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Microsoft iPod for $50 !
- Thread starter CmdrLaForge
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And after two years they will drop the product line, just as they did with their Wi-Fi offerings....
I guess this might be a huge loss leader on M$ part to tip the market away from Apple but its going to have to cost them a fortune to bring back market share because it they must be prepared to loose hundreds on each unit...
win_convert said:
1. You mean "superfluous"
2. I had already posted the message (I accidentally pressed "Submit")
I remember before the iPod mini was released. Everyone said it was stupid and a ripoff. Now people just can't seem to get enough of them. On the bright side, I got my blue iPod mini (with static) replaced at the Apple Store in SoHo. I had a really hard time with the Genius Bar people. I first had to argue so that I wouldn't have to wait the 1 hour and 45 minutes (which I shouldn't have to wait though, Apple made the mistake in the first place and my device was completely useless with the static).
I'm writing a letter to Apple about this. Their support is really a problem. You can't even reserve a time at the Genius Bar unless you pay $99 a year! Don't they realize that they will be more efficient and less crowded if people could reserve a place for free?
BTW why do you all hate microsoft so much? what did they ever do, besides not being the best software engineers around? if their player succeeded, it would make those people who are unable to afford an iPod happy, it cause their stock to rise, and it would offer more jobs for people (which is very important in a "recession" such as this). their player would reach a different market--people would still buy iPods.
And what if their product is actually better than the iPod? what if you try it out in compusa or circuit city and find that it is better than the iPod? i guess microsoft isn't all that bad anyway.
(i'm not saying that i think it will be better; but i don't think it will be worse either. i have no reason to think that it will be either better or worse.)
wide said:
What has Microsoft ever done? Man, making bad products is the least of it! Here's a quick "stream of consciousness" type summary of Microsoft's evil--see if any of it rings a bell: Netscape, Java, MSNBC, X Box, Steve Bartko, anti-trust, collusion, invasion of privacy, bullying. It would take too long to go into here, but hit microsuck.com for a good summary of their major problems.
Ah, knowing Monopolysoft, they'll screw up something. It'll probably be called the BeefCattle XP and will have its own built in blue screen of death so that Windows users won't feel out of place. 
Cheers fellow mac lovers!
JOD8FY
Cheers fellow mac lovers!
JOD8FY
JOD8FY said:
Microsoft includes Windows Media Player on their operating systems, and Apple has QuickTime. Apple has DVD Player. I'm really tired right now so I'm too lazy to get into detail, but Apple has a monopoly too. They make software for their own computers, and they don't allow other companies (Intel, anyone?) to make processors compatible with their computers. If it weren't for the fact that Apple is a much, much smaller company than Microsoft, they would be getting sued from all kinds of people and companies too.
Why bother hating Microsoft? There's no point, you're not going to get anywhere with it. I don't care if you think it, but to me it seems like the whole Anti Bush thing going on in this city (NYC). (Don't get me started in that debate, not a good idea, but for the record: I do not support Bush, nor do I support Kerry. They are both douchebags.)
And Horrortaxi: has Microsoft ever forced you to buy their software? If you don't like them, you don't have to buy from them.
wide said:
Easier said than done. I tried Appleworks as a replacement for the M$ Office. It was a no go from a business standpoint.
You have no clue as to the meaning of monopoly. By your logic, Hewlett-Packard has a monopoly on HP printers. This is not what monopoly means.wide said:
For the vast majority of businesses that use computers, they either use operating systems made by Microsoft or they don't do business. For the vast majority of computer-related businesses, they either do business with Microsoft or they don't do business. For the vast majority of businesses and consumers, they either do business the way that Microsoft wants them to do business, or they don't do business. Whether you like Apple or hate, Apple has no such leverage. Virtually anything that you can do using Apple products can be done using an alternative. The fact that you may not be able to do it as well not withstanding.
Yes, as a matter of fact they have forced me to buy their software--many times.wide said:
Even on a Mac it's difficult to live a Microsoft-free life.
MisterMe is right--you don't seem to understand what a monopoly is. Apple makes a product, that's very different from having a monopoly. It's legal to make a product. Sony makes the Playstation, but you wouldn't say they have a monopoly on Playstations (at least you wouldn't if you were using the word appropriately). Look up monopoly in the dictionary and then grab a US history book and read about railroads in the 1800's for an example.
I fear the day when my MS alarm clock goes off late, then reports me to my boss for sleeping late and I get fired via Windows Messanger while I'm driving to work in my MS car that doesn't go fast enough (should have bought Car Professional instead of Car Home) to get me to work on time. Alternately I might call in sick and spend the day playing Halo on my X Box--suddenly my boss calls me and fires me--telling me that no truly sick person could achieve such a high score. It's not good when such a big company gets into so many areas of technology--especially when that company seems hell bent on controlling everything. Sony is big and Sony is everywhere, but they don't seem to want to control anybody's life. These are the dangers of a monopoly.
