You dumbass. 3rd party apps would allow you to play Ogg Vorbis music (and video, along with any number of other great formats). That's the whole freaking point...
This is a critical issue for me. There's no way I'm spending $600 for a piece of hardware with that many capabilities if I can't run any software I want on it and develop for it myself. This COULD HAVE been a revolution in computing, but instead, it'll just be another phone, and a crippled one at that. While it might be a fantastic phone, I don't spend $600 for a phone. I do, however, spend $600 for a general purpose portable computing device that happens to feature cell phone capabilities, with beautiful design, all the hardware I need, and running a great OS.
Jobs brings up the issue of running apps that will interfere with the phone capabilities, but I'm sure a bright engineer over at Apple (or maybe two if that's what it takes) could figure out how to give priority to the phone process, and make sure it gets attention when it needs to. This is just BS. I guess I'm getting myself a "free" S-E w800i for a couple more years until Jobs comes to his senses. iPhone, we hardly knew ye...
"Anyone else who considered buying a iPhone having second thoughts upon hearing there will be no 3rd party apps?"
Yes... I wish I could know for sure now, and I'll go ahead and get another phone if it's truly a closed platform. There's no way I'm spending that much money on a computing device that can't run the software I want. If they allow 3rd party development as an open platform, then I'll sign over my first-born son for one of these things.
Stop spreading FUD. My latest GSM phone, made by Sony-Ericsson, has excellent sound quality, just as good as any Verizon phone I've had the chance to use. There is no advantage to using CDMA unless you use the EVDO high-speed internet, which is currently faster than GSM/EDGE. Verizon in particular is a terrible company that locks down their phones and doesn't let you sync to your computer or download from the net. Screw Verizon, screw them right in the ear!
Cingular's GSM coverage is just as good as Verizon's CDMA. I tried both a little over two years ago, and had better coverage with GSM in the San Francisco Bay Area, and they've improved GSM coverage since then. This is really not an issue at this point.
The fact that CDMA is only in the US, and the rest of the World uses GSM means that most cool phones will be for GSM networks, as it has been all this time. If you want cool phones, use a GSM service. If you're fine with crappy CDMA phones, then by all means, stick with that. Don't expect this situation to change, as that's just how the economics work out. CDMA is not nearly as big of a global market as GSM.
I've found that it's obviously helpful to have a software team leader with the ability to empathise with users and predict what they want, but unless there is good communication from the users, with a receptive response from the support staff, the project will often drift from what the market wants, adding inappropriate features, and inefficient workflows. It takes a flexible mentality on the part of the developer to truly listen to what users are complaining about or requesting, and see what the underlying problem is, and how best to address it.
The other crucial part of the equation is keeping the workflow in check. The software team manager must always keep the workflow as efficient as possible, and when enough features are added that the interface becomes cumbersome, they must have the foresight to refactor the entire workflow from the ground up, and set it up in an efficient and logical manner for the most commonly-used tasks.
As for the communication with users, I find it best to have an open web forum (message board), and encourage open, uncensored (as much as possible) discussion, and involve knowledgeable people in relevant discussions. If users are having workflow issues, or would like a feature, get the software team leader involved (or someone else with extensive knowledge of the product), and get them to communicate with the user so they can get a good picture of the problem, get any additional info they need from the customer, and decide how best to deal with it.
The worst thing a software project can do is let ego get in the way of making a better product. There are quite a few large egos in the programming world (believe it or not), and this must be kept in check if you want to give customers the impression of responsiveness. Anyone communicating with users on behalf of the software team must remain humble and helpful, and take any complaint or request seriously, in case there is something that could be done to make the product easier to use. Obviously, there are many times when you have to say "no, that's out of the scope of our project", and it's very important to have a team leader that knows how to give your tool the focus it needs to remain efficient and intuitive. In general, however, it's a fine line to walk, and you have to know when the user has valid feedback that should be addressed, and let that user, and others reading the forums know that you are responding to their feedback, and encourage them to be open about sharing their concerns. If you can build up a strong community around your product based on helpfulness, good will and responsiveness, you're already well on the road to a successful software project.
