Sep 21, 2007 Sep 23, 2007 Saturday September 22, 2007
-
Rumor: Mac OS X Leopard Gold Master
Surely some revelation is at hand as rumor sites align: Leopard is nigh.Read More...
-
TUAW Talkcast #7: Inside the iPhone Dev Team
Filed under: PodcastsListen in for a wild and wide-ranging session with special guest Kai Cherry as we cover the ins and outs of the iPhone development scene, with an emphasis on the unlock options that have emerged. We had a rollicking time last Sunday night (so rollicking, in fact, that it's taken me all week to mix down the show -- my apologies!) and we are working on improving the audio quality both for the live show and the final podcast that results. You can catch the show on our feeds (RSS and iTunes) or via direct download here.Please join us again tomorrow night (Sunday 9/23 at 9 pm ET) for another live show; more discussion of your favorite Apple topics with bloggers Mike Schramm, Dave Caolo and Mat Lu. Shuffle on over to Talkshoe for the client and call-in details. Remember, with the new Talkshoe interface you can call in anonymously (#1 after entering the show ID, 45077), auto-connect with your PIN via caller ID (#2), or just start entering your PIN immediately. VoIP clients like Gizmo, Xmeeting, Skype or Talkshoe's built-in Shoephone will also work just fine.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
-
Forbes Prints Insanely Self Serving Attack on iTunes by MediaNet CEO Alan McGlade
Daniel Eran Dilger Forbes, best known to many readers as the soapbox Daniel Lyons used to promote–perhaps unwittingly–a pro-Microsoft agenda backing SCO and vilifying Linux and open source, has taken another opportunity to present outrageously false information serving the interests of Microsoft: an impassioned outcry of rage over the success of iTunes. (more…)
-
First pic of an AT&T-branded 8925 / Tilt, 9/30 release date?
Filed under: Cellphones For Windows Mobile users, the HTC Kaiser / TyTN II / MDA Vario III / AT&T 8925 ("Tilt") US release is equivalent in excitement to the launch of another handset widely anticipated by Apple fans, but unlike the iPhone, poor WinMo diehards have no definitive date at which to target their enthusiasm. We've heard numerous rumored release windows before -- and most recently, word of yet another possible delay -- with none having panned out so far, meaning you should take the following tidbit with the usual skepticism: e-tailer Negri Electronics has started taking pre-orders on both the 8925 (pictured above) and camera-less 8900, and claims that units are expected to be in stock on Sunday, September 30th. If the photo they're running is indeed the AT&T production version, potential buyers can be somewhat relieved that the color scheme has not changed from the unlocked model (unlike the fugly offering from T-Mobile Germany), but as we expected, the front cam and all possibility of hacked video calling have been eliminated. Hey, gotta give the early adopters something for spending double the subsidized price. Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
-
Forbes Prints Insanely Self Serving Attack on iTunes by MediaNet CEO Alan McGlade
Daniel Eran DilgerForbes, best known to many readers as the soapbox Daniel Lyons used to promote--perhaps unwittingly--a pro-Microsoft agenda backing SCO and vilifying Linux and open source, has taken another opportunity to present outrageously false information serving the interests of Microsoft: an impassioned outcry of rage over the success of iTunes.This time, rather than using a journalist Forbes gave its bullhorn to Alan McGlade, the CEO of MediaNet Digital. Although not identified as such by Forbes, his company supplies the music library behind MTV's Urge, Yahoo, FYE, and the Zune Marketplace, all of which are Microsoft’s partner Windows Media DRM stores. I wonder if he has anything bad to say about Apple and its music business?[Daniel Lyons: Fake Steve Jobs and the SCO Shill Who Hated Linux]Tear Down This Wall!In a rapturous plea to abandon Apple, McGlade complained that "In a flat, digital world, walls don't need to be torn down. Thanks to online file sharing and social networking, people are able to go over, under and through walls." No doubt the company stocking Microsoft's Windows Media stores would like nothing more than an open playing field where everyone could compete. Oh wait, companies already can. Stores like eMusic profitably sell MP3s online next to iTunes, and Apple has made no efforts to erect barriers to sales of open music on the iPod. Apple does stop DRM providers from using the iPod, and this incenses DRM providers like Real and Microsoft.The other problem for companies selling egregious DRM is that customers hate their business models. People don't want to pay to rent music, or they would be. They have had lots of opportunity to do so.McGlade is bitter to have partnered with Microsoft--the most deviously anticompetitive and monopolistic company in technology and the biggest proponent of the most restrictive types of DRM--only to lose out in the music business to more permissive and liberal stores like Apple's iTunes and the popular iPod, which will not support anti-consumer Windows Media DRM at all.