Perhaps NPR wanted Apple to pay them to broadcast QT streams since, as you pointed out, the software is free to procure and use.
Maybe they wanted a little payola themselves.
This kind of pisses me off because I recently started using QT to listen to NPR since my schedule changed and I wasn't in my car during the evening news broadcasts anymore.
RE: MP3... I have no frigg'n idea why people turn their backs on free standards that will actually save them money is both the short term and the long run.
It's not like I'm going to steal an episode of "All Things Considered" and then try to profit by it. Duh.
"As for cost, I thought Mac-heads were supposed to be used to paying 2-3 times typical cost for stuff."
You lack historical perspective.
What THIS Mac Head is used to is getting his OS for free. I didn't pay for OS 5, 6, or 7.
What happended to the good old days when you could just wander into the local mom & pop Apple retailer with a couple blank floppies and they would gleefully (and legally) dup it for you?
This Mac Head was quite accustomed to paying $0.00, thank you.
"You guys obviously didn't hear about the seeded developer testing of a "White box" from Apple."
And you are obviously not aware that Apple engineers had the Mac OS running on Motorola 88K CPUs a long time ago (right before they settled on the PowerPC chipset for business reasons).
Big whoop. Apple does this sort of thing all the time.
"I don't see why Apple holds back, but it sure is cool to know that they have an ace up their sleeve..."
I don't understand the source of your confusing because the reason has been stated by many people over and over and over again: Apple is a hardward company.
They make money on hardware, not software. Their accountants know this, their board knows this, and Jobs knows this.
Sure, they've got a great OS (always have, BTW), but it exists so that they can make money selling hardware.
They would have to sell a bazillion copies of OS X to make up for the lost hardware sales to customers and that is not gonna happen.
I've been using Safari since the first beta was released but it was only this last weekend when I realized that I couldn't find something in it: MIME-type configuration.
I ran into this when I realized that I couldn't tell it how to handle Bit Torrent but had no problems with Mozilla. You know, some way of teaching Safari how to handle a new type?
Go to Sun's web site; explore their product offerings and read the specs.
I did. I concluded that Linux and Intel hardware are simple toys compared to Sun stuff. They are not to be confused with each other in features, reliability, or price.
"Apple's stock took a serious dip when this rumor(and I stress, rumor) hit."
Apple's stock always take a hit at any rumor. If you look hard, you'll see that Apple's stock movement has been a terrible indicator of the wisdom of their dealings.
Remember, stock investors seldom ever understand what the companies they've invested in do. Witness Enron.
Investors don't like to have their boat rocked. What you saw was a bunch of nervous "investors" who should never have bought Apple stock in the first place. They should have bought Proctor & Gamble or General Motors.
"And did you know that payola is legal? It's been like that for decades. As long as the payee mentions they've been paid, they can play anything in this manner."
No, I did not know that payola is legal.
Maybe I'm ignorant because, in 40-years, I've never heard a single word 'mentioned' about this on a single radio station.
"Indie labels nothing. The best stuff comes from the struggling self-published artists!"
Hmmm.
Here's the real deal... buying music is like eating in a resturant. Go to McDonald's and you know what you're going to get. Go to the local hole-in-the-wall (ie: independent) and you could get anything.
Now, I've put substances into my mouth that instigated immediate convultions. I've heard music like that, too.
Some people like having their food and their music pre-processed for them. Some people like to eat dirt.
The indies have a place in the world because they occupy the middle ground: They can filter out the worst crap but still play loose enough to support a fair amount of musical diversity.
Unlike you, I'm not that big a purist. All OSS is not good--some of it really, really sucks. I know because I've tried to use it. And all self-published music is not good, either.
Here in Austin, I prefer a Dan's hamburger to McDonald's, but if I'm hungry and there's no Dan's nearby, I just might eat a Big Mac and not feel the need to apologize to anyone, including purists.
"And as expensive as dealing with MS is, it's still cheaper than buying 50,000 Macs and running OSX on them."
Somehow, I think if you pick up the telephone and call Apple sales to negotiate for 50,000 Macs they will find a way to make a deal with you.
Don't forget, a Windows XP Pro license is significantly more expensive than a licence for Mac OS X. And the hardware has be demonstrated, time and time again, to be cheaper to maintain in the long run.
"The problem with many of these books, though, is that they aren't where the masses will find them. I go into my local B&N and there may be a dozen or two titles tops that relate to the Mac, compared with the hundreds for Windows and other stuff."
Well, the Barnes & Noble, Borders and Fry's here in Austin have the Mac well covered. Austin's a nice town, too.
Slashdot Mirror
"...and [Apple] denies it bid for Universial Music."
Two words: trial balloon.
The result: it didn't float.
--Richard
"They cost more."
Yes, maybe on day one they do (and that's a very qualified maybe). Depends on the piece of PC shit you are willing to pay $299 for.
However, day 2 through day 1,823 they cost less -- usually a whole lot less.
In the long run, I guess I just get cheap and stick with Macs (but Linux is my expensive hobby on the side).
Decades ago my dad shared this wisdom with me: You get what you pay for.
It has been one of the purest truths I've yet encountered in life. You can apply it to cars, food, legal council, and computers.
You get what you pay for. It's like the golden rule of technology.
--Richard
Perhaps NPR wanted Apple to pay them to broadcast QT streams since, as you pointed out, the software is free to procure and use.
Maybe they wanted a little payola themselves.
This kind of pisses me off because I recently started using QT to listen to NPR since my schedule changed and I wasn't in my car during the evening news broadcasts anymore.
RE: MP3... I have no frigg'n idea why people turn their backs on free standards that will actually save them money is both the short term and the long run.