Seriously, though, Youtube is great, and I watch videos there all the time, but it's always videos that are linked on other sites like Digg and such. The interface just isn't conducive to being a replacement for most people's TV-watching habits. You can't just turn on the Youtube and have something to watch for the next while; instead, you have to select every little bit of video you want to see. Typically, this means having to select something new every few minutes. Then, you have the issue of crappy quality. I just got myself a shiny new 37" 1080p LCD TV, and I just know that trying to watch Youtube on it for any appreciable amount of time is going to make my eyes bleed.
Compare this to something like iTunes, where you could build yourself a playlist, and have content of your choosing, in good picture quality. You can plan out an hour's worth of programming, or have it done automatically with video podcast-type subscriptions and smart playlists, and then you can sit down and watch what you want without interruption. Really, Youtube, in its current incarnation, doesn't stand a chance.
No, but paid subscriptions to content delivered over the net is a contender... People are not going to sit down on their couch and watch Youtube for an hour or three... For many potential customers, pirated content downloaded from P2P networks is the real killer app for the iTV... just like it was for the iPod...
I was just referring to Mac PPC software... The architecture itself is used in a huge variety of other platforms that aren't going anywhere. As far as Mac software is concerned, however, PPC's days are numbered.
Give it up, PPC is dead. Don't expect new software releases from any major developers (including Apple) within a year or two. That doesn't mean the Mac platform is in trouble, though. Sure, the games market is a tough sell because it's a social activity, and kids will do whatever it takes, including booting into Windows, to play the games their friends are playing. Waiting for a Mac port is not an option. Mac game distributors are going to have to do simultaneous launches or give up the serious (non-casual) gamer market. For professional and productivity apps, however, any non-native solutions wouldn't stand a chance against native solutions; and with market share rapidly expanding in a very attractive demographic of home users and creative pros, developers catering to those markets would be foolish to give it up like that.
I shouldn't have said protected kernel space, as that wording typically refers to memory separation as you refer to. I meant to say that they have locked down their kernel modules, and won't load unauthorized modules into kernel space without their consent. This is unacceptable for a general use personal computer.
For a portable device, bigger is worse. You can't put it in your pocket as easily, or go jogging with it as easily, and it's heavier and more obtrusive. If the screen is the same resolution, then you don't gain much with the extra bit of size, as you're just scaling the pixels up. If it was a stationary device, then I would agree with you that a larger screen is an advantage. For a portable device, however, it is a disadvantage for a majority of potential customers. If it's not as easy to carry around, then people will be less likely to use it. I personally went with the nano, as I don't care about watching video on a little pocket device, and the size and durability makes it perfect for use on the go. I wouldn't even consider purchasing either the Zune or the Video iPod. As soon as you start valuing built-in screen size (beyond a practical minimum), you're getting away from a small portable device, and into a no-man's land of devices that are too large to carry with you, but too small for stationary use. This is the exact same reason UMPCs (like the Origami) and PDAs fail to gain any market traction.
Ever hear of kernel extensions and raw device access? OSX does nothing to prevent you from accessing your hardware. You can use Apple's fancy APIs if you want, but you can dig deeper if you prefer, just as you can in Linux or BSD. Windows Vista is the only one that has a protected kernel space, encrypted memory, and randomized memory locations, keeping the user locked away from their hardware.
Well, they made it as good as they had to, and they're still adding to it. By the way, nothing's preventing anyone from writing their own X server if they feel Apple's is inadequate...
Seriously, that was my first thought. It's the most hideous building I've ever seen. Whoever designed the exterior needs to be crucified. I'm just glad to be living on a different content, with no intention of setting foot anywhere within eyeshot of that appalling monstrosity...
You are correct. Apple wants X11 to remain a special-purpose tool for using UNIX apps in OSX. Obviously, they want to encourage the use of Aqua for anyone targetting the Mac platform, as they should. I would hate for companies to start releasing general-use apps for OSX using X11, as, like you mentioned, they don't play well with regular OSX-native apps. They will never have all the niceties of a native Aqua app, and so Apple is right to force developers to code for Aqua if they want to release a Mac app. X11 is there as an option if you really need to use an X11 app, but it will never be on the same level as Aqua as a vendor-supported deployment option.
