More EU iTMS Stores In October [Archive]

MacRumors

Sep 29, 2004, 09:40 PM

Eddie Cue, Apple's Vice President of Applications announced today (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=6367450) Apple has plans to open new EU extensions of the iTMS in October. Speaking at the annual Popkomm convention in Berlin, Cue gave little details as to which areas of the EU would be receiving their own stores. With Italy and the Netherlands representing the two top-10 music markets in the EU currently without stores, they at least seem likely candidates. Cue also noted that file-sharing networks like KaZaA and WinMX make up the largest competition for the online music store, instead of other more legal options already available.

nagromme

Sep 29, 2004, 09:49 PM

Sounds like it won't be ALL European countries, which I know some people are (probably unreasonably) expecting. Even so, a welcome step towards expansion.

im_noahselby

Sep 29, 2004, 09:50 PM

Still no Canadian ITMS :(

Noah

MrMacMan

Sep 29, 2004, 09:51 PM

And the Gods came down and blessed Europe with the gift of Apple's iTunes Music Store.

'ahhhhhh'

:D

Macaddicttt

Sep 29, 2004, 09:58 PM

Hooray! Not that I'm in Europe or anything and directly influenced by this, but still, hooray! Whatever's good for Apple is good for me, and the more iTMS, the better. I'm surprised to still see no Canada or Japan versions. I would think they would be a good market.

Stella

Sep 29, 2004, 10:01 PM

Its no secret that Apple would introduce iTMS to more Euro countries in October.. they actually did mention this months ago when iTMS was launched in UK, France and Germany.

Canada?

coolfactor

Sep 29, 2004, 10:12 PM

Wardofsky

Sep 29, 2004, 10:57 PM

I wish Australia were a part of the EU...
Oh well. P2P is still the only competition :p

michelc

Sep 29, 2004, 10:59 PM

Well take note that the Apple Store is not really bilingual but still operationnal. As for the ITMS the french portion is already available (France store) as well as the english store. I guess this is note what is holding up the store. Licensing should not be a problem also as other store are available....

mrwilly123

Sep 29, 2004, 11:37 PM

this will coincide with an ipod announcement, i'm sure

Trowaman

Sep 30, 2004, 12:03 AM

The EU was announced at the UK, France, German store opening.

So where's Canada, Japan, and Australia? Those are the big places iTMS is missing right now.

Trowaman

Sep 30, 2004, 12:04 AM

this will coincide with an ipod announcement, i'm sure

Doubtful, but those 60 GB drives got to go somewhere. . . who knows?

stoid

Sep 30, 2004, 01:25 AM

dekator

Sep 30, 2004, 02:41 AM

I understand why he says that P2P rather than legal alternatives are the main competition to online music stores.

I had a European roommate last year, and when I told him about the new online music store, he was baffled. He couldn't understand that anyone would pay to listen to music.

Lol. Well, I think the p2p vs Store thing is true everywhere, not just in Europe or for Europeans. There are many people all over the world who wouldn't want to pay for their music, and there are many who would (just look at the download numbers). The big point is: In many countries you don't have access to online music stores, but you always have access to p2p. That's where they have to win ppl/customers from, because it's precisely the Internet-savvy, comfortable-with-downloading ppl they target.

JFreak

Sep 30, 2004, 02:57 AM

did i misunderstand the previous older talk about this topic? i was waiting for EU-wide music store to be opened this year, not just addition of few more countries...

iMan

Sep 30, 2004, 04:58 AM

Doubtful, but those 60 GB drives got to go somewhere. . . who knows?

Toshiba already launched their own series of 60 giggers - in colorful models... :
http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2004_09/pr2701.htm

But still - october is the "birthday" of Windows-iTMS... And with the obvious extension of the store in Europe, the lack of a high end pod and all - I say we are in for a little iTunes celebration soon :)
Maybe even an upgraded version... last major one happened a year ago, and since iTunes is still free it is likely to be kept outside the upgrade cycle of iLife.

