How iPods Took Over the World 360
An anonymous reader writes "The Observer has a piece today about the iPod's ascension to dominance of the mp3 player market. The author argues that it's largely the result of clever business tactics and the iTunes music store." From the article: "The second thing about the iPod: it puts you, not them, in control. Basically, the record labels are devotees of the Henry Ford business model: 'You can have any music you want so long as it's what I want to give you.' But using the cyberspace jukebox, you're no longer at their mercy. You don't have to pay for the four filler tracks on every album. You don't have to buy albums at all. You can put country next to classical, punk next to jazz, Barry Manilow next to Placido Domingo (wait, that's a joke)."
Linux Software (Score:2, Interesting)
with what software can the iPod be used under Linux? My Windows is more or less unusable and I'm thinking of getting rid of it soon in favour of Linux. My iPod is one of the things holding me back.. I remember some years ago there was an attempt at using it under Linux but somehow didn't follow the development.
Any recommendations of software to manage my library (Most of it in non-DRMed AAC from my classical CDs).
Thanks in advance for any hints
Not the rise of the iPod. (Score:3, Interesting)
I love my iPod. Especially because of the sheer volume of sound files it holds, and the way its integration with iTunes* allows me to manage my songs simply. But I've been arranging songs for my personal use (without buying the entire album) for more than 15 years.
*The application, not the store. I don't like using the iTunes store, because the interface is horrible for browsing. I only use it for podcasts and the occasional audiobook.
Re:More to it (Score:5, Interesting)
About a year ago, I saw some refurb 3g 15gb ipods on sale someplace for $190, I bought one. It wasn't because of commercials (I don't watch TV). It wasn't because of iTunes (although admitedly, I have fallen prey to the ITMS crack -- but I recovered after an emusic intervention). I just wanted to put my CDs on a useable device and the iPod fit the bill.
Re:iPod's marketing is so clever, (Score:5, Interesting)
A clarification: iTunes will only rip to DRM-free formats. It will play some DRM'd formats (m4p, audible), but it will not create them. This is unlike WMP, which will take an un-DRM'd source format (CDDA) and add DRM to it when you rip it (although I believe this 'feature' can be turned off).
Come on... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:I think he's wrong (Score:4, Interesting)
Granted, I do get to spend twice as much money for an iPod that I do for my Lyra, but that's hardly reason to buy one.
The iPod is a lot like a Gucci purse. Any old K-Mart purse will carry stuff just as well, but it is not nearly as trendy.
(not that I carry a purse, but you get the idea)
How it took over? (Score:4, Interesting)
There are far better mp3 players out there, but they are harder to use, or their knobs are too small, or they have too many functions, or they are not well advertised...
What you gotta understand, and since we're kinda "geeks" here, I guess you already do, is that iPod is far from the best mp3 player out there, let alone with best value/price ratio (mentioning value/price ratio and Apple in one sentence makes me laugh).
Case in point, my shitty mp3 player:
$880 mp3/wma player with FM radio. It's smaller than iPod shuffle, but has a screen with song selections, doubles as a mass storate USB stick (1GB), it has rubber grip & it doesn't scratch at all, even if I put it in my pocket with my keys. Oh and it uses one AAA battery, so you never have to charge it, since you charge the other batteries while you're out listening to the player (and they are so tiny, you can carry 2-3 as a backup in your pocket for more than 16h total play time).
The brand? Canyon or something. Popularity: none. The manual is written in poorly written English, never seen ads or posters for it.
But iPod sucks compared to this thing.
Re:I think he's wrong (Score:2, Interesting)
Oh no, a good interfaces is extremely important to me.
A good buddy of mine has an iPod, I have a Lyra. The interface is not that much different between the two. Well, there is one difference. I can use my Lyra as a standard, portable USB hard drive. That's not an option on his iPod.
Unless you are talking about the user interface on the CPU. On my Linux box, the Amarok interface blows away anything offered by Apple for Linux. On WinXP, MusicMatch Jukebox is much easier to use than the iTunes interfaces. Of course, I purchased Jukebox, but still saved over $100 over the cost I would have paid for the iPod.