True, but I don't see a problem with that. Most of the time, the user wouldn't know the difference (unless it's saving their ass). The alternative to enabling 'cut' for files in the Finder would be to have a drop zone 'shelf'-type thing that appears when you start to drag files. I would suggest on the left side of the screen be default (or right side if you keep your Dock on the left side), and it would just be a translucent light-colored zone where you can drop a file, then navigate to where you want to move it in a Finder window, and drag the file back from the shelf.
You can do a timeout on the cutting function. If the file isn't pasted within 5 minutes, or another file is cut before the first is pasted, then the cut function is cancelled, and the file stays where it first was.
My thoughts as a Mac geek: 15) (No date display): Agreed, there should be an option to display the date along with the time in the menubar. 14) (Widgets on desktop): Coming in Leopard, available through third party software now. 13) (Inconsistent contextual menus): Couldn't figure out what they were complaining about. 12) (Documents in the Dock): Hell no, they shouldn't add open documents to the Dock. It's cluttered enough as it is. Documents are fine in the Dock apps' contextual menu, or accessed by option-tabbing to the app you want, then option-~ to the window in the app, or simply via Exposé. 11) (Managing window size): Here, Apple should have a modifier key that enables this behavior. Like if the user holds down the command key, the border of the window the mouse is over can get a bit thicker, and they could resize from any edge. 10) (Accessing applications): Just make yourself a shortcuts folder in the Dock, with shortcuts to apps and documents you most frequently use. You can also put a folder in the dock with categorized shortcuts to your applications, to help find what you want quickly. Apple shouldn't do this for you; you just need to spend a bit of time customizing your computer to suit your needs. 9) (Backspace or delete): Yes, Mac notebook keyboards suck ass. Apple, figure out a way to add some more needed keys, make the arrow pad bigger and further away from the shift key (I know I'm not the only one to delete lines of text by accidentally hitting shift-up arrow by accident, instead of just the arrow key). The F-keys need some spacing in there as well. 8) (Printer setup screens): Printer setup screens are designed by the Printer manufacturers. Complain to them if you're not happy. 7) (Inconsistent user interface): M'eh, whatever... I'd say fixing the f'ing Finder takes priority... 6) (Laptop screen dimming): Agreed, need a setting somewhere to adjust this behavior. 5) (Grab points for Column resizing): M'ehm whatever... Maybe they could add more grab points with a modifier key... Otherwise, don't clutter the interface. 4) (Automatic resizing of columns): Bad idea. First of all, some names will always be too long. Second, when you browse through different levels of your folder hierarchy, the last thing you want is the columns constantly moving all over the place. 3) (Display bug in column view): That's a bug. Please provide steps to reproduce to Apple so they can fix it... 2) (Cut files in the Finder): This should be added. 1) (Finder refresh): Pretty sure this is usually handled properly. If there are cases where it's not, you should report them to Apple so they can fix it. I've never seen any lag in Finder refreshes since Tiger...
You do know that the iPod is by FAR and away the most popular MP3 player, right? It plays proprietary music (in addition to several standard formats) and has no FM radio receiver... So I'd say those features are not relevant to people's purchase decisions for MP3 players...
The right to time-shift and format-shift for personal use are well-established as part of the fair use exceptions to copyright law. As long as they don't grant this ability, copyright owners have nothing to complain about when their copy protection gets cracked, or people forego the distribution medium.
MS is thinking ahead to the long-term success of this product line. They see the writing on the wall with PlaysForSure, and want to put up some serious competition to the iPod before it's too late. People are obviously more interested in a vertically-integrated media player with good customer experience. Whether Microsoft is physically capable of providing a premium customer experiences is highly doubtful, especially without a premium retail presence. Look for The Microsoft Store to open in major cities soon (NOT!). Going up against the iPod in major retail chains is going to be a huge challenge for MS, especially when you have customers walking in requesting an "iPod", not a "digital music player".
