I'm not talking about a new, better iPod though. There surely could be something that could come along that's better than the iPod. And it's not just the iPod. What about car stereos that support MP3 playback directly? Or media streamers not made by Apple? These support MP3 only. I don't want to buy music that's limited only to the Apple ecosystem. That's bad for me, and bad for consumers in general.
If Apple knows that a big reason people stay with iPods is because they're so tied in to the ecosystem, and not because its hardware is so good, it will mean that it will have less incentive to improve its hardware.
So for now, I'm only downloading from eMusic, Amie St, or, yes, Soulseek for anything I can't get from those services. I don't want to be stuck in the Apple universe, even though I like it right now.
Actually, most people usually just don't think about the DRM at all when they're buying media from iTMS, which is a testament to how well Apple designs their user experience. HOWEVER, I always ask people what they're going to do with all their content once a new, better MP3 player comes along (which is always likely). That's usually a showstopper for people. DRM forces you to be tied down to once device.
At least with DVD's, they're purchased on a medium who standards are open and is transportable. Any DVD player can play them, just not (legally) copy them. You can't say that for iTMS files.
I agree too. I had to start a small campaign just to get Diggnation back in Wikipedia. For long time, it was just redirecting to the Revision3 entry which a lot of people would find confusing. I say open the gates - everything should be created.
I'll take a good UI over a fancy form factor any day of the week. Apple's brilliance is that they put as much effort into BOTH. And that's why they're more popular than any other MP3 player, or probably than any other single gadget.
On a side note, I'm starting to get really annoyed that carrier stores only show non-working models of their cel-phones on display. I will never buy another cel phone again without it trying to use it first. Sorry Sony Eircsson, you're not getting my business again.
It's too bad, because this could have been the truly killer feature of the Zune.
Imagine being able to turn on your Zune in a wifi hotspot and being able to buy a song from their music store? Or even streaming music from the Zune to another wifi device?
The music sharing thing is kind of cool, but it only works if someone else has a Zune, and it's not at all a useful feature unless a lot of people have a Zune. So for early adopters, the Zune might as well just not have wifi at all.
Oh yeah, and it DRM's non-DRM'd music when you share. Another great move. I've always wanted that MP3 of me on the guitar to be DRM'd.
I accidentally stumbled on to a BBC run by "The World's Biggest Bookstore" in Toronto when I was a teenager. I have no idea why they had a BBS, and it only lasted for about three years, but in that three years a pretty big community sprouted up there who basically used it as a chat room and file trading site. I met up with the people from it a couple of times, and it was great for a socially awkward teenager like me to suddenly feel like I had a bunch of friends.
Seriously, I'm neither a troll nor a guerilla marketer. I'm someone who truly loves Nintendo, but felt burned with my Gamecube purchase because of all the games I couldn't get for it (GTA, most Star Wars games, Guitar Hero.) because it didn't have a broad enough install base. I'm not saying Nintendo has NO broader-appealing games, just that they really have to fight people's perceptions that they make only kids' games. And it doesn't help when almost all their advertising is for Mario games.
I hope the Wii does well, and I will buy one, but I remain doubtful given Nintendo's past few years.
Re:The platform wars are over
on
Will the Wii Work?
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· Score: 2, Informative
Why are people still under the impression that buying one console forbids you from buying any others? That stops being true once you get out of high school and get a real job.
And that stops being true once you get married and have kids.;)
I'm actually a year older than you! Okay, some of my friends, the open-minded ones, will play Mario Party and enjoy it. But that was after a lot of coaxing and telling them that it really is very fun. Given the choice, most of them would rather play Halo, Star Wars Battlefront.
Guitar Hero is a great example of Nintendo should be doing. Totally innovative and fun game for EVERYONE I've seen play it, but it's not dressed up with Mario characters that look like they're pandering to kids. Nintendo came out with a similar game with bongos, but made it a damn Donkey Kong game. I know people who played it and liked it, but you have to admit, most people would rather play guitar with adult characters on the screen than see some monkey hit shells or something.
