I have to agree. I did a test a couple days ago and it was basically that.
However, I think you have to look at the high openness and low dogma scores. Doesn't that mean they'd jump ship if something better comes along, and thus goes against the rabid fanperson stereotype?
Hence the recent backlash at the locked gates of iTunes/iPod/etc.
Locked gates? Funny, I could have sworn I could put pretty much whatever the hell I want on an iPod. Like MP3s from Amazon, or ripped from a CD, or torrented, or converted from some other format (which iTunes will even do for you - ironic). Oh yes, it's *such* a closed system.
Closed system meaning that you are locked into using iTunes and you can't use a decent media program like Media Monkey or Windows Media Player or WinAMP or Foobar
Locked into iTunes how? I don't have a problem using other programs. There are 3rd party apps you can use to transfer files, play music, do whatever the hell you want. I can put all my music into some other program entirely. How am I locked in to iTunes?
locked into itunes like, you can't play the songs bought on itunes without third party software. kind of like how microsoft got in trouble for "forcing" users to use internet explorer?
So really what you're saying is that you don't like DRM. In case you haven't noticed, iTunes works with non-DRM files just fine. There is no lock. And Microsoft got in toruble with IE because if you removed IE from Windows, Windows would stop working. You couldn't remove it without destroying the OS. What happens if you remove iTunes? Well, nothing. Apple doesn't force you to use anything. If you want to buy files encoded with DRM from the iTunes music store, then you do have to go through iTunes. However since iTunes will also work with non DRM files and so many different formats, it should be pretty obvious that it's not "locked" into anything.
the iTunes store is the market leader in online media sales, and up until a while ago everything it sold would only play on apple's hardware and itunes. Now, most of the music is unrestricted, but they're doing the same with video. Their excuses on licensing the DRM don't really convince me.
But they are at the top for the reason, I think they're the best. But I also think they're abusing that position.
Locked in, as in proprietary iTunes music format, requiring iTunes to sync, locked down iPhone, 3rd party apps require their yet-to-be-released SDK and mandatory revenue sharing.
Apple would have changed the 3.5mm headphone connector to an iAudio connection or some other nonsense, if they thought they could have gotten away with it.
Why do you think Sony/BMG gave them the finger and opened up their music catalog to Amazon?
Locked as in the Apple Store uses AAC? Do you even know what AAC is? Here's a hint: It doesn't stand for "Apple Audio Codec". Look it up in wikipedia. The only reason the songs have to stay in iTunes (legally) is because of the DRM. Not the format they're in. The DRM exists because the studios demanded it, not Apple. The DRM is also licensable, for example Motorola licensed it for the ROKR and RAZR phones, which is why they can play iTunes Store DRM encoded music.
Furthermore, the DRM-free songs from iTunes are not locked in to anything. At all. AAC is an industry standard, not a proprietary format. WMA is a proprietary format. See the difference?
i think the point we're trying to make is that apple gets away with shit people would throw a fit for if they caught Microsoft (or for the mentally-challenged: "Micro$oft") doing.
and then steals ideas like system restore, calls it time machine and then accuses microsoft for stealing its ideas.
You're both wrong. Microsoft got in trouble because if you removed IE, it would break Windows. IE was literally part of the OS., meaning you didn't have a choice as to which browser you could use. What do you think happens if you remove iTunes or Safari from a Mac? Nothing. Because Apple doesn't force you to use them. See the difference?
@Zak That's bull, sure my system has IE on it, but I and no one else is FORCED to use it to get on the internet. People have had choices in browsers for a long time, Netscape, Firefox, Opera, etc.
what about quicktime? if you remove quicktime from OSX, for all intents and purposes, it quits working. it uses a proprietary format (mov) and didn't even let you use Full Screen unless you paid for a PRO version for years up until recently.
Zak is, I think, referring to the Microsoft antitrust suit from the late 90s where Microsoft did in fact get into trouble for bundling IE with windows. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Microsoft) Before you tell Zak he is spewing shit, I suggest you read this Wikipedia article, because Zak is spot on re IE/Windows.
I have no idea where you are getting "locked into iTunes" The only way you are locked in is if you by DRM'd songs from them. That is not Apple, that is the distributor. AAC is not a proprietary format. I have 23GB of music, on my iPod, and not one of the songs is from the iTunes music store. I can play the music on any device, in fact I use Ubuntu as a DAAP server to stream music to iTunes clients.
