Bill Gates on Microsoft's iPod Competitors

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

SeattlePI.com reports (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/259114_msftgates10ww.html) on Bill Gates' question and answer session with high school students in the Seattle area on Friday.

One student asked Bill Gates if Microsoft was going develop an MP3 player to compete against the iPod.

Gates admitted that Apple had done a "fantastic job" with the iPod, and that Microsoft had been working with their partners on how they can can make less expensive devices with better connectivity and photo/video support. Gates also said:

"I don't think what's out in the market today is the final answer. But again, it just shows the magic of software. Apple did a very good job on iTunes, did the user-interface design right. That means we'll have to match all that good work and do something even better."

Gates promised that we can expect "some pretty hot products coming out over the next couple of years." The article points out that Apple's end-to-end user experience control is an advantage over Microsoft which relies on 3rd party PC manufacturers and MP3 manufacturers.

Steve Jobs had previously commented (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2006/01/20060116133359.shtml) on the lack of a iPod killer products and felt that "Microsoft is going to have to get into the hardware business of marking MP3 players."

[iSee]

Oh Steve is shaking in his boots...:rolleyes:

[ScottB]

They can just try, nothing microsoft can make will compete in build quality to just about anything. Unless they offer compete intergration with windows media player that is, that will hurt iPod sales. All they'll have to do is make a one time popup in WMP and they'll get a few million sales.

[mcarnes]

Correction:

"That means we'll have to copy all that good work..."

[e-clipse]

By the time Microsoft gets their copycat iPods out on the market, Apple will already have something more innovative and user friendly.

[Yvan256]

Is there really people out there who use anything else than iTunes, even on Windows? :confused:

[ScottB]

It'll have stop, reset and off buttons on it.

[Chaszmyr]

Is there really people out there who use anything else than iTunes, even on Windows? :confused:

Sadly, there are.


What some of Apple's competitors don't seem to realize, is that they're in a race against the clock. The longer Apple continues selling songs via iTMS, the more they cement their position as the market leader.

[Verto]

They can just try, nothing microsoft can make will compete in build quality to just about anything.

They don't need to compete in build quality, just look at their OS market share vs. Apple's.

I think Creative stands the best chance of competing with the iPod, backed by some funding by Microsoft, or integration with the ROW music stores.

[alywa]

Well, that is actually a pretty good response to the question that was posed before him. In the past, CEOs had been quick to say the iPod was a fluke, that they will lose their lead soon, etc.

Bill, for all of the bashing we like to do here, isn't a dumb guy. He knows that they've been beaten in this arena thus far, but he's right that the game isn't over yet.

The rest of the industry could very easily make a huge dent in iPod sales with a unified front. The subscription model isn't working thus far, but I think it could take off once subscription movies are available.

-alywa

[DTphonehome]

Way to reassure your shareholders, Bill. "Hot new products" in the "next few years"? Wonderful! Can't wait for Xmas 2010!

[Stridder44]

Is there really people out there who use anything else than iTunes, even on Windows? :confused:

There are retards who hate iTunes/iPod. I always ask them why and they just continue their rant....


/doesn't get it either

[Abstract]

Bill, for all of the bashing we like to do here, isn't a dumb guy. He knows that they've been beaten in this arena thus far, but he's right that the game isn't over yet.


I was gonna say the same thing if I didn't see your post.

How else did you expect him to answer that question? He said what he had to say, which is also completely true. He's probably working on an iPod Video competitor right now, which is both doable and smart, since the video market isn't a lost cause for Microsoft yet.

And anyone who keeps saying that nothing can compete with iTMS + iPod, you're sadly mistaken. Like the large majority of consumers, nobody gives a rats ass about iTMS. iTMS is the market leader in online music sales, but they're the leaders in a miniscule market. I bought my iPod to put my legal and illegal mp3s on it, like most people, and if videos become the next big thing, lots of weird video clips from the internet, along with some movies from various sources, will end up on that thing.

iTMS is just a blade of grass in a massive field. Really.

[zap2]

I think Creative stands the best chance of competing with the iPod, backed by some funding by Microsoft, or integration with the ROW music stores.

Creative almost did not make any money last time the went public with the earnings, the also reason teh did is becuz someone gave the 10Million. Apple went through with with Mac OS, and MS help them out, but i don't Apple will be help creative!

The Mp3 was is different then the OS war is, the OS war is old, and people already Windows. The Mp3 war is new, and MS does not have an bonus other then lots of Cash but they would probley end up losing Money(like the xBox!)

[d.perel]

Way to reassure your shareholders, Bill. "Hot new products" in the "next few years"? Wonderful! Can't wait for Xmas 2010!
Yeah, those comments sounded like the vague, upbeat marketing tongue that all execs are forced to use these days

[dornoforpyros]

Surprisingly enough I'd say this is more of a complement to apple than a battle cry.

I mean he doesn't point out any flaws, he compliments apple, and then outlines some point of what M$ would need to meet in order to take on the iPod.

This was rather level headed over all

[inkswamp]

It's telling that he gave a BS, corporate-speak answer to a kid. That might work in a boardroom, but a kid wants to hear yes or no. You might suspect that he actually has no idea what they're really doing and that MS has no solid plan or strategy to take on Apple. :D

[jrk07]

That actually makes me think that Bill Gates may be a cooler guy than I thought, he actually has respect for competitor's creations.

That said, I doubt Micorsoft can come out with anything that will compete with Apple's elite iTunes and iPod combo anytime within the next year or so. Maybe realistically around mid-2007, but as another poster already said, the iPod will have morphed into something way different (and hopefully even better) by then.

[aegisdesign]

There are retards who hate iTunes/iPod. I always ask them why and they just continue their rant....


/doesn't get it either


Well, on Windows it does stick out like a sore thumb, takes up a load of RAM and is pretty CPU intensive compared to some of the other players like foobar or QCD. Of course, it does a lot more than the other players, like intelligently sync your library instead of having to use the windows explorer and drop files on a disk, but that doesn't seem to bother Windows people. And for whatever reason some of them seem to like WMA too. As I said in another thread, they're used to things being awkward, difficult or longwinded rather than just working.

Apple does need to work on making it consume less resources though just as they need to fix the interface on OSX so it's not some hacked OS9 throwback. Roll on iTunes 7. :)

[drblank]

Here is the fundamental problem. Microsoft has continually copied Apple's ideas.

If I were Microsoft, i would pay attention to developing Mac OS X applications and quit trying to copy something that is already captured the marketplace. Microsoft has NEVER made any hardware that was any good. Hence the not-so-popular XBOX. It has a LONG way to go before it catches up to the others.

Since Microsoft has YET to make an Operating System that is plagued by viruses, worms, trojan horses, if I were Microsoft, I would go into another direction.

Heck, Microsoft Office for the PC is 2003 and for the Mac is 2004. What the heck is wrong here? They are resting on their laurels and .Net didn't work, Net Meeting isn't catching on and they are just wasting the money they extract out of corporations for their Monopolistic crap.

