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Why the iTunes in the Cloud Rumour Makes No Sense

Why the iTunes in the Cloud Rumour Makes No Sense

by thomasfitzgerald on 21. Jan, 2010 in Apple, Internet, Music, iTunes

There’s been a rumour doing the rounds the last few days that really doesn’t make sense. It started when some analyst (I think it was on techcrunch) said that they’d heard that Apple plans to offer people the ability to put their iTunes collection “in the cloud”. Basically, it would allow people to access their music anywhere in the world. CNET are now reporting that Apple have been talking to the record labels about the possibility. Needless to say the mac rumour web has jumped on this. I have doubts though. There’s one aspect in particular that just doesn’t make sense. Here’s an example From 9-5 Mac:

“Apple didn’t reveal much, but much like what was reported yesterday, the idea is that people would upload their music to Apple’s servers and it would be available to them anywhere in the world on any device.”

Why though would Apple make you upload your music? Surely it would make more sense to scan your library or even your iTunes sales records and see which tracks you’ve bought and allow you to stream them from Apple’s servers. I mean, why download a song from iTunes only to then re-upload it to another Apple server? There’s no way in hell you’ll be allowed to do this with content you didn’t buy through iTunes either, so forget about using this for music you’ve bought on CD.

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iTunes Fact Check

by thomasfitzgerald on 12. Oct, 2009 in Music, Technology, iPhone

In article int he Guardian about Sky’s plan to launch a music subscription service they come up with this whopper.

Unlike iTunes, which is only compatible with Apple’s iPod music players, the new site, which will be launched next Monday, will allow users to download albums for use on any MP3 player.

You would think a paper as prestigious as the Guardian would manage to get such basic facts right. Since iTunes went DRM free, you can play music downloaded from iTunes on virtually any player. Most modern music players will play AAC, the format used by Apple for iTunes. I find it amazing too how many people believe this myth. Every time iTunes is brought up in a discussion you always get a few commenters who claim that apple uses a “proprietary” format that will only work with the iPod. While this may have been true in the past with Apple’s “fair play” DRM scheme, the irony is that Apple had nothing to do with the development of the AAC audio format. It was developed by a number of companies, none of whom were apple, and is actually an ISO “standard” and was declared a standard by the same Motion Picture Experts Group who are responsible for MP3.
What many don’t realise either is that almost all modern portable music players will play AAC and have done for some time. What’s more is that AAC is a far more modern and more efficient format that MP3. People who use Apple’s use of AAC as a reason to bash the company really are only demonstrating their own ignorance. I suspect though that many burgeoning audio stores are using the older MP3 format rather than AAC so as to distinguish themselves from Apple and play up the myth that AAC is not a standard. It’s a shame because the format was specifically designed to replace MP3
[Read Sky guns for iTunes market]

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Labels to serve digital albums to iTunes rivals

by thomasfitzgerald on 28. Jul, 2009 in Apple, Music

Here’s a perfect example of when rumors spin out of control. From CNet:

Even as the music industry cooperates with Apple’s efforts, what has some insiders upset is that Apple rejected the labels’ plan. By seizing credit, Apple is being “disingenuous,” said the source.

Apple hasn’t announced anything. The only people giving them the “credit” are the rumor sites and the other media who “leaked” this story. If you ask me blaming Apple for something hey haven’t even done yet is the only thing “disingenuous” about this story.
[Read Labels to serve digital albums to iTunes rivals | Digital Media - CNET News]

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Zune HD Finally Oficially Announced.

by thomasfitzgerald on 27. May, 2009 in Microsoft, Music

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Microsoft has Finally announced the much rumored (leaked) Zune answer to the iPod touch. While ti lacks many of the iPods features, most notably the App store, it does offer some unique features that are kind of cool. For instance it will allow you to play back HD content over HDMI to a hdtv. This is pretty cool. think of it as a portable AppleTV. Of course you need the external dock, which kind of defeats the purpose. There are some odd things in their press release though. For example:

“Zune will occupy the first slot within the Xbox user interface in the Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace, exposing the Zune brand experience to millions of

new consumers for the first time. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) next week, attendees will see firsthand how Zune integrates into Xbox LIVE to create a game-changing entertainment experience.”