Poff

Sep 30, 2004, 07:17 AM

MacsRgr8

Sep 30, 2004, 07:53 AM

Finally, finally.....

Nice to see my country mentioned as a likely candidate!

:)

freddiecable

Sep 30, 2004, 08:33 AM

bring it on :) Sweden will surely boost sales...we have a loyal user base here - with high penetration of Internetusers...maybe not that noticable in sales though

AmigoMac

Sep 30, 2004, 08:50 AM

I guess 8 and hope) the refer to the old 15 community, as the EU is now 25 countries, I don't think they could arrange for the whole region...
and I hope we can buy from only one place as they promised, just one store, no tricks no difference...

Don't panic

Sep 30, 2004, 09:58 AM

i just wish they made the catalogs cross-available, so everybody could select from ALL tracks.

rickvanr

Sep 30, 2004, 10:43 AM

I'd think they would go after the biggest markets... which is why I'm not surprised there isn't an iTMS in Canada... but then again, how big is the population in the UK, France, Germany, etc..? Japan, and China would be a huge market, but then again, all I hear coming out of Asian countries is how piracy as incredibly out of hand, so how many people would actually use it?

ottawaman

Sep 30, 2004, 10:45 AM

Glad to see this news. There's also a common theme of why no mention of a Canada iTMS. Canada would actually require two stores.... an English one and a French one, by law, so right away the cost doubles for Apple, and I'm not so sure we have the market to support such a venture. It's too bad, because the rest of us loyal users get to suffer. Guess it's good that file-sharing isn't illegal here (that doesn't mean it's legal or right, though).

Apple operates out of the US and, as far as I know, does not have to provide iTMS in both languages in Canada. The bilingual issue only applies to companies operating in, or offering services to, Quebec. Apple can easily offer the rest of Canada an English-only iTMS. Personally, I'd love to see it coming sooner rather than later! I believe the Canadian delay isn't really connected to the language issue. The extra tax/fee on blank CDs has probably complicated the negotiations somewhat...

kalashnicov

Sep 30, 2004, 10:55 AM

My father made some kinda promotion with Leo from Milka.
Ppl can probably win free songs when they buy the candy.
He said iTMS would be in belgium in october

swissmann

Sep 30, 2004, 10:56 AM

I wonder in how many countries iTunes Store will eventually be? I'd guess not every single one, but who can say?

må¥å

Sep 30, 2004, 11:36 AM

And the Gods came down and blessed Europe with the gift of Apple's iTunes Music Store.

'ahhhhhh'

:D

LOL, came down a little late I see. :D

Still no Canadian Music Store, shees... someone would think this would be the most easiest.....oh well we shall be blessed in time. :)

dekator

Sep 30, 2004, 12:02 PM

EU stinks. I want it in Norway!

All our neighbours are EU-members. I know Denmark will get it according to local news, and I'd guess Sweden gets is aswell. Then it's just Norway left.. and that, my friend, stinks!

Somehow all big american companies believe all the "rich" countries in Europe are EU-members. GAAARGHHH!!! :eek: :mad:

Sorry? Norway is the richest country in Europe. In the sense that it is the only one without debt. The problem is probably legislation and the smallness of the Norwegian market. But don't forget that it's Norway that sniffs at the EU because you're so rich, not the other way round. So much for the stinking.

Macaddicttt

Sep 30, 2004, 12:20 PM

EU stinks. I want it in Norway!

All our neighbours are EU-members. I know Denmark will get it according to local news, and I'd guess Sweden gets is aswell. Then it's just Norway left.. and that, my friend, stinks!

