Preaching Beyond the Mac Faithful

[MacBytes]

Category: News and Press Releases
Link: Preaching Beyond the Mac Faithful (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20041205150952)
Posted on MacBytes.com (http://www.macbytes.com)

Approved by Mudbug

[StarbucksSam]

"The iPod has become the apple of Wall Street's eye."

I swear, these "apple of apple's eye" puns are so overused. These people think they are like being creative or something. Haha.

But the article does make a good point.

[stoid]

Meanwhile, Internet media software company RealNetworks has introduced technology that makes songs purchased on iTunes compatible with other portable players.

Other than this statement, I like the article. Very well organized an researched. It's just that RealNetworks has developed a compatible DRM for the iPod, not made the iTMS more compatible.

[bryanc]

What bugs me is this often repeated fallacy:

Like other Apple products, the first iPod out of the box was sleek and easy to use, but came with a premium price tag of $400. And it worked only within Apple's closed Macintosh platform.

But a year later, Apple produced an iPod that also worked with computers running on Microsoft's dominant Windows operating system, kicking a larger hole in the wall that kept Windows computer users from the Mac platform.

While I completely agree that OS X is not 'open source', it is at least based on an open source kernel, and is compliant with as many open standards as any OS I'm aware of. Yet, the way the article is written, it looks like Mac OS is 'closed' and that, by implication, Windows is 'open'. I really wish more journalists would emphasize just how proprietary and closed Microsoft is. Maybe they would change, and if not, maybe more people would switch to a friendlier OS.

Cheers

[J-Squire]

What bugs me is this often repeated fallacy:


While I completely agree that OS X is not 'open source', it is at least based on an open source kernel, and is compliant with as many open standards as any OS I'm aware of. Yet, the way the article is written, it looks like Mac OS is 'closed' and that, by implication, Windows is 'open'. I really wish more journalists would emphasize just how proprietary and closed Microsoft is. Maybe they would change, and if not, maybe more people would switch to a friendlier OS.

Cheers

There can be no argument that Windows is more open than Mac OS, for the simple fact that you have the freedom to install in on any hardware box you desire, whereas macOS is limited only to Apple hardware.

No flames please. Love my powerbook, love my iMac G5, love my iPod. Just stating a fact.

edit: Having just posted this, I got to thinking as to what "more open" really means. The above is obviously true, but does this make everything about the system more open? Macs could be deemed to be more open because they have the ability to talk to windows machines and read windows hard drives. Food for thought

[wdlove]

It is also a great benefit to Apple that they have millions in the bank. They have now proven that they can appeal to a larger audience.

[svenr]

It is also a great benefit to Apple that they have millions in the bank.

Having millions - or in Apple's case - billions just sitting in the bank does not necessarily make good business sense. Large unused cash positions can make a company an easier acquisition target and should be put to more profitable uses than collecting meager interest. Like investing in new products, distribution or marketing, speeding up development, acquiring other firms to expand business etc, all of which could promise greater returns.

[wrldwzrd89]

Apple could probably sustain some heavy R&D efforts and a lawsuit (if they get one) at the same time for at least 1 year with what they've got to work with - why don't they use this opportunity to totally jump the market and surprise everyone? Maybe they are already, just keeping it secret, ready to spring the box open sometime next year.