[Of Apple And Oranges - Forbes]McGlade Cries Over His Own DRM Failure. McGlade weeps out a portrait of his own failure, writing, "How is it then that one of the world's most innovative technology companies has managed to erect its own exclusive, and so far impregnable, kingdom? A relatively small percentage of world music sales occur through digital downloads. But, those that do, happen mainly through iTunes, Apple's online music store. "It's hard to remember any one company establishing such total control over a segment of our culture as Apple has on digital music. The iPod accounts for 70% of personal music player sales, while iTunes is estimated to direct more than three-quarters of all music downloads."Yes it is easy to forget about Microsoft when you are bound to the company's teat. With some objective perspective, perhaps even McGlade could recognize that he bought into a deal that was 'guaranteed to win' because of Microsoft's 97% monopoly hold over computers worldwide. But he lost, and miserably so, as he points out. Now he wants the market to pay him without having to compete. McGlade expects the world to ‘correct’ his defeat because he is simply owned profits for offering DRM in partnership with Microsoft. Sorry McGlade, you have to earn your money.[Microsoft’s Outrageous Office Profits]Double Locked Down!"Apple has maximized its dominance of the digital music market with a double lockdown." McGlade says, but leaves it somewhat unclear what either of those locks are. "The combined clout of iPod and iTunes is mutually reinforcing and gives Apple enormous marketing leverage." Is the iPod at all locked to iTunes music? No, in fact we know, as McGlade earlier pointed out, that downloads only amount to a small percentage of music on all music players, including iPods. Most music comes from users’ own CDs.McGlades' comment is particularly saturated in hypocrisy because the stores he represents--as a competitor to iTunes--are mostly geared toward subscription plans, and therefore lock users to to a specific store and lock them to a monthly fee. That's the real double lock down, but McGlade doesn't want his readers to think about that. He just wants their money.[BBC Prints Irresponsible Rubbish on Apple]Remember: Apple is the New Microsoft.McGlade then describes how Apple is defining popular music, and that it has the power to promote music on the front page of iTunes. He warns that "as digital devices diversify [through the imminent adoption of Microsoft-partnered players]... music lovers will inevitably seek digital music from a multiplicity of sources [selling music from MediaNet]."This makes lots of sense! I know when I find a grocery store offering good deals on everything I need, I run to competitors to see if I can pay more to sign up for subscription memberships that will bill me whether or not I shop with them.McGlade then describes Apple as the Orwellian "Big Brother of the digital music scene." In case you didn’t get the memo that’s being passed around by every flack in the business of shilling, Apple is the New Microsoft, and so consumers should revile the company and flee to the safe harbor of Microsoft, which is now, logically, less of a Microsoft than Apple.Forbes’ Lisa DiCarlo paints ugly pictures of Apple at every opportunity, but really outdid herself with the 2005 headline “Is Apple The New Microsoft?� which castigated Apple for its lawsuits against bloggers. In the same year, Daniel Lyons advised in Forbes’ “Attack of the Blogs� that, “you can't stop bloggers from launching an allout attack on you or your business if that's what they decide to do--but you can defend yourself.� So which is it Forbes?Since then, the idea that “Apple is the New Microsoft� has been aped by such objective thinkers as Paul Thurrott of Windows Supersite, and supreme shill Mike Elgan, the former editor of PCWorld. How they can claim that Apple is bad for being like the company they have made excuses for over the last two decades is difficult to explain. Fortunately, they’re still wrong.[Microsoft Surface: the Fine Clothes of a Naked Empire][Paul Thurrott's Merciless Attack on Artie MacStrawman][Myth 4: The iTunes Monopoly Myth]Forbes' Fraud in Photos.We don’t expect much from Thurrott and Elgan. We might expect more from Forbes. However, in a move that erases any suggestion that Forbes is objective and honest in the information it publishes, McGlade and Forbes put together a slide show of stomach churning, false information that goes far past disingenuous and lands directly in a patch of flat out fraud.The first slide depicts a “DRM is Killing Music" t-shirt featuring an iPod. McGlade says "It's through proprietary DRM software that Apple enforces iTunes/iPod exclusivity." Except that that is a lie. The iPod doesn’t use DRM at all unless users chose to buy tracks online, which only a minority of users do.He then notes that things are changing, starting, he says, with Universal and WalMart. He also notes that "Apple, to its credit, has embraced this shift, offering DRM-free downloads on its site. However, every other retailer chose to offer-DRM free in the open MP3 format except for Apple."This is all very convincing except for the fact that we all know that Apple shocked the industry by announcing the first DRM free deal with EMI. Other groups slinked along later, offering a few MP3s only when browsing Windows-only sites as WalMart does. Apple sells its music in AAC format, which is as open as MP3, but more technically sophisticated and easier to license. McGlade is working hard to associate DRM with the iPod, but he’s withholding the truth to do so.The second slide of misinformation depicts the clunky failure of the Zune, along with a McGlade caption that notes "Serious competition [to the iPod] has emerged in the past year or so, and its impact is beginning to be felt." No it hasn't. The Zune is a joke and a major failure. Microsoft is losing billions in its consumer electronics efforts in order to establish a monopoly position in music with Windows Media, but is failing. McGlade is just sorry to be on the losing side, and is scrambling to tell us that up is down. [Ten More Myths of