Somehow all big american companies believe all the "rich" countries in Europe are EU-members. GAAARGHHH!!! :eek: :mad:

Then get Norway to join the EU :). But seriously, even though the vote has failed twice, now the majority of Norwegians are for joining the EU. Plus, Norway is already as close to being in the EU possible without actually joining.

otter-boy

Sep 30, 2004, 12:22 PM

It's good to see that Apple is extending the iTMS to more European markets. For all the people still commenting about a EU-wide store, remember that licensing is still divided up by country (that's an issue the EU should deal with, and one Apple can't change). The EU is a free-trade zone, but record companies still license music locally, which isn't a big deal with CDs since you can buy one in Italy and physically take it to England or the reverse. If you open up a EU-wide store and place it in Switzerland, that effectively locks the music to the companies that distribute it in Switzerland. Other companies that own the rights to distribute it in other EU countries would be upset that they could not collect royalties from sales to citizens in their own countries for music that they own distribution rights to there.

An EU-wide store would be the equivalent of a Latin American store, where people from Mexico, Venezuela, Costa Rica, etc. would all use the same store. Can you imagine trying to get the licensing worked out over that free-trade zone? Heck, it would probably be easier since most (except for Brasil and Belize) speak a dialect of Spanish. We don't expect Apple to be able to do that.

As for Japan, I read recently that their record companies are demanding something like 2 dollars a song in licensing. They don't want Apple to undersell their preestablished online music stores. Sorry, I don't have the link. Maybe someone else remembers?

Ugg

Sep 30, 2004, 12:29 PM

i just wish they made the catalogs cross-available, so everybody could select from ALL tracks.

Yeah, the licensing of music sales really sucks. When the 3 Euro stores opened, I had hoped that the music would be available in the US too but that didn't happen. I think that due to the licensing laws regarding international sales of music, it will be a long, long time before I can buy the same music via iTunes as the Germans can and vice versa. Talk about protectionism of the worst kind. I bet that about a third of my purchases would be of Euro music. ARE YOU LISTENING YOU STUPID RECORD COMPANIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Windowlicker

Sep 30, 2004, 12:32 PM

did i misunderstand the previous older talk about this topic? i was waiting for EU-wide music store to be opened this year, not just addition of few more countries...

i'm totally with you here.. on and my friend wanted to thank you for the info on the G4 power supply thing about which I sent you email some time back!

dekator

Sep 30, 2004, 01:05 PM

It's good to see that Apple is extending the iTMS to more European markets. For all the people still commenting about a EU-wide store, remember that licensing is still divided up by country (that's an issue the EU should deal with, and one Apple can't change). The EU is a free-trade zone, but record companies still license music locally, which isn't a big deal with CDs since you can buy one in Italy and physically take it to England or the reverse. If you open up a EU-wide store and place it in Switzerland, that effectively locks the music to the companies that distribute it in Switzerland. Other companies that own the rights to distribute it in other EU countries would be upset that they could not collect royalties from sales to citizens in their own countries for music that they own distribution rights to there.

An EU-wide store would be the equivalent of a Latin American store, where people from Mexico, Venezuela, Costa Rica, etc. would all use the same store. Can you imagine trying to get the licensing worked out over that free-trade zone? Heck, it would probably be easier since most (except for Brasil and Belize) speak a dialect of Spanish. We don't expect Apple to be able to do that.

Well said. However, the language thing does not apply. In fact, you could do the whole store in English, practically, it wouldn't make any difference. Look at the Eurovision contest, everything takes place in English and French. And two languages are only there for reasons of diversity. To ensure communication, English would suffice.
Once you have individual stores, people expect them to be in their vernacular though.
No, the real issue is what you say at the beginning of your post. Buying something in the EU and then taking it somewhere else is different from buying at the iTMS because the *location of buyer and seller differ*. EU law states that the location of the buyer is decisive, hence, the various licensing schemes in different countries apply.

Windowlicker

Sep 30, 2004, 01:12 PM

EU stinks. I want it in Norway!

All our neighbours are EU-members. I know Denmark will get it according to local news, and I'd guess Sweden gets is aswell. Then it's just Norway left.. and that, my friend, stinks!

