing is, he didn't "get it".
Just as MS enjoys a dominant PC market position with Windows, they enjoy it in part because consumers and businesses loaded up on Windows-only software that couldn't run on anything else. Once you've dropped $500 on MS Office, switching to a non-windows platform means re-buying MS Office for the Mac or going with another option for other platforms.
The same holds for the iPod.
When you have spent a couple years buying up iTunes AAC Fairplay DRMed songs, all of a sudden, no matter how low the Yahoo! Music Unlimited subscription price is, the cost of switching to WMA includes not only the cost of the plater, but the cost of the music - the software if you will.
Add to that the fact that the player cannot be one of the top 8 music players in the world (the iPod line) and add to that, the fact that the iTMS has a library of 1.5M tracks, including many exclusives, and a great way to browse music, while the others are topping out at 33% smaller 1M song catalogs and using a web browser interface to buy music like collectables off eBay.
For his part, Gates is using his position to be a highly recognized mouthpiece of the anti-ipod establishment that sees the growing market and hates being in the bottom 20% of it.
Meanwhile, I am totally satisfied with my iPod, my iTunes DRMed songs, and can't wait to buy a new iMac as a home PVR (1080i playback, 400GB internal drive, VESA mount for a 20" crystal clear flatscreen - yippy!)
This is about idealism vs. sales
on
Safari vs. KHTML
·
· Score: 1
This really is not unique to OSS-corporate cooperation attempts.
Anyone who has ever started something on their own, be it their own company, a software projects, or just playing with LEGO knows that when you add more people, it gets harder and harder to control the vision.
When the KHTML developers partnered with Apple, they thought they were getting the design and financial resources of a global corporation. What they got were more people putting opinions into their LEGO masterpiece.
I don't think this is a bad thing. Sometimes an inovator becomes so idealistic and perfectionistic that they cannot be objective and/or resoned with. Corporations tend to act very rationally because there are so many people holding them accountable that they have to justify actions.
Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft is also test marketing some replacements for the word Computer . Finalists are:
(1) BSD Generator
(2) Source of endless M$ licensing fees
(3) Patent #44548-4395-974351
Most of the people who use ITMS would have bought music on CDs. The only thing that ITMS has done is that it has removed the step of these people ripping their legal CDs & putting them on ipod.
What evidence do you have of this? I don't know that I have seen any facts that show this is or is not the case.
For me and my friends, I can say that we all used Napster and now, we buy singles from iTMS, use p2p when iTunes doesn't have the single, and for albums, I prefer using iTMS while most of my friends buy the CD and then rip into iTunes and archive the CD.
But that's just my own experience. I'd like to see a real study.
Okay, I do get the sig now - very witty with the "afire" addition. To be clear, I didn't mean to suggest you replace "light" with "build" twice, only once. 'Nuff about that though.
So I think we both agree that traditional broadcasters won't like this new medium - but then again, no industry likes competition or alternatives. Every business wants to have the monopoly. So I am not too concerned that TVLand will have to start offering the TVLandMusicStore.com to buy content off of.
I think on-line distirbution of music or movies or what-have-you is very beneficial to content authors but also providers who add value. Think of TVLandMovieStore.com offering background info on the Brady Bunch as well as forums and of course, the ability to buy any eposiode discussed. That adds value and puts TVLandMovieStore.com in much more control over their revenue stream becuase they can drive buyers to content rather than just getting ad revenue off the re-runs on TVLandTheCableChannel.
(1) It's "Build a man a fire..." that starts the quote. Your quote doesn't make sense.
(2) You have a great point that the broadcast infrasturucture would suffer - but there are ways to combat this:
- by distributing purchased content, royalties from these purchases would offset the cost of royalties to broadcast the same content. This would lower operational costs for broadcasters
- purchased could be limited (to start) with "re-runs". There are plenty of cable channels now that just show re-runs. If those went off the air because of the iTunes Video Store, I for one would not shed a tear
- purchased content could certainly have ads in it and those ads would probably sell far higher than a one time prime time ad because they would be forever archived with the media.
