Re: I-tunes: Why only for Mac's, and what exactly are you buying?

Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2003 23:31:10 -0400
Newsgroups: rec.audio.pro
Size: 2,749 bytes

Mike Rivers wrote:
> > Given that people already have browsers ...
> > and can download software ...
> > sometimes to buy stuff on e-bay, amazon ...
> > then why was it necessary to run proprietary software to
> > purchase and download I-tunes music?
>
> There are several reasons. First off, while obviously everyone
> in this choir to which you're preaching has an Internet
> connection and a web browser
As do people with Macs that will buy from I-tunes, as do lots
of other people that can't buy from I-tunes because they don't
have a Mac -
> few have a computer every place where they like to listen to
> music.
And somehow because you have a Mac then you magically have a computer
everyplace you want to listen to music?
And when I walk into a music store and buy a CD, or DVD, or SACD, or
DVD-A, they cashier won't let me buy it unless I can prove I have a CD
player, DVD player, etc?
You sell an MP3 over the net, you tell the customer that this is a
music file, you tell the customer he/she needs an MP3-compatible
player (which could be a hand-held device, or a software player like
Microsoft Media Player, or Creative Audio's software, etc). You tell
the customer that you're not responsible if they buy an MP3 and have
no way to play it. The Mac people will (naturally I guess) have no
problem with that, and neither will the vast majority of PC owners
THAT ACTUALLY PATRONIZE the I-tunes music store.
> So it becomes their responsibility, at that point, to be the
> "publisher" and convert what they've downloaded to a CD that they
> can listen to in the living room or the car, or just play it when
> they're sitting at the computer.
That is a non-argument. Since when is it garanteed that ALL Mac
owners have portable MP3 devices other than their computer? The only
responsibilty that I-tunes should have is to deliver the MP3 file to
the customer.
Why we're making such an intimate link between a music file and the
computer platform used to acquire the file from the net is a mystery
to me. I'm arguing that there is no inherent link, but the I-tunes
business model made such a link on purpose, and I question the
ergonomics (and economics) of that decision.
> And while most people in this choir can probably do that,
> the average boob who buys a computer to write letters to
> family members and look for porn on the web don't know how
> to do that. So for them, the music is in only one place.
And while I agree that the average computer owner may not be that
savvy to be able to port an MP3 file off their computer and onto a
CD-R, or a USB-connected portable player, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE
AVERAGE PC USER - WE'RE TALKING ABOUT _ANY_ COMPUTER USER THAT KNOWS
HE WANTS AN MP3 AND KNOWS WHAT TO DO WITH IT.