A flurry of news broke out over yesterday regarding the
proprietary headphones required by Apple's new iPod shuffle, and now that Monday's here and everyone's back in the office, some things are starting to get cleared up. For starters, both Macworld and Boing Boing Gadgets have confirmed with Apple and various third-party vendors that the
new shuffle headphones do in fact contain a proprietary control chip, and that would-be headphone makers have to pay to license it from Apple as part of the Made for iPod program. Yep, that's bad news, confirmed -- but all hope for inexpensive accessories isn't lost, as we're told that the chip isn't encrypted or otherwise locked down in any way, so it's easily cloned by companies who'd rather not pay. Still, eschewing Made for iPod certification pretty much dooms a product to niche status in the Apple universe, so it's a pretty weak consolation -- when this all shakes out, we're guessing only Apple-taxed headphones will be widely available for the shuffle, and that makes the value proposition somewhat hard to see. Just say no, people.
Read - Macworld
Read - BBG
posted March 16th 2009 4:09PM
Way to put a negative spin on a story that should really read: "Engadget Sorry For Jumping To Alarmist Conclusions: Apologises to Apple and retracts DRM claims." Apple probably won't carry non-Made For iPod headphones, but who the hell only shops at Apple stores? Wait, I have an answer for that – the kind of people who wouldn't buy different headphones in the first place.
Still think the no-button thing is going going to turn out to be a complete disaster, but that doesn't mean you guys get to be irresponsibly douchey.
Apple deserves to lose some sales over this, but they won't. The non-Engadget-reading public knows and cares nothing about DRM. They will simply accept that some headphones work with their iPod, and some don't. Third-party accessory makers will supply working headphones and people will buy them.
Sucks to be a company that can't pay Apple's licensing fee.
That's exactly what pisses me off.
The vast majority of people here are ignorant of the facts at hand. First, it was A DESIGN decision on Apple's part to remove the buttons and screen ONLY on their smallest and most portable iPod, the shuffle. Why? Because they want to make it as smallest as possible to cater to the targeting group of the shuffle. In order to do that, they designed a remote to interface with the shuffle. The chip THEY DESIGNED is proprietary. Companies DON'T GIVE AWAY proprietary design for free. The VAST MAJORITY of them charge a licensing fee. If you think you DON'T pay licensing fees when purchasing the latest and greatest gadgets, you are sadly delusional.
THERE IS NO DRM in the chip and all third party headphones will work with the shuffle. It just that you won't be able to control the shuffle AS APPLE DESIGNED IT.
Pardon my language, but: Fuck. That. Shit.
This is a real abomination. Apple: When even Engadget plainly rejects your product, even you must realize you've way, WAY too far.
Keep going Apple. Hopefully you will finally sink.
Pure, unadulterated, parasitic, and (possibly) anti-competitive evil.
Seriously the market should go on strike. This is too far. If "everyone else" agreed to opt-out of making headphones or dongle adapters for this thing, then maybe its popularity could decline.
And seriously the market must not go on strike. Apple would be the only place you could buy your replacement set when you desperately needed one. It would cost thirty-five thousand dollars. Per ear.
It's creatively evil, though. They neuter the competition, rather than eliminating or coercing. "You want to sell headphones for our device? Fine. You get to pay us some of the profits. That way we profit no matter who the customer buys the headphones from."
dude, look it up before you talk such drivel. it's not a drm chip, it's to control the volume in the headphones. You anti apple zealots are the WORST zealots of all.
You talk about monopolization and anti competitive behavior, ? Are you insane? You mean like the world using the same office suite or 80% of the web being IE? You shouldn't talk, anymore. ever again.
A classy move. Well done Apple. Please extend this technology through your whole range.
For all the complaint posts, perhaps you should consider that companies are in business to make money to pay employees, fund research, development and innovation, build new prototypes, launch new products, etc. If this succeeds, then Apple made the right decision. If it does not, then Apple learns.