Zune]More Promotional Zune Fraud.McGlade dives deeper into the toilet to fish out a third slide, which depicts a man in a wireless cafe using a Titanium PowerBook, photoshopped to obscure its Apple logo and further tampered to include what appears to be fake Intel and Windows stickers. To what further fraud will Forbes stoop?Dear Forbes: your next assignment to is photoshop a VW Beetle to look like a generic car, and then use it in an article assailing Volkswagen for being too much like General Motors in the 1970s.But what does a doctored Apple laptop at a hotspot have to do with the music industry? "Samsung, Sandisk and Microsoft's Zune were the first to innovate with features like wireless, access to music subscription services, unprecedented battery life and larger screens,� the caption announced. “Fast wireless puts the 'music anywhere' dream within reach.�The Zune did include WiFi, but it was completely worthless for anything apart from draining the battery. Microsoft limited it solely for use as a way to send exploding commercials to other Zune users. It was Apple that delivered the first and only WiFi music store, delivering the supposed 'dream' of buying music anywhere. McGlade makes no mention of this because he makes no money on sales through iTunes.[iPod vs Zune: A Buyer's Guide]Enter the iPhone."While Apple has scored another hit with the iPhone, the company will posses only a tiny segment, about 1%, of the global cellphone market in the product's first year." McGlade wrote. He should have said, "1.5% of the market in its first month," but his version sounds better for rivals. Why would he need to lie about the iPhone in a music article? "By 2008, hundreds of millions of these phones will employ standard Microsoft software that will make them compatible with most download stores and subscription services." Because that "standard Microsoft software" would sell McGlade's MusicNet content, he has to desperately overreach to suggest that the future will suddenly change and consumers will somehow get excited about Microsoft's truly awful Windows Mobile products, despite their being a complete failure on the market even prior to the release of the iPhone. Microsoft only has a tiny scrap of the smartphone market, about 5%, despite representing a broad selection of phone makers for half a decade. Apple outsold every one of those models in its debut month, selling at a premium price. That adds up to a wide spectrum of flacks, shills, and desperate CEOs ready to bad mouth Apple for their own loss in supporting Microsoft.[Secret iPhone Details Lost in a Sea of Hype and Hate][Apple: iPhone Now Costs Less than Ballmer's Lame Motorola Q]Music Anywhere.The next slide describes diverse devices that can play digital content, and depicts a Pioneer car CD player, which can play MP3 CDs and the radio. That means it can play CDs burned with iTunes, including purchased tracks, but not subscription music or WMA DRM.It strangely makes no mention of AirPort Express or Apple TV and their ability to play iTunes content wirelessly to home stereos or TV, or Apple’s lead in iPod integration with car makers, or its deals with airlines to plug the iPod into in-flight audio and video playback systems. That would undermine the intent of the photos. Besides, Forbes just printed an article by Scott Woolley which pretended that Apple TV was a huge failure compared to the massive losses behind Tivo (tens of millions per year) and Microsoft (billions).As reader Timothy Bandy pointed out, “overall, TiVo-owned subscriptions totaled 1.71 million, up 136,000 on an annual basis compared to the year ago-period.“So if Apple sold 250,000 Apple TVs, it's already doubled the amount of new customers Tivo made last year; or to put it another way, they already have 1/7th of Tivos' customer base without hardly trying. And as you pointed out, I doubt they've lost several million bucks in the process.�[Scott Woolley Attacks Apple TV in Forbes, Gets the Facts Wrong]Double Locked Down Subscription Services.Touting the double locked down rental music business McGlade represents, the next slide notes, "subscription services, which allow unlimited access to millions of music tracks for an average set monthly fee of $10 to $15, have been around for some time." Yes, and have failed miserably! "But with the advent of wireless-enabled players, phones and home devices, they are just now poised to deliver on an awesome promise: access to virtually all recorded music, anywhere, any time." How? Ubiquitous networking "may soon render the idea of exclusive music ownership obsolete." In other words, no CDs for you. You will rent what MusicNet sells you, and you'll like it at whatever price they set. You can rent access from any Microsoft/MusicNet store you chose, and play it on any Microsoft PlaysForSure or Zune player you pick, just not both, because they’re aren’t compatible with each other. Both are, however, double locked down.Music You Want.Speaking of which, McGlade reaches out embrace Latinos and Christian music buyers by advertising two specialty web stores that sell music from... well, you-know-who: MusicNet. For this shameless and desperate advertisement / hit piece masquerading as news, Forbes gets a Zoon, as does MusicNet and its shameless CEO, Alan McGlade. Good luck trying to sell it, they’re worthless! I crank them out like paper money.What do you think? I really like to hear from readers. Comment in the Forum or email me with your ideas. Like reading RoughlyDrafted? Share articles with your friends, link from your blog, and subscribe to my podcast! Submit to Reddit or Slashdot, or consider making a small donation supporting this site. Thanks!
