“Safari’s weak market position allows for Google to make bold moves, as evidenced by their recent discontinuation of h.264 support within their Chrome browser in favor of its WebM video codec,” Reschke reports. “While this isn’t a direct affront to iTunes or Safari, it is an attempt to further alienate the iOS platform, which also damages Safari.”
Reschke reports, “It is believed that Safari will be the only browser able to access iTunes, as iTunes is built into the browser itself. ‘Moving iTunes organizational side-bar into Safari isn’t a monumental task’ claimed a source, adding ‘Safari would skyrocket in use as a result of integrating the software titles together.'”
Read more in the full article here.
Are you talking about iTunes the player of iTunes the (music/app/everything else) Store?
I completely disagree with a music player merging with Safari.
I can’t really complain for the Store as it’s merely that on iOS.
Very interesting. A response to Eric de Mole’s WebM.
I wish Steve Jobs would pen a letter addressing the whole video thing, or better yet have Apple buy out the rights to 264
With both being based on webkit technology, the process should be smooth and seamless.
@Kelly McNeill
Hahaha….you said “smooth and seamless” lol
I don’t see the advantage of this move.
I also think this is a move to do away from the name iTunes, since it much more than just music now. Safari will be the main name for the software. itunes will just be a category.
Interesting idea, but why? If the primary reason is to force users to use Safari if they want access to iTunes, then that reason seems bogus. Many users, including Apple lovers, prefer other browsers over Safari. Why force customers into one product for no technological reason other than screwing Google. That just doesn’t seem like Apple’s way.
This idea reeks of bloatware.
But Apple have to do something to counter the evil moves by Google.
In my opinion they would be better splitting iTunes up.
Apple forcing people to use their browser to do things? Sounds eerily similar to how Microsoft used to behave. I wonder if people will have similar outrage to this? But since it’s Apple, probably not…
And in other news, apple predicted to merge QuickTime and flash. Rumoured to be called “quash”. Oh wait, screwgle already did that Flogg Theory
If this happens I’ll move to Chrome.
@ericdano I wonderd about the possibility of Apple just buying the rights (or whatever it would be) for h.264 for MPEG-LA (.. is that the right group? I really shouldn’t have an opinion if I’m this clueless) and removing the royalties associated with it. I suppose it’s not that easy.
I hope this rumor isn’t true. iTunes does too much as it is. It needs to spin off synchronization and the app store into separate applications. It wouldn’t hurt to separate music and videos, either.
The only thing iTunes doesn’t do is word processing, it seems.
3 of the apps i have on my mac mini, is safari, itunes, app store. Why have 3 apps open at same time when you can have just one. Everything could be accessed by just clicking on a category like itunes is now. better yet, they can add the mail app inside it too
I value privacy and don’t like the idea of having accessing my entire music libraby on a web browser. Horsefeathers! Poppycock! You better believe it!
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First impressions – I don’t want my browser to do anything other than browse, I certainly don’t want iTunes in my browser.
After thinking about it a bit longer – If any company can make this work it will be Apple but I hope they are doing it for the right reasons and not boost Safari’s use or to combat Google Chrome because of some competing codec squabble.
What kind of uproar will this create in Europe if iTunes can only be found on Safari. MS didn’t fair to well when their OS had IE tightly integrated, even though other web browsers were out there to download, which cannot be said of iTunes… Just throwing that out there.
Addendum:
I know iTunes is available for PC as a download, but will that option change if Safari and iTunes merge to become one, thus funneling people to Safari? What of the others?
It doesn’t seem like a good idea to me. It would generate more cries of tyranny from Apple.
iTunes is the backbone of the IOS world, and it seems to work close to flawlessly for an app that big, and in constant flux. Why mess with this, unless it can be made substantially better?
The history of integrated software is littered with failures (e.g.Works packages, Netscape Communicator)
iTunes Store shopping from the browser? OK. Not much different from Amazon of Netflix.
Media playback? No thank you.
Whether you use Safari or not, if you use iTunes, the net effect of this would be nil. You would use one application (Safari) to use iTunes. Safari users move from 2 apps to 1.
I use Firefox. So, the net effect for me is zip unless there are other advantages that may be produced from the combination of the two apps. Maybe itunes will bring some new capability to the Apple TV, for example. Full browser capability (must include Flash) and would combine the apps that are separated on the ATV like You Tube and Netflix. This would add Hulu, Pandora and a host of others.
…just thinking out loud…
Not a very good idea in my opinion.
iTunes needs to be more clearly defined at some point, but I don’t know that merging with Safari is the answer.
For years, the iTunes name has been outdated.
I was hoping for some time that would rename iTunes “iMedia” with sub-categories:
• iTunes for music and music videos
• iBooks for books
• iNewstand for magazine and newspaper subscriptions & purchases
• App Store for all App Stores with tabs for iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad and Mac
• iMovie for movies rentals & purchases (if iMovie editing software is renamed)
• iTV for television rentals & purchases
• Podcasts
• A separate iSync app that is used for all syncing to devices
The biggest problem would be educating consumers on the name switch
Thing is – if Apple does it…it will succeed. Period. 80% of people could not care less about browsers. Just need it to work. Remember when people use to point at the IE icon and call it “the Internet” – LOL. Most just don’t care. But if they need it to sync iPhone and iPods and iPads – they WILL use it.