I just think Nintendo is stabbing themselves in the foot by making some of the best games Mario games.
I totally agree with you that games are fun no matter what the genre. I New Super Mario Brothers almost as much as I liked Grand Theft Auto almost as much as I liked Zelda: Wind Waker. They were all great games, no matter what the genre. And I'll agree Metroid wasn't a 'kids' game. But what I'm talking about is people's perceptions of Nintendo. Most of the masses just think Nintendo=for kids=lame games.
I'm really not trying to flame Nintendo - I play games for good, original, and fun gameplay, which is exactly what they make. I just wish that they'd stop sabotaging themselves by making a lot of games in the mario or other genre that seem so 'kiddie-like', because as long as they do, Joe sixpack will always associate them with kids games, and Nintendo will always be the perennial underdog, and I'll miss out on great games like GTA, Dead Rising, Guitar Hero, Star Wars Battlefront, because the install base isn't there to worth the development time of the port.
Sorry, that's my rant. I love Nintendo, and I love their games, but I'm frustrated that they keep painting themselves in a corner with their choice of game genres. I'll say it again, if Mario Party was repackaged as a GTA or WWII game, it would be so popular, because it would combine the fun and original gameplay with genres that Joe Sixpack likes.
Okay, I think the Wii looks awesome, and I plan to get one.
Here's the problem - I think us in the 'tech' community are a little biassed towards the Wii. Sure, we're hardcore gamers, but we also love rooting for the underdog. We're also more willing to be open-minded than most peopoe. Sure, everyone on Slashdot and Digg love the Wii. But if you know anyone who's not in IT and is not a 'nerd' they a)won't know what the hell the Wii is b)will dismiss it off-hand because of Nintendo's 'kids' reputation.
I wish people were as open-minded as me and were willing to look at the Wii, but I'm afraid that most people aren't, and this is what will ultimately doom the Wii to third-place and lack of third party games, just like the Cube.
I own a DS and I love it, but I still feel like a nerd playing it in public, as I have yet to see ANYONE over 20 playing with one in public. But I see tons of teenagers and young adults with PSPs. Most adults don't even know what the hell a DS is, but everyone knows what a PSP is I find.
I don't disagree with that. Many gamers are tired of the same old formulas. BUT The only problem with Nintendo trying to change things up is that they just can't shake their image of making 'kids' games. Tell anyone you know, hardcore or casual gamer, about the Wii and they'll say "But Nintendo just makes kids games."
Nintendo has to get some SERIOUS third party support or stop making games that look like pre-school shows. I love a lot of Nintendo's games, including almost all of the Mario titles, but hardly any of my friends will touch them because they look like they're for little kids.
Think about how popular a game like Mario Party would be if it were done in the genre of GTA or WWII.
caches those pages and offers them for free with their own ads added
First of all, Google News doesn't have ANY ads, mainly because of concerns over copyright that you mentioned. Secondly, Google Web Search only displays its ads in its search listings, NOT when you view the cached page. And most competent webmasters know that if they don't want their content cached by Google, they can just edit their robots.txt file to exclude themselves from being cached, or even indexed.
I just can't understand why news sites don't want to be on Google News. I've gone to news sites (and hence seen that news site's ads)that I never would have otherwise gone to unless I'd browsed Google News. Why aren't the news sites happy for the free exposure?
Hey, if you love Gmail, get google desktop search (if your network administrator hasn't blocked it.) It adds super fast search to Outlook, and I never file any of my work email anymore! I just flag it for follow up (with a 'smart search folder' that groups all of those together) and search for anything I need. Works great. Sometimes, to 'label' I'll forward the message to myself with relevant words that the sender forgot to include, so that I can easily find it again by search later.
I highly agree. The thing I don't understand about the review he gave was that he seemed to be saying Yahoo won the web based e-mail war bacause it emulated the desktop experience so well. Umm, who decided that the Outlook-e-mail experience was perfect?
