Given the outright failure of other music services, it is clear that users prefer DRM-free music, and are willing to pay for it and take the trouble to rip it.
I love Slashdot. It injects its agenda into every story. Nothing implies or suggests that CD sales outnumber iTunes sales because users are buying music that is "DRM-free." More likely, it's simply because online music sales are still a very new market, CDs are still a much more well-established medium, and you also get printed cover art and a CD booklet, often with lyrics.
Every comment in this discussion that will be citing this as proof that consumers are rebelling against DRM will make me smile. You see what you want to see. This isn't even getting into the fact that iTunes DRM is the most liberal DRM scheme out there, so liberal that you never notice it's there (I certainly never have), can freely make as many backups of your music as you want (so the right to fair use backups is fulfilled), and so forth.
Like I said, you see what you want to see. I posit that the vast majority of consumers not only don't care about iTunes DRM but don't even know what iTunes "DRM" is or means.
One problem with Nupedia was that articles were written by experts, but reviewed by non-experts. For example, I have a PhD in physics, and teach the subject for a living, but my article on physics was endlessly wrangled over by people who weren't physicists.
This is pretty significant tech news, given Microsoft's push for IPTV into the living room. Verizon can't get it to run on their hardware and is having to step in.
It's especially newsworthy in contrast to this week's Apple iTV announcement.
Actually, he is. He's the vice-president of the design group and heads the teams that builds these things, particularly the iMac. Apple doesn't outsource their designs.
Because that's called a laptop without a battery and is fuckin' pointless. Sure, it looks cool but once its outdated you throw it away. People don't like that with laptops but they put up with it because its portable. This aint, so why put up with it?
Because:
1.) People don't upgrade as often as you imply they do. In fact, people more often than not just buy new PCs. 2.) People love the extra desk space the iMac gives. 3.) People love the integration--built-in WiFi, Bluetooth, IR sensor, and iSight. It's all built in, no extra device or drivers. 4.) People love not having 10 spaghetti cables against the wall. They freak out when they see that the only cable going into the wall from the iMac is the power cord. It still freaks me out to take a look at it.
It's obvious that the iMac is where the future of computer design will eventually standardize. You don't have to be an Apple fan to see this. Towers are big, noisy, and ugly.
The statement, states a philosophical difference that doesn't exist. You're back to stating fiction, within the same post *sigh*. Not only have you failed to actually illustrate why Rasmus is wrong on any particular point, but you come off like you're a driveling moron. Thx for the bandwidth anyways.
You, sir, have faithfully defended our Lord. How dare the heathan speak his mind. I would ask you over for crumpets to celebrate this mighty defeat, but as I'm sure you're far too busy bringing in the ladies with your highly advanced debate skills, I'll have to make do with staying home and rendering HTML tables in PHP (also known as "God's Language").
You, sir, are a scholar and a gentleman, and I salute you.
Because Apple is seen as unique, a company that marries artistic standards with technology. They don't try to sell tech gadgets with engineering names like "Sony XV-53c," they sell lifestyle appliances that get people excited about technology, about interfaces, and about the ways they interact with computers. There's this strange and interesting artistic standard they adhere to, as if their products are modern works of art and not just computers, and so form and aesthetic are just as important as function, and are in fact often intertwined in both their hardware and software products.
As for a more practical reason, given that iTunes has 80% of the market, Apple is the #1 digital media company right now. Given that the web and digital media are the two driving forces behind technology right now, of course they're going to get a lot of coverage when they update their best-selling nanos and preview a streaming set-top box meant to go in your living room.
When somebody uses the word "consumerism," they're typically some angry loner lashing out at the masses in order to feel unique and individual. Kudos for tying "patriotism" in to your mini-rant against the peons beneath you.
Replace "become" with "maintain." Microsoft became a monopoly through the IBM contract, then took advantage of their newfound success to keep that position through whatever required means as described during the antitrust trial in which they were found guilty.
iTunes 7 addressed every last issue I had with it. In fact, two of the things--separation of media libraries and an album cover art view--were being discussed in my IRC chan only to have them addressed half an hour later. Good job, Apple!
One thing I noticed since iTunes 5 introduced its "smooth metal" look is how easier it is to vectorize simple gradients like that than a texture like brushed metal, and I assumed it was in preparation for a future vectorized interface in OS X Leopard. iTunes 7 furthers that agenda by removing the blue-pulse Aqua scrollbars in favor of flat, gradient-shaded versions. Are these signs of the next vector Aqua?