Somehow all big american companies believe all the "rich" countries in Europe are EU-members. GAAARGHHH!!! :eek: :mad:

um... norway isn't gonna be the only one left here in scandinavia. remember finland? yeah, we're here, right next to sweden (or russia if you like). and i'm pretty sure there will be no itms for us for a long time :P

Poff

Sep 30, 2004, 01:23 PM

um... norway isn't gonna be the only one left here in scandinavia. remember finland? yeah, we're here, right next to sweden (or russia if you like). and i'm pretty sure there will be no itms for us for a long time :P

Yeah, I know. You're right next to us aswell, btw, if you just go to the north.. Just weren't sure if you were part of EU or not. The Nokia-ppl should put some pressure on Apple now that they are bonding so much.. :D

Seriously, though, I guess we'll be the two lone countries up here.. At least for a while. But I know that norwegian record companies are working on it. iTunes music store has several times been in the focus of the biggest newspapers here in Norway, and record-reps always say they're working on it. First they expected july, then october, now they don't say anything.

Hope they clean up their mess soon, because record companies is what's slowing this train down. :mad:

Poff

Sep 30, 2004, 01:26 PM

Sorry? Norway is the richest country in Europe. In the sense that it is the only one without debt. The problem is probably legislation and the smallness of the Norwegian market. But don't forget that it's Norway that sniffs at the EU because you're so rich, not the other way round. So much for the stinking.

Then get Norway to join the EU :). But seriously, even though the vote has failed twice, now the majority of Norwegians are for joining the EU. Plus, Norway is already as close to being in the EU possible without actually joining.

Yeah, lets hope we never join EU. Most people who vote for EU are either owners of various companies, or just people who doesn't really know what effect joining EU will have. One thing is sure, fewer people will get work, and the ones who do get work will have to work longer hours for less.

I wouldn't even want that for the store..

However, norwegians normally embrace new technology pretty quickly, so I'm pretty sure they could earn some NOK's if they got in here..

bcsmith

Sep 30, 2004, 01:28 PM

ARE YOU LISTENING YOU STUPID RECORD COMPANIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sadly, they are not. They don't realize that Apple is cutting them a check every month for licensing and all they have to do it sit back and collect it. They think that they should get more money for doing no work, and eventually they will kill the golden goose, or themselves.

Poff

Sep 30, 2004, 01:29 PM

Yeah, the licensing of music sales really sucks. When the 3 Euro stores opened, I had hoped that the music would be available in the US too but that didn't happen. I think that due to the licensing laws regarding international sales of music, it will be a long, long time before I can buy the same music via iTunes as the Germans can and vice versa. Talk about protectionism of the worst kind. I bet that about a third of my purchases would be of Euro music. ARE YOU LISTENING YOU STUPID RECORD COMPANIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah it really sucks! Currently the record companies are seperated into multiple divisions for each country. An artist may even be signed to different companies in different countries. With digital distribution, one single division should have had exclusive rights for the whole world. Would have made things so much simpler..

Let's just hope they'll follow this in the future..

Poff

Sep 30, 2004, 01:31 PM

Sadly, they are not. They don't realize that Apple is cutting them a check every month for licensing and all they have to do it sit back and collect it. They think that they should get more money for doing no work, and eventually they will kill the golden goose, or themselves.

Let's hope it's themselves..

Ideally, iTunes music store would deal directly with all artists, and artists who wanted to "make it" would get a manager instead of a whole record company.. :rolleyes:

Windowlicker

Sep 30, 2004, 02:15 PM

Yeah, I know. You're right next to us aswell, btw, if you just go to the north.. Just weren't sure if you were part of EU or not. The Nokia-ppl should put some pressure on Apple now that they are bonding so much.. :D

Seriously, though, I guess we'll be the two lone countries up here.. At least for a while. But I know that norwegian record companies are working on it. iTunes music store has several times been in the focus of the biggest newspapers here in Norway, and record-reps always say they're working on it. First they expected july, then october, now they don't say anything.

