Poor Debra Pickett. Pickett writes for The Chicago Sun-Times. She is experiencing what it’s like to have an iPod and a Windows personal computer. She’s also a great example of the confusion the average Jane must feel during these transitory times; the record industry’s morass, online music, and incompatible music formats.
Pickett explains, “…after a couple of weeks of iPod ownership, I decided to download some new tunes for it. I started out by going to the iTunes Web site, that cool, designed-just-for-the-iPod site where you can download any of a jillion songs for 99 cents apiece. But I couldn’t use it. My computer uses the Microsoft Windows operating system. And the iPod is made by Apple. You can’t even open the iTunes site from a Windows machine. Because even though it says right on its well-designed box that the iPod is compatible with both operating systems, that’s not exactly the whole truth.”
[MacDailyNews note: for the record, Apple’s iTunes Music Store isn’t really a website; it is a specialized “music store” accessible via an application, iTunes 4, which currently doesn’t run of Microsoft’s Windows operating system(s).]
Pickett continues, “First, you’ve got to buy an extra part to even connect an iPod to a PC. Even then, you can’t really use most of its non-music features, like the calendar and address book. All that was frustrating, but it was nothing compared to the slap in the face of not being able to use iTunes. I felt like an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire of an operating-system war.”
“Apple says it should be available to Windows users by the end of the year. Meantime, there are competing sites that promise similar deals. Most of the songs I checked out on buymusic.com cost a dollar or two to download. So I went for it. Pink, Shania Twain, Meredith Brooks — a bunch of artists who each have one song I find sort of cool. I spent about 10 bucks, then got ready to load my new purchases onto the iPod.”
[MacDailyNews note: always read the specs for your portable music player before buying music online to make sure the formats are playable. This may seem obvious, but most people don’t understand the differences between MP3, AAC, etc.]
Pickett continues, “It was all impressively official. I had to agree to a set of licensing terms for each song, saying exactly how many times I could copy it. It was just the way I’d like people to treat my copyrighted work. I was so proud. Until I realized my downloads couldn’t be played on my iPod. Because, as much as Apple hates Windows, Windows hates Apple right back. So, for now, I can listen to those fun new songs on my computer, but I can’t take them with me, which was the whole point of having them.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: “As much as Apple hates Windows, Windows hates Apple right back?” How an operating system can hate another is beyond us, especially if one, Windows, is trying so hard to be what it hates. Maybe it hates failing so dismally? iPod for Windows supports MP3 (32 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible(6), and WAV. It says so right on the box. Ms. Pickett has never complained that she can’t use Unleaded gasoline in her Diesel car, or we just can’t find it in print, but she feels no hesitancy about proclaiming her inability to play Buymusic.com purchased (rented) music in her iPod. MacDailyNews can see this being very confusing for the average person, though. Saying, “buy a Mac, problem solved” doesn’t really work here; even though Ms. Pickett would be a much happier camper all around. Asking Apple to hurry up already and get iTunes working well and shipping for Windows works better for us in this case. So, hurry up, Apple!
This bitch is stupid.
Is it true about the address book not working ? Can’t they just copy (open standard) vcards to the contacts folder on the iPod ?
Just for the record, incompatibility with iTMS is not the same as incompatibility with Windows. iTMS is ‘not compatible’ with iTMS because it only works in the US (at them moment). But that’s a completely different issue to iPod compatibility.
(Note:I’m not whinegine about non US iTMS problems, I understand the issues involved)
I don’t really understand the connector thing either. Is this because the iPod ships with a firewire cable instead of USB2 ? I do think it’s reasonable to only ship with one cable. I guess Apple a choice of FW or USB2 though as the connector on the iPod/iPod dock is proprietary (proporietary BECAUSE they decided to make iPod MORE compatible with windows).
Just burn it to a cd, and rip it to mp3. No more annoying DRM management and the greatest level of compatibility with devices (wether it is your ipod, or your fancy cellphone, or that mp3 hifi component you bought at thinkgeek, or any other mp3 player). What you loose in quality, you get back tenfolds in compatibility.
I’m sure that Windows hates her, her computer hates her while her iPod is softly purring in her lap. But you don’t feed an iPod WMP files any more than you would offer your kitty cat puppy chow to eat.
She might as well scream, “My Sony Walkman won’t use the 9-volt battery I bought, it requires 4 1.5-volt AA batteries.”
This is why Apple needs to release their Music Store for Windows users ASAP…
“You can’t even open the iTunes site from a Windows machine.”
iTunes Music Service is NOT iPod. iTMS does not work on Windows (yet) != iPod does not work with Windows.
“First, you’ve got to buy an extra part to even connect an iPod to a PC.”
I assume it is the USB2 connector. Well, blame iPod for her computer’s lacking a FireWire connection; otherwise, she would not have to buy any extra part.
“Meantime, there are competing sites that promise similar deals. Most of the songs I checked out on buymusic.com cost a dollar or two to download.”
Two dollars for Microsoft-ed audio files is not similar deals!
“It was all impressively official. I had to agree to a set of licensing terms for each song, saying exactly how many times I could copy it. It was just the way I’d like people to treat my copyrighted work. I was so proud.”
Sadly, this woman is proud for being taken advantage of. She is proud that she can waive her fair-use right in impressively official manner. I suppose as long as it looks impressively official, you can sell Sears Tower to this woman.
I guess she also’d like her work to come with a draconian license agreement.
“So, for now, I can listen to those fun new songs on my computer, but I can’t take them with me, which was the whole point of having them.”