It should be noted that Windows Vista's Glass theme, while technically resolution independent, still uses bitmap scaling for its interface, choosing between different resolution resources depending on the user's DPI. A Microsoft developer wrote on his blog that they did this because they didn't have the vector tools in place yet, and they didn't want to disrupt their existing artwork generation process. Lame.
By the way, that sinking sound you hear coming from Redmond is the hope of Microsoft in taking over the living room through Zune, the XBox 360, and Media Center PCs.
Although, it could also be a chair sailing out the window. I bet they're bolting down everything in the campus today.
That's because MS-DOS came pre-installed on most PCs, just like Windows did. IBM entered into a stupid contract with Microsoft that allowed Microsoft to ship the default OS for every PC while retaining full rights to the software. Regardless of quality, Microsoft became the dominant OS provider.
You can't argue that they abused their monopoly powers in order to *become* a monopoly.
Sure you can.
I know it's hard for you to admit, but at one time MS was the scrappy little guy competing against entrenched giants like IBM, HP, DEC,... and the only way they could survive was to outperform them.
Yes, they were the little guy. But that all changed when IBM stupidly entered into a contract allowing Microsoft to ship the OS on every IBM PC, while still retaining the software rights. This brought the company massive revenues as PCs became a commodity, allowing them to expand into other markets.
They did not outperform anyone; they were in the right place and got lucky.
HD-DVD isn't any more "pc-friendly" than Blu-Ray. I think what you're referring to is the streaming technology Bill Gates wanted, to allow Blu-Ray discs to stream from Windows Media Player to the XBox 360 the way HD-DVD currently can.
Actually, Sony's been touting the 50GB and higher storage of Blu-Ray.
Frankly, the only reason Microsoft supports the technically inferior HD-DVD format is because Blu-Ray is from Sony and relies on Java. Microsoft has their own "iHD" scripting language platform that they want everyone using. Good luck with that...
Screw your nerd badge, I'm going home--to sleep with my girlfriend. She told me if I punch out another guy for screwing up the pronunciation of Celeborn, no more sex.:( I'm on nerd-probation.
Slashdot Mirror
From the summary:
Given the outright failure of other music services, it is clear that users prefer DRM-free music, and are willing to pay for it and take the trouble to rip it.
I love Slashdot. It injects its agenda into every story. Nothing implies or suggests that CD sales outnumber iTunes sales because users are buying music that is "DRM-free." More likely, it's simply because online music sales are still a very new market, CDs are still a much more well-established medium, and you also get printed cover art and a CD booklet, often with lyrics.
Every comment in this discussion that will be citing this as proof that consumers are rebelling against DRM will make me smile. You see what you want to see. This isn't even getting into the fact that iTunes DRM is the most liberal DRM scheme out there, so liberal that you never notice it's there (I certainly never have), can freely make as many backups of your music as you want (so the right to fair use backups is fulfilled), and so forth.
Like I said, you see what you want to see. I posit that the vast majority of consumers not only don't care about iTunes DRM but don't even know what iTunes "DRM" is or means.
Sounds like Wikipedia.
If you choose the web, you can access web-based email. If you choose email, you can have people email web pages to you.
Personally, I'd choose the web. Email's just email, and I only get a few a day.
This is pretty significant tech news, given Microsoft's push for IPTV into the living room. Verizon can't get it to run on their hardware and is having to step in.
It's especially newsworthy in contrast to this week's Apple iTV announcement.
What's wrong with the hockey puck mouse?
Actually, he is. He's the vice-president of the design group and heads the teams that builds these things, particularly the iMac. Apple doesn't outsource their designs.
Off-topic, but has anyone else noticed "zune" is a French-Canadian euphemism for a penis or vagina and is very close to the Hebrew word for "fuck?"
Because:
1.) People don't upgrade as often as you imply they do. In fact, people more often than not just buy new PCs.
2.) People love the extra desk space the iMac gives.
3.) People love the integration--built-in WiFi, Bluetooth, IR sensor, and iSight. It's all built in, no extra device or drivers.
4.) People love not having 10 spaghetti cables against the wall. They freak out when they see that the only cable going into the wall from the iMac is the power cord. It still freaks me out to take a look at it.
It's obvious that the iMac is where the future of computer design will eventually standardize. You don't have to be an Apple fan to see this. Towers are big, noisy, and ugly.
You did notice that Zonk posted this, right? That pretty much explains everything.
