I don't think that people who will buy the black MacBook will care at all that it's at a $200 premium.
The top of the line machine isn't for students.
It's not for stingy^H^H^H^H^H^H ubernerds who sit down with feature comparison charts and plot gigaflop per $ ratios.
It's for the corporate executive who wants a small machine to tote around for Powerpoint meetings that is mean and sleek and doesn't scream "look at my son's baby pictures." These people will be sending a memo to their purchasing department: "Get me one of those Mac laptops with the slick screens and the remote control. It should fit in my briefcase. And make it black." $200 isn't going to make a dent. It'd have to be priced $500-1000 more to make them pause, and probably then even barely.
To the vast majority of the world computers are tools. When you need a hammer, you go to Home Depot and buy a hammer that feels good in your hand and does the job. If you're not a carpenter, do you obsess about whether the shiny metallic cold-forged shank and the ergonomic claw hammer is really worth the extra $5? Or do you just buy the one that you like?
I think this is an ominous move. While Flip4Mac can play WMV files, it explicitly does not support Microsoft's DRM.
What does this mean for Tivo and OS X users who want to watch their programs via TivoToGo? Will Tivo drop the DRM requirement (doubtful), or will they provide an alternate solution?
Microsoft is doing all it can to promote the adoption of its DRM technology by as many media partners as possible. Some are arguing that by dropping WMV for the Mac, they are hurting themselves by discouraging further use of Microsoft's DRM. From a business perspective, that makes little sense. It is already a 95% Windows market and the fact that some OS X users will be left out in the cold will have little business impact to a potential Microsoft DRM-adoptee.
It seems to me that Microsoft is doing this in an attempt to freeze OS X users out of the emerging market of online digital video distribution. If they can get enough media distributors to use Microsoft DRM, and it doesn't play on a Mac, they can keep consumers of that content tied to Windows.
Having lost out to iTunes and the iPod in the digital music battle, is Microsoft trying to freeze Mac users out of the digital video revolution?
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I don't think that people who will buy the black MacBook will care at all that it's at a $200 premium.
The top of the line machine isn't for students.
It's not for stingy^H^H^H^H^H^H ubernerds who sit down with feature comparison charts and plot gigaflop per $ ratios.
It's for the corporate executive who wants a small machine to tote around for Powerpoint meetings that is mean and sleek and doesn't scream "look at my son's baby pictures." These people will be sending a memo to their purchasing department: "Get me one of those Mac laptops with the slick screens and the remote control. It should fit in my briefcase. And make it black." $200 isn't going to make a dent. It'd have to be priced $500-1000 more to make them pause, and probably then even barely.
To the vast majority of the world computers are tools. When you need a hammer, you go to Home Depot and buy a hammer that feels good in your hand and does the job. If you're not a carpenter, do you obsess about whether the shiny metallic cold-forged shank and the ergonomic claw hammer is really worth the extra $5? Or do you just buy the one that you like?
I think this is an ominous move. While Flip4Mac can play WMV files, it explicitly does not support Microsoft's DRM. What does this mean for Tivo and OS X users who want to watch their programs via TivoToGo? Will Tivo drop the DRM requirement (doubtful), or will they provide an alternate solution? Microsoft is doing all it can to promote the adoption of its DRM technology by as many media partners as possible. Some are arguing that by dropping WMV for the Mac, they are hurting themselves by discouraging further use of Microsoft's DRM. From a business perspective, that makes little sense. It is already a 95% Windows market and the fact that some OS X users will be left out in the cold will have little business impact to a potential Microsoft DRM-adoptee. It seems to me that Microsoft is doing this in an attempt to freeze OS X users out of the emerging market of online digital video distribution. If they can get enough media distributors to use Microsoft DRM, and it doesn't play on a Mac, they can keep consumers of that content tied to Windows. Having lost out to iTunes and the iPod in the digital music battle, is Microsoft trying to freeze Mac users out of the digital video revolution?