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The war is going public. For the past few years the iTMS has been the far and away winner of the authorized digital music stores. There are several reasons for this, not least of which is runaway iPod sales. But Apple CEO Steve Jobs has consistently said his store's success is also based on generous use rights and the simple dollar-a-track price point. Now that the iTMS has established itself as a legitimate music purchasing outlet, a few labels are a little disgruntled. In the midst of renegotiating with the record companies, Jobs last week made the rift more public, stating that the music industry is getting greedy if they want to raise prices.
This didn't sit well with Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman who last Thursday shot back at Jobs, stating that no content industry has uniform pricing. As if he's a bastion of artist representation, he stated that such pricing schemes are unfair to artists and consumers. The dishonesty of his position is pretty clear: even if back catalog songs floated to less than a dollar, hiking prices on popular songs would really be a boon to the copyright holder (the record labels) but only would minimally impact the creator (the artist). Consumers, obviously, would also be left with higher prices on the songs they want most.
Even more incredible was Bronfman's statement about revenue streams. While the music industry has a right to seek more ways to monetize their intellectual property, do they genuinely believe they deserve a piece of the hardware market? Bronfman, dizzy from his sense of entitlement, says:
We are selling our songs through iPod, but we don't have a share of iPod's revenue. We want to share in those revenue streams. We have to get out of the mindset that our content has promotional value only. We have to keep thinking how we are going to monetize our product for our shareholders. We are the arms supplier in the device wars between Samsung, Sony, Apple, and others.
With that kind of logic, the music industry could ask for kickbacks from Ford or Bose or any other company that includes a product to reproduce music. And if the music industry is entitled, why not software companies? In that case Microsoft certainly deserves a kickback from any company that builds an application on top of Windows.
I'm sorry Mr. Bronfman, but music is not a highway. You can't just erect toll plazas because your product is used in ways that don't directly benefit your bottom line. Instead of trying to nickel and dime every last piece of potential revenue, you should focus on your business: publishing music.
I'm a big fan of my .mac account. Yeah, I know, it's a lot of money to pay for a vanity email address when you can get them for free all over the web. And I also realize the free ones frequently come with larger storage space. Yeah, I've got my gig-sized Yahoo and Gmail accounts but something skeeves me about the latter scanning my messages to target their ads to me.
But despite the "free" stuff, there are limitations that don't work well for me. I want to be able to use a desktop email client because searching, opening multiple messages (and composing multiples as well), and overall presentation don't cut it on web-only mail. And while Gmail gives you POP access for free (Yahoo only provides it for Plus customers), neither service has IMAP. That's a key for me since I have at least 3 places where I check my email regularly. I'll pony up the $100 per year so I can get to my mail using Mac mail or Outlook.
But my big problem with .Mac was storage... It's good to clear our mailbox out, saving those attachments out to your computer for instance. However it defeats the purpose of IMAP and limits the effectiveness of Spotlight (since I have 2 macs with different data sets on each). But thankfully I got the following email from Apple last week:
Dear .Mac Member,
.Mac membership now comes with 1 GB of combined .Mac Mail and iDisk storage and monthly data transfer limits have been increased to 10 GB. We have already updated your account. You can use your Account Settings to take advantage of .Mac's storage flexibility and reallocate storage to best fit the way you use the service.
In addition, .Mac is now available in French and German as well as in English and Japanese. You'll also find that .Mac now includes new Backup 3 software and the ability to create .Mac Groups.
We value your membership and hope you enjoy these enhancements to your .Mac service.
Way to increase value, Apple. Kudos for helping make me a more effective emailer...
So there's been a lot of chatter this year about internal Microsoft problems. Several high profile employees have left the organization, some to arch-rival Google, and there have been comments all around about low morale over in Redmond. Well it looks like Microsoft is listening and announced that they will be reorganizing the company. Three divisions have been created with their own presidents: the platform group, the business group, and the entertainment group.
I have to say I'm impressed. As a long time Microsoft customer, I've been frustrated with the integration issues Microsoft has faced for key products like SQL Server, causing big delays and missed product launches. With more autonomy, hopefully each unit will be able to execute more effectively and bring promised features to their products on time.
My cynical side is telling me, "Oh great, big bloated company is trying to appear more nimble." Time will tell whether this is a legitimate change that brings better execution or masks the problems a little better...
My big question: where does Microsoft Office fit? Nothing in the press release or over at Scobelizer mentions it specifically even though it commands quite a large share of the revenue pie...
It's funny how Mac (and now iPod) users get the word "zealot" attached to their name the moment they express their appreciation for Apple products. These detractors seem to feel that computers only provide the most basic utilitarian purposes, with no flair or thoughtful design necessary. They think all you need for a good computer is a bunch of top end components tossed in a beige or the newbeige (you know, black) box. "My machine cost a third of your crApple and runs faster too, man."