-
Ask TUAW: Address Book Smart Groups, printer problems, Saft, and more
Filed under: Features, Tips and tricks, Troubleshooting, Ask TUAWAs I mentioned on Wednesday, the September 12 Ask TUAW prompted an avalanche of questions--too many to address in one post. So as a special this week, we present Ask TUAW, round II. This time around we'll be covering questions about FairPlay in podcasts, a Company Smart Group in Address Book, sharing an internet connection, migrating from PC to Mac, trying to fix printer problems, and more.Next week we'll return to our regular Wednesday schedule. As always, you're welcome to leave suggestions and/or questions for next week in the comments below.Continue reading Ask TUAW: Address Book Smart Groups, printer problems, Saft, and moreRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments
-
Hahlo 2.0
New version of Dean Robinson’s iPhone web app client for Twitter. Very nice. ★
-
Flickr Find: 40 Nanos laid out
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family, Flickr Find Aaron bought 40 of the new iPod nanos for a client (all he says is that he had to put content on them), and apparently was struck by how beautiful they were all lined up together, so he got a quick photo shoot set up on Flickr.While I called them stubby and squished before, I have to admit that they look pretty darn elegant in these pics. I'm still not buying one (an iPhone is going to be my next purchase, very soon here), but the design is growing on me a little bit. I still think the scroll wheel looks weird, though-- it balances perfectly on the old iPods, and here it's too small and leaves too much space open on the sides. I'm no Ive, but I know what I like.Thanks, AaronS!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
-
Videos: Steve Jobs at the London iPhone Debut
Apple (AAPL) has not provided video of Steve Jobs' performance at the Sept. 18 "Mum is no longer the word" press conference in London, but there were plenty of cameras at the event and some of the footage has started to show up on YouTube. Below the fold: 1. Jobs answers a long, British-style 3-part question with an analogy about going on a few dates before getting married. 2. Jobs characterizes Apple's relationship with iPhone hackers as a game of cat and mouse. 3. Jobs answers the "why no G3?" question by describing the iPhone network as an EDGE and Wi-Fi sandwich.
