May 03, 2006
When Apple gets Peeled
Apple’s amazing run with the iPod can’t last forever. I can’t think of any other piece of hardware proprietary to one hardware manufacturer that has not been successfully challenged. When a new product overtakes the iPod, Apple may become perceived as more evil then Microsoft at the height of Microsoft’s Borg haters - OK that may be a stretch as people love to hate Microsoft.
Loyal iPod users will then be stuck with tons of unplayable music that they had invested hard earned money on. Granted, they will still be able to play it on their computer but that will do little to console these angry customers. The interesting question to pose is how will Apple handle this? They have been fairly sheltered from severely negative press - at least compared to Microsoft or other companies.
Posted in Technology
May 4th, 2006 at 3:24 pm
Interesting perspective. As a long time Apple customer I was wondering when that might happen. I was one of the early buyers of a 40GB iPod Photo. When subsequent versions came out, I was sort of disappointed however, my iPod still works and meets my need. Plus Apple is more of a hardware company than a software only play like Microsoft. Apple’s hardware is the most innovative and their software applications are pretty much bulletproof.
Most of the people I know that have a Windows machine are unhapopy with the software, i.e. Windows and not the machine itself. Perhaps that is a fine distinction but one that must be brought into the discussion when you compare Apple and Microsoft, IMO.
I look forward to seeing more from your blog. Keep it up.
February 14th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
[...] One of the first posts I did on Horse Power speculated on the backlash Apple would feel when consumers wised up to DRM. I faulted Apple for the FairPlay DRM system they used implying that the DRM was designed to tie iPod users to iTunes and exclude other MP3 players as well as prevent the iPod for use on other download sites. Well, this speculation has come true. Apple is getting sued harassed by many European nations to open up its closed loop system to allow others to play. [...]