Microsoft, Apple, and the new Xbox

[Fake Boris]

BTW, when I got my iBook, I was stunned by the fact that OSX can't read Ogg files without additional software

[Whaleboy]

Do you have a point?

Yes, there is no such thing as a commercial knight in shining armour. At the end of the day, a company has to turn a profit, pay its employees, and keep the shareholders happy. Whether or not its kind to the consumers is incidental, since it would screw the hell of out of both consumers and suppliers, and get as higher margin as possible, if it could.

Of course it cant, and the consumer benefits from competition, but a company will always do what is in its own interests. Much of the time, that coincides with what is in the interests of the consumer but we should hardly be surprised if a business acts for mitself and against the consumer when it can.

It's not a good or a bad thing by itself, but competition would ensure a healthier market. I adore my iPod, but without competition the product might stagnate, so I would like to see Apple have a slightly harder time for my sake as a consumer, but I have no moral expectations of any corporation and frankly I laugh at those that do!

[Verto]

Foolish move, although I expect that the majority of iPod owners do not see themselves as affected by this.

[Nostromo]

Foolish move, although I expect that the majority of iPod owners do not see themselves as affected by this.

Exactly. I don't buy music online, I still buy CD's, so it doesn't affect me.

[Asher]

Originally posted by nostromo
Exactly. I don't buy music online, I still buy CD's, so it doesn't affect me.

They're likely to pull the same thing they did with Real -- ie, firmware updates to sabotage interoperability with the Xbox.

Well, as near as I can make out, Apple is primarily aiming for the non-techie segment of the population as their customers - the kind of people who want to buy an electronic device off the shelf and never having to learn more about it than to locate the on/off switch. These are hardly the people who are most about interoperability.

And that's precisely why this should "just work" (isn't that one of Apple's slogans?). There are USB ports just like on the PC on the Xbox 360, and the Xbox 360 supports custom soundtracks in each game, so why shouldn't you be able to hook up your music device to the USB ports on the Xbox 360 and get the music in the game?

It's one of those things that consumers shouldn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out, plug in music device to a computer/console and get music.

[Last Conformist]

@Whaleboy: Commercial knights in shining armour? I make a remark about Apple's apparent business strategy, and you give me a lecture on corporate ethcis? WTF? Stay on topic, dunce.

Originally posted by Asher
And that's precisely why this should "just work" (isn't that one of Apple's slogans?). There are USB ports just like on the PC on the Xbox 360, and the Xbox 360 supports custom soundtracks in each game, so why shouldn't you be able to hook up your music device to the USB ports on the Xbox 360 and get the music in the game?

It's one of those things that consumers shouldn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out, plug in music device to a computer/console and get music.

It's one of those things that quite likely won't ever occur to the non-techie user, who consequently won't miss it.

[Q Classic]

And yet, you have people drinking from the koolaid in the cult of mac, so entwined in the reality distortion field, that they think Apple is somehow different, unique, among the tech companies, when it's not.

I had to explain to my indie ****head friend why his adoration of iProducts was a personal affront--he didn't seem to understand that while Microsoft has plenty of unsightly warts, Apple has just as many of them.

[Urban Ranger]

Re: Microsoft, Apple, and the new Xbox

Originally posted by Asher
It's tactless and classless. They should take advantage of the PR they have now as a friendly, consumer-focused company and step it up.

That appears to be working. According to the Wall Street Journal a million Windows users switched to Apple in the first three quarters of 2005.

[Asher]

Re: Re: Microsoft, Apple, and the new Xbox

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
That appears to be working. According to the Wall Street Journal a million Windows users switched to Apple in the first three quarters of 2005.

You seem to be a bit confused.

That figure came from an analyst from Needham & Co. Wall Street Journal may or may not have reported the findings, but the more likely scenario is you saw the Slashdot story saying a "Wall Street analyst says," and immediately assumed it has to do with a well-regarded publication, rather than some no-name guy on behalf of a no-name company...

You also have to admire the guy's methodology:

According to checks with Apple Store Specialists, Wolf also said a larger than expected percentage of Windows to Mac converts appear to be purchasing Apple's higher-end systems and that their transition is fueled by the epidemic of viruses and malware on the Windows platform.

Ahhh, if only life were that simple.

Calling teenagers at the Apple Stores and asking them how many people switched from Windows, and then extrapolating that is as scientific as Slashdot and Apple fanboys get...

[Datajack Franit]

Still, why should Apple give any kind of support to the company (Microsoft) that almost wiped them off in the last years?

[Kuciwalker]

Because it's their mutual best interest of their shareholders, to which they hold a fiduciary responsibility

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Datajack Franit
Still, why should Apple give any kind of support to the company (Microsoft) that almost wiped them off in the last years?

Didn't Microsoft save Apple a few years back by investing heavily into them before the iPod years?

[Verto]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui


Didn't Microsoft save Apple a few years back by investing heavily into them before the iPod years?

Maybe they were making a delayed payment for all the stuff they borrowed


que AsherTroll2.0

[Imran Siddiqui]

1/10

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui


Didn't Microsoft save Apple a few years back by investing heavily into them before the iPod years?

No.

They invested some money to help get themselves out of the jam that they were in over the IE bundling trial.

They also committed to make Office for the Mac for five years. Jobs took the money because it was good press, a sign that one of Apple's most important developers was continuing to support the mac platform.

The Office deal ran out ages ago. Microsoft still makes Office for Mac. Reason: mac customers tend to pay for their software, and MS has made good money for over 20 years in selling them it. There's a reason for that: most MS software for the mac has been pretty good. I actually like MS as a Mac developer. I think that spinning off the Mac BU was the best thing they ever did.

I use Office. It's still the best available on the Mac, and MS has really done themselves proud with the latest version. I haven't had an Office app crash in months.