-
TUAW Best of the Week
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family, iTS, Steve Jobs, Apple, iPhoneOur best posts of the week, all organized in one post for your perusal. Erica's passed the baton off to me for this edition yet again, and here we go.Apple looks out for my best interestsAnd by that, Erica means they don't.The state of the iTouch jailbreakIs not good, unfortunately.Metaliveblogging's Apple's "Mum is no longer the word" eventIs it wrong of me to wish every post from Nik started with the words, "Good morning, TUAW readers. London calling"?Run widgets (kinda) on your iPhoneErica's (kinda) hackaround lets you have a portable Dashboard.Coming in iPhone 1.1.1, probablyA short look at what might be in the next iPhone update.TUAW + iPhone turns your loved ones into piratesYaaar maties, Talk Like a Pirate... and look like one, too. Smelling like a pirate is up to you.iTunes: Free ThursdayIncluding the Prison Break season premiere. I haven't seen it in a while-- is he still following that tattoo map or are they past that?iTunes: Free FridayMore freebies, including a few frepeats (TM).Radiohead ditches iTunes to keep album completeFighting for the consumer is great-- except when you're fighting against the artist?Orange gets French iPhone in NovemberAnd our French readers say oui.Mac 101: Three Dock tipsGet to know your Dock. All over again.NBC to offer content, DRM via NBC DirectNBC plans their own player, and no one cares.Ask TUAW: Automounting a network drive, iPhone flash memory, XMP photo metadata and moreYou ask, we answer. Coming soon: TUAW Direct, where you'll only be able to read our answers, and no one else's. Plus, special this week Ask TUAW, Round II.iPod touch dark screen problemsQuality control problem messing up iPod touch screens? Lame.Permalink | Email this | Comments
-
iPod touch review
Filed under: Features, Portable Audio, Portable Video Yeah, we know we're a little late with this one, but we see the iPod touch as a pretty major turning point for Apple's iPod line; when it was announced, we finally thought we'd found an iPod we could really get behind. For years technology enthusiasts pondered the possibility of an Apple-made widescreen, WiFi-enabled portable media device, and they finally did just that -- even throwing in a few things that, prior to the iPhone, we might not have expected, like a full-fledged web browser, internet video player (YouTube), multi-touch interface, etc. But after playing with the touch for a few days, it's become pretty clear that Steve was right when he declared that the iPhone is still the best iPod. Read on to find out why.Continue reading iPod touch review Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
-
This Day: September 22, 2005: Apple Replaces Cracked Nanos
The introduction of the iPod nano was greeted with oohs and ahs by both users and marketers. Unfortunately, when the nanos made it into people’s hands the complaining started. The nano, many felt, scratched too easily and even more worrisome, it was prone to screen breakage. Users adapted to…
-
Ringtonator Studio makes ringtones from any QT format
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, iPhoneWe wrote about Ringtonator a while back, reader Joe's GUI program that used Cleverboy's hack to make ringtones. At the time, we were looking for a program that didn't require AAC, where you could pull any mp3 out and turn it into an official ringtone on iTunes. Then 7.4.2 hit, and we had bigger problems with ringtones than just converting them from mp3.But now, Joe's sent us his new version, called Ringtonator Studio, and he tells us that not only will it accept any Quicktime formats, but it will also let you crop your tunes, and then translate them directly into ringtones. And, he says over on his blog, it will work with iTunes 7.4.2. That's probably a YMMV thing, but if you're really frustrated that you haven't found a way to get around Apple's lockout, it's worth a try.And no guarantee, of course, that any ringtones made won't disappear with 7.4.3. But kudos to Joe for putting this all together, and doing his part in the fight to give us control over our ringtones.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
-
Photos: Top 10 reviews of the week
Here are CNET Reviews' 10 favorite items from the past week, including the iPod Touch, Creative Zen, the new iMac and an HP photo printer.
-
The Price of an iPhone in Europe: $562 and Rising
In the U.S., the cost of an iPhone has fallen sharply since it was introduced nearly three months ago, from $599 to $399, thanks to Apple's (AAPL) famous September price cut. In Europe, the situation is reversed. The devices don't start shipping for more than a month, but iPhones there are already more expensive than they were just a few days ago -- thanks to the falling value of the dollar. Steve Jobs had priced the phones high to start with, building in the 17% value-added tax (VAT), the cost of doing business overseas and a fudge factor to cover currency fluctuations. So far, those fluctuations have worked against the dollar, as the chart below suggests. Bottom line: an iPhone in Europe today is 40% more expensive than the same phone in the U.S.
-
InvisibleShield: A Suit of iPhone Armor
InvisibleShield is a transparent, precision-cut, high-tech film coating that protects your entire iPhone from scratches and abrasions. I reviewed invisibleShield for the iPod earlier this year and said, "How can you not love a reasonably-priced product that is easy to apply, does exactly what it's supposed to do, and comes with an awesome warranty? I like this product so much that I plan to apply it to every new iPod I buy from this day forward." So when I heard that invisibleShield was available for the iPhone, I ordered it immediately.