So, instead of complaining abot iPod, why did not she complain about buymusic.com for selling her Microsoft-ed music? It seems to me that this woman misdirected all her misgivings to her iPod.
” I’ve always been sort of a nerd about following the rules.”
And yet she happily supports a company that breaks rules all the time and gets away with most. I guess she is not as nerdy as she thought she was.
iB got it right with his first post.
his reply cracked me up.
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uhmm could Pickett nick name here be ‘pc clean’ ?
Just wonder
I had a friend who lamented not being able to buy music from the iTunes Music Store on his Winblows machine and then put it on his iPod. My suggestion was to buy a Mac. He immediately did – and donated his almost brand new Sony Vaio.
The moron who wrote this column should be happy that there is an even bigger imbecile working at the Chicago Sun-Times – her editor.
It says right on the box that you need Firewire or a separate adapter. It doesn’t claim any functions for Windows that aren’t there. She didn’t even read the box, just like she didn’t read the info at buymusic.com. Frustrating, I’m sure… but not all of us get to write a column and vent just because of $10 of frustration we brought on ourselves, and which we know Apple is going to fix by bringing us iTunes.
Outpod would solve her issues for the calendar and contacts as long as she uses Outlook but does anyone use anything else on a PC and expect it to work … as for the Buy Music thing I can’t believe they are still up and running (have to be eating through money and Buy doesn’t have much to spare).
Shania Twain …. Mmmmmmm – delicious
this IGNORANT female doesnt DESERVE the IPOD…..Kindly donate it to the following address:
Me myself & I
4521 I need an IPOd ST
Youbrainlesstwat, Ca
54875
Why do news outfits continually hire computer “experts” who seem to have the basic expertise of “I used a computer in my journalism classes!”
And why can’t someone who writes for a living read simple directions…
Man, I hope Apple is ready for the horde of ignorance that Windows iTunes will bring with it…
It seems they’ll let about anyone write an article about ‘computur stuff’ these days. And forget about anyone truly knoweldgeable reading her copy to determine if what she was writing was either reasonable or true. She wouldn’t have had to ‘buy an extra part to even connect an iPod to a PC’, if she’d had a PC with a FireWire port. FireWire is the only way to connect a digital camcorder to a computer (unless you want to go analog with your digital video and audio). All PCs that call themselves ‘multimedia’ should have a FireWire (aka, IEEE 1394) port on them. If hers had had one, connecting her iPod would have been a no-brainer…which would have obviously been well within her means.
Okay…humor me here. Isn’t there some way to convert Windows closed, proprietary audio format to MP3…with the tools Billy Boy provides with the standard Windows application intallation? Or is that feature an extra cost option? Or totally unavailable (from MS), except through some third party application? Couldn’t she have converted her Windows Media files to MP3s, and then transfer them to her iPod via MusicMatch? And the vcard idea…wouldn’t that work with a Windows iPod?
Here, Debra.
http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm
http://www.mp3-converter.biz/audio-conversion-wizard/
Took me like ten minutes to find these.
This broad obviously has nada clue!
iB was right on the mark!! What is this chick, Kim Kommando’s sister?
Pink …. Mmmmmmm – delicious
Okay…humor me here. Isn’t there some way to convert Windows closed, proprietary audio format to MP3…with the tools Billy Boy provides with the standard Windows application intallation?
If she has the right to burn the music, she can rip it back to MP3. Buymusic doesn’t have uniform user rights like iTMS, so you can’t really know, unless you go to buymusic, hunt down each song she purchased, and read the license thorougly.
Oops, and my DVD-Player doesn’t play my video-cassettes! I’m sure, they hate each other!
Her ipod hates her, apple hates her, windows hates her…
Hell, I think I hate her. Can’t stand dopey stupid people like that. Damn she is stupid.
Apple should have a IQ test for these windows twits who buy products from them.
If Apple converts too many windows people you start getting all the stupid people like this one coming on board. Stupid people suck.
This is why more reporters who write about technology should actually be well versed in technology. Case in point: David Pogue of the New York Times.
People like this writer just confuse the rest of the general public and makes things worse.
Could be that this story is really a parable of sorts and not a description of something that actually occurred? Come on do you really think that a major paper would hire a tech person that is that clueless? My guess is that the article is written as a warning, in a way the average reader could understand, not to blindly expect compatibility between anything in the computer world. Well either that or she is a complete idiot…
This is a valid story/writer because it reflects what the average user experiences. The average person just wants to USE a computer — not learn how it WORKS. The reality of the market-place is people who have computers to browse the web and maybe do a few tasks and play games. Apple needs to welcome these people. iPod for Windows is not really at all the same experience. Though it can’t be quite as good, they at least should have added USB and an app/wizard to move files and provide helpful suggestions and links (you know, those third party apps that can move an Outlook calendar).
All your criticizms are true–but so what? She is afraid to read all the gobbledy-gook. That is the average user. That is probably why she bought an iPod — she thought it would be easy and “just work”. Apple is not putting its best foot forward producing a second-best tool for music (in the case of the Windows iPod).
The lot of you are being a bit too stuck-up about your computer knowledge. The whole reason that WMP DRM and BuyMusic.com will fail is that they are horrible “experiences”. Apple needs to release iTMS for Windows FAST and make the windows iPod at least Decent. I’m pretty sure Apple knows this.
But I also think she is a dimwit and not a technical writer. But that is probably why readers may enjoy here writings, because she lets them know the problems THEY will have (not everybody has a tame geek next door to call over).
OK, and I’ll ad this
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