I digress, however. The point is that MS already knows PlaysForSure is dead, and they want to set themselves up to still be in the game in five years... That, and they can maximize revenues by running the whole thing themselves. Too bad for their "partners"...
I'm a longtime Mac user, (since OS 6 came with my Mac ][cx), and I couldn't disagree more. Sure, OS 9 was the bees knees at the time, but when I got my hands on the first public beta of MacOS X, and installed it on my blue Powermac G3, I knew there would be no going back. Once version 10.0 was released, even as rough as it was, I had pretty much stopped using MacOS 9 by that point, and was just looking for new OSX apps to use. By 10.1, I didn't even boot MacOS9 anymore, and going back was painful. MacOS X, with its fully-buffered window manager for snappy window switching, bulletproof system stability, and countless UI improvements (the Dock and Finder Column view being the most prominent), going back to OS 9 was unacceptable. By now, there's just no comparison. It's about time you say goodbye to the classic Mac UI, and embrace this new paradigm. Sure, there could still be work done to improve consistency in the Finder, but it's still 10x more usable than OS9 ever was.
Oh, and Control Strip was the name you were looking for...
Also, when it comes to video editing or music mixing, macs only have an advantage in basic amateur jobs. If you want to do anything serious, you'll want a windows computer Now THAT was funny. Show me any professional shops using Windows for serious video or audio production, and I'll show you the most miserable, mislead team of designers in the World...
That's an entirely separate issue. The DRM you put on files you sell has nothing to do with the unprotected recordings people are sharing on their own. People will always find ways to get an unprotected recording to download or share if they want no matter how much DRM you put on the files you seed. It's really a losing battle trying to protect the content from someone in its possession, while still allowing them to play it. What's needed is a global licensing database for all protected content and licensees, and watermarking with info referencing this database, and at least there will be a much better infrastructure for enforcement to work under. Then, it's just a matter of finding the bigger distributors, and enforcing compliance with this database.
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You dumbass. 3rd party apps would allow you to play Ogg Vorbis music (and video, along with any number of other great formats). That's the whole freaking point...
This is a critical issue for me. There's no way I'm spending $600 for a piece of hardware with that many capabilities if I can't run any software I want on it and develop for it myself. This COULD HAVE been a revolution in computing, but instead, it'll just be another phone, and a crippled one at that. While it might be a fantastic phone, I don't spend $600 for a phone. I do, however, spend $600 for a general purpose portable computing device that happens to feature cell phone capabilities, with beautiful design, all the hardware I need, and running a great OS.
Jobs brings up the issue of running apps that will interfere with the phone capabilities, but I'm sure a bright engineer over at Apple (or maybe two if that's what it takes) could figure out how to give priority to the phone process, and make sure it gets attention when it needs to. This is just BS. I guess I'm getting myself a "free" S-E w800i for a couple more years until Jobs comes to his senses. iPhone, we hardly knew ye...
"Anyone else who considered buying a iPhone having second thoughts upon hearing there will be no 3rd party apps?"
Yes... I wish I could know for sure now, and I'll go ahead and get another phone if it's truly a closed platform. There's no way I'm spending that much money on a computing device that can't run the software I want. If they allow 3rd party development as an open platform, then I'll sign over my first-born son for one of these things.
Stop spreading FUD. My latest GSM phone, made by Sony-Ericsson, has excellent sound quality, just as good as any Verizon phone I've had the chance to use. There is no advantage to using CDMA unless you use the EVDO high-speed internet, which is currently faster than GSM/EDGE. Verizon in particular is a terrible company that locks down their phones and doesn't let you sync to your computer or download from the net. Screw Verizon, screw them right in the ear!
Cingular's GSM coverage is just as good as Verizon's CDMA. I tried both a little over two years ago, and had better coverage with GSM in the San Francisco Bay Area, and they've improved GSM coverage since then. This is really not an issue at this point.
