“Let me present the first ‘This Won’t Work With That’ awards, honoring self-serving perpetrators of toxic incompatibilities,” Steven Levy writes for Newsweek.
Levy writes, “Third prize goes to the satellite radio services Sirius and XM. It’s a good idea to offer people the opportunity to subscribe to quality, ad-free radio, but a bad idea to have two systems that don’t work with each other… Second prize goes to Apple CEO Steve Jobs for selling songs on the iTunes Music Store that play on iPods, but not on anyone else’s music players. Also, Apple has rigged the iPod so that (un-less [sic] you perform some digital surgery) songs purchased from other online stores won’t play on it. Jobs’s explanation is that it’s not something users are asking for, and if a groundswell of users clamor for compatibility, he’ll consider it. Take my word for it, Steve—when people pay for music, they want it to be playable on any device they choose… And the grand-prize winner? America Online, for shamefully maintaining AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) as a closed system.”
Full article here.
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Apple’s iTunes Music Store sells music (and video) for iPods. It works seamlessly for the end user. If you buy an also-ran digital player, you don’t get Apple iTunes in the box, so use whatever service that player maker recommends, if it’s still in business. Good luck. Our advice, buy an iPod and use the iTunes Music Store. That way, you’ll get the best device, use the best jukebox software, and get the best, most-comprehensive online store. What Levy complains about is obviously not something many users are asking for, since iTunes Music Store dominates its market even more than the iPod dominates the portable digital music player market.
Only Apple’s iTunes Music Store supports both Mac and Windows PC users. So, Levy should really be awarding the Napsters, Yahoos, and whatever other outfits are still operating his award for supporting only Windows PCs and leaving Mac users to, as usual, “settle” for the best. It’s interesting that Levy singles out Apple’s iTunes Music Store, the only major online music store that supports both Mac and Windows users, but doesn’t complain that, oh, for example, Sony PlayStation games aren’t playable in Microsoft’s Xbox and vice versa, or that, hmm, Autodesk doesn’t make AutoCAD for Mac OS X, Microsoft rigging Outlook to make it difficult to move information to Mac OS X’s Mail*, Motorola cell phone batteries don’t power Nokia phones, or even that GM auto parts don’t work in Fords.
Of course, iPods also play a variety of formats, of course, including AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Music Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3 and 4), Apple Lossless, WAV, AIFF. And Apple’s iTunes software application supports importing in high-quality AAC, high bit-rate MP3 with no extra fee, AIFF CD audio, and automatic conversion of your existing music collection from unprotected WMA, among other formats.
Apple’s iTunes Music Store exists to provide content for Mac and Windows personal computer and iPod users. It doesn’t exist to provide content for Apple’s iPod “competitors.” Consumers don’t seem to have a problem with iPod+iTunes, but certain writers and Apple competitors certainly do. If people suddenly started flocking to an iPod and/or iTunes competitor, Apple would surely consider licensing FairPlay. Of course, as Levy probably knows, people are flocking to iPod+iTunes, so the issue and Levy’s second place “award” are meaningless.
Lastly, achieving a monopoly is legal. It’s monopoly abuse that is illegal, as Microsoft knows all too well. Apple isn’t forcing anyone to buy iPods or use their iTunes Music Store. Consumers are choosing to do so of their own free will. In droves.
* To free yourself from one of the most-blatant of self-serving Microsoft’s toxic incompatibilities and get your stuff the hell out of Outlook and onto your Mac, take a look at Little Machine’s US$10 Outlook2Mac: http://www.littlemachines.com/
Related articles:
Apple’s roadkill whine in unison: ‘incompatibility is slowing growth of digital music’ – August 12, 2005
The de facto standard for legal digital online music files: Apple’s protected MPEG-4 Audio (.m4p) – December 15, 2004