“Even as Apple continues to develop an iTunes to rule them all, Google’s battle with Apple continues — and a fresh skirmish is seen this morning with the sneak preview of what at first appeared to be search giant’s own cloud-based iTunes-killer, Google Music,” Jonny Evans reports for Computerworld.
“Purported publication of a Chinese-language webpage for the service, which promised music in both streamed and a la carte forms, came as Google officially applied for a new operating license in China,” Evans reports. “If it fails to win the license then it will be forced to cease operations there in 2012.”
Evans reports, “The appearance of this seeming music site later saw Google PR begin moves to deny this was Google Music, but its appearance still ignites a little rumination round the Apple-holic water cooler… As we think we know, Apple seems set to launch (or at least preview) its own iTunes streaming service in September, so for this Christmas at least, the Google v. Apple war means we live in interesting times.”
Full article here.
alansky
What do you suggest to spur more development?
And keep in mind that lowering production cost to make things more affordable is considered development.
Look at LED TVs, HTIBs, cell phones, even the Kindle, Nook, and iPad.
Every vehicle that I have driven for the last 15 years has lived over the 200,000 mile mark.
My washer and dryer work with less energy and are faster and quieter than the ones they replaced.
I bought two 1TB external hard-drives for about the same price I would have paid for one 500 GB a few years ago.
Every camera I have bought in the last 5 years has gotten better and cheaper, does more with less space and battery power.
These things have gotten cheaper and better, and these are just off the top of my head. So what the Hell is it that you want?
Also, when you talk of cut-throat competition, you are showing that lower prices may be the culprit. Smaller margins leave less for development of new products, and if the big sellers are the cheap ones, then you will not get many new products in that field.
If you are talking computers, then Apple has been competing as an underdog for years and kept with their growth strategy, which has been slow and steady. That has paid off.
Thankfully they were smart enough to develop a business model for competition and weren’t worried about looking flashy.
Of course, you can still hold out for that Panasonic Tricorder, if that gets you through the night…
@Tower..
thanks, now I’ll have that song looping in my head for the rest of the day.
@temprakneeoh
Sorry, I used to be huge Joni fan…then I lost some weight.
@TowerTone:
Most product development has very little to do with innovation in the way that I understand the term. Updating features and lowering costs is all well and good, but true innovation is about coming up with something that actually raises the bar; and this happens only rarely, for the most part, in the consumer electronics industry. The first iMac was a game changer, as were the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Apple under Steve Jobs’ leadership has an innovative soul. However, most companies are content to make incremental improvements to familiar products year after year until somebody comes up with an innovative new product that forces everybody else to move forward (or at least try to) in order to compete.
In other words, innovation is the spark that ignites competition—not the other way round. For most companies, maximizing profits is the ultimate goal, not making the best products. Human nature being what it is (remember the bell-shaped curve), “best” and “most profitable” don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand. In fact, what we’re faced with today is an economic system where “most profitable” equates with “cheapest” rather than “best”. This is truly a pity. In such a world, the very notion of “excellence” is lost, or at least lost sight of. Like most things, money makes a very good servant but a terrible master.
Apple killer huh. In the auto world, they say the same thing about BMW every single year. And every single year, manufacturer after manufacturer loses out to the standard, BMW. Sega did a similar thing with always playing catch-up with nintendo and didn’t try to be innovative. Playing catch-up always results in being behind in the end.
Historical, biblical, painstakingly unique or exceptionally common, first names are the great marker of identity. New parents need to look no further than the Internet for thousands of options, and some even enlist the help of naming consultants and numerologists to find the perfect moniker. For every thousand people in the world named Sarah or Michael, there’s an Apple, Pilot Inspektor or Sage Moonblood. But depending on where you live, your proposed name for your new baby could be illegal.
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