Vista is going to be so far behind OS X, they should just start making bug free OS X applicaitions. They would be a much better company is they did. Then we call all rejoice in their failed attempt to bring out a good OS without forcing people to buy their crap.

Microsoft is going down hill fast and Bill Gates is getting VERY worried. Heck, Windows Media Center is also a joke. Just remember it didn't work when he tried to demo it at CES 2005.

Mr. Bill is a wanna-bee than can't be. Apple should come out with a promotion calling it "THE REAL THING". Coca Cola should give them the rights to use that slogan. :-)

[EricNau]

The only way Microsoft can make something better than Apple is...

...nevermind, they can't. :p

[thewhitehart]

I would like to see a non-proprietary format for files that work across all players. That's too much to hope for, though. I've been burning a lot of my CDs onto iTunes lately, and only now noticed that the tracks are formatted into AAC instead of regular old MP3. My only problem is that I like to make compilation CDs and some of the car stereos only support .wma. Now I'm not sure if burning all my CDs to iTunes is that important, although I do plan on streaming music through an express to my stereo.

I get a kick out of seeing the little "Works for Sure" icon next to the microsoft supported MP3 players in the Best Buy flyer. Works for sure my ***. :D

[VicMacs]

not going anywhere for a while...

grab a snickers bill...

[cycocelica]

Well, that is actually a pretty good response to the question that was posed before him. In the past, CEOs had been quick to say the iPod was a fluke, that they will lose their lead soon, etc.

Bill, for all of the bashing we like to do here, isn't a dumb guy. He knows that they've been beaten in this arena thus far, but he's right that the game isn't over yet.

The rest of the industry could very easily make a huge dent in iPod sales with a unified front. The subscription model isn't working thus far, but I think it could take off once subscription movies are available.

-alywa

I totally agree with what you said. The hand-held video devices is new and there is still time to make something that could compete with the iPod video.

[thejadedmonkey]

This is old news that doesn't relate to mac rumors at all.

but besides the obvious..
I would welcome a MS mp3 player. it would not only force MS to start developing media player for OS X again, but it would bring some competition to apple.

The iPod really is starting to lose it's gusto, and there are some things I sorley miss from my XP days that iTunes doesn't do...

[drblank]

Apple

[drblank]

Oops.

[iQuit]

It's only a matter of time before Apple loses there creativity and originality. Then they won't be any different from Microsoft. It is the sad sad truth.

[drblank]

Oops. Apple has always more iPod stuff in the works. Just wait and see. Apple doesn't rest on its laurels.

MP3 is old technology and why Mr. Bill wants to do MP3 players is completely brain dead, just like people that buy MP3 players instead of iPods. :-)

Actually, Mr. Bill should get in the business of giving his money away to people that would actually put it to good use.

Close Shop Mr. Bill, you're done. Put a fork in him. :-)

[DTphonehome]

Actually, Mr. Bill should get in the business of giving his money away to people that would actually put it to good use.


Say what you will about microsoft, but Bill Gates is a hell of a philanthropist. The guy IS giving away boatloads of money to very deserving causes.

[maya]

MP3 is old technology and why Mr. Bill wants to do MP3 players is completely brain dead, just like people that buy MP3 players instead of iPods. :-)



MP3 or MP3 player(s) is just a term used to mention digital music and digital music player(s). It's a quick and easy way to get the message without confusion. ;) :)

[kerpow]

Forget about Microsoft, they will never make an mp3 player of their own. The real competition will be Sony. They make the best phones right now. If I could get a phone that stored >30gb of music and pictures (not really interested in video, I have a laptop) I'd doubt I'd ever use an iPod again. Why carries 2 devices in your pocket when one can suffice? If Apple make that phone so much the better.

I currently carry a Blackberry, a Sony K750i phone, an iPod and sometimes even my Nintendo DS. Whilst I like them all it does seem ridiculous that I have to carry so many devices around with me when it should be so simple to have one that covers all that functionality.

[kev0476]

This is why the mac policy of keeping everything secret works well. Now apple will just have to ask itself, what do we have to do to bet this product before it comes out. Then when Microsoft comes out with their device apple will already have a better product out because apple is fast when it comes to developing things.

[shadowmoses]

Its not only iTunes and the iPod that Microsoft have to fight against if they are to release a new MP3 player, they will need to make it really damn cool, like the iPod is.....The iPod is a status symbol now, it is considered cool and trendy with youth, classy and stylish by other's...Its design is faultless it appeals to everyone....

If Microsoft is to follow suit they will neeed to make one hell of an MP3 player with a great windows app that is a hell of alot better than WMP is for music,

Shadow

[kugino]

This is old news that doesn't relate to mac rumors at all.

but besides the obvious..
I would welcome a MS mp3 player. it would not only force MS to start developing media player for OS X again, but it would bring some competition to apple.

The iPod really is starting to lose it's gusto, and there are some things I sorley miss from my XP days that iTunes doesn't do...
you really want media player? it's possibly the worst mac app ever...and this was when microsoft was actively developing it. glad they laid it to rest. flip4mac is so much better.

why are you comparing a whole operating system to itunes? of course there are things that itunes can't do that XP does...if you sorely miss XP and media player, go back to windows. :rolleyes:

[jbernie]

Just like everything else in this consumer market, iPod is the latest greatest best thing and nothing will ever touch it....until suddenly the next latest greatest thing comes along and the iPod looks so yesterday and everyone rushes out to buy the next thing.

Granted Apple has a very good position as it controls the hardware and the software, and has it integrated quite well. All MS or anyone else needs is a convertor to port the iPod songs over to the next device and then a large portion of the current iPod users wouldn't care, they just want to move their songs over easy. That, and some deep pockets and patience!

Although, if you ignore history you set yourself up for failure. IBM controlled the PC market, over time the clones came along and then just over 20 years later IBM sold its PC division as it wasn't a core asset/wasnt making enough $$/wasn't worth the effort or whatever. Right now I don't see this happening to Apple with iPod/iTunes, but being the first big player doesn't necessarily guarantee much these days.

If player A has x features with their device, and player B has x features PLUS killer feature Y, and customers view feature Y as the must have feature, they will change. Sell feature Y right and you shall succeed.

[Andrew7724]

I would like to see them try...

[fadetoblack86]

bring on the iTMS 7 with dvd ripping!!!

EDIT: Excuse me... i mean "importing" ;)

[steve_hill4]

That actually makes me think that Bill Gates may be a cooler guy than I thought, he actually has respect for competitor's creations.

That said, I doubt Micorsoft can come out with anything that will compete with Apple's elite iTunes and iPod combo anytime within the next year or so. Maybe realistically around mid-2007, but as another poster already said, the iPod will have morphed into something way different (and hopefully even better) by then.
iTunes works so well because it was solely designed for music and is now adding more and more in the way of features. They nearly perfected one and then moved onto the others.