-
Spyker switches gears, brands its own electronics
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video, TransportationSpyker certainly won't go down as the first auto maker to dabble in consumer electronics, but it is making the leap in a big way. Rolling out, er, branding no fewer than three mobiles, five PMPs, and two USB flash drives, Spyker owners / fans now have lots of accessories to spend their wages on that are completely unrelated to their vehicle. Among the devices now available is a four-inch PMP with a rather antiquated design scheme, support for a slew of file formats, a 1.3-megapixel camera, FM tuner, AV input, and a promised boost of 10-horsepower (ahem) for €249 ($348). For the rest of the crew, be sure and hit the read link. [Warning: PDF read link][Via Autoblog] Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
-
BBC's Bill Thompson Hates Being Fingered As a Fraud
Daniel Eran Dilger In response to the article “BBC Prints Irresponsible Rubbish on Apple,â€? Bill Thompson wrote me explaining that he didn't like being called out on his errors. However, he failed to explain how he was accurate in his rambling diatribe assailing Apple as equal to Microsoft in anticompetitive, market monopolizing behavior. (more…)
-
Maccast 2007.09.21
A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 200. Apple Updates: iTunes 7.4.2, MainStage 1.0.1, 3G iPod Nano and IPod Classic Updates. Apple products don't get old. They become Classic. iPhones making their way to EU. iPhone 1.1.1 Update feature breakdown. Ed Burns new Movie direct to iTunes. Griffin and Woz at the Emmys. New iPod? Buy your games again. Apple confirms iPod Touch Display issues. Apple denies Danish iBook fault, but accepts ruling. Jobs subpoenaed by SEC. Slimmer, smaller MacBooks on the way? Maccast 200 One Minute Tip What is NBC thinking? Stopping the iPhone Gmail email bug. OS X and Exchange Servers. Review: Balmuda X-Base. NullRiver makes cool Software. Replicating Menubar on multiple monitors. Another Dock tip 200th show gift giveaway on Monday. I'll be at Podcast Expo next week. Come by and say Hi! Superheroes of Podcasting coloring contest at the show. New music, I'll Try by Moxie Special Thanks to our Sponsors Smile on My Mac, check out DiscLabel Audible, get your free book Hi, name is Werner Brandes. My voice is my passport. Verify Me -- Sneakers (1992) Shownotes in: HTML or OPML Subscribe to the Podcast Feed or Get the MP3
-
BBC's Bill Thompson Hates Being Fingered As a Fraud
Daniel Eran DilgerIn response to the article "BBC Prints Irresponsible Rubbish on Apple," Bill Thompson wrote me explaining that he didn't like being called out on his errors. However, he failed to explain how he was accurate in his rambling diatribe assailing Apple as equal to Microsoft in anticompetitive, market monopolizing behavior.Instead, Thompson referred to me--in the plural--as "excitable Apple Zealots," as he republished my article in his blog with more of his own comments. “I don't want to sign up to your forum, however nice your art projects may be,� he wrote me in an email. “I'll be posting this on my blog shortly, but you may like to post it too.�According to readers, Thompson commonly doesn't post the comments they leave on his blog. At his main pulpit, there's not even a pretense of allowing readers feedback. As reader Thomas Olson noted, "What irks even more about the swill he [Bill Thompson] publishes on the BBC website, is that there is no place for public feedback, so us common folk can call BS on his rant in real time for the world to witness. BBC is still a delusional, vertical content gatekeeper, who believes they're somehow 'in tune' because they happen to have a website."Thompson is Still Wrong.I wrote Thompson back, noting that "while I don't agree in key areas, I do admire and respect your willingness to debate, and I don't intend my criticism to to come across as a personal attack."I'm not advocating an "easy ride" for other companies, including Apple. What I stated was that Thompson provided no proof for his wild assertion that Apple was as bad as Microsoft. I indicated the history of Microsoft's troubles with the EU dated back into the 90s, and even earlier in the US. Microsoft has been found guilty repeatedly, internationally; Apple has not. That should factor into Thompson's "just as bad" rhetoric.It's great that Thompson doesn't share the BBC's position on iPlayer, but my article was as much castigating the BBC as it was his article specifically. Thompson didn't even make the headline. So when I talk about the problems of the BBC, he can't take it personally. However, using the BBC as his mouthpiece, and the BBC using him as a way to deliver the message that Microsoft's problems are really common and nothing out of the ordinary and that Apple is doing deceptive, anticompetitive things... are both still examples of hypocrisy. It's a bit like hearing from FOX News that other countries terrorize their citizens and propagandize fascism.The iPod Changes That Break the Third Party Apps.Apple doesn't publish a third party API for the iPod's file system details, nor does it describe the iPod as an open platform. Windows does, yet Microsoft breaks third parties' software to establish its own dominance in new markets. This happened with Office apps, web browsers, media players, developer tools, etc. This is not the same thing as Apple being popular with the iPod. Pretending there is an open market and yet running it as a monopoly is not the same thing as selling a unique, closed product that may be popular.If BMW refined their vehicles in a way that required aftermarket car stereo companies to adapt their products to fit its new cars, you'd