The fact that CDMA is only in the US, and the rest of the World uses GSM means that most cool phones will be for GSM networks, as it has been all this time. If you want cool phones, use a GSM service. If you're fine with crappy CDMA phones, then by all means, stick with that. Don't expect this situation to change, as that's just how the economics work out. CDMA is not nearly as big of a global market as GSM.
I've found that it's obviously helpful to have a software team leader with the ability to empathise with users and predict what they want, but unless there is good communication from the users, with a receptive response from the support staff, the project will often drift from what the market wants, adding inappropriate features, and inefficient workflows. It takes a flexible mentality on the part of the developer to truly listen to what users are complaining about or requesting, and see what the underlying problem is, and how best to address it.
The other crucial part of the equation is keeping the workflow in check. The software team manager must always keep the workflow as efficient as possible, and when enough features are added that the interface becomes cumbersome, they must have the foresight to refactor the entire workflow from the ground up, and set it up in an efficient and logical manner for the most commonly-used tasks.
As for the communication with users, I find it best to have an open web forum (message board), and encourage open, uncensored (as much as possible) discussion, and involve knowledgeable people in relevant discussions. If users are having workflow issues, or would like a feature, get the software team leader involved (or someone else with extensive knowledge of the product), and get them to communicate with the user so they can get a good picture of the problem, get any additional info they need from the customer, and decide how best to deal with it.
The worst thing a software project can do is let ego get in the way of making a better product. There are quite a few large egos in the programming world (believe it or not), and this must be kept in check if you want to give customers the impression of responsiveness. Anyone communicating with users on behalf of the software team must remain humble and helpful, and take any complaint or request seriously, in case there is something that could be done to make the product easier to use. Obviously, there are many times when you have to say "no, that's out of the scope of our project", and it's very important to have a team leader that knows how to give your tool the focus it needs to remain efficient and intuitive. In general, however, it's a fine line to walk, and you have to know when the user has valid feedback that should be addressed, and let that user, and others reading the forums know that you are responding to their feedback, and encourage them to be open about sharing their concerns. If you can build up a strong community around your product based on helpfulness, good will and responsiveness, you're already well on the road to a successful software project.
I meant normal people... : P
Seriously, though, Youtube is great, and I watch videos there all the time, but it's always videos that are linked on other sites like Digg and such. The interface just isn't conducive to being a replacement for most people's TV-watching habits. You can't just turn on the Youtube and have something to watch for the next while; instead, you have to select every little bit of video you want to see. Typically, this means having to select something new every few minutes. Then, you have the issue of crappy quality. I just got myself a shiny new 37" 1080p LCD TV, and I just know that trying to watch Youtube on it for any appreciable amount of time is going to make my eyes bleed.
Compare this to something like iTunes, where you could build yourself a playlist, and have content of your choosing, in good picture quality. You can plan out an hour's worth of programming, or have it done automatically with video podcast-type subscriptions and smart playlists, and then you can sit down and watch what you want without interruption. Really, Youtube, in its current incarnation, doesn't stand a chance.
No, but paid subscriptions to content delivered over the net is a contender... People are not going to sit down on their couch and watch Youtube for an hour or three... For many potential customers, pirated content downloaded from P2P networks is the real killer app for the iTV... just like it was for the iPod...
I was just referring to Mac PPC software... The architecture itself is used in a huge variety of other platforms that aren't going anywhere. As far as Mac software is concerned, however, PPC's days are numbered.
Give it up, PPC is dead. Don't expect new software releases from any major developers (including Apple) within a year or two. That doesn't mean the Mac platform is in trouble, though. Sure, the games market is a tough sell because it's a social activity, and kids will do whatever it takes, including booting into Windows, to play the games their friends are playing. Waiting for a Mac port is not an option. Mac game distributors are going to have to do simultaneous launches or give up the serious (non-casual) gamer market. For professional and productivity apps, however, any non-native solutions wouldn't stand a chance against native solutions; and with market share rapidly expanding in a very attractive demographic of home users and creative pros, developers catering to those markets would be foolish to give it up like that.