WMP has always been an all singing, all dancing media player and so people I speak to hold it in greater regard than iTunes. When I ask them how easy it is to use comapred to iTunes though, they are stuffed. I'm not saying Apple's offering is perfect by any means, but it's much better organised and cleaner than anything else out there. iPod integration is also a breeze and pain free, unlike other media players and media devices.

I would love to see a Microsoft branded mp3 player on the market, because I think it will show them up big time. Someone I work with is by far the biggest MS fanboy around. He eventually for some reason bit the bullet and bought a 5G iPod, now he rates nothign else. Previously he berated any offering by Apple, slagging off the iBook he owned for a short time, now he mainly restricts his rants to Macs and not all Apple products.

The same can be said for lots who want to be different and buy a Sony or Creative attempt. When they buy one, they are often disappointed with it's UI, have problems, or both. They switch to an iPod and never look back. If they speak to me first, they often don't even get as far as buying the other brand.

Microsoft have a lot to go against.

[eric_n_dfw]

Creative almost did not make any money last time the went public with the earnings, the also reason teh did is becuz someone gave the 10Million. Apple went through with with Mac OS, and MS help them out, but i don't Apple will be help creative!

The Mp3 was is different then the OS war is, the OS war is old, and people already Windows. The Mp3 war is new, and MS does not have an bonus other then lots of Cash but they would probley end up losing Money(like the xBox!)
Are you trying to say that Apple developed the original Mac OS in 1984 and MS helped them out (which is probably true, since Excel and Word were on Mac first) or that MS helped with OS X?

Then, why would Apple help Creative - the guy/gal you quoted was saying that MS might help them - which would make sense. Apple is their competition, MS is their partner.

[Mainyehc]

If player A has x features with their device, and player B has x features PLUS killer feature Y, and customers view feature Y as the must have feature, they will change. Sell feature Y right and you shall succeed.

No they won't, because Apple's "killer feature Y" is the combination of great software and gorgeous, functional hardware... History tells us, up until now, people didn't realise that computers and consumer electronics should be designed like cars, appliances or furniture: with a sense of style, attention for detail, and with ease of use in mind throghout the design process!

Up until now... I think the huge success of the iPod is the turning point here, people. The halo effect IS taking place, as we speak, and it will be broader than you may think. Anyway, perhaps there will be another subsequent "iPod halo effect", as in Apple's competitors LEARNING something from the iPod's success, but SO FAR, we haven't seen that happening. There are great players out there already, but the software/hardware combo hasn't been achieved, not even by those SONY dumb*sses...

My point is: I think people *may* be opening their eyes to good quality design, just as here in Europe everyone is buying IKEA wares, just like they bought Mini Coopers and VW Beetles by the millions before... You can hardly call those items "fads", and they surely changed the history of design on those industries. Now, both the iPod + iTunes/Mac + Mac OS X combos will revolutionize the history of consumer electronics and IT, mark my words (Yeah, I feel a lot like the "Nostradamus of IT", since I've spent the last two years telling people to wait until approximately... er, MWSF '06, before making the switch - not exactly a great service for Apple, oh well - and telling other people they would eventually *want* to make the switch/buy iPods/whatever, whether they believed me or not, and it seems I nailed it!).

[eric_n_dfw]

Say what you will about microsoft, but Bill Gates is a hell of a philanthropist. The guy IS giving away boatloads of money to very deserving causes.
While I commend the Gates' and their philanthropy, I hasten to say he is any more charitable than many other people who give anonymously/quietly.

It is cool that he has created that much wealth to direct to charity though.

[ifjake]

I think the only way Microsoft would have any possible advantage at all over Apple would be how this device integrates with their DVR capabilities of Windows Media Center. WMC is going to support the next generation of CableCards once Vista is released. If this means you can record your own television shows off of cable you already payed for and be able to put them on your player, instead of having to buy it again at some crappy resolution and wait while it downloads according to Apple's current plan, then this Microsoft player would actually have something going for it.

I think where Microsoft will inevitably fail is when they make this device a gaming device as well. Devices that can do everything usually fail at doing any one thing remarkably well. That's why the iPod has been successful as it has, because it is a freaking good product that does what it does extremely well. This is also why they've really taken their time at making a true portable video player, adding video capabilities to the current generation of iPods really just to build their TV store and tide the complaining masses that have to have the ability to do video. The current iPod is still primarily an audio player. It just so happens to do a little video as well. I'll be curious to see what Apple comes up with their "Gesture" patents, and the possibility of adding DVR to FrontRow.

[techster82]

Oops. Apple has always more iPod stuff in the works. Just wait and see. Apple doesn't rest on its laurels.

MP3 is old technology and why Mr. Bill wants to do MP3 players is completely brain dead, just like people that buy MP3 players instead of iPods. :-)

Actually, Mr. Bill should get in the business of giving his money away to people that would actually put it to good use.

Close Shop Mr. Bill, you're done. Put a fork in him. :-)


I have read this entire thread and must say that drblank's post are some of the stupidest comments I have read lately on this site. Do you actually think before you try to formulate an opinion or just start rambling? You called the Microsoft XBOX a failure, thats hillarious. I guess you will say the same thing about the 360 as well, or Windows for that matter. How wrong could you be?

I am a new user of Apple, and like everything about them but the mentality of other users. (not all, just what I hope is a minority) I have learned that people like to criticize what they don't understand. I believe that every Apple user that attacks Microsoft is a hippocrit because they get mad when a PC user does the same thing. My Windows computer has a place, as well as my Apple. I understand what each machine does better, and appreciate them for that.

Bill Gates is as intelligent and business minded as Steve Jobs, and maybe even better at what he does, but we could debate that all day. If Microsoft wanted to target Apple and take them head on in Ipod sales, simply put, they could. They have the capital and resources to do whatever they want. But I don't believe that is their intention. I believe that Apple has to have the ipod to survive. I don't know the figures, but according to Steve's Macworld speach it is a vital thing for Apple to have. At this point, Apple isn't a big enough threat to Microsoft for them to act decisively. Once they feel they should, they will. Microsoft has it's hand in so many things that give it the ability to control what they want. Do some of their past offerings suck? You bet. But the amount of good products outweigh the bad. The same could be said for Apple, and moves that they have made. People just need to wise up and realize what both companies are capable of.

[kugino]

It's only a matter of time before Apple loses there creativity and originality. Then they won't be any different from Microsoft. It is the sad sad truth.
how is this "truth?" :rolleyes:

p.s. it's "their" creativity

[requies]

I would like to see a non-proprietary format for files that work across all players. That's too much to hope for, though. I've been burning a lot of my CDs onto iTunes lately, and only now noticed that the tracks are formatted into AAC instead of regular old MP3. My only problem is that I like to make compilation CDs and some of the car stereos only support .wma. Now I'm not sure if burning all my CDs to iTunes is that important, although I do plan on streaming music through an express to my stereo.