- the player could have ads built in. The movie is encoded with "ad" flags at certain points and when that point is reached, there is a 30 second pause and the player displays a randomly selected ad from the server.
Sure, not all these solutions are ideal, but broadcast TV hasn't really ever changed - even the broadcast-to-cable-to-satelitte switches have been evolutionary. This is a chance for the industry to evolve.
So how would that work? Would music stores distribute DRM-wrapped versions of their content via an open P2P network? If so, I want a cut of the money my P2P client/server is saving them on distribution costs. How about "upload 10 songs, download an unlocked song free!"
.torrent on a private network only iTVS can access (or the .torrent is encrypted or whatever)
I see it working more like this:
- user goes to the iTunes Video Store (for example)
- user pays $X for a movie
- iTunes Video Store begins download of a
- iTVS downloads the movie, unencrypted (just like iTMS does today) and adds Fairplay or whatever DRM to it
- User watched movie
Instead of tracking bandwidth usage, etc, the use of p2p torrents just keeps operating costs low, allowing iTVS to sell for less (just like Barnes & Nobel sells the same book cheaper at BN.com than at their retail stores).
...is to embrace on-line distribution - even p2p itself!
.RIAA/etc_torrent of "Movie ABC" for $X that could only be used by their client software (iTMS, MusicMatch, etc) to download the music video or movie or what have you, then encrypt it. (This is what Apple does with the iTMS and why DVDJon was able to create another client that buys iTMS tracks but doesn't encrypt them.)
Look at how the iTunes Music Store put a dent in on-line music sharing by providing a better shopping experience and keeping the price low enough that people will choose it over p2p.
Now if the RIAA/etc would recognize the benefits of p2p for distribution of large files, they could benefit from companies like Apple and Napster running storefront trackers. The user would purchase the
The benefits would be an on-line revenue stream, lower costs of network bandwidth because of the torrent, and a way to win favor with the p2p file sharers today.
Why is this recall not coming from the Original Equipment Manufacturer? I mean, does Apple actually make the batteries being recalled?
It also seems like battery recalls are happening more and more on electronic devices. Is it that we are using more batteries or is there something going on with battery manufacturing?
Dell issued a large recall last year, this is Apple's second recall on batteries I believe. Certainly there are others that I don't know about.
The long lines at the Genius Bar are exactly why Apple recommends a reservation.
/.?
Apple is also greatly expanding Genius bars in future store to combat this exact problem.
As for Lies and the Lying Liars that Tell Them, I can only say that either (1) you missunderstood, (2) the sales rep was missinformed, or (3) it is par for the course, just like at other PC retailers.
Apple certainly doesn't intend to pissoff customers. It was Apple's displeasure with the way their products were being sold in retail channels that led them to spend HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS to create a better experience.
If that experience is not to your liking, give them some grace because they have only been doing it for less than two years! Why don't you write a letter to the store manager and let them know instead of lashing out on
So your recently stolen creit card not only includes charges for a weekend trip to Vegas you didn't take and life time subscriptions to "websites" you swear wouldn't interest you, but now you get socked with a million micro-payments for spamming yourself!!!
It's not that Apple Stores are "more than" stores. It's that most computer warehouses are less.
I disagree with this statement.
The expectation I have of a store is that I can see the products for sale, touch them, examine them (perhaps I cannot use them such as at a food store, but as the price increases, I can, like at a car dealership). I expect to be able to ask questions about the product itself, "how many 'foo' does this have?" "what does 'bar' mean?" I lastly expect to be able to purchase the item or atleast place an order for one.
Apple takes it way further. The Genius Bar allows me to ask detailed technical questions and even fix my technical solution. The studios allow me to get training on software. This is a way new concept for most stores but it is catching on. A home decore store won't teach you how to decorate your house, but some cooking suply stores have instructional kitchens where you can go and watch chefs cook.
The concept is very appealing because it turns the whole 'sales' aspect of the store into an information station, where I can also buy the products I just learned about.
The whole part about CompUSA sreading miss-information, and the part about the closing italic tag I agree with.