So, again, can you give me a feature that the iPods offer that my Lyra does not?
Re:iPod's marketing is so clever, (Score:2, Interesting)
Even though people don't have to do something, if it becomes ubiquitous enough, it's almost as if they have to. It's a lot more difficult to go against the grain, especially when they make going with the grain as easy as they do.
Here's a great example: you don't have to eat ultra-processed, low-quality foods manufactured and distributed by gigantic megacorporations. The majority of people do, however. The same goes for anything else so widespread. The thing is, if there's a problem with something, "you don't have to eat it" or "you don't have to use it" isn't a solution. It's actually unfortunate, because people like us (the ones who actually notice the problems and get heated about them) tend to go off in our own directions, mostly ignoring what's wrong... when we could be attempting to fix this stuff.
So what if automobiles pollute the air and have a hand in destroying the ozone layer? You don't have to drive a car!
Re:I think he's wrong (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm not so sure that those people even gave other products a passing glance, much less enough to make an informed choice. Their only concern during purchase is the color.
To say that everything out there pales in comparison to the iPod isn't very fair. The iPod has some usability shortcomings just as other players. I've owned the great 5GB Rio Carbon, and got a color iPod solely for the space. And I do miss the ability to bookmark a 5 hour mp3, start to play music in shuffle mode, then switch back to the bookmark, all without taking my Rio out of my pocket.
What's with the iPod only bookmarking "podcasts" and audiobooks, and not any old mp3 file?
What's with the iPod only having one shuffle option, and no option to shuffle based on genre, artist, etc?
So I don't think other players are getting their fair share of attention or respect. Maybe it's too much work to compare the available units to make a truly independant decision.
Re:Exactly. (Score:2, Interesting)
How is it a terrible deal?
Beign able to download tracks you want and keep for as long as you want for under a buck seems like a good deal to me.
None of the other stores has the quality nor the quantity of commercial mainstream content for that price or longetivity.
Re:I think he's wrong (Score:1, Interesting)
Most people realize that there are other MP3 players out there that may have more features or better specs than the iPod. But they still buy iPods because (either through personal experience or reputation) they expect the iPod to provide a better user experience. In other words, they expect to be HAPPIER with their purchase.
People who don't "get" Apple, and companies that are doing a piss poor job of trying to compete with Apple, consistently fail to grasp this issue and dismiss it as nothing more than the results of clever marketing and gullible consumers. Perhaps it's time for you to consider that maybe there's something there after all that you are failing to grasp.
The Apple experience is complete. From the commercials to the packaging to the design, quality, look, and feel of the product, to the user interface's ease of use, responsiveness, efficiency, and reliability. Competing products fail in one or all of these areas to satisfy the consumer the way Apple does. So much so, that raw specs become a secondary issue.
I'd like iTunes and the iPod to do a better job with cross-fading and provide gapless track playback, but these shortcomings don't even begin to erode at my overall satisfaction with their product, especially considering my many years of frustration with everything associated with PCs and Windows.
Re:Exactly. (Score:3, Interesting)
er... legal alternatives to the ipod? There are illegal portable deviceS ??
is at best a wash on features (other than tight integration with iTMS) and is priced much, much more expensive (you pay a significant Apple fanboy premium versus competing players).
A wash on features on its own yes, you would be correct. But that's like comparing a small 30 piece lego car set with a car I carved out of wood myself.
The big feature, at this point, of the ipod (and the lego set) is that it lives in a world designed to connect to it.
The lego set can interact with any other lego set to build almost anything you can imagine.
Likewise the ipod features tight integration with iTunes, the iTunes Music Store, 200 different types of case, and another few supermarket aisles worth of "accessories". Buy an ipod, and you can hook it up to your camera, buy 15 different vanity cases, and find stereos, alarm clocks, remotes, car chargers, car stereos, etc all marketed around their ability to connect to the ipod.