I get a kick out of seeing the little "Works for Sure" icon next to the microsoft supported MP3 players in the Best Buy flyer. Works for sure my ***. :D

hiya. "ripping" into itunes is the correct terminology, just FYI. it's "burning" when you write files to a CD. you can choose which encoder to use in the preferences. it is a little sneaky that it's set to aac by default, but aac is a newer and better codec than mp3. it's always been my opinion that mp3 cds are only slightly less kludgy than carrying a bunch of regular cds around with you. i think an aux input to your car stereo (so you can hook up an ipod [or other mp3 player, if one chooses]) is a better solution.

i think ripping all (or even most) of your cds into itunes is ultimately worth the effort. i used to have my favorite classical cds in one of those big 200 disc cd changers. it took me forever to get them all into itunes (getting all the tags the way i wanted them was a pain), but it's so much better. i can easily search them and group them and there's no CD switching delay between tracks when randomized. :) (and they're all on my ipod, too)

it would be nice to have a single standard, but since that's not going to happen i think you're in the right camp by using itunes. it's a huge market that 3rd parties can't ignore. apple's standards aren't going away anytime soon.

-k

[DTphonehome]

Bill Gates is as intelligent and business minded as Steve Jobs, and maybe even better at what he does, but we could debate that all day. If Microsoft wanted to target Apple and take them head on in Ipod sales, simply put, they could. They have the capital and resources to do whatever they want. But I don't believe that is their intention. I believe that Apple has to have the ipod to survive. I don't know the figures, but according to Steve's Macworld speach it is a vital thing for Apple to have. At this point, Apple isn't a big enough threat to Microsoft for them to act decisively. Once they feel they should, they will. Microsoft has it's hand in so many things that give it the ability to control what they want. Do some of their past offerings suck? You bet. But the amount of good products outweigh the bad. The same could be said for Apple, and moves that they have made. People just need to wise up and realize what both companies are capable of.

I agree with most of your post, but not that last part. MS has definitely tried to take on Apple in the MP3 market. Not by building hardware, but by partnering with companies who take care of the hardware, while MS sticks to software and DRM. That obviously hasn't worked, as the tight integration between hardware and software is one of the major things that makes the iPod such a success, and is why Apple products in general are so easy to use and elegant. Apple doesn't have to make sure that OS X works with every possible permutation of hardware that can make up a PC.

The reason MS hasn't been able to beat Apple in the MP3 game is not for want of trying...it's just that brute force wasn't able to accomplish what it was in the desktop market. MS doesn't have to come up with a beautiful product, it just has to come up with one that works OK, and blanket the world with it. They have been formally accused of shady behavior (by the US and EU justice depts) to get their products into every PC they can. Does IE work better than Netscape Navigator? Not really, but every PC has IE on it, and you have to actually go out and get NNav, so people take the path of least resistance and IE becomes, by far, the browser leader.

Creative and Napster have both said that the reason the iPod dominates was because of marketing, and they both retaliated with masive ad campaigns, and have both failed. MS realizes that the success of the iPod is not something you can easily replicate, and they won't try to force dominance of the market.

If they want to compete, yeah, they have to come out with some "hot new products" that replicate the iPod experience. Realistically, though, even if they made a carbon copy of the iPod, it wouldn't work. The iPod has become far more than just a great MP3 player...it's a cultural icon that can't be taken down by force. They have to wait for the iPod's star to fade, and then intro something better and cooler. Not easy.

[jono_3]

I would like to see a non-proprietary format for files that work across all players. That's too much to hope for, though. I've been burning a lot of my CDs onto iTunes lately, and only now noticed that the tracks are formatted into AAC instead of regular old MP3. My only problem is that I like to make compilation CDs and some of the car stereos only support .wma. Now I'm not sure if burning all my CDs to iTunes is that important, although I do plan on streaming music through an express to my stereo.

I get a kick out of seeing the little "Works for Sure" icon next to the microsoft supported MP3 players in the Best Buy flyer. Works for sure my ***. :D

you know you can import/exoprt in itunes to whatever format you want right? there proly even codecs for wmv:eek:

[amateurmacfreak]

Is there really people out there who use anything else than iTunes, even on Windows? :confused:
Yeah. My teenage friend who has a father who is completely freaking crazy. :(
He won't let her download iTunes or Firefox ("full of bugs," the idiot says).
About iTunes: "It won't work right with our computers." (which are, of course Windows)
Well, duh it will, b/c the Windows version is used by millions and it's proven to be the best and most liked software for music out there for Windows.
Also, his stupid comments on AAC: "It's not right for our computer. It's like trying to have a Chinese person speaking French."
Well, if the freaking "person" can speak Chinese and French, why not utilize both?!?!?!!?!?
So for now, she has Music Match and no iPod.
I personally think it is a part of her father's evil plan to keep her miserable b/c she can't have an iPod even though her family is swimming in money. XP:o

[Yvan256]

And anyone who keeps saying that nothing can compete with iTMS + iPod, you're sadly mistaken. Like the large majority of consumers, nobody gives a rats ass about iTMS. iTMS is the market leader in online music sales, but they're the leaders in a miniscule market.

Most people say iTunes+iPod, which is quite different from iTMS+iPod.

I bought an iPod and was using iTunes months before iTMS became available in Canada.

[Marky_Mark]

Sadly, there are.


What some of Apple's competitors don't seem to realize, is that they're in a race against the clock. The longer Apple continues selling songs via iTMS, the more they cement their position as the market leader.

Well, you say that, but 20 years ago, Sony's Walkman brand was seemingly just as unassailable. Cassettes were ubiquitous, but technology and media changes still left them behind.

Something better will come along, it always does.

[amateurmacfreak]

This is old news that doesn't relate to mac rumors at all.

but besides the obvious..
I would welcome a MS mp3 player. it would not only force MS to start developing media player for OS X again, but it would bring some competition to apple.

The iPod really is starting to lose it's gusto, and there are some things I sorley miss from my XP days that iTunes doesn't do...
Um... why would they develop Windows Media Player for OS X again? I don't think they care about our little iPod using corner over here. :o I don't think it would come out in the long run to be good for MS to keep on doing it for OS X.

[Eniregnat]

Content suppliers love "good" DRM.
Conjoined software and hardware offers fairly secure DRM.
If you think iTunes sucks for adding hashing to some kinds of rips, wait till you see what MS Vista offers. Big Brother is watching, and all he wants is a credit card and a little honesty.

[amateurmacfreak]

bring on the iTMS 7 with dvd ripping!!!

EDIT: Excuse me... i mean "importing" ;)
Haha, yeah, like that will ever happen. The movie companies would be so pissed. I love my Handbrake. :) And it's so hard to find a good software for that (that rips into MP4) that's free for Windows. Yay. Loooove Handbrake.

[iShane]

I don't think anyone can really beat the iPod seeing as it has almost all the features available. Maybe wireless internet and a digital camera. Besides. The iPod isn't Just a music player. For some people its a fashion statement.

[Timepass]

I don't think anyone can really beat the iPod seeing as it has almost all the features available. Maybe wireless internet and a digital camera. Besides. The iPod isn't Just a music player. For some people its a fashion statement.

at the same time I know people who refuse to buy an apple product.