So basically they announced that they’re going to advertise on the xbox.

And then there’s the press image. The one above is the official Press Image from Microsoft. What’s with the “E” in market place. If that’s the way the interface is then someone needs to get fired. If it’s a bad Photoshop job then the Agency who prepared them and the person who okayed it for release needs to get fired.

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An Interesting Opportunity for Sony to Reboot The Walkman Brand

by thomasfitzgerald on 17. May, 2009 in Apple, Music, Sony, iPod, iTunes

x_series_walkman_sony.jpg.jpeg

It’s been a while since the launch of a Sony Walkman made headlines but its latest offering, the new x-series Walkman has reviewers somewhat excited. The new Walkman, despite its OLED screen, and despite its internet access, wifi and youtube, may be attempting to compete against Apple’s iPod touch, but its biggest strength is as a music player. It’s unclear if that is deliberate but it does present is an interesting point. As Apple moves it’s iPod line to be more of a multimedia handheld computing and gaming device, the market is opening up once again for a premium audio product that caters for those who want high quality audio in a portable device. Something, unfortunately Apple seems to no longer be interested in.

Before I go any further her, let me get one thing straight. Just because Apple makes the iPod, that doesn’t preclude anyone else from ever making a portable music player, and just because I’m an apple fan, it doesn’t mean I or you have to bash everything every other company makes. And just because I may say good things about a competitor doesn’t mean I’m bashing the iPod or Apple. If you can’t accept any of those simple concepts then please, don’t read any further, you won’t like it.

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Dan Moren Talks iPod Shuffle

by thomasfitzgerald on 11. Mar, 2009 in Apple, Music

Dan Moren over at Macworld highlights what has to be one of the most badly designed products from Apple in years. He echos my own feelings on the matter. When I watched the quick tour I was stuck by how unnecessarily complicated the control mechanism is. Dan sums it up nicely:

The fact that Apple has to put up this diagram tells you how much more complicated it is: how would you figure out the controls without this chart? The only markings on the controls are the “+” and “-” that mark volume controls. There is no indication of how to play or pause music.

As I said last week when Apple launched the new iMacs and introduced the sawn-off keyboard: Why is it that lately, every time Apple launches something they have to have at least one controversial aspect to it ?
Perhaps the folks at Apple should get their constant desire to think outside the box under control and temper it with the age old adage of “if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it.”
[Read The new iPod shuffle: Button, button, who's got the button? | Player Hardware | Playlist | Macworld]

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Epitaph on DRM

by thomasfitzgerald on 12. Jan, 2009 in Entertainment, Music

I’ve been a strong proponent of getting rid of DRM for quite some time. Here’s something I wrote back in 2006 (Before Steve’s infamous letter):

This is somewhat ironic, as it was the major labels that forced Apple to adopt DRM in the first place. Since then Apple has effectively owned the Digital Download space, despite many competitors, all of which have failed to gain anything like iTunes’ traction in the market. While the success of Apple’s music service has been a great boon for digital downloads, the Labels have been less than enthusiastic about their somewhat stubborn partner.

Despite attempts by label bosses to get Apple to open up its DRM to competitors the company has held fast, feeling it needs to protect its valuable iPod sales. Similar attempts to get them to agree to variable pricing have also been met with stiff refusals. This leaves the record companies in something of a quandary. The beast that they created has now come back to bite them. Had it not insisted on DRM in the first place Apple would not now hold all the cards. The ubiquity of the iPod has guaranteed that any competing but incompatible music service will almost certainly fail to ignite the market the way the labels want. And while Microsoft has demonstrated that it has no qualms in doing the record industry’s bidding, the zune looks set for spectacular failure.

…

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More murmurings about iTunes getting DRM Free Songs from Everyone

by thomasfitzgerald on 19. Nov, 2008 in Apple, Music

AppleInsider reports on the latest rumors. Fingers Crossed. Would be a nice announcement for Macworld.

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