have a situation similar to Apple's iPod change for Linux. However, if one company owned the entire market for all vehicles on the road, and decided to destroy the market for car stereos and take that over itself, you'd have Microsoft. There is no similarity here.This Depends On How You See Lock-In.Thompson wrote, "This depends on how you see lock-in: if I can't play music I buy from iTMS, something I'm encouraged to do at many points in my use of iTunes, on any other player, or use any other jukebox than ITunes with my iPod, then once I've made my initial choice to have an iPod I am in an Apple ecoystem that I can only extract myself from with some effort. It's not absolute - IBM mainframe users also had a choice back in the 70's. It just wasn't a realistic chouce. [sic]"Wrong again. You can play purchased music by burning a CD, or directly using iTunes Plus non-DRM music. The problem with DRM is a issue of the music labels, not an iTunes lock in issue. Thompson is again repeating a myth. Jobs railed against DRM, then fought for weak restrictions to appease labels, and is now pushing labels to make music downloads as easy to use as CDs with DRM-free downloads.Thompson doesn't understand what's involved, and ended up making false comparisons. What other source for open music is there? WMA is locked down Windows-only tight (like the BBC's iPlayer), MP3 music is only available from indie labels. You can't get open music downloads from any of the big labels representing popular music apart from EMI's iTunes Plus. By repeating false information, Thompson only serves to cloud reality and turn back the clock.[Top Myths of 2006 - Myth 4: The iTunes Monopoly Myth]I Am Not A Crook!Thompson wrote, "I don't like being accused of being a liar, and that sort of comment undermines any other points you may be trying to make." Well then, he shouldn't represent himself as an expert, while publishing web rumors he doesn't really understand. It's not my fault he is misrepresenting the truth. That's what a lie is. If the truth "undermines points I make," doesn't he understand that lying undermines points he may be trying to make?In weeping over being called on his false comment, Thompson neglected to answer the fact that purchased tracks from iTunes can be effortlessly burned to CD for use on other players, following the most liberal and open fair use rights in the industry. Incidentally, feigning outrage is no way to answer criticism unless your position is indefensibly wrong.What about the supposed iPod accessory lock-in? Apple's dock connector isn't an ISO standard, but there isn't an ISO standard for a connector that pairs USB, Firewire, audio and video on the same cable. At the same time, the dock connector cable is standardized and documented, it does not change with every model, and there is no DRM on it that prevents anyone from building compatible cables. So he's wrong, there's no lock in involved.The Ringtones Monopoly.Thompson suggested I was being hypocritical for noting that "Apple sells ringtones and doesn't support homebrew attempts to copy ringtones to the iPhone. Yes, this is unfortunate. Users shouldn't face limitations from using their own song clips, and they shouldn't have to pay extra to carve out a ringtone from songs they purchased or already own. However, this isn't entirely Apple's decision because it has to answer to the labels. It's also not illegal, and it has nothing to do with anticompetitive monopoly dominance of the music industry."A contradiction? I agree that ringtones are an unnecessarily complex legal issue, and that customers are being held up by the labels' overbearing demands. But Thompson calling Apple's move anticompetitive or an establishment of a monopoly is uninformed sensationalism. Apple's ringtone prices are a fraction of any other providers, and while Apple did cave to their demands over preventing users from easily copying over their own, it did so to win a more significant battle to open up music, not to limit the market or establish more control.Thompson misrepresented ringtones as being something similar to Internet Explorer or Windows Media Player, as if Apple is muscling into a new market to dominate it using an existing monopoly. The assertion is silly and uninformed. Apple doesn't make significant profits on its music sales, including ringtones. Further, Apple isn't in the ringtone making business, and has no obligation to facilitate this for users, just as it has no good reason to lose a fight with movie studios over the overbearing laws that prevent legal ripping of DVDs.[Apple's iTunes Ringtones and the Complex World of Copyright Law]Bundling, Price Fixing, and Monopoly Tying.Thompson can criticize Apple's business model, but calling it a way to expand market dominance is an error of simpleton logic. It's really the opposite: an opportunity for rivals to compete against the iPhone by offering a nicer way to play "My Humps" when their phones ring. So far, the US ringtone industry revolves around $2.50 - $3.00 clips that expire after several months.Thompson suggested I forward this defense to Microsoft for its Windows Media Player bundling. How does he not understand this? Apple competes against other mobile makers and other mobile providers in an open market. Microsoft does not compete in an open market. It holds a monopoly in PC operating systems acquired illegally using anticompetitive and anti-consumer tactics. It is now using its monopolies to expand into new markets. Apple is not. Apple has not created a monopoly in MP3 players any more than Symbian has a monopoly in mobile phone software. There is a functioning market for both; so if Apple does something consumers don't