Okay, so Apple opening a retail store, even in a country that didn't have one before, it not news to get too excited about.
/. is) feel so very intimidated by technology.
But it does give us an opportunity to discuss Apple's retail stores and how that are more than just "stores". AppleInsider has a nice piece on the Apple retail stores and it gives insight into how Apple is once again following their "Think Different" mantra. (It also tells us how Apple has over 100 retail stores, plans to open 20 more this year and is opening stores at a rate of one every 10 days.)
For instance, Apple stores feature "Genius Bars" that allow anyone to walk up (or make an appointment) and get technical help with their Mac concern. They can even send a computer out for repair on the spot.
Genius Bars don't float your boat (sure, even Best Buy has a computer service window, though "Genius" may be too strong a title for the staff), then try the instore theaters that host free and for-a-fee software demos and tutorials to help users get the most out of appe like iLife, or delve into Pro products. They also host third party software demos.
This really is the first time that someone can go to a store, buy a computer, and then sit down and learn how the heck to use it. HomeDepot has been doing this sort of thing with weekend project classes with good success and it is nice to see the practice making its way to the IT sector where so many people (who don't know what
From the blog:
Is it confusing if IE has tabs, but other core parts of the Windows experience, like Windows Media Player or the shell, don't have tabs?
Um, What's been at the bottom of Excel for over a decade? Oh, excuse me, those are "worksheets", not "tabs". How could I be so insensitive?
Why not just go to the control panel Spotlight search and type "Enable Quartz Extreme"?
I am fully on board with your insighful comments.
I don't care what component in my AV arsenal is delivering the media - my wife cares even less.
If Apple intros a remote that can logically control the devices and allow a PowerMac or iMac in the office to deliver H.264 HD to a flatscreen in the Den while being controled via an Apple Bluetooth remote or what-have-you, then Apple will have a major leg up in the "digital hub" realm.
And why not? the pieces are all coming together. G5's with H.264 in QuickTime 7, Dual-layer DVD for archiving, VESA mounts on iMacs....
With Star Wars III coming, I couldn't help but offer the idea that an MS buyout of Red Hat would create a huge "disturbance in the Force". MS would end up owning the leader in Linux software packages, but I think that a MS branded Linux would not be particularly well accepted by current Red Hat customers or current Windows customers.
MS would benefit if they wanted to move the next-version-of-Windows-after-Longhorn to a Linux codebase, but they don't need to buy Red Hat to do it.
Instead, MS would simply create a vacume in the Linux world which would be quickly filled by another distro vendor.
As I mentioned:
- G5 processor can decode H.264 - didn't say other processors could not, only that the G5 can.
- 1 GB Either is much faster than cable and adsl today - but 1 GB either would be great for playing a movie off your own home file server if you have a network.
- "dramatic display" refers to the VESA mount - not the 17"/20" screens.
* The iPod Photo cannot actually take photos. Apple gives us a misleading product name, once again!
In addition, the "iPod" does not actually turn you into a "Pod" and the if you have a deck of 52 "iPod Shuffles", you cannot actually shuffle them (though the end caps may pop off if you attempt a "bridge")
Lots of people are speculating about the "iPod Video", even though Jobs and others have pointed out that while music is a "background" to daily taskes, watching a video is an action that few want to commit 2+ hrs to on a 2" screen.
But, I propose that the latest itteration of the iMac G5 is the perfect "iPod Video". Here's why:
- G5 processor can decode H.264
- Upgraded graphics cards in the iMac line can now handily manage HD video
- Beefy 1GB Eithernet can get content (from the iMovie Video Store?) in a flash (too bad Cable/DSL lines can't fill that but it's atleast faster than a USB2 iPod connection)
- BTO options for internal 400 GB at 7200 rpm means no HD lag or filled drives
- External Firewire drives and the Dual layer DVD burners in the iMac G5 allow for archiving large video libraries
- 17" and 20" flat screen options also have VESA mounts for dramatic display opportunities
- standard bluetooth means wireless keyboards and pointers from the sofa
- add an Eye TV 1080i tuner and you have a great PVR
Even if Apple introduced an "iPod Video", I am not in the market. But with an iMovie Video Store, an iMac G5, cable/ADSL modem, and a stack of dual layer media, I am in the market to dispose of my Blockbuster membership card.