Hope they clean up their mess soon, because record companies is what's slowing this train down. :mad:

indeed. I was already planning on trying to get a VISA (I'm a student so it's not guaranteed that I would get one) when I heard about the iTMS EU. Now that it's close to extending to other countries as well, I'm eager to see if I'm trying my luck on the credit card thingy.. iTMS is fairly priced in my opinion and I hardly ever listen to CDs anymore, so I would basically buy a bit lower quality audio but at the same time wouldn't have to rip it myself and also I would pay less than I do now.

otter-boy

Sep 30, 2004, 02:15 PM

Well said. However, the language thing does not apply. In fact, you could do the whole store in English, practically, it wouldn't make any difference. Look at the Eurovision contest, everything takes place in English and French. And two languages are only there for reasons of diversity. To ensure communication, English would suffice.
Once you have individual stores, people expect them to be in their vernacular though.

Correct. An EU iTMS could easily be in just one or a few languages. But, in order to reach the widest audience, to compete with other localized stores, and just to make the many diverse groups of people in Europe feel respected, I think Apple should at least consider offering language-specific fronts to its store even if they do work out the licensing thing to have one EU store.

I know that when I've worked retail and used Spanish with native-Spanish speakers, I made sales where other people failed to. It wasn't that the customers couldn't speak English, it was just that they were more comfortable with Spanish, and making your customers feel comfortable and respected for who they are can take you a long way with selling them your products.

Anyway, it's not like you have to replicate the whole store in different languages. You'd really just have to work on localizing the controls and navigation, right? You could even tap into the customer's web browser settings to get the localized language that they use. Most of the songs titles and artists would remain in the original language anyway.

nagromme

Sep 30, 2004, 02:20 PM

did i misunderstand the previous older talk about this topic? i was waiting for EU-wide music store to be opened this year, not just addition of few more countries...

You didn't misunderstand, but it was all talk and rumor. Apple never said anything so specific.

Poff

Sep 30, 2004, 03:18 PM

indeed. I was already planning on trying to get a VISA (I'm a student so it's not guaranteed that I would get one) when I heard about the iTMS EU. Now that it's close to extending to other countries as well, I'm eager to see if I'm trying my luck on the credit card thingy.. iTMS is fairly priced in my opinion and I hardly ever listen to CDs anymore, so I would basically buy a bit lower quality audio but at the same time wouldn't have to rip it myself and also I would pay less than I do now.

Those nasty VISA-ppl harassing students? Here VISA is not a credit-card, so basically anyone can get it.. If only one could get an american credit card or something..

Btw. only bad thing about downloading music is the cover.. I do like the feeling of a really cool cover in my hands..

MrMiyagi

Sep 30, 2004, 03:38 PM

Zaty

Sep 30, 2004, 04:12 PM

If you open up a EU-wide store and place it in Switzerland, that effectively locks the music to the companies that distribute it in Switzerland. Other companies that own the rights to distribute it in other EU countries would be upset that they could not collect royalties from sales to citizens in their own countries for music that they own distribution rights to there.

First of all, Switzerland (like Norway and Iceland) is not part of the EU so it wouldn't make sense to place the "EU" store in Switzerland because of different laws/regulations etc. The question is, will this "EU" store be limited to customers living in member states of the EU or will we outsiders be allowed to buy from iTMS Europe nevertheless? There is a rumour published by a free commuter newspaper that Apple plans to open a Swiss store as well but since that newspaper is known for low level journalism, it's unclear if they made that up from the info Apple released at the launch of DE, FR and UK. Since Switzerland has one of the highest (some say the highest) number of Mac users per capita in Europe, we would definitely deserve it.

McFreggle

Sep 30, 2004, 04:33 PM

Its no secret that Apple would introduce iTMS to more Euro countries in October.. they actually did mention this months ago when iTMS was launched in UK, France and Germany.

Actually they announced the rest of Europe would follow in October... :eek:

MacsRgr8

Sep 30, 2004, 04:42 PM

Actually they announced the rest of Europe would follow in October... :eek:

Holland is rest of Europe!

:D :p

HyperX

Sep 30, 2004, 05:14 PM

Holland is the BEST part Of Europe ;P

I think we are suppose to say Nederlands though :)

Long live THE DUTCH!