I love Gmail because the conversation threading is a great way to read a lot of of emails, labels are much more versatile than folders, and fast, fast search.
Oh, and like someone else mentioned, it doesn't stick a damn ad at the end of my e-mail like Yahoo does. Drag and drop is great, but labels are just as easy to apply and can work just the same as folders simply by moving the mouse as well.
I think it's more Google honest attempt to open up all IM and VOIP clients to be interoperable. I think this is really what they're trying to do with Gtalk.
Hopefully one day it won't matter whether you're using MSN, Yahoo, AIM, or Skype, you'll be able to call/IM anyone. Just like now it doesn't matter what email client you're using, you can still email anybody, and how you can call any cell phone or land line no matter which carrier you're part of. IM/VOIP needs to get there.
Totally different scenario. There you're paying money with the intent that you'll be saving that money back with all the deals you'll get. And even they'll let you in to look if you ask them.
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Yeah, I say kind of the same thing, but using words non-techies can understand. :)
If Apple knows that a big reason people stay with iPods is because they're so tied in to the ecosystem, and not because its hardware is so good, it will mean that it will have less incentive to improve its hardware.
So for now, I'm only downloading from eMusic, Amie St, or, yes, Soulseek for anything I can't get from those services. I don't want to be stuck in the Apple universe, even though I like it right now.
At least with DVD's, they're purchased on a medium who standards are open and is transportable. Any DVD player can play them, just not (legally) copy them. You can't say that for iTMS files.
This is just one more reason we should just join the USA and get it over with. I'd be willing to give up public health care for the iPhone.
The solution is: #DIV/0!
I agree too. I had to start a small campaign just to get Diggnation back in Wikipedia. For long time, it was just redirecting to the Revision3 entry which a lot of people would find confusing. I say open the gates - everything should be created.
On a side note, I'm starting to get really annoyed that carrier stores only show non-working models of their cel-phones on display. I will never buy another cel phone again without it trying to use it first. Sorry Sony Eircsson, you're not getting my business again.
If you're so into good user interface, why the hell did you get a RAZR?
Imagine being able to turn on your Zune in a wifi hotspot and being able to buy a song from their music store? Or even streaming music from the Zune to another wifi device?
The music sharing thing is kind of cool, but it only works if someone else has a Zune, and it's not at all a useful feature unless a lot of people have a Zune. So for early adopters, the Zune might as well just not have wifi at all.
Oh yeah, and it DRM's non-DRM'd music when you share. Another great move. I've always wanted that MP3 of me on the guitar to be DRM'd.
Oh well, I guess everyone has their tastes.
I accidentally stumbled on to a BBC run by "The World's Biggest Bookstore" in Toronto when I was a teenager. I have no idea why they had a BBS, and it only lasted for about three years, but in that three years a pretty big community sprouted up there who basically used it as a chat room and file trading site. I met up with the people from it a couple of times, and it was great for a socially awkward teenager like me to suddenly feel like I had a bunch of friends.
I hope the Wii does well, and I will buy one, but I remain doubtful given Nintendo's past few years.
And that stops being true once you get married and have kids. ;)
I'm actually a year older than you! Okay, some of my friends, the open-minded ones, will play Mario Party and enjoy it. But that was after a lot of coaxing and telling them that it really is very fun. Given the choice, most of them would rather play Halo, Star Wars Battlefront.
Guitar Hero is a great example of Nintendo should be doing. Totally innovative and fun game for EVERYONE I've seen play it, but it's not dressed up with Mario characters that look like they're pandering to kids. Nintendo came out with a similar game with bongos, but made it a damn Donkey Kong game. I know people who played it and liked it, but you have to admit, most people would rather play guitar with adult characters on the screen than see some monkey hit shells or something.
I just think Nintendo is stabbing themselves in the foot by making some of the best games Mario games.
