“When Microsoft unveils its online music store later this week, the first song offered should be Dave Brubeck’s ‘t’s D
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*Yawn*…..did someone say something?
“Plays for Sure “
The first question I can think of that that might be answering is Will it play on my iPod? I am guessing that’s not the question they were hoping anyone would ask. What other question is suppossedly so ubiquitous that this slogan is answering? I don’t get it.
Apple’s solution is more proprietary than Microsoft’s.
What a laugh.
Apple has proprietary DRM on a standard audio codec. Microsoft has proprietary DRM on a proprietary audio codec. Apple’s DRMed codec is used by more buyers than any other by a long shot. By any metric, Microsoft is more proprietary than Apple.
Eric … a whif of desperation just passed…smell it?
Yeah, but we all have to be careful in discounting Microsoft’s solution. While I seriously doubt it will be as functional as Apple’s iTunes, I think we all realize now that quality doesn’t always dictate success.
As the summary aptly notes, Microsoft does have a lot of traffic. Whether we like the program or not, Windows Media Player has a lot of users. Internet Explorer often defaults to Microsoft owned websites, and most people don’t bother to change that. In the end, Microsoft still has a commanding lead on the computing market, and can very easily take a lead in the online music department.
On the bright side, Microsoft’s solution would probably hurt Real more than it will hurt Apple, so hopefully we can at least see that music store go by the wayside.
P.S. Is BuyMusic.com still around?
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I’m so tired of windows taking other peoples ideas and making them their own (poorly I might add) maybe Bill Gates should shell out some of his billions and make something original.
Get a life microSOFT
What people don’t understand is this.
PC people are cheap, Mac people have more money.
PC people steal software and download P2P music,
Mac people buy most of their music and software.
With iTunes on the PC, Apple has nailed the rich PC crowd already who would buy music in the first place.
Microsoft will eventually dominate because their Music Store will be integrated into Windows and preloaded on PC’s.
Newbies will use it first and expect that.
But the smart and rich crowd already have bought most of their music under iTunes.
Now with iTunes preloaded on every HP computer sold, that’s going to give M$ a slight headache.
It’s all about the OEM’s.
Mac OS X on X86 is a possibility through HP and IBM.
And once the domino’s start to fall, they keep on going and going and going and going and going and going…
IN honor of Microsoft opening their Music store, I suggest we all buy 3 songs from the iTunes Music Store. I sure will.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” /> heheheh
It seems Micros**t equates the music lovers to the relative ignorant Windows user who does not know s/he can do all the same on a Mac, without the hassles and with a better computing experience.
The music buyer goes for the iPod, not a cheapo alternative, otherwise the iPod would have collapsed under the price factor with the first MP3 ugly but at $60 player.
People buying music online mostly have iPods – just look at the iTMS weekly sold tracks – and those who are inclined to would rather get an iPod.
Who is the Micros**t target? iPod users on Windows? BZZZZZ, M$Store is not compatible: “Play for Sure”? NOT.
The rest of all players combined do not make for a third of iTMS market.
Music is one of those forms of entertainment where quality matters. People who buy music online want the best-sounding audio format and for now that is DRM AAC. Microsoft may compensate for this by increasing the kbs setting and dropping the price to less than US $0.99 per track.
Sure Micro$oft has a lot of traffic, can’t beat that. The traffic is mainly window updates/supports which. Sure go buy a song while trouble shooting your spyware/virus/trojaned Window system.
With Microsoft’s DRM, M$ should be advertising with the slogan “Plays for sure–at least for now” !!
Anything less than that should cause a legal process for false advertising.
One suggestion to MS to bring up the download numbers:
Load one security patch – get a song free!
i’m just wondering how many security issues will be involved with mikroscheisse’s online music service. i mean, internet explorer isn’t secure without an update every other day, and mikrsocheisse expects to handle millions of customer’s credit cards?!
re: Kill Bill Volume 2
most PC users don’t get macs because they think viruses attack every computer not just their PC. Also most don’t know what macs are (at least outside the US), and since everyone has a PC it must is, for them, the right thing to get.
Comparing rich and poor just because of what computer they have sounds rather simplistic…
LOL, Microscheisse! Good one.
We should open a thread with all the ways people call Microsoft in a national/regional to show how much they appreciate the company.
Interesting times ahead.
Perhaps MS are not trailblazing, but as we have seen with the OS wars, the way to win the most market share is often not to offer the best product but to licennse to as many other companies as possible. Knowing that folks like to gravitate round a comon standard. PCs were just too big for them to be dominated by one company and so you had many different companies selling hardware and converging on a single OS. Had Apple licensed its OS it may have been in with a chance. In the music business the hardware will continue to be shared by many vendors, despite Apples early lead, but eventually it will need to settle on one standard format or DRM. I thinnk that unless Apple are prepared to licence their DRM in future, MS may well overtake them in market share. Music sales are just too big to be dominated by one single company.