TorbX

Sep 30, 2004, 07:53 PM

um... norway isn't gonna be the only one left here in scandinavia. remember finland? yeah, we're here, right next to sweden (or russia if you like). and i'm pretty sure there will be no itms for us for a long time :P

Finland is scandinavia?

Its like... Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark...

And there is Finland, Latvia, etc...

:D

Porchland

Sep 30, 2004, 09:01 PM

Doubtful, but those 60 GB drives got to go somewhere. . . who knows?

I figure a 60-gigger will be announced at MWSF in January since iPod announcements have come there before, but an earlier announcement wouldn't surprise me. If Apple has had the 60s in full-on production, October would be the time for a pre-Christmas announcement.

bartelby

Oct 1, 2004, 03:19 AM

I figure a 60-gigger will be announced at MWSF in January since iPod announcements have come there before, but an earlier announcement wouldn't surprise me. If Apple has had the 60s in full-on production, October would be the time for a pre-Christmas announcement.

Especially now Toshiba has announced the 60 GB Gigabeat F.
OK, so it's not available to most of the world but they beat Apple to it.

iMan

Oct 1, 2004, 06:41 AM

Yeah, lets hope we never join EU. Most people who vote for EU are either owners of various companies, or just people who doesn't really know what effect joining EU will have. One thing is sure, fewer people will get work, and the ones who do get work will have to work longer hours for less.
I wouldn't even want that for the store..

Sounds a bit like the same kind of protectionism that keeps the iTMS from expanding worldwide... ;)

I believe neither you nor anyone else is able to predict any effect of what would happen if Norway joins... after all, nowadays we are more of an EU country than anyone I feel...

Also: language versions is not going to be a problem anywhere - that is a fairly easy task to solve for an internetsite - only problem is legal stuff, basically licensing I suspect.

iMan

Oct 1, 2004, 07:56 AM

is the birthday of iTunes for Windows. That was a thursday. I look forward to october 14. - expecting a little something then to trickle us...

Sony has just made clear they will sell movies through their Connect service... hmmm... I definitely think we are in for some surprises yes... :)

Vigil

Oct 1, 2004, 08:24 AM

Finland is scandinavia?

Its like... Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark...

And there is Finland, Latvia, etc...

:D

Uhhh, any European should know that Finland IS a part of Scandinavia, and not a part of the former Soviet countries.

TorbX

Oct 1, 2004, 09:43 AM

Uhhh, any European should know that Finland IS a part of Scandinavia, and not a part of the former Soviet countries.

Well:

People from Sweden, Norway and Denmark can speak together, we understand each others language. Norwegians can partly understand Icelandic to, because they speak like.. I dunno, the way the vikings did in Norway 1000 years ago.

But finnish as a language is COMPLETELY different. Its related to Russian, Latvian, Hungarian, Polish, etc.

I never think of Finland as Scandinavia, and I'm Norwegian :o :D ;) :rolleyes: :cool:

sparks9

Oct 1, 2004, 10:25 AM

Yeah, lets hope we never join EU. Most people who vote for EU are either owners of various companies, or just people who doesn't really know what effect joining EU will have. One thing is sure, fewer people will get work, and the ones who do get work will have to work longer hours for less.

I wouldn't even want that for the store..

However, norwegians normally embrace new technology pretty quickly, so I'm pretty sure they could earn some NOK's if they got in here..

Do you honestly think that Norway can isolate itself from the world by not joining the EU? When a law is passed in the EU Norway usually just follows, but Norway had no influence on the law.

TorbX

Oct 1, 2004, 10:30 AM

Do you honestly think that Norway can isolate itself from the world by not joining the EU? When a law is passed in the EU Norway usually just follows, but Norway had no influence on the law.

Norway HAS to follow because of the EØS-agreement. But by not joining, we can have our own agriculture-politics. The farmers can get more support-money from the government than they could if we were a member of the EU. Because then THEY would decide how much the farmers could get.