It's not like I'm going to steal an episode of "All Things Considered" and then try to profit by it. Duh.
"As for cost, I thought Mac-heads were supposed to be used to paying 2-3 times typical cost for stuff."
You lack historical perspective.
What THIS Mac Head is used to is getting his OS for free. I didn't pay for OS 5, 6, or 7.
What happended to the good old days when you could just wander into the local mom & pop Apple retailer with a couple blank floppies and they would gleefully (and legally) dup it for you?
This Mac Head was quite accustomed to paying $0.00, thank you.
"You guys obviously didn't hear about the seeded developer testing of a "White box" from Apple."
And you are obviously not aware that Apple engineers had the Mac OS running on Motorola 88K CPUs a long time ago (right before they settled on the PowerPC chipset for business reasons).
Big whoop. Apple does this sort of thing all the time.
"I don't see why Apple holds back, but it sure is cool to know that they have an ace up their sleeve..."
I don't understand the source of your confusing because the reason has been stated by many people over and over and over again: Apple is a hardward company.
They make money on hardware, not software. Their accountants know this, their board knows this, and Jobs knows this.
Sure, they've got a great OS (always have, BTW), but it exists so that they can make money selling hardware.
They would have to sell a bazillion copies of OS X to make up for the lost hardware sales to customers and that is not gonna happen.
--Richard
NASA doesn't have enough money to do space travel.
I've been using Safari since the first beta was released but it was only this last weekend when I realized that I couldn't find something in it: MIME-type configuration.
I ran into this when I realized that I couldn't tell it how to handle Bit Torrent but had no problems with Mozilla. You know, some way of teaching Safari how to handle a new type?
Does anyone know how this is supposed to be done?
--Richard
Go to Sun's web site; explore their product offerings and read the specs.
I did. I concluded that Linux and Intel hardware are simple toys compared to Sun stuff. They are not to be confused with each other in features, reliability, or price.
Linux is an alternative to Windows, not Sun.
Richard
"Apple's stock took a serious dip when this rumor(and I stress, rumor) hit."
Apple's stock always take a hit at any rumor. If you look hard, you'll see that Apple's stock movement has been a terrible indicator of the wisdom of their dealings.
Remember, stock investors seldom ever understand what the companies they've invested in do. Witness Enron.
Investors don't like to have their boat rocked. What you saw was a bunch of nervous "investors" who should never have bought Apple stock in the first place. They should have bought Proctor & Gamble or General Motors.
--Richard
"Buy a Celeron, MB and 128 MB of RAM and a HDD etc and build your own Samba box."
No, buy a Celeron and build your own AppleTalk box.
(Assumptions, assumptions...)
"And did you know that payola is legal? It's been like that for decades. As long as the payee mentions they've been paid, they can play anything in this manner."
No, I did not know that payola is legal.
Maybe I'm ignorant because, in 40-years, I've never heard a single word 'mentioned' about this on a single radio station.
Got a disconnect, here.
Follow up, please.
"Indie labels nothing. The best stuff comes from the struggling self-published artists!"
Hmmm.
Here's the real deal... buying music is like eating in a resturant. Go to McDonald's and you know what you're going to get. Go to the local hole-in-the-wall (ie: independent) and you could get anything.
Now, I've put substances into my mouth that instigated immediate convultions. I've heard music like that, too.
Some people like having their food and their music pre-processed for them. Some people like to eat dirt.
The indies have a place in the world because they occupy the middle ground: They can filter out the worst crap but still play loose enough to support a fair amount of musical diversity.
Unlike you, I'm not that big a purist. All OSS is not good--some of it really, really sucks. I know because I've tried to use it. And all self-published music is not good, either.
Here in Austin, I prefer a Dan's hamburger to McDonald's, but if I'm hungry and there's no Dan's nearby, I just might eat a Big Mac and not feel the need to apologize to anyone, including purists.
--Richard
"We're sorry. This Windows Media 9 Series content is only available to be viewed using Internet Explorer." ...but I guess I won't.
--Richard
If you think Sorenson sucks then you are truly an idiot.
Lay down... and die.
No, I won't provide any reasons to you.
Download it and check it out yourself, you lazy bastard.
--Richard
I'm pretty happy with cable, however, I'd really like to see that 100-mile/gallon car hit the market.
--Richard
Well, many more people who are interested in Apple-related things would find this interesting versus other people, I suppose.
I agree with you though... it's mis-catagorized.
--Richard
"And as expensive as dealing with MS is, it's still cheaper than buying 50,000 Macs and running OSX on them."
Somehow, I think if you pick up the telephone and call Apple sales to negotiate for 50,000 Macs they will find a way to make a deal with you.
Don't forget, a Windows XP Pro license is significantly more expensive than a licence for Mac OS X. And the hardware has be demonstrated, time and time again, to be cheaper to maintain in the long run.
--Richard
"The problem with many of these books, though, is that they aren't where the masses will find them. I go into my local B&N and there may be a dozen or two titles tops that relate to the Mac, compared with the hundreds for Windows and other stuff."
Well, the Barnes & Noble, Borders and Fry's here in Austin have the Mac well covered. Austin's a nice town, too.
Hmmm. I just did an anywho search and couldn't find you, even when I narrowed it down to San Fransisco...
Weird. I haven't seen a Macintosh salesman since, oh... 1990?
Usually, I ran into, "Oh, you really ought to look at this Packard Bell..."
--Richard
I don't think you understand what's at issue here, at all.
" It proved to be fast and reliable even then, and those were on old PII machines."
Well?.......
"It proved to be fast and reliable even then, and those were on old PII machines."
Ouch! Now that just hurts.
My Linux workstation is a PII/266 (dual CPU, though).
--Richard