CmdrLaForge said:
I don't think this is true at all.
1) 96% of America doesn't own an iPod. That's a big market no one is reaching.
2) MS needs to reduce cost of Xbox 2. By making this dockable, they will increase profitability of Xbox 2 helping offset the loss on the HD player.
3) Janus, their enhanced DRM Server supports subscription expiration. Sell the player cheap, make money on the media (content). A very popular and old business model. Just ask Gillette.
Apple aims at small markets. They never go after the masses. Microsoft does. No conspiracy here. Why do you think Microsoft hasn't made going after iPod a priority. I'm sure they're more worried about the Sony PSP than the iPod.
jxyama said:
They've established a new brand with a bright future. Even outsold PS2 in April. They have the game devlopment community's attention and arguably some of the best games.
I think the business plan is working out better than they expected. I don't think they expected the price drops. Getting the cost of Xbox 2 down is their biggest challenge at this point.
Article screwed up royally!!
Hehe.
Microsoft's spokesman didn't say what the Denver Post said he did. Not even close...
http://www.engadget.com/entry/3463715371535682/
There will be no, repeat NO, $50 iPod clone from Microsoft.
Hehe.
Microsoft's spokesman didn't say what the Denver Post said he did. Not even close...
http://www.engadget.com/entry/3463715371535682/
There will be no, repeat NO, $50 iPod clone from Microsoft.
thanks for posting that westside guy. microsoft won't likely be jumping in to any new hardware markets anytime soon. they just got out of the wi-fi hardware business for one thing. microsoft will probably make hardware guidelines for use of their software and let others make the hardware a la Pocket PC. Other than the xBox, the only hardware they sell is peripherals--and small cheap stuff at that. i can't imagine that they would get into any new hardware markets anytime soon. they're a software company and that's how they get into homes--their software on other people's hardware.
I read recently that they want to do the same thing with games. They'd create a standard and it would play on anybody's hardware--like DVD.kidA said:
I may sound like a broken record, but why is it so important for Microsoft to get into everyone's houses so deeply? It's not about making money because they frequently give software away or sells at a loss. Their goal is to be inside your house. Bill Gates is so proud of his products that he wants to force everyone to use them? If you believe the theory that he has Asperger Syndrome then that might be true. Microsoft wants to eventualy rule the world and use the inhabitants as cheap labor? I'll believe either one but neither is good.
I hope MS make a player with the same capacity as the iPods, but $50 to $100 cheaper. In the long term, I don't care who copies who. I want the best that I can get with my money, and if MS offers something that actually IS as good, or even if slightly worse, than an iPod for $50-100 cheaper, good for them. Good for me as well, as Apple will have more competition. Why wouldn't you want Apple to have decent competition? Is it because you're too loyal to Apple? Geez, they're a computer company. That's all they are. They're not your friend. Microsoft is just a company as well. I like anything that's good, and it really can be made by anyone.
If MS actually brings out something decent, then its good for everybody. If Longhorn is good, then good for all those people who use Windows.
If MS actually brings out something decent, then its good for everybody. If Longhorn is good, then good for all those people who use Windows.
Westside guy said:
Hey -thanks. That report changes things ! Today we already got $50 MP3 player you can go running with. E.g. the MuVo from Creative ( i have got that one)
Cheers
thank you westside guy. now, my thoughts notwithstanding. MS offering an iPod-device for $50 would not be monopolistic behavior, i don't think. BUT, apple does have a patent on their interface which they have enforced already. No scrollwheels for other players, and that holds a lot of the key right there. Now, it seems like the MS spokesman just listed a lot of products that are already on the market, but basically hinted that there would be Windows logos everywhere in the interface. Great. The iPod is already taking a huge stand against all of the other HD players, and it's simply not meant to compete with flash players. Granted 96% of the US may not own an iPod, but keep in mind, from a non-techie point of view, people that have digital music players now are still considered early-adopters. At work, for instance, we are giving away an iPod as a promotion. No one in our entire office knew what that was, they thought iPod was simply a thing that you listen to music on, like, that napster thing. They don't have a clue. One of them keeps calling it "The MP3". And even people who do understand them often don't have a digital music library, besides a few songs they may have downloaded here and there, and can't see the justification for ripping all of their CDs onto their hard drive. Anyway, this huge segment of the general population won't adopt digital music players for another 1-3 years, and saturation will start to climb rapidly. When that happens, whoever has the most-recognized player on the market will grow to dominate that market. At this point, it's the iPod. But if MS *did* come out with a $50 drive-based player (shareholders don't like selling things at a loss, by the way), and it caught on, it would wind up grabbing people the same way Windows did, and Apple's investment in the whole iPod concept will be lost.
paul
paul