But that being said Gates is right that it the software side of the iPod that makes it so powerful. It not in the player itself. From playing around with a Zen and iPods neither design is really better than the other. The Shuffle is just a very common flash design that is used by a lot of flash players and is a though back to one of creatives first players. But what makes the iPod so great is iTunes itself.

I have played around with WMP 10 and it holds a lot of promise in it for the most part they do about the same thing, both have smart playlist and autoplay list, rip same formates (minus AAC and WMA), burn and all that stuff. It does some thing just a heck of a lot better than iTunes. The big feature that it does better is its rating system. In iTunes the users has to manually rate all his/her/its songs while in WMP10 the program will automaticly rate the songs for you based on play count, how offen it is played, Do you skip over it, how long it been in the libary (so not to give old songs an advatage), This along wiht the manual rating which overrides all the auto settings on the songs. The Auto rating can go up and down. The thing big thing that keeps me using iTunes is the dynimic searching it can do.

As for linking up with an MP3 player from what I have seen WMP holds a ton of promise there. It has many of the same controls one does in iTunes. It does not have the lock out of any song on the player can not be pulled back to the computer (easy to get around on the iPod but that not the point). It has the auto syncing iTunes has and the updating iTunes. It does not have the lock down to only one computer. Also WMP will auto convert file types to what the differnt players can use. Also it will allow the user to deside if it wants to let the computer deside the best quility for the player and it will auto convert to that, or one can give it a setting and it will handle the convetering of the file type. I remember this being something people wanted to add to iTunes. People can choose to take the lossless set up on there computer and have like 128bit mp3s for the iPod. Be something nice to add for iTunes. I know I would like it since it would allow me to get a lot more music on my iPod.

Some it all up WMP set up shows a lot of promise and I really wondering what WMP 11 will bring to the table. The improvement bettween 9 and 10 was huge and good. WMP 9 had a lot of things that held a lot of promise and then 10 completed that and brought a few more things that hold a lot of promise in them. And from what I been reading the jump to 11 will be really good and complete those things. The store looks intersting. M$ itself is not making a music store but instead it will allow you to browse several music stores from in WMP. And before people call fowl on that, it may be the only way to compete agaist the Gaint known as the iTMS. Some ideas are copies from iTunes and it bring in a lot more ideas that just look really nice and many of them I wish iTunes would add in.

As a whole right now I like iTunes/iPod set up a lot more but what M$ is doing does look really promising and does look like it will turn out pretty well. Also with apple going over to intel they may port over WMP 10. Mind you most mac users will not touch it since many people just dont like M$ and dont want to touch there stuff who are apple users but that does not remove the promise it bring to the table.

[macdong]

I would like to see a non-proprietary format for files that work across all players. That's too much to hope for, though. I've been burning a lot of my CDs onto iTunes lately, and only now noticed that the tracks are formatted into AAC instead of regular old MP3. My only problem is that I like to make compilation CDs and some of the car stereos only support .wma. Now I'm not sure if burning all my CDs to iTunes is that important, although I do plan on streaming music through an express to my stereo.

I get a kick out of seeing the little "Works for Sure" icon next to the microsoft supported MP3 players in the Best Buy flyer. Works for sure my ***. :D

just buy one of those car cassette adapter and make use of your iPod.
that's how i get through everyday with my '93 Camry.

[Porchland]

Way to reassure your shareholders, Bill. "Hot new products" in the "next few years"? Wonderful! Can't wait for Xmas 2010!

Next couple of years? Yeah, I thought the same thing. Apple brought the iPod from cocktail napkin to market in a year and churns out major OS refreshes at twice the speed of Microsoft.

Bill Gates got smoked by Apple on the iPod, and I'm glad to finally see him admitting it so openly.

[(L)]

Creative almost did not make any money last time the went public with the earnings, the also reason teh did is becuz someone gave the 10Million. Apple went through with with Mac OS, and MS help them out, but i don't Apple will be help creative!

The Mp3 was is different then the OS war is, the OS war is old, and people already Windows. The Mp3 war is new, and MS does not have an bonus other then lots of Cash but they would probley end up losing Money(like the xBox!)

OK...I assume you are translating from a native language or something, so don't take this as picking on your grammar, but one phrase I couldn't have said better - "people already Windows." That's the problem in the OS War.

The way I look at it, is that business hasn't got to do with whether or not people have a chance to compete. It's whether or not they're product is good enough to offer competition, if all it does is sell to people happy to buy mediocre products. In that respect, MS may have a chance if they release something with any merit at all. This hype about some vaporware mp3 player doesn't earn them real cash though.

[macdong]

Oops. Apple has always more iPod stuff in the works. Just wait and see. Apple doesn't rest on its laurels.

MP3 is old technology and why Mr. Bill wants to do MP3 players is completely brain dead, just like people that buy MP3 players instead of iPods. :-)

Actually, Mr. Bill should get in the business of giving his money away to people that would actually put it to good use.

Close Shop Mr. Bill, you're done. Put a fork in him. :-)

it's Gates!! Mr. Gates!! Mr. Bill Gates!! Gates i tell ya!!

he finally lost it under the pressure of iPod :D

[Fukui]

What some of Apple's competitors don't seem to realize, is that they're in a race against the clock. The longer Apple continues selling songs via iTMS, the more they cement their position as the market leader.
Especially where there is a billion AAC songs out there. Looks bad for WMA. And its only accelerating.........

[jbernie]

No they won't, because Apple's "killer feature Y" is the combination of great software and gorgeous, functional hardware...

That is todays killer feature.

Just as a way out example, if on Tuesday, Microsoft was to release a video/audio player, that had a 20 hour battery life for video playback and longer for audio only and they somehow found a way to import your current iTunes libraries etc etc, and sold it at say $350 per player (they have money to burn so an initial loss is ok)..it looked cool, it interected seemlessly etc etc etc...

The market will shift by wednesday, iPods are like cell phones, and hey they are cell phones too these days, its a fashion accessory, loaded with all sorts of features and colors etc. Back in the late 80's early 90's cell phones were a business tool only, for posers (stock brokers n yuppies) or execs, they were generally either black of grey, they were big hulking heavy bricks. Style factor of zero. Now they are all about style and having your latest phone seen in the hands of the hottest celebs.

Music players are at the same level, if it was all about function the players would be different. it has always been a PITA reentering phone numbers into new cell phones, but we all do it, although with GSM we have a memory card of sorts that will help.

The killer of the iPods dominance will be something even trendier, and given how people are with needing the latest greatest, an app that can import music.

Right now i don't see the market changing, but hindsight is 20/20, i'm sure all the analysts can pin point the first time the Sony engine missed a beat and their portable electronics division went south some time later.

Of course, Apple could become the portable media player 800lb gorilla equivalent that Microsoft is in the OS market. We just have to wait 20-25 years to see what happens.

[Timepass]

That is todays killer feature.