like--such as charging 99 cents for a ringtone, competitors can go elsewhere... but they'll have to pay $3 for one that expires after a year from Verizon, or roll their own solution. Or set their iPhone to vibrate.Windows Media Player does not compete in an open market; it's tied to a monopoly product that exercises complete control over the PC desktop. There are no options for most users. Linux isn't a viable option for the majority of desktop users because of the Office monopoly and file incompatibilities, and the exclusive OEM contracts with PC makers Microsoft uses to support its Windows monopoly.Ringtones are a consumer feature, not a significant, competitive industrial market being threatened with monopolistic takeover, as is the case with media playback and servers, or web browsing and servers, or office productivity application software. Fantasies of Cheap Cables and iTunes on Linux.Thompson wrote, "just as I can go into Game and buy a cheaper third party Xbox cable or controller that has not been authorised by Microsoft so I expect to be able to buy less expensive iPod accessories and if I can't then I see an indication of an attitude towards the market that worries me."But that's wrong; you can buy iPod accessories at any price from a variety of vendors, even no name ones. Compare the price of Xbox cables to what Apple itself sells, then go find even cheaper stuff. There's no monopoly position in iPod accessories because there is no real barrier for competition, as there very much is on the Windows PC desktop. Again, cable manufacturing isn't similar to the media broadcasting industry or the office software market.He suggests freeware alternatives to iTunes might solve world peace or help one achieve Nirvana, but that's irrelevant. Apple doesn't owe anyone a free ride because there is not a free market around "iPod player jukebox software," just as there is no free market surrounding "engines in BMWs" or other component parts of products. I can't go buy a new BMW with whatever third party engine I want, even if I think I want one that does things that BMW's wouldn't offer.In contrast, Microsoft claimed all along that Windows was an open platform, and PCs were sold as an open market for software. That's very different. If Microsoft faced real competition on the desktop, it could bundle anything it wanted to. But it does not, so it can’t.You can't say, 'if Microsoft can't bundle WMP, that must mean Apple can't offer iTunes either;" it's a false comparison because Apple didn't kill off competitors with twenty years of backstabbing and anticompetitive practices, and does not operate a monopoly. You can buy alternatives to the iPod from Creative, Sony, Microsoft, HP, SanDisk and lots of others. You can not effectively buy commercial alternatives to Windows due a variety of barriers in the market.Thompson Advocates Real Network's DRM.Defending his comment that "when it comes to music downloads it [Apple] is just as bad as Microsoft on servers," Thompson wrote, "the behaviour towards Real was appalling and remains indefensible. They [Apple] broke Harmony [Real's Helix DRM] because they could and because they wanted to lock competitors out - what other spin can you put on it?"There is no open market for selling iPod DRM content. Apple said some silly things in the Real squabble ("tactics of a hacker" was particularly stupid) but Real had no right to sell DRM music for the iPod. Apple only forced them to sell open content, and anyone can still sell open content that plays on the iPod, as eMusic does. Defending Real's DRM is just another example of Thompson not getting it.Paul Thurrott is similarly upset that Apple can't be forced to license Windows Media DRM, allowing Microsoft a free ride on the iPod in its efforts to spread its own viciously anti-consumer media software platform. Apple doesn't have to serve the whims of two companies that failed in the marketplace because they tried to exploit consumers and found that their user base ran off to greener pastures.The EU Courts and IP.The EU certainly should fix the problems of the music business in its countries, and demand fair use provisions from music and media providers as I noted. However, trying to spin the complex situation off as proof that Apple is anything like Microsoft is not only disingenuous, it's an outright lie. Using a bunch of half-baked, ignorant web rumors to support a position that Apple should just allow anything and everything is also dishonest.Thompson maintains that's not what he said, writing, "I want Apple to play fair (get the joke?), to be open about interfaces and file structures and to compete in an open market for music players and jukeboxes, because I actually think we will all benefit and even Apple will end up making better, sharper products and making more money."It's fine to criticize Apple over an open source ideology, but Thompson needs to accurately represent himself as a Cory Doctorow waving a communism flag; don't pretend to be defending free markets and attacking monopolization while at the same time insisting that Apple hand away all of its intellectual property to competitors and write anti-iTunes software for the community. Thompson pretends to celebrate the success of an innovative company whilst inciting a communist revolution against it, using the jingoism of busting the trust of monopoly powers that don’t exist. What do you think? I really like to hear from readers. Comment in the Forum or email me with your ideas. Like reading RoughlyDrafted? Share articles with your friends, link from your blog, and subscribe to my podcast! Submit to Reddit or Slashdot, or consider making a small donation supporting this site. Thanks!