But computers have crossed over into mainstream long ago. These aren't microwaves or refrigerators; computers are lifestyle items that deserve vanity status and Apple has become successful because they positioned their hardware as such. Do you think car manufacturers just toss together components and put them into a shell for driving you to the grocery store? No, they design them with flair, have big events to show off their latest model, host conventions to get feedback on prototypes... Computers aren't any different and the joy of getting a new piece of equipment matters.
I was amused by this Wired article entitled "Meet the Apple Pack Rats" discussing the phenomenon of Apple customers keeping all the packaging that their equipment and software came in (not to mention photographing them as art pieces). I've noticed this for years, from my brother-in-law holding onto his iBook box until he moved overseas to other Mac fans who quietly store the boxes in a closet or under a desk. It's not just a container that protects the product from damage and enables shipping, but a piece of design work. Yes, it's just a bunch of cardboard or Styrofoam but a team of people created it with the specific intent to immerse you into Apple's world.
From the moment I started my trek home from work with my first "trend Mac", an iBook G3, I noticed I was fast becoming a part of this world. I say "trend Mac" to describe anything after the original iMac and "Yosemite" Powermac debuts, where form became an integral part of the Mac design process. (My Powermac 7100 was as stodgy as anyone else's box back in the day.) But oh all the stares I got on the subway with my iBook in my hands. Furtive glances, knowing nods, and outright stares... It heightened the anticipation of tearing into it and starting it up.
Funny, though, because when I got home I started obsessing about the little touches Apple put in. Opening the box was a revelation; Apple tantalizes you with the components right on top, like the color matched phone cord or the power brick's wonderful cord management feature. It's as if Apple designers went to a strip club and watched a sultry dancer slowly, tantalizingly removing an article of clothing at a time. By the time you pull the actual notebook out, you are simply hooked.
That experience made me hold onto the box. I had to explain to my wife that it's normal, that even her brother kept his box despite his almost transient lifestyle. And that she had 40 odd pairs of shoes which I rarely mention in complaint. I think a part of me enjoys the fact that Apple cared enough to make the unveiling of their equipment important. It's almost fetishistic, but it's not all that extreme; the love affairs men express for their cars or motorcycles can make an Apple user seem indifferent to their prized PowerBook or Mighty Mouse.
I've since bought other Apple equipment and software. A scroll-wheel iPod, iLife '04 and '05, Mac OS X Panther and Tiger, iMac G5, and most recently my own Mighty Mouse. I have all the boxes, not necessarily organized, but never discarded. Including one my wife won't throw away: her iPod's box. Why? Because now she's been immersed too. Her iPod is lovingly named "totoro" (complete with engraving), after the wonderful movie made by Studio Ghibli. And once you're hooked, the box is part of the experience...
Pedophiles deserve no regard. Their actions endanger children and those abused kids can grow up scarred for their entire lives. Few things in this world are as damaging to humans as pedophilia. They deserve our derision, our disgust, and our jail cells. Our laws should be used to their fullest extent to ferret out child predators so that they may not harm innocent lives.
But the phrase "fullest extent" means we still have to follow the rule of law. And the US rule of law requires some specifics, including obtaining warrants and limiting search and seizure. This system wasn't created as a haven for pedophiles; it was created to protect the People's interests. The Fourth Amendment guarantees us specific freedoms and an expectation that our embarrassing foibles don't become the interest of our government, even if those behaviors happen to be unlawful.
And while I have nothing but contempt for pedophiles, I find myself supporting an accused one. Out in Washington the case of State vs Westbrook is being litigated. The case involves the government being tipped by a computer technician working on the defendant's computer; the tech's company contacted the police after discovering child pornography. The police viewed the material and then sought a warrant to seize the computer.
And while the child porn is sickening to read about, the bigger issue is this: do you give up your right to privacy the moment that hand your personal equipment to a service technician? The EFF believes that you retain that right and has written an amicus brief in this case. I fully support their contention as our personal computers reflect us in very profound and meaningful ways. Much more so than library records, credit card statements, and even medical records. Email, IM, websurfing habits, and online purchasing can provide a rather complete picture of the kind of person you are.
Privacy rights are codified in US law and are an important part of having a free society. Just as the police can't conduct a full search of your house without reason, it's imperative that technicians honor your private property. Do you really want a tech rifling through your personal files just because you couldn't fix your own computer? Are techs supposed to be extensions of the police or FBI, minus the legal restrictions that limit those authorities' power?
Regardless of the pedophile subject in this case, a chilling effect will be seen if this sort of activity is permitted. But for any of you that are as cynical as me, that just means you should encrypt, encrypt, encrypt. In fact, do it now, because you won't be able to do much about it by the time your equipment breaks. Hopefully the courts will reaffirm this principle but thankfully computers come with locks that are stronger than the ones protecting your house or car...