Just as a way out example, if on Tuesday, Microsoft was to release a video/audio player, that had a 20 hour battery life for video playback and longer for audio only and they somehow found a way to import your current iTunes libraries etc etc, and sold it at say $350 per player (they have money to burn so an initial loss is ok)..it looked cool, it interected seemlessly etc etc etc...


Well imporanting the iTune libary is pretty easy to do. heck really easy to do. Since it can read the files just as easily as itunes. Now the real trick would be media player also importing in iTunes play list. Something I dont think would be that hard to do and it legal to do. It just requiring it to read one of 2 files and sort though that data. I wouldnt be surpised to see something like that happen. Also would not be surpised in the least to see iTune soon being able to read WMP play list and importing them as well. Nice features I wish both sides would put in there players. I do see the M$ solution becoming a very valid competor to iPod/iTunes. Have to give them props because they relezing the only way to break the power of iPod/iTunes it to work with other companies. They handle the hardware that is at the iPod lv or better and they cover the software that is as good as iTunes. This being the like better is all personally preferances.

[NicP]

Is there really people out there who use anything else than iTunes, even on Windows? :confused:

iTunes isnt really that great, i'd be using something else if i had a better option. (waiting for songbird to be avaliable on mac!)

There is no gapless playback (dont tell me to turn crossfade to 0 because that is NOT gapless), pretty average format support (I want FLAC and ogg), the mp3 encoder is crap compared to lame, assigning multiple tags (of the same type) to a file isnt possible, and i'd never buy from iTMS because of the DRM

[Jetson]

just buy one of those car cassette adapter and make use of your iPod.
that's how i get through everyday with my '93 Camry.
I've tried using the cassette adapter for my iPod and have been somewhat dissatisfied with the results.

The iPod has a frequency response of 20-20,000 Hz range which is excellent.

Most auto cassette players have rather poor frequency response and signal to noise ratios. For example some models on the market today perform as poorly as: tape frequency response 50-8,000 Hz, tape signal-to-noise ratio 52 dB. The better tape players have a 30-18,000 Hz frequency response.

The result is that the bass is not as deep and strong as expected and there's not enough headroom for treble so the sound is muddy and not clear.

Also there can be mechanical problems with the tape tracking, so that you might not get the full volume from one channel.

The cassette adapter method does not deliver the kind of performance that your iPod is capable of.

Many new head units have an analog stereo input jack which eliminates this problem altogether, but these jacks are not yet a standard feature.

[sam10685]

there's no way in hell that microsoft will ever make anything that is even remotely comparable to anything Apple makes/will ever make.

[coffey7]

I love my nano ipod, but I am shocked to see my battery only lasting 2 hours. If it lasted longer then I would trash talk other products.
Of course I never have the volume full blast and I've only charged it 5 times. The first few times I used it the battery lasted over 4 hours.

[SiliconAddict]

That means we'll have to match all that good work and do something even better.


I'm confused. How can Microsoft and their OEM's do something better when Apple hasn't come up with something better to copy yet? :confused: Billy Boy has been touting this comment for close to two years now with no result. Short of taking a more active hands on approach for the hardware nothing will change. And as for the software it is well documented that Microsoft doesn't know **** when it comes to interface design. MP10 has some interesting features but that is it. Features.

[Koree]

Competition = Good

[JFreak]

Microsoft has NEVER made any hardware that was any good.

You have to admit their keyboards and mice are pretty good. Actually, their natural keyboard is THE best keyboard ever made, typing-wise. It's just perfect match for one's fingers. And before Apple introduced the mighty mouse, Microsoft's was the best I could think of.

if I were Microsoft, I would go into another direction.

I guarantee that if you were Microsoft, you would gladly continue taking profit from wherever they may come. It's easy to say what to do when you don't have a penny invested...

Vista is going to be so far behind OS X, they should just start making bug free OS X applicaitions. They would be a much better company is they did.

In case you missed that, Microsoft HAS STARTED to make better software. It's just that they have done it wrong so long that it will take some time to make it right. I'm just as frustrated about their products as anyone, but given that Windows 2003 Server is "pretty good" (for microsoft), I might just let them prove themselves to me and not judge work in progress.

Back to topic; did anyone watch olympic snowboarding? Almost everyone had an ipod. What an ad!

[barstard]

Creative almost did not make any money last time the went public with the earnings, the also reason teh did is becuz someone gave the 10Million. Apple went through with with Mac OS, and MS help them out, but i don't Apple will be help creative!

The Mp3 was is different then the OS war is, the OS war is old, and people already Windows. The Mp3 war is new, and MS does not have an bonus other then lots of Cash but they would probley end up losing Money(like the xBox!)

OK then. So you... What?:eek:

Though it is true that the iPod killer is just around the corner, it could quite possibly be Apple who comes up with it. Evolve or lose.

BTW Hi everyone. This is my first post... well, for a long time anyway. I have been reading these rumors for years and love the banter in these forums. Hopefully I'll post a bit more often. And sorry to zap2 for having a go at you, but that post was BARELY comprehensible.:)

[d_and_n5000]

There are retards who hate iTunes/iPod. I always ask them why and they just continue their rant....


/doesn't get it either


Heh. My cousin's like that. My iPod wouldn't work, so I took it to his house to try to install iTunes/iPod software to see if it installs on his computer. We managed to get to an iPod conversation because iTunes was version 4.0 on his computer, too old for the nano, and i mentioned it. He said they never used it because it sucked. I asked him why, I don't remember his reason, it just sucked. Said the same thing about OS X. Creative type stuff was OK, but he tried doing a paper on Word for mac, he hated it. Then he went on and on on how OS X was just Steve's version of Unix, just like XP was Bill's version of Unix....Kinda get's on your nerves. (o'course, what I wanna know is why he allowed his family to buy his mother an iPod for Christmas in 2004, when the software is so horrible;))

[ezekielrage_99]

Microsoft putting another inferior product in the marketplace :rolleyes:

But competing against a product that has a massed critical mass, thats dumb even for Microsoft, I really think this time they have well and truely missed the MP3 ship by a few years.

The ONLY people this potential product will appeal to is the PC loving iPod/iTunes bashing bunch, in other words the usual retards who hate Apple with ABSOLUTELY no viable arguement.

[iGary]

Apple is pretty unstoppable in the portable music market at this point.

Until someone comes up with:

1. A more functional, nicer looking MP3 player lineup with better functionality.
2. A better jukebox.
3. A better store.

They will fail.

I was in the Annapolis Apple Store yesterday (picking up my new iSight :D ), and people were just swarming the iPod counters - and remember, we got a foot of snow here yesterday. The store was packed.

Unbeliveable, really.

[xejn]

<<Gates promised that we can expect "some pretty hot products coming out over the next couple of years.>>

This is MicroSoft's never-ending talking point. Windows users are forever waiting for the "hot procts" or the actually "secure" version that never ever shows up. This gives MS the unbeleivable opportunity to keep trying over and over to get it right, with users who are trained like pavlovian dogs to line up in droves at stores to by the new super solution only to be disappointed yet again.