Sorry, this is old news. Yes, MS will drop their “bomb” this week, but it’ll be just that: a bomb.
Here’s a point by point review of what’ll happen with Microsoft’s music store…
http://www.mac360.com/index.php/mac360/more/microsoft_music_ready_to_crush_ipod_itunes/
Can you say, “STINK!”
john, there is one fake note in your music. This time users can give a damn of what DRM is in place. It is the music.
What do you care if you get Flaming Lips album with Fairplay or WMA for as long as you can get it and have it play in no time on your player. Microsoft store is not compatible with iPod: its presence will be totally irrelevant to iPod users, current and future users.
Apple has the player and the store. It could care less of other DRM and it already HAS a standard format: MP4 (or AAC: blunder, they should have called apples apples). It is Microsoft that uses a proprietary one.
This is not software or applications or file exchange. The rules of the OS war have no place here, and it is what pundits keep forgetting.
AND, the player people want is the iPod.
People do not say: “I want to buy an MP3 player”. They say “I want to buy an iPod” and Micros**t store is not compatible.
The market is driven by the player not the store.
MS is delusional in thinking people will switch their iPod to another iDull player *just* so to use their store.
It’s not the store: it’s the player.
And HP bundled iTMS and specific HP support to use it and selling the iPod through their channels will plain and simple cement that.
I think m$ should concentrate on sorting out the fiasco in their OS and not going into new markets!
RE: KILL BILL – MICROSOFT WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO HAVE THEIR MEDIA PLAYER PRE-INSTALLED – PERIOD!
If they do then the whole of Europe will be sueing their asses (REMEMBER THE EUROPEAN ANTI-TRUST CASE!!!!)
Knowing M$ – their store will not be intuitive, convenient and will be designed by a 4 year old.
M$ is fighting this in battle in new ground – ground that APPLE have dominated since 1984.
This isn’t the corporate market – this is the consumer market and APPLE are experts in this market.
Seems you all are comfortable trading one monopolist for another:
Microsoft for Apple
Bill Gates for Steve Jobs
—
Apple users aren’t that different than Windows users. Both user bases have their share of thieves, pirates, and such. Both have their share of liars, evangelists, and such.
It’s funny. When you aren’t an elitest – I don’t have to make less of another individual to feel good about myself – you see how ugly platform-lovers are.
—
I hope this DRM stuff doesn’t find its way into CD or DVD copying (burn an audio CD to remove DRM). I’ve got a music collection of about 1000 CDs and I have yet to need iTMS or other download service. But when I do start downloading music, I’d like to have as much freedom with my paid-for music as I currently do with my paid-for CDs.
Apple/Microsoft/Real/Other… I hope the downloaded song isn’t going to lock me into using a *SINGLE* player/platform, portable or not.
Seems you all are comfortable trading one monopolist for another:
Microsoft for Apple
Bill Gates for Steve Jobs
—
Apple users aren’t that different than Windows users. Both user bases have their share of thieves, pirates, and such. Both have their share of liars, evangelists, and such.
It’s funny. When you aren’t an elitest – I don’t have to make less of another individual to feel good about myself – you see how ugly platform-lovers are.
—
I hope this DRM stuff doesn’t find its way into CD or DVD copying (burn an audio CD to remove DRM). I’ve got a music collection of about 1000 CDs and I have yet to need iTMS or other download service. But when I do start downloading music, I’d like to have as much freedom with my paid-for music as I currently do with my paid-for CDs.
Apple/Microsoft/Real/Other… I hope the downloaded song isn’t going to lock me into using a *SINGLE* player/platform, portable or not.
To me, it’s about the ability to play music – so in essence, I agree with Seahawk in that it’s about the player.
However, my thinking in choosing the iPod over other mp3 players is about as different as it is the same as other iPod owners.
In order, the Ipod:
– is *open* for the most part.
– has a good interface (iTunes).
– implementation is/was superior to other player/software combinations.
– is built very well.
Notice how none of those reasons are “because it’s an Apple”. If another company were to build a player that satisfied or improved on the above, then I’d consider that product when the time comes.
—
I think it’s sad, however, that as I begin to download music, I’ll be forced to use Apple’s iTMS. And well… I didn’t buy into the iPod so that I would be forced into using a sole source for music downloads. Hey… that kinda feels like a MS move, but I guess it’s okay when Apple does it.
When I buy a product (such as download music), I want to use it how I see fit. I want to get fair use out of it. I don’t want future purchases to be locked or tethered to one source – Apple.
So, I’ll be forced into either finding a way to break the DRM or switch to another product that is a more open experience.
Looking at it that way, it’s obvious it’s more about the music playing experience than it is about the player. But then again, I’m no Apple loyalist and I don’t go out of my way to defend them at all costs.
It’s about the music for me and not about the player. I like the iPod for its sizzle not because it’s an Apple.