...about viruses, it'd be Microsoft.
.NET developer envrionment before an ANTI-virus application.
Still, I would have expected an
Battlestar Galactica drove me to use bittorrent for the first time just a few weeks ago. I had been TIVOing BSG and watching it when my wife was out, but somehow the season finale had been accidentally erased!
Needing to know is the Cylons were going to destroy Kobol and BSG, I downloaded Bittorrent, found a great tracker, and within a few minutes, was getting 0.9 kbps of a 4 GB torrent of the entire 1st season.
I'll let you know how it turns out - only 28 more days to go!
Good idea but difficult to implement.
I think that when a company releases a patch for this type of thing, they should also make the patch report attempts to abuse the exploit.
One problem is that many of the exploits rely on a series of steps being taken, some of which may be perfectly acceptable but in concert, create the exploit.
If forinstance, an exploit overflowed a buffer with an infinite loop, an Apple patch may rewrite that piece of code so it cannot create that infinite loop scenario. All of a sudden, the exploit code no longer exploits anything, but there is no way to know that it would have since the code has changed.
I don't know about other programmers, but I find creating good error handling routines to be one of the most challenging aspects of software development because you have to plan for every eventuality, be it expected, malicious, or just a bug.
Just looking up your own phone number requires eight button presses, for goodness' sake.
Just looking up my own TCP/IP address on Windows XP took me four mouse click/double clicks. (Wanted to see if I could even do it without the command line.)
Trouble is, it took me eight minutes to figure out which control panel icon I could find it under...
(HINT: you don't actually double click your network connection, that gives you a useless screen where you can check how many packets you recieved or change your network TCP/IP driver. Instead, you single click the icon, then look down on the left hand side of the explorer window and expand the "Details" tray to find your IP - good grief!)
Gates was half right when he compared the iPod/iTunes success to the PC market software.
Thing is, he didn't "get it".
Just as MS enjoys a dominant PC market position with Windows, they enjoy it in part because consumers and businesses loaded up on Windows-only software that couldn't run on anything else. Once you've dropped $500 on MS Office, switching to a non-windows platform means re-buying MS Office for the Mac or going with another option for other platforms.
The same holds for the iPod.
When you have spent a couple years buying up iTunes AAC Fairplay DRMed songs, all of a sudden, no matter how low the Yahoo! Music Unlimited subscription price is, the cost of switching to WMA includes not only the cost of the plater, but the cost of the music - the software if you will.
Add to that the fact that the player cannot be one of the top 8 music players in the world (the iPod line) and add to that, the fact that the iTMS has a library of 1.5M tracks, including many exclusives, and a great way to browse music, while the others are topping out at 33% smaller 1M song catalogs and using a web browser interface to buy music like collectables off eBay.
For his part, Gates is using his position to be a highly recognized mouthpiece of the anti-ipod establishment that sees the growing market and hates being in the bottom 20% of it.
Meanwhile, I am totally satisfied with my iPod, my iTunes DRMed songs, and can't wait to buy a new iMac as a home PVR (1080i playback, 400GB internal drive, VESA mount for a 20" crystal clear flatscreen - yippy!)
You are an idiot. Please move along.
This really is not unique to OSS-corporate cooperation attempts.
Anyone who has ever started something on their own, be it their own company, a software projects, or just playing with LEGO knows that when you add more people, it gets harder and harder to control the vision.
When the KHTML developers partnered with Apple, they thought they were getting the design and financial resources of a global corporation. What they got were more people putting opinions into their LEGO masterpiece.
I don't think this is a bad thing. Sometimes an inovator becomes so idealistic and perfectionistic that they cannot be objective and/or resoned with. Corporations tend to act very rationally because there are so many people holding them accountable that they have to justify actions.