Why don't user and the media--at the least the tech media--ever learn. I only watch this constant cycle of constantly unrealized promises only when it is put in front of me (makes the mainstream media or ends up in the Mac media), and I am getting sick and tired of seeing it.

BTW--I am also sick of seeing Apple switch to the next great CPU vendor who will bring greatness to the platform and then has "production constraints". It happened with Moto, it happened with IBM, if Apple claims it happens with Intel...I will call bull, and wonder how much of the other instances where a load of bull too. I do not understand how IBM had such a problem with chips for Apple, but no trouble supplying all those chips for Xbox and soon all of the other game box makers (FYI--the Cell chip is going into servers).

[aricher]

Bill Gates' idea of an iPod killer:

http://static.flickr.com/39/99228811_db48fc1d8e_o.jpg

[ScottB]

iTunes isnt really that great, i'd be using something else if i had a better option. (waiting for songbird to be avaliable on mac!)

There is no gapless playback (dont tell me to turn crossfade to 0 because that is NOT gapless), pretty average format support (I want FLAC and ogg), the mp3 encoder is crap compared to lame, assigning multiple tags (of the same type) to a file isnt possible, and i'd never buy from iTMS because of the DRM
That's words out of my mouth, cheers.

[King Elessar]

Correction:

"That means we'll have to copy all that good work..."

Exactly! That's what I was gonna say...

After all these years, he still likes to "port" the Mac OS to a MS platform... now as Vista...

[Gohan]

There are retards who hate iTunes/iPod. I always ask them why and they just continue their rant....


/doesn't get it either

I personally use itunes but also winamp.

There are plenty of reasons to dislike it though.

It’s bloated and takes longer than it should to load.
Its memory footprint is also far larger than it should be.
The music store poping up when you click on a song is annoying.
Ripping is slower than a lot of other media players.
And finally the video support is a complete joke, very limited support and slow as s***

So no I don’t think you need to be a ‘retard’ to dislike itunes.

As for the iPod.

As ever it’s over priced.
Battery life is always poor next to the competition.
Limited format support.
FAR too easily scatched.
Piss poor video support / Playback.

[Timepass]

Apple is pretty unstoppable in the portable music market at this point.

Until someone comes up with:

1. A more functional, nicer looking MP3 player lineup with better functionality.
2. A better jukebox.
3. A better store.

They will fail.

I was in the Annapolis Apple Store yesterday (picking up my new iSight :D ), and people were just swarming the iPod counters - and remember, we got a foot of snow here yesterday. The store was packed.

Unbeliveable, really.


Well I think the store has little to do with iTunes power. It a nice bonus but a very small % of the users pick the iTunes because of the iTMS. It at most a little bonus.

But as others have pointed out iTunes is used very heavily because there is not any thing better. It file support is a good as others but there are stronger ones and have huge advatages in it. That being they can easily be upgraded to play other types by adding in codexs for videos and the same thing for music files. As for incoding music there are better programs out there that do it better and have more choices. iTunes has a very larger memory foot print compared to the others (example WMP running music, or movie using the same libary is about 15megs of ram 44megs of VM, Compared to iTunes which will sit at around 60 megs of each). Now that draw is not a huge issue on a desktop computer like mine because it has the space to burn but it is an thing to point out.
There are a lot of things that I like better about WMP and winamp but they just lack the libary set up that iTunes has and the dynimic search engine in it is where the power lies. Minus that everything else is just personal prefernce in looks I think. WMP 10 by looking at it I can easily see it becoming a very valid alternative to iTunes for windows computer. Right now iTunes is better but a question is what will WMP 11 be like. iTunes does not seem to evol and adjust as well as WMP. Now iTunes is great but there are huge weaknesses in it. If the other players get a search engine like iTunes it would really hurt since that is iTunes heavy power right now. WMP 10 right now mp3 player support is really nice and it does show a lot of potentional in it. It mostly just wait and see. WMP11 should be pretty intersting and cool and holds a lot of promise in it.

Now on the other frount (iPods and other mp3 players). The iPod player itself (just the iPod player, lets not look at software side) is relatively weak and has some major flaws. The click well is nice but really that just personal preferce compared to Zen player way of moving around, I honestly dont think one or the other is better. I like the iPods set up more but it just personal choice. The iPod file formate support is fairly weak and does not support as much as the others, other supporting both WMA and AAC among a few others but this is not a huge deal a problem that is delt software side on both sides in converting non DRM stuff). It lacks some features I would love to see added. I would love to see am FM turner added to the iPod or at least an added in that I could buy for it (if some one knows of one please tell me because I been wanting one for my g4 click wheel for a while). The folder set up and all that close enough and noughting to point anything about. Also rememeber all that is just looking at the player itself. Things I would like to see added to the iPod and I think the iPod could use, FM turner (after market or native would perfer native), more file support (But software side can handle it), the FM turner being the biggest thing I want. As for battery life i always want more. Who wouldnt.
But the iPods real power comes from tie in software side. iTune/iPod set up is great. No one else has gotten the software tie in working as well. WMP does show promise in this area in working really well. Only owning an iPod I can only have a taste of it and limite play with it but just looking at it it shows a town of promise both do auto update. Something in iTunes I would like to see is a way to choose what type of files i want on the iPod. I could want everything lossless on my computer but on the iPod I want a smaller formate. WMP will auto convert for you. iTunes will not a feature I know some people want. I would like it as well. Keep my libary untouch and uncoverted but for my iPod I want it in a differnt formate so more can fit on there.

But all being said the iPod/iTunes is how they link together so well. On their own they both have huge weakness and flaws and things that could be better. The iPods power comes form iTunes. iTunes power comes from it search engine and if it was not for that search it would be a lot weaker. If WMP can get theirs working a lot like that and impove on a few things it could really sting. WMP is getting close to the software tie in for the mp3 players out there like iTunes and that would help out the compitetion and would really be pushing harder on the iPod to add in some nice things. Right now iTunes/iPod is just better.

As for the music stores I hate all the DRM formates out there. I would like no DRM but since that is not going to happen give me one DRM standard that everyone uses. I hate to say it I would be willing to settle for WMA files to get this. I would not like it but it would finally be one standard. Personlly I think the best solution to that problem is to use neither Fairplay or WMA but a new formate. That way no one can complain about it being the market leader apple) or M$ using there power to get their formate personal formate being the standard. Instead it be another one. I can only hope.

[Eraserhead]

I love my nano ipod, but I am shocked to see my battery only lasting 2 hours. If it lasted longer then I would trash talk other products.
Of course I never have the volume full blast and I've only charged it 5 times. The first few times I used it the battery lasted over 4 hours.

That seems pretty low... my 5G ipod lasts much longer than that, even my 3G ipod (rated 8 hours) got up to about 6 (with EQ on and skipping some tracks)... It seems like the battery is bad :( but it depends how often you change songs/playlists, if you play one playlist with EQ set up and skip the occassional track I imagine you should get about 10-11 hours, but if you don't listen to a playlist just individual songs then you will get much lower playback times (as it has to spin up the hard disk more often...)