As far as some of the other stuff being locked down, you have a point, sorta. Was the iPhone sold to you as an open device or as a locked down device? It's not like Apple marketed it as an open development platform. I am personally looking forward to the SDK, and really, I have no problem with Apple getting a cut of the 3rd party apps, as long as I get an easy install via iTunes. I would assume that this arrangement means that the developers need to follow some sort of minimum standards regarding support, etc. I could go on discussing this, since I ran a similar program for a large ERP software company...
I didn't know that you could remove Quicktime from OS X???
"On the desktop, Mac OS X integrates Quartz, OpenGL, Core Animation, Core Image, and QuickTime, plus other technologies, providing a rich set of graphics capabilities and APIs to application developers."
Quicktime is tied into iTunes. If Quicktime ain't working then iTunes might have issues. If iTunes is having issues then Mr. iPod ain't get'en sync tonight! Well, maybe I will sync my iPod up with something else... and maybe not!
Apple might not "FORCE" people to interact with Quicktime, iTunes, etc... but you better believe it that Apple is NOT going to let you use some other app on their platform voluntary! NEVER! It's their CASH COW!
Ethan: Spot on, they are abusing their position. The iPhone is the most egregious example. Apple gets close to $1000 over 2 years from every iPhone sold.
Their target - and it looks like they'll hit it- is to sell 10M of these in the first year. That's $10Bn in cold, hard cash! And they are ripping off overseas customers even more, though the lukewarm response in Europe shows it may just be too much.
HP has had plenty of time to fine-tune its finger-friendly TouchSmart software, and now, its newest model, the TouchSmart 610, ushers in a fresh design, highlighted by a hinge that allows the display to slide down and lie nearly flat.
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I have to agree. I did a test a couple days ago and it was basically that.
However, I think you have to look at the high openness and low dogma scores. Doesn't that mean they'd jump ship if something better comes along, and thus goes against the rabid fanperson stereotype?
Hence the recent backlash at the locked gates of iTunes/iPod/etc.
Locked gates? Funny, I could have sworn I could put pretty much whatever the hell I want on an iPod. Like MP3s from Amazon, or ripped from a CD, or torrented, or converted from some other format (which iTunes will even do for you - ironic). Oh yes, it's *such* a closed system.
Closed system meaning that you are locked into using iTunes and you can't use a decent media program like Media Monkey or Windows Media Player or WinAMP or Foobar
Locked into iTunes how? I don't have a problem using other programs. There are 3rd party apps you can use to transfer files, play music, do whatever the hell you want. I can put all my music into some other program entirely. How am I locked in to iTunes?
locked into itunes like, you can't play the songs bought on itunes without third party software. kind of like how microsoft got in trouble for "forcing" users to use internet explorer?
So really what you're saying is that you don't like DRM. In case you haven't noticed, iTunes works with non-DRM files just fine. There is no lock. And Microsoft got in toruble with IE because if you removed IE from Windows, Windows would stop working. You couldn't remove it without destroying the OS. What happens if you remove iTunes? Well, nothing. Apple doesn't force you to use anything. If you want to buy files encoded with DRM from the iTunes music store, then you do have to go through iTunes. However since iTunes will also work with non DRM files and so many different formats, it should be pretty obvious that it's not "locked" into anything.
the iTunes store is the market leader in online media sales, and up until a while ago everything it sold would only play on apple's hardware and itunes. Now, most of the music is unrestricted, but they're doing the same with video. Their excuses on licensing the DRM don't really convince me.
But they are at the top for the reason, I think they're the best. But I also think they're abusing that position.
@Zak thanks for proving the engadget article right.
So you don't like it when Mac users stand up for themselves, huh? I'm sorry, I should know better than to have a backbone. Silly me.
Locked in, as in proprietary iTunes music format, requiring iTunes to sync, locked down iPhone, 3rd party apps require their yet-to-be-released SDK and mandatory revenue sharing.
Apple would have changed the 3.5mm headphone connector to an iAudio connection or some other nonsense, if they thought they could have gotten away with it.
Why do you think Sony/BMG gave them the finger and opened up their music catalog to Amazon?
Locked as in the Apple Store uses AAC? Do you even know what AAC is? Here's a hint: It doesn't stand for "Apple Audio Codec". Look it up in wikipedia. The only reason the songs have to stay in iTunes (legally) is because of the DRM. Not the format they're in. The DRM exists because the studios demanded it, not Apple. The DRM is also licensable, for example Motorola licensed it for the ROKR and RAZR phones, which is why they can play iTunes Store DRM encoded music.