I bought an ipod because the "expanded universe" of things I could do with it gave it extra value over its competition. From the tight integration with iTunes (the application, not the online store) to the many accessories.
Re:iPod's marketing is so clever, (Score:3, Interesting)
No, but not calling products by their actual names does tend to make you appear ignorant. Deliberately getting the names wrong (as you are doing) is irrational.
Anyway, let's look at what seems to be your main point: Apple knows better than me how I want to organize my music
No, Apple knows better than you how to organize the files on the iPod. You are free to organize your music however you want.
You have absolutely no understanding of good product design. Your average person doesn't want to deal with the actual song files. Why should they? Their computer is really good at organizing such things. By "your average person", I don't mean (as you probably narrated in your mind), "your average idiot". Even your highly above average person doesn't want to, nor should they have to, organize the actual song files. The song files are not what they are concerned with, the music is. With iTunes and the iPod, Apple has put the music and the listening experience to the forefront, and attempted to keep the behind-the-scenes details from getting in the way.
I wonder if you know why, exactly, you want to control the song files? Do you really care? What's more important to you, a superb listening experience, or absolute control over the filesystem? Is it rational to keep absolute control over the files when it detracts from the listening experience? These questions are for you to answer to yourself, you don't need to respond to them.
If I spill a drink on the floor, an "easy" solution would be to pay someone to demolish my house and rebuild it.
That's retarded. having your house demolished and rebuilt is not easier than cleaning up a spill.
Then we get to the "Apple could have done worse" aspect. This is pure bullshit.
What the hell are you talking about? I never said, "Apple could have done worse". I said that if Apple were intent on stopping you from accessing the files on your iPod, they could have done so directly.
The beauty of apps like iTunes and iPhoto is that they put the media (songs and photos) into the forefront, and hide all the impertinent details, but unlike you might expect from proprietary companies, they don't lock you out of your files. If ever you want to get your songs out of iTunes, or your photos out of iPhoto, you can do so very easily.
I was a bit leery at first when entrusting my data to iTunes and iPhoto. I used to meticulously organize my files, with a standard directory structure and file naming scheme. When I was satisfied that I could get my data back out of those apps, I gave them a try, and now I'd have it no other way. I'm not longer concerned about the actual data files, except to be certain that I can access them directly if I need to. That you are trying to spin this as a bad thing is absurd.
Why I think iTMS Store blows (Score:2, Interesting)
You obviously don't think long term. I do. I have old LPs, I have twenty year old CDs and all of it is still accessable and I expect it to still be accessable in some form after I am dead and gone. I have serious doubts whether anything from iTMS will survive anywhere like that long.
But most of all I object to iTMS and the other online music stores for more basic reasons. I object to paying high prices for low quality. If I am going to buy music I expect CD quality (after all, the CD is based on thirty year old tech) as a minimum standard, no online store (excepting allofmp3.com of course) offers a lossless format. All online music unnaturally ties the music and the player/PC such that replacing the player depends on the original store still being in business and not having changed the terms of the original deal. This in an industry where the longevity of
As for the iPod itself, I'm as unmoved as I am with all of Apple's products. Yes they are pretty, exhibit fairly good design, are reasonably easy to use and solidly midrange in features. Balanced by being overpriced and having a cult instead of normal customers.
Every time I have been tempted to purchase an Apple branded product the factor that changes my mind is not wanting to be associated with the the Cult of Mac. When most people see an Apple they tend to assume the owner is one or more of a) yuppie scum, b) smelly hippie, c) gay and almost certainly d) an Apple zealot.
With the iPod now being sold at WalMart, the iPod is going mainstream and starting to lose that taint. Which is why I'd bet the whole fad is about to end, you can't be an elitist snob about a product WalMart is selling and elitism seems to be a large part of what Apple is selling. It would be like BMW starting to sell to the masses, wouldn't matter if they were still the same quality cars, the status symbol value of owning a 'beemer' would be gone.