Norway can afford to not be a member because of our oil. But for how long..? I think we will become members the next time.

niar

Oct 1, 2004, 10:42 AM

TorbX!

Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian are quite closely related languages.
they all are part of Finno-Ugrian group.

Norwegian, Swedish, French, German, Latvian, Polish and Russian are all Indo-European languages.
they are more closely related than, for example, latvian and finnish.
Celtics, greeks and Albanians are too Indo-Europeans.
Maybe Etruski people were not.. I don't know.

Some Caucasian, Irani and Indian languages together with (almost) all European languages make one big Indo-European family.

But, Fenno-Ugrians are completely different than Indo-Europeans.

Well:

People from Sweden, Norway and Denmark can speak together, we understand each others language. Norwegians can partly understand Icelandic to, because they speak like.. I dunno, the way the vikings did in Norway 1000 years ago.

But finnish as a language is COMPLETELY different. Its related to Russian, Latvian, Hungarian, Polish, etc.

I never think of Finland as Scandinavia, and I'm Norwegian :o :D ;) :rolleyes: :cool:

g4cubed

Oct 1, 2004, 10:52 AM

Holland is the BEST part Of Europe ;P

I think we are suppose to say Nederlands though :)

Long live THE DUTCH!
I have to agree with you it is the BEST part. Soon to be there on vacation. :D

Anyways, I believe it's the licensing fees and kick backs to the labels/distribution companies that are holding things up. Also, if there were one store, there would be language buttons to pick from, which is no hard task.

TorbX

Oct 1, 2004, 11:05 AM

TorbX!

Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian are quite closely related languages.
they all are part of Finno-Ugrian group.

Norwegian, Swedish, French, German, Latvian, Polish and Russian are all Indo-European languages.
they are more closely related than, for example, latvian and finnish.
Celtics, greeks and Albanians are too Indo-Europeans.
Maybe Etruski people were not.. I don't know.

Some Caucasian, Irani and Indian languages together with (almost) all European languages make one big Indo-European family.

But, Fenno-Ugrians are completely different than Indo-Europeans.

Yeah, ok.

I understand the Swedish people and the people of Denmark. Together we are the navel of the world :D :D :D

Just kidding. We aaaalll know USA is the worlds centre, and the God blesses America every day.

takao

Oct 1, 2004, 12:56 PM

Just kidding. We aaaalll know USA is the worlds centre, and the God blesses America every day.

yeah because they need the blessing the most ;)

on topic: will get interesting were stores are about to open..from market size japan seems pretty obvious...
from mac marketshare it looks more like switzerland...
italy seems obvious as well .hhhmm
(i'm pretty sure austria will be last)

nacl99

Oct 1, 2004, 01:35 PM

Sony has just made clear they will sell movies through their Connect service... hmmm... I definitely think we are in for some surprises yes... :)

Well first Apple would have to provide us with something to watch the movie, everyone knows there is no real market in people watching movies on their computer, so if Apple was to make a sync-able set top box hen maybe they could use the itunes store for that.

I think it is more important however to keep focused on being the best at music, and not distracting customers with another new thing. The battle against P2P is still really in its infancy, they need to focus on that.

Poff

Oct 1, 2004, 02:54 PM

Well first Apple would have to provide us with something to watch the movie, everyone knows there is no real market in people watching movies on their computer, so if Apple was to make a sync-able set top box hen maybe they could use the itunes store for that.

I think it is more important however to keep focused on being the best at music, and not distracting customers with another new thing. The battle against P2P is still really in its infancy, they need to focus on that.

What about those iPod-rumors that were earlier? You could connect it to a TV, but not watch it on the iPod-screen itself.. Now that would be something!

Movies is a big part of P2P btw..

iMan

Oct 1, 2004, 03:51 PM

Well first Apple would have to provide us with something to watch the movie, everyone knows there is no real market in people watching movies on their computer, so if Apple was to make a sync-able set top box hen maybe they could use the itunes store for that.