Stupidity..way to go Crapple...another reason to avoid a proprietary music device/format. Just what I need is to have my headphones break then have to go specifically looking for overpriced replacements. Don't be surprised if they make it where all their new players will require headphones to have a chip in them.
My God This..Device...Song ...List....ugh..straining...sounds like crap talking......over the song...bleep...next craptrack...My Apple Fees You'll a pay Me...(sorry can't delete track, proprietary must listen to once a week or device will stop working), seriously you have gone to far Apple...
Nothing like listening to a voice trying to talk over a song and it sounds like total garbage doing it, all while trying to press on a tiny headphone based interface x amount of times to get the player to function.....I'll keep my screen thanks, rather have a nice screen and UI then this junk any day.
Again, why not just cut the crappy Apple headphones off, attach a female 3.5mm headphone jack to the end of it, and plug in anything you want?
Funny to read all the posts of people who think they would have done it better.
If I had a company and would sell products where 3rd party accessories are available from other vendors, I also would like to make sure that these 3rd party products have an adequate quality and do not cause trouble tickets on my support hotline or will damage or destroy my products which I have to replace then. Therefore it is absolutely ok that Apple has a "made for iPod" certificate and some quality standards behind this.
The arise of third party headphones only one day after Apple announced the new iPod shuffle shows, that Apple is indeed interested in the 3rd party accessories market - but the quality has to be adequate.
Besides, the 2nd gen Shuffle is still available, so why are all these people complaining about their 3.5mm headphone jacks and some odd control buttons???
Engadget saying no to Apple?
NOOOOOOOOOO
Why not clone that chip(it says it's easy) and make some kind of adapter (short wire and standard 3,5 mm audio jack), between iPod and headphones, then you plug this adapter in iPod and headphones to adapter and the problem is solved.
But of course for this kind of nonsense you shouldn't buy iPod at all, cause my best guess is that all next gen iPod's will have this chip.
This is an example of unbelievable spin. The former shuffle is still available for $49. For those who want a smaller player with larger capacity -- so small that NO controls would fit on the body at all -- you can get this tiny 4 GB chiclet, with the controls lodged along the wire, with, naturally, a controller chip there too. Do you think there was a controller chip in the other shuffles, under the big button in the center? I'd say yes, there would have to be, because pressing the big button has to send a command somewhere: start playing, stop playing, and so on. Did anyone complain that Apple had a "proprietary chip" under the iPod wheel -- every wheel that sold, all 100 million of them or more? Why no, why would they be so crazy? Now the controller chip is in that little switch, maybe. So? Now, I'm sure that a) the controller is cheap, and b) not encrypted, so what's the loose talk of "DRM"? It's just the anti-Apple drama queens is all. Apple changes its designs. They also profit from the 3rd party market, and I'm sure they'll license this tech too -- if anybody's crazy enough to put a $300 headset on a chiclet, they're welcome to it. I'm sure, if there is a good market for these, there will be lots of 3rd party developers of anything you want. How about someone puts out a controller with jacks for standard headphones in it? Oh, my God, part of their cost will be .50 for a chip, and a couple of bucks to Apple for the "made for iPod" badge on the package? Really, peeps, get a life. And that goes for you, Cory Doctorow, who probably got this silly meme started.
"Did anyone complain that Apple had a 'proprietary chip' under the iPod wheel -- every wheel that sold, all 100 million of them or more? Now the controller chip is in that little switch, maybe. So?"
Way to COMPLETELY miss the point here. The proprietary chip in here is in the freaking headphones, meaning you can't just go out and buy any pair of headphones you'd like without the manufacturer paying Apple to be allowed to completely re-manufacture their products. Every other audio player in production - portable or in-home - lets you use any pair of headphones you want.
Think of it this way: you buy a new TV from Sony. Except it has a special connection, and you can only use it with a Sony DVD player. A Sony receiver. Sony speakers. See what I'm getting at here?
And why do people love this truly rotten company?
Anyone that buys one of these is part of the problem. I call for a total Boycott of the shuffle.