Furthermore, the DRM-free songs from iTunes are not locked in to anything. At all. AAC is an industry standard, not a proprietary format. WMA is a proprietary format. See the difference?
@Zac I've never seen anyone sprout so much shit in all my life.
Microsoft is in trouble for having a browser which is not up to scratch with the rest of the browsers.
And as Paul has said you have proved exactly what the article has said and a whole lot more.
i think the point we're trying to make is that apple gets away with shit people would throw a fit for if they caught Microsoft (or for the mentally-challenged: "Micro$oft") doing.
and then steals ideas like system restore, calls it time machine and then accuses microsoft for stealing its ideas.
You're both wrong. Microsoft got in trouble because if you removed IE, it would break Windows. IE was literally part of the OS., meaning you didn't have a choice as to which browser you could use. What do you think happens if you remove iTunes or Safari from a Mac? Nothing. Because Apple doesn't force you to use them. See the difference?
if you own an ipod and delete itunes, you need to redownload it in order to sync it again. THEREFORE, ipod owners are forced to use itunes.
@Zak
That's bull, sure my system has IE on it, but I and no one else is FORCED to use it to get on the internet. People have had choices in browsers for a long time, Netscape, Firefox, Opera, etc.
what about quicktime? if you remove quicktime from OSX, for all intents and purposes, it quits working. it uses a proprietary format (mov) and didn't even let you use Full Screen unless you paid for a PRO version for years up until recently.
what's your point zak?
"if you remove quicktime from OSX, for all intents and purposes, it quits working"
NO REALLY?
Zak is, I think, referring to the Microsoft antitrust suit from the late 90s where Microsoft did in fact get into trouble for bundling IE with windows. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Microsoft) Before you tell Zak he is spewing shit, I suggest you read this Wikipedia article, because Zak is spot on re IE/Windows.
I have no idea where you are getting "locked into iTunes" The only way you are locked in is if you by DRM'd songs from them. That is not Apple, that is the distributor. AAC is not a proprietary format. I have 23GB of music, on my iPod, and not one of the songs is from the iTunes music store. I can play the music on any device, in fact I use Ubuntu as a DAAP server to stream music to iTunes clients.
As far as some of the other stuff being locked down, you have a point, sorta. Was the iPhone sold to you as an open device or as a locked down device? It's not like Apple marketed it as an open development platform. I am personally looking forward to the SDK, and really, I have no problem with Apple getting a cut of the 3rd party apps, as long as I get an easy install via iTunes. I would assume that this arrangement means that the developers need to follow some sort of minimum standards regarding support, etc. I could go on discussing this, since I ran a similar program for a large ERP software company...
I didn't know that you could remove Quicktime from OS X???
"On the desktop, Mac OS X integrates Quartz, OpenGL, Core Animation, Core Image, and QuickTime, plus other technologies, providing a rich set of graphics capabilities and APIs to application developers."
Second paragraph down.
http://developer.apple.com/graphicsimaging/overview.html
Diagram in Center
http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Porting/Conceptual/PortingUnix/environments/chapter_6_section_3.html
Quicktime is tied into iTunes. If Quicktime ain't working then iTunes might have issues. If iTunes is having issues then Mr. iPod ain't get'en sync tonight! Well, maybe I will sync my iPod up with something else... and maybe not!
Apple might not "FORCE" people to interact with Quicktime, iTunes, etc... but you better believe it that Apple is NOT going to let you use some other app on their platform voluntary! NEVER! It's their CASH COW!
Ethan: Spot on, they are abusing their position. The iPhone is the most egregious example. Apple gets close to $1000 over 2 years from every iPhone sold.
Their target - and it looks like they'll hit it- is to sell 10M of these in the first year. That's $10Bn in cold, hard cash! And they are ripping off overseas customers even more, though the lukewarm response in Europe shows it may just be too much.
"So you don't like it when Mac users stand up for themselves, huh? I'm sorry, I should know better than to have a backbone. Silly me."
No, silly you for linking your self-esteem to your technology choices.
I agree with everything that survey says, except for "Low Dogmatism". I've never seen a more dogmatic group outside of religious circles.
It's not locking in. You can burn it on to a CD!