For some reason, Slashdot always employs one Dumb Editor (tm) that everybody hates. Before Zonk, it was Michael. Before Michael, it was Katz.
You, sir, have faithfully defended our Lord. How dare the heathan speak his mind. I would ask you over for crumpets to celebrate this mighty defeat, but as I'm sure you're far too busy bringing in the ladies with your highly advanced debate skills, I'll have to make do with staying home and rendering HTML tables in PHP (also known as "God's Language").
You, sir, are a scholar and a gentleman, and I salute you.
Frankly, comments like this coming from prominent developers only serve to polraize people and turn them even more against PHP.
The GPL governs how you use the code. It dictates how you must behave if you change it.
DRM advocates could say the exact same thing--DRM doesn't govern use, it governs distribution.
It's amazing the U.S. economy has come to rely on something so unreliable. Think about it.
And how are they being plagiarized in any way, shape, or form whatsoever?
Because Apple is seen as unique, a company that marries artistic standards with technology. They don't try to sell tech gadgets with engineering names like "Sony XV-53c," they sell lifestyle appliances that get people excited about technology, about interfaces, and about the ways they interact with computers. There's this strange and interesting artistic standard they adhere to, as if their products are modern works of art and not just computers, and so form and aesthetic are just as important as function, and are in fact often intertwined in both their hardware and software products.
As for a more practical reason, given that iTunes has 80% of the market, Apple is the #1 digital media company right now. Given that the web and digital media are the two driving forces behind technology right now, of course they're going to get a lot of coverage when they update their best-selling nanos and preview a streaming set-top box meant to go in your living room.
When somebody uses the word "consumerism," they're typically some angry loner lashing out at the masses in order to feel unique and individual. Kudos for tying "patriotism" in to your mini-rant against the peons beneath you.
Replace "become" with "maintain." Microsoft became a monopoly through the IBM contract, then took advantage of their newfound success to keep that position through whatever required means as described during the antitrust trial in which they were found guilty.
iTunes 7 addressed every last issue I had with it. In fact, two of the things--separation of media libraries and an album cover art view--were being discussed in my IRC chan only to have them addressed half an hour later. Good job, Apple!
One thing I noticed since iTunes 5 introduced its "smooth metal" look is how easier it is to vectorize simple gradients like that than a texture like brushed metal, and I assumed it was in preparation for a future vectorized interface in OS X Leopard. iTunes 7 furthers that agenda by removing the blue-pulse Aqua scrollbars in favor of flat, gradient-shaded versions. Are these signs of the next vector Aqua?
It should be noted that Windows Vista's Glass theme, while technically resolution independent, still uses bitmap scaling for its interface, choosing between different resolution resources depending on the user's DPI. A Microsoft developer wrote on his blog that they did this because they didn't have the vector tools in place yet, and they didn't want to disrupt their existing artwork generation process. Lame.
By the way, that sinking sound you hear coming from Redmond is the hope of Microsoft in taking over the living room through Zune, the XBox 360, and Media Center PCs.
Although, it could also be a chair sailing out the window. I bet they're bolting down everything in the campus today.
That's because MS-DOS came pre-installed on most PCs, just like Windows did. IBM entered into a stupid contract with Microsoft that allowed Microsoft to ship the default OS for every PC while retaining full rights to the software. Regardless of quality, Microsoft became the dominant OS provider.
Sure you can.
Yes, they were the little guy. But that all changed when IBM stupidly entered into a contract allowing Microsoft to ship the OS on every IBM PC, while still retaining the software rights. This brought the company massive revenues as PCs became a commodity, allowing them to expand into other markets.
They did not outperform anyone; they were in the right place and got lucky.
HD-DVD isn't any more "pc-friendly" than Blu-Ray. I think what you're referring to is the streaming technology Bill Gates wanted, to allow Blu-Ray discs to stream from Windows Media Player to the XBox 360 the way HD-DVD currently can.
Actually, Sony's been touting the 50GB and higher storage of Blu-Ray.
Frankly, the only reason Microsoft supports the technically inferior HD-DVD format is because Blu-Ray is from Sony and relies on Java. Microsoft has their own "iHD" scripting language platform that they want everyone using. Good luck with that...
Screw your nerd badge, I'm going home--to sleep with my girlfriend. She told me if I punch out another guy for screwing up the pronunciation of Celeborn, no more sex. :( I'm on nerd-probation.
Which is how they're written in The Hobbit.