I'm really not trying to flame Nintendo - I play games for good, original, and fun gameplay, which is exactly what they make. I just wish that they'd stop sabotaging themselves by making a lot of games in the mario or other genre that seem so 'kiddie-like', because as long as they do, Joe sixpack will always associate them with kids games, and Nintendo will always be the perennial underdog, and I'll miss out on great games like GTA, Dead Rising, Guitar Hero, Star Wars Battlefront, because the install base isn't there to worth the development time of the port.
Sorry, that's my rant. I love Nintendo, and I love their games, but I'm frustrated that they keep painting themselves in a corner with their choice of game genres. I'll say it again, if Mario Party was repackaged as a GTA or WWII game, it would be so popular, because it would combine the fun and original gameplay with genres that Joe Sixpack likes.
Here's the problem - I think us in the 'tech' community are a little biassed towards the Wii. Sure, we're hardcore gamers, but we also love rooting for the underdog. We're also more willing to be open-minded than most peopoe. Sure, everyone on Slashdot and Digg love the Wii. But if you know anyone who's not in IT and is not a 'nerd' they a)won't know what the hell the Wii is b)will dismiss it off-hand because of Nintendo's 'kids' reputation.
I wish people were as open-minded as me and were willing to look at the Wii, but I'm afraid that most people aren't, and this is what will ultimately doom the Wii to third-place and lack of third party games, just like the Cube.
Not flamebait. It's just an observation.
I own a DS and I love it, but I still feel like a nerd playing it in public, as I have yet to see ANYONE over 20 playing with one in public. But I see tons of teenagers and young adults with PSPs. Most adults don't even know what the hell a DS is, but everyone knows what a PSP is I find.
I don't disagree with that. Many gamers are tired of the same old formulas. BUT The only problem with Nintendo trying to change things up is that they just can't shake their image of making 'kids' games. Tell anyone you know, hardcore or casual gamer, about the Wii and they'll say "But Nintendo just makes kids games."
Nintendo has to get some SERIOUS third party support or stop making games that look like pre-school shows. I love a lot of Nintendo's games, including almost all of the Mario titles, but hardly any of my friends will touch them because they look like they're for little kids.
Think about how popular a game like Mario Party would be if it were done in the genre of GTA or WWII.
First of all, Google News doesn't have ANY ads, mainly because of concerns over copyright that you mentioned. Secondly, Google Web Search only displays its ads in its search listings, NOT when you view the cached page. And most competent webmasters know that if they don't want their content cached by Google, they can just edit their robots.txt file to exclude themselves from being cached, or even indexed.
I just can't understand why news sites don't want to be on Google News. I've gone to news sites (and hence seen that news site's ads)that I never would have otherwise gone to unless I'd browsed Google News. Why aren't the news sites happy for the free exposure?
Hey, if you love Gmail, get google desktop search (if your network administrator hasn't blocked it.) It adds super fast search to Outlook, and I never file any of my work email anymore! I just flag it for follow up (with a 'smart search folder' that groups all of those together) and search for anything I need. Works great. Sometimes, to 'label' I'll forward the message to myself with relevant words that the sender forgot to include, so that I can easily find it again by search later.
I love Gmail because the conversation threading is a great way to read a lot of of emails, labels are much more versatile than folders, and fast, fast search.
Oh, and like someone else mentioned, it doesn't stick a damn ad at the end of my e-mail like Yahoo does. Drag and drop is great, but labels are just as easy to apply and can work just the same as folders simply by moving the mouse as well.
Hopefully one day it won't matter whether you're using MSN, Yahoo, AIM, or Skype, you'll be able to call/IM anyone. Just like now it doesn't matter what email client you're using, you can still email anybody, and how you can call any cell phone or land line no matter which carrier you're part of. IM/VOIP needs to get there.
That's good to know actually. I didn't realize that was the case. Still, Nintendo's still got the advantage in this case.
Totally different scenario. There you're paying money with the intent that you'll be saving that money back with all the deals you'll get. And even they'll let you in to look if you ask them.