I shouldn't have said protected kernel space, as that wording typically refers to memory separation as you refer to. I meant to say that they have locked down their kernel modules, and won't load unauthorized modules into kernel space without their consent. This is unacceptable for a general use personal computer.
For a portable device, bigger is worse. You can't put it in your pocket as easily, or go jogging with it as easily, and it's heavier and more obtrusive. If the screen is the same resolution, then you don't gain much with the extra bit of size, as you're just scaling the pixels up. If it was a stationary device, then I would agree with you that a larger screen is an advantage. For a portable device, however, it is a disadvantage for a majority of potential customers. If it's not as easy to carry around, then people will be less likely to use it. I personally went with the nano, as I don't care about watching video on a little pocket device, and the size and durability makes it perfect for use on the go. I wouldn't even consider purchasing either the Zune or the Video iPod. As soon as you start valuing built-in screen size (beyond a practical minimum), you're getting away from a small portable device, and into a no-man's land of devices that are too large to carry with you, but too small for stationary use. This is the exact same reason UMPCs (like the Origami) and PDAs fail to gain any market traction.
Ever hear of kernel extensions and raw device access? OSX does nothing to prevent you from accessing your hardware. You can use Apple's fancy APIs if you want, but you can dig deeper if you prefer, just as you can in Linux or BSD. Windows Vista is the only one that has a protected kernel space, encrypted memory, and randomized memory locations, keeping the user locked away from their hardware.
Well, they made it as good as they had to, and they're still adding to it. By the way, nothing's preventing anyone from writing their own X server if they feel Apple's is inadequate...
Seriously, that was my first thought. It's the most hideous building I've ever seen. Whoever designed the exterior needs to be crucified. I'm just glad to be living on a different content, with no intention of setting foot anywhere within eyeshot of that appalling monstrosity...
You are correct. Apple wants X11 to remain a special-purpose tool for using UNIX apps in OSX. Obviously, they want to encourage the use of Aqua for anyone targetting the Mac platform, as they should. I would hate for companies to start releasing general-use apps for OSX using X11, as, like you mentioned, they don't play well with regular OSX-native apps. They will never have all the niceties of a native Aqua app, and so Apple is right to force developers to code for Aqua if they want to release a Mac app. X11 is there as an option if you really need to use an X11 app, but it will never be on the same level as Aqua as a vendor-supported deployment option.
True, but I don't see a problem with that. Most of the time, the user wouldn't know the difference (unless it's saving their ass). The alternative to enabling 'cut' for files in the Finder would be to have a drop zone 'shelf'-type thing that appears when you start to drag files. I would suggest on the left side of the screen be default (or right side if you keep your Dock on the left side), and it would just be a translucent light-colored zone where you can drop a file, then navigate to where you want to move it in a Finder window, and drag the file back from the shelf.
You can do a timeout on the cutting function. If the file isn't pasted within 5 minutes, or another file is cut before the first is pasted, then the cut function is cancelled, and the file stays where it first was.
My thoughts as a Mac geek:
15) (No date display): Agreed, there should be an option to display the date along with the time in the menubar.
14) (Widgets on desktop): Coming in Leopard, available through third party software now.
13) (Inconsistent contextual menus): Couldn't figure out what they were complaining about.
12) (Documents in the Dock): Hell no, they shouldn't add open documents to the Dock. It's cluttered enough as it is. Documents are fine in the Dock apps' contextual menu, or accessed by option-tabbing to the app you want, then option-~ to the window in the app, or simply via Exposé.
11) (Managing window size): Here, Apple should have a modifier key that enables this behavior. Like if the user holds down the command key, the border of the window the mouse is over can get a bit thicker, and they could resize from any edge.
10) (Accessing applications): Just make yourself a shortcuts folder in the Dock, with shortcuts to apps and documents you most frequently use. You can also put a folder in the dock with categorized shortcuts to your applications, to help find what you want quickly. Apple shouldn't do this for you; you just need to spend a bit of time customizing your computer to suit your needs.