Has anyone confirmed it is DRM or is it just the control chip to send the right signals for the arcane click sequences to control the silly thing?
Oh yeah, they aint stupid thats for sure! All about MONEY.
RT
www.online-privacy.pro.tc
They're just going to sell an adaptor, it'll be $10 and it'll consist of the buttons, the chip and a standard output jack. They'll be fine, they'll just make a little more money.
People calling this DRM are talking out of their behinds. Apple's come up with a way to make the shuffle larger -- 4 GB -- but smaller, chiclet size. To do so, they've put a chip in the headphones rather than in the player. USB? Has a chip. Needs a license. Firewire? The same. Proprietary? Well, I guess. DRM? NO! You develop a standard, you can license it. As for the terrible "greed" involved, well, we'll see. I think a lot of manufacturers will make a new headset or cable so they can get in on the iPod aftermarket. People here perceive that this is "greed." I think some people will go for this player because it's stylish and small. It's no big deal. It's not like they're putting a rootkit on your computer so they can copy-protect CDs, you know. There's a cheaper shuffle available. And a nano's not much more money. Calling this "DRM" is just nuts. It's a way to take the controls off the unit and put it in the cable. You don't like that, get the cheaper shuffle, or the nano with video.
People complain about fanboys, but this is just being a hater, ready to jump on Apple for the slightest thing and call it something melodramatic. I think, actually, that they're putting little doses of nerve gas in each iPod, and it's a mind control thing. Sooner or later, the Illuminati will spring, and life as we know it will be over. Jeez.
＿＿ ／￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣I
( o_O ) Gert ＜ THE APPLE IS ROTTING I
＼ ／ ＼＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿I
Well,
Apple finally did it. It was only a matter of time. They managed to figure out how to make us pay to play our music and pay AGAIN to be able to hear it!
LoL
Isn't it funny how every single pro Apple comment on here is ranked down, and all the anti Apple bs isn't? How the pro Apple people are called fanboys and derided, but the often incoherent and poorly written replies by NON "fanboys" are applauded? It's interesting to see the few design choices by Apple that aren't 100% kosher are quickly pointed out and decried as "the crappiest/evilest/worst" product of the decade, but what about the millions of shite products/firmware/software/hardware that is put out each year by the non Apple sect of the industry?? You're just Non-Apple Fanboys you asstards. You're like the indie hipsters of the tech industry, thinking only your favorite cheaply made pc product can possibly be worth using.
Guess what? You're wrong. My DELL happily sits next to my iMac. They make love, not war.
Nice work, Apple. Your decline is soon! Keep it up, please!!
http://corebrewing.com
Step 1
Cut the cord about 2 inches above the controller
Step 2
Purchase anything with a female stereo plug.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882021050
(for example, or pilfer it from some unused cable you already have)
Clip so that the female end has 2 inches trailing off of it.
Step 3
Slide some shrink wrap over the connections, twist and solder the connections as appropriate.
Then heat the shrink wrap.
(ghetto alternative is electric tape)
Step 4
Plug in headphones that don't suck.
Step 5
Enjoy/Profit
Another great ghetto alternative is hot glue ;)
Or ya know just mbe they could have stuck the volume slider on the front of the player....but noo...
I'm not getting the buzz here: The headphones deliver a digital signal because they're doing a lot more than just dropping resistance. They need a chip to encode the digital signal. While I'm sure Apple is selling these chips to third parties, the signal is not encrypted therefore there is no legal or technical reason manufacturers can't duplicate the chips functionality with their own hardware -- Apple would have some legal difficulty denying the "Made for iPod" status to any company on the basis of that company's choice of parts vendors.
"Just say no, people." What the HELL do you care whether I buy this little weenie? Is this your idea of principled action in a world that cries out for it? Of course it is, the principle that every idea must be free. If you would get rid of these stupid ugly ads on Engadget, or put little warning signs, e.g., "Just say no to these advertisers, people! Don't click on these ads whatever you do, 'people'!" I would at least not be offended by your hypocrisy. I would remain puzzled by your stupidity though...