Even the Times says so

Remember our first post on August 10, "Radio loses, listener wins (IMHO)"? Well, a little over a month later, the New York Times makes it official. Their article Changing Its Tune talks about how radio listenership is declining -- because folks are listening to their MP3 players! Remember, you read it hear first.
- Ralph

Bruised fruit and busted pods

I personally haven't had any problems with the iTunes 7 program, but I have professionally. The DCD Records podcast I produce is in the new iTunes 7 podcast directory, but all of the programs listings have disappeared!

And unfortunately, iTunes holds podcasters at arm's length when it comes to fixing problems. Its not that difficult to do the original registration, but almost impossible to get any changes made to the feed, and there's no way to "open up the hood" and see what the problem might be with the iTunes program itself.

When you follow Ken's link, make sure you read the article's comments. Taken in conjunction with this posting from Macworld, it seems that a fair amount of the problems seem to be with Windows, or with third-party add-ons. In my case, we did change servers around the same time the new iTunes store launched, so that may have added to the problem.

I'll keep you posted on our postings. I'm not sure the Apple's rotten -- just a little bruised.

- Ralph

There's something rotten in Appleland...

I know Ralph is having a great time with the new iTunes 7 (I haven't upgraded yet, since I'm something of a Luddite). Turns out there may be a few bad apples ruining the barrel. Reports are coming in that everything isn't working as smoothly as it should.

A problem? Long-term -- probably not. Of course, you run into problems when you rely on a single-crop economy -- just ask the Irish.

In whose best interest?

Did you miss it?

There was a second product announcement this week. One for Microsoft's Zune MP3 player. Somehow, it lacked the intensity of interest Apple's announcement generated. While several tech sites had live text-messaged updates of Steve Job's speech as it happened, I didn't see any real coverage of the Zune rollout until after it was over.

Lots of virtual ink will be devoted to this new "iPod killer." As you read, consider this: at the core of the Apple vs. Everyone Else there's been a fundamental philosophical difference. Apple started with what the consumer wanted, and worked around what the media companies demanded. Microsoft, et al started with what the media companies wanted, and worked around what the consumers needed.

Has that changed? I don't think so. Consider the Zune's coolest feature, the ability to share songs with other Zune players wirelessly. If I want you to check out a new band, I can squirt some tracks to your player. That serves the consumer.

However, you have three days to play the tracks, and you can only play them three times before the files are disabled. The media companies' needs trumps the consumer's desires. Think about it – when friends loan you movies or music to check out, do you do so right away, or when you can get to it? In my case I’d just end up with a lot of disabled files cluttering up my Zune.

IMHO, until other manufacturers make the focus the consumer, not the media companies, we'll never have more than an iPod wounder.

- Ralph

Seven Better

It's the day after Apple's big announcement. Take a look around the blogosphere and see how many people get it. The ones that discuss iTunes 7 and iTV do. The ones that focus on the iPod shuffle kind of do. The ones that scratch their heads over the new versions of the iPod nano and video iPod and wonder what the fuss was about, don't.

The key to Apple's extraordinary success has been the simplicity of the interface between the iTunes Music Store, the computer and the iPod. Why did iTunes experience such phenomenal success? While "coolness" may have been a factor, the core reason was functionality. The consumer could see an obvious difference, and the rest is history [see: "Better Best Be Better"].

The big news isn't the players this time (well, except for maybe the iPod shuffle), it’s the software. In a forest of "me, too" competitors, Apple's once again delivered something that the public can see the advantages of. IMHO.

- Ralph