9) (Backspace or delete): Yes, Mac notebook keyboards suck ass. Apple, figure out a way to add some more needed keys, make the arrow pad bigger and further away from the shift key (I know I'm not the only one to delete lines of text by accidentally hitting shift-up arrow by accident, instead of just the arrow key). The F-keys need some spacing in there as well.
8) (Printer setup screens): Printer setup screens are designed by the Printer manufacturers. Complain to them if you're not happy.
7) (Inconsistent user interface): M'eh, whatever... I'd say fixing the f'ing Finder takes priority...
6) (Laptop screen dimming): Agreed, need a setting somewhere to adjust this behavior.
5) (Grab points for Column resizing): M'ehm whatever... Maybe they could add more grab points with a modifier key... Otherwise, don't clutter the interface.
4) (Automatic resizing of columns): Bad idea. First of all, some names will always be too long. Second, when you browse through different levels of your folder hierarchy, the last thing you want is the columns constantly moving all over the place.
3) (Display bug in column view): That's a bug. Please provide steps to reproduce to Apple so they can fix it...
2) (Cut files in the Finder): This should be added.
1) (Finder refresh): Pretty sure this is usually handled properly. If there are cases where it's not, you should report them to Apple so they can fix it. I've never seen any lag in Finder refreshes since Tiger...
You do know that the iPod is by FAR and away the most popular MP3 player, right? It plays proprietary music (in addition to several standard formats) and has no FM radio receiver... So I'd say those features are not relevant to people's purchase decisions for MP3 players...
The right to time-shift and format-shift for personal use are well-established as part of the fair use exceptions to copyright law. As long as they don't grant this ability, copyright owners have nothing to complain about when their copy protection gets cracked, or people forego the distribution medium.
MS is thinking ahead to the long-term success of this product line. They see the writing on the wall with PlaysForSure, and want to put up some serious competition to the iPod before it's too late. People are obviously more interested in a vertically-integrated media player with good customer experience. Whether Microsoft is physically capable of providing a premium customer experiences is highly doubtful, especially without a premium retail presence. Look for The Microsoft Store to open in major cities soon (NOT!). Going up against the iPod in major retail chains is going to be a huge challenge for MS, especially when you have customers walking in requesting an "iPod", not a "digital music player".
I digress, however. The point is that MS already knows PlaysForSure is dead, and they want to set themselves up to still be in the game in five years... That, and they can maximize revenues by running the whole thing themselves. Too bad for their "partners"...
I'm a longtime Mac user, (since OS 6 came with my Mac ][cx), and I couldn't disagree more. Sure, OS 9 was the bees knees at the time, but when I got my hands on the first public beta of MacOS X, and installed it on my blue Powermac G3, I knew there would be no going back. Once version 10.0 was released, even as rough as it was, I had pretty much stopped using MacOS 9 by that point, and was just looking for new OSX apps to use. By 10.1, I didn't even boot MacOS9 anymore, and going back was painful. MacOS X, with its fully-buffered window manager for snappy window switching, bulletproof system stability, and countless UI improvements (the Dock and Finder Column view being the most prominent), going back to OS 9 was unacceptable. By now, there's just no comparison. It's about time you say goodbye to the classic Mac UI, and embrace this new paradigm. Sure, there could still be work done to improve consistency in the Finder, but it's still 10x more usable than OS9 ever was.
Oh, and Control Strip was the name you were looking for...
Also, when it comes to video editing or music mixing, macs only have an advantage in basic amateur jobs. If you want to do anything serious, you'll want a windows computer
Now THAT was funny. Show me any professional shops using Windows for serious video or audio production, and I'll show you the most miserable, mislead team of designers in the World...
That's an entirely separate issue. The DRM you put on files you sell has nothing to do with the unprotected recordings people are sharing on their own. People will always find ways to get an unprotected recording to download or share if they want no matter how much DRM you put on the files you seed. It's really a losing battle trying to protect the content from someone in its possession, while still allowing them to play it. What's needed is a global licensing database for all protected content and licensees, and watermarking with info referencing this database, and at least there will be a much better infrastructure for enforcement to work under. Then, it's just a matter of finding the bigger distributors, and enforcing compliance with this database.