[Eraserhead]

I dunno personally I find the iPod pretty good, before I got my iPod video i used an iAudio X5L.

start rant

(before , thank god reselling it for almost what i paid!!!) basically i got it because it was an "iPod killer" but basically it wasn't... for a start the battery life was hugely overated, i didn't test it but from the battery bar there was no way the thing was going to last 35 hours more like about 15 or so... the RAM in the thing was also really poor it only had enough memory for 2 songs before spinning up the hard drive so skipping tracks took ages... There were also a lot of hidden limitations to the thing... sure it had an FM radio (only picked up the BBC stations which have the strongest signals) and voice recorder (untested) but also the playlists were limited to 1000 songs (so my big smart playlists from iTunes which i exported to m3u were useless) and it had no "sound check" feature so you couldn't set it up on a stereo (otherwise the music would got from quiet one track to LOUD the next which is totally impractical when connected up to speakers. It could also do photos (without music) and video but since these couldn't be outputted to TV so i didn't really use them. Also the software was pretty unintuative especially playing songs and stuff... The sound quality was also, not better than the iPod's sure you could make it really bassy but that just destroys rock music I ended up setting the EQ like iTunes which worked so it sounded similar. I didn't have amazing headphones (I had &#163;15 panosonics) but i dunno, as far as I can tell the only reason people say the iPod sounds bad is that when you convert .wma's to AAC's with iTunes they sound REALLY bad (so bad you can tell the difference clearly on a &#163;300 dell laptop's speakers)

It certainly had advantages though the screen was pretty good (though not as good as a 5G iPod...), and skipping forward through a song was slightly better than the scroll wheel, and of course it didn't scratch! The other thing that was better was scrolling through songs, far better than the click wheel when you have a lot of music, with a case the scroll wheel is really slow... I think a joystick works better for this...

end rant...
Even so this "iPod killer" was worse than my old 3G iPod by a margin.

The other bonus of iPods is that unlike the competition pretty much everyone get there music onto them (even if they aren't computer experts) the day they get them, most other players seem to require much more time and effort (though everyone else has pretty much said this before...), though video as yet is another story, that's pretty hard with the iPod.

[Ghibli]

I've been burning a lot of my CDs onto iTunes lately, and only now noticed that the tracks are formatted into AAC instead of regular old MP3.


Just go under preferences -> advanced -> importing

and select the codec you want iTunes to use.

AAC is the default after installing I think.

[CompUser]

All I can imagine is an ugly gaudy little device with lots of flashing lights with a thing on the screen saying "program not responding".

[seenew]

"Hot new products in the next few years"??

Wasn't Longhorn/Vista/Winosx supposed to have come out a "few years" ago?

It'll be as big and ugly as the Xbox when/if it does come.. They need to stay out of the hardware business.

[Ghibli]

I love my nano ipod, but I am shocked to see my battery only lasting 2 hours. If it lasted longer then I would trash talk other products.
Of course I never have the volume full blast and I've only charged it 5 times. The first few times I used it the battery lasted over 4 hours.

I think the battery is faulty and needs to be replaced. It should last much more. take it to an Apple Center (or Apple store) and explain the problem. Otherwise call the Apple call center.

[Ghibli]

but if you don't listen to a playlist just individual songs then you will get much lower playback times (as it has to spin up the hard disk more often...)

He said iPod NANO. It doesn't have a hard drive but a flash memory. I think that at max usage it should still last at least 8 hours. 2 hour is just too bad. The battery is defective for sure.

[Eraserhead]

He said iPod NANO. It doesn't have a hard drive but a flash memory. I think that at max usage it should still last at least 8 hours. 2 hour is just too bad. The battery is defective for sure.
Oh yeah, my bad :(

[photomaniac]

Here is the fundamental problem. Microsoft has continually copied Apple's ideas.

If I were Microsoft, i would pay attention to developing Mac OS X applications and quit trying to copy something that is already captured the marketplace. Microsoft has NEVER made any hardware that was any good. Hence the not-so-popular XBOX. It has a LONG way to go before it catches up to the others.

Since Microsoft has YET to make an Operating System that is plagued by viruses, worms, trojan horses, if I were Microsoft, I would go into another direction.

Heck, Microsoft Office for the PC is 2003 and for the Mac is 2004. What the heck is wrong here? They are resting on their laurels and .Net didn't work, Net Meeting isn't catching on and they are just wasting the money they extract out of corporations for their Monopolistic crap.

Vista is going to be so far behind OS X, they should just start making bug free OS X applicaitions. They would be a much better company is they did. Then we call all rejoice in their failed attempt to bring out a good OS without forcing people to buy their crap.

Microsoft is going down hill fast and Bill Gates is getting VERY worried. Heck, Windows Media Center is also a joke. Just remember it didn't work when he tried to demo it at CES 2005.

Mr. Bill is a wanna-bee than can't be. Apple should come out with a promotion calling it "THE REAL THING". Coca Cola should give them the rights to use that slogan. :-)

OUCH! The truth does hurt! The truth does hurt! (I almost shed a tear for him)

[BRLawyer]

You have to admit their keyboards and mice are pretty good. Actually, their natural keyboard is THE best keyboard ever made, typing-wise. It's just perfect match for one's fingers. And before Apple introduced the mighty mouse, Microsoft's was the best I could think of.

Huh? Have you ever heard of the Apple Extended Keyboard II? THE best keyboard EVER made in the history of computing?

[BRLawyer]

He said iPod NANO. It doesn't have a hard drive but a flash memory. I think that at max usage it should still last at least 8 hours. 2 hour is just too bad. The battery is defective for sure.

Or perhaps he just wants to buy a Creative, who knows? Even my almost 2-year old Mini lasts at least 5 hours of heavy usage...

[billyboy]

It seems like mobile devices with easy access to obscene amounts of digital music is the new paradigm and Apple have cornered that paradigm with the ipod. I never bought an iPod because I couldnt justify the cost and as I dont really listen to music on the move, no mp3 player is that useful to me. Interestingly my brother, who is quite a big earner, ie his time is quite "valuable" bought a cheap mp3 player over an iPod and then proceded to spend untold hours getting it to work! He clearly doesnt get the advantage of easy to use software combined with reasonalble hardware, ie he is a Windows users and never dreamt that easy to find music is the main criteria for a music player. It seems that MS and their associates are on to a hioding to nothing too because none of them have that synchronicity peculiar to Apple

Mac is easy to use if you know your way around nd I have learnt so much since using a Mac, but I am doubting the huge mantra of totally easy to use mac software. I think Apple need to work on revolutionising GUIs even more. For instance, if a number one programme like itunes is all about ease of use, why do I have to delve into prefences to select something as basic as the import format? Why cant I just see that choice appear when I hit that slick import button. (I know, Apple want me to carry on blindly importing to AAC, but you get the idea of how much better it could be)