True, but they are doing things. They work with compression technologies for video, they equip their computers with 5.1 sound, they work with implementing the computer with your home entertainment - like with Airport Express... Remember it also sports optical out. It is quite possible to stream video over a 54 mbps network. Only thing missing is the remote thingie... :)

nacl99

Oct 1, 2004, 05:53 PM

What about those iPod-rumors that were earlier? You could connect it to a TV, but not watch it on the iPod-screen itself.. Now that would be something!

Yeah, I think vPod would be wrong for soooo many reasons. All of which Steve has mentioned too.

Movies is a big part of P2P btw..

Oh I know, I have 300 DVDrs that agree.

ijimk

Oct 2, 2004, 01:42 AM

Itunes music stores rock. More the merrier :P

admford

Oct 2, 2004, 01:59 PM

Well today I went to the store and got a the new Greenday and R.E.M. albums. I was quite surprized to see them both at 16.90 euros (normally new CDs used to released at over 20 euros in Italy). I guess this could be a sign by the local copyright agency that they might try to counter the iTunes Music store in italy (italians are very protectionist).

Zaty

Oct 2, 2004, 02:27 PM

yeah because they need the blessing the most ;)

on topic: will get interesting were stores are about to open..from market size japan seems pretty obvious...
from mac marketshare it looks more like switzerland...
italy seems obvious as well .hhhmm
(i'm pretty sure austria will be last)

Well, takao, I hope you're right. From that rumours I have gathered it really seems as if chances for iTMS Switzerland are better than you guys in Austria getting it. But I have to say, I only belive we're getting it when it's official because Apple always talked about EU countries. Perhaps they just forgot Switzerland is not in the EU :) Anyway, if iTMS opens in Switzerland but not (yet) in Austria, it would be pretty easy for you to get access to iTMS. Just move a few kilometres to the west from Dornbirn and you're done :D

FelixDerKater

Oct 3, 2004, 01:50 PM

It would be nice if they would get agreements to allow US Music Store customers to buy music that is only available from the European Music Stores.

MiquelCo

Oct 4, 2004, 08:39 AM

No more news on the launch in the EU?
It will be on October 15 like the june launch in the UK, France an Germany?
Probably

PrettyMan

Oct 4, 2004, 07:28 PM

iMan

Oct 5, 2004, 02:15 AM

If I can open a bank account in any EU country (no customs and free commerce), why I cannot buy songs in the, say, French iTunes?

I'm sure that taxes (or royalties) have something to do, but I'm free to go to any France shop and to buy music, why not over iTunes?

Sorry by my ignorance, :rolleyes:

Not only that, but I am free to buy music from any net-shop anywhere in the world as long as it is a CD. Actually there is no additional sales tax on that order either (on small personal orders). So basically a lot of norwegians already buy music from UK, USA or more odd places on the net.
Why bother so much with these national stores anyway? It is not the way the rest of the world goes!

JFreak

Oct 5, 2004, 02:51 AM

If I can open a bank account in any EU country (no customs and free commerce), why I cannot buy songs in the, say, French iTunes?

I'm sure that taxes (or royalties) have something to do, but I'm free to go to any France shop and to buy music, why not over iTunes?

Sorry by my ignorance, :rolleyes:

if you have a credit card (and therefore a valid billing address) in such a country, then of course you can. you can even use the US store if you have a US credit card (and a US billing address for it).

bank account is not enough, you will need a credit card.

PrettyMan

Oct 5, 2004, 04:17 AM

if you have a credit card (and therefore a valid billing address) in such a country, then of course you can. you can even use the US store if you have a US credit card (and a US billing address for it).

bank account is not enough, you will need a credit card.

Yeah, yeah, I know that I need a credit card (really not problematic because if I've a French account I can get the card easily). I was only trying to say (my English is awful) that I cannot understand the limit imposed when currently it's really easy to get an UE account (and credit card).

The question is WHY I need to do this. Free commerce should (MUST) be guarantied in the UE, isn't it? And this type of "per-country" shops break this principe. Or am I wrong?

Cheers :-)