The Duke – iPod ‘initiative’
p2pnet.net News Opinion:- It’s mind-boggling.
Apple puts a mildly tweaked version of what’s no more than one of many mp3 players on the market and the mainstream media treat it like the Second Coming.
They do the same with its iTunes which in reality is just another plastic music site supplied and supported by the Big Four record labels so they’ll have some way of force-feeding online music lovers with their grotesquely over-priced ‘product‘.
“It’s very interesting,” Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of hardware product marketing, is quoted as telling TMO. “Duke is going to monitor this a lot to see what it does for the learning environment. We think it’s very exciting and we think it’s a great way to take advantage of the integration of the iPod into curriculum It will be interesting to follow it.”
No kidding.
“When asked if any other such deals are in the works, Mr. Joswiak said: ‘I don’t want to comment on anybody else’s deals, whether they’ve been announced or not, but certainly this is an experiment for Duke.’ Mr. Joswiak did not specifically deny any other deals.”
No kidding.
One of the reasons Apple has survived with its expensive, uncompetitive computers and software is because it’s been able to sell to schools around the world.
Its entry into Duke is more of the same.
When Jobs & Co launched their brilliant iPod/iTunes marketing push, they literally saved Apple’s apples.
Suggesting that getting iPod and iTunes into Duke is “an initiative to encourage creative uses of technology in education and campus life,” as EContent puts it here, is pure PR hype-speak repeated, as usual, by the mainstream media as if it’s real.
It’s an initiative to sell more Apple product.
“Through a Duke Web site modeled on the Apple iTunes site, students also can download faculty-provided course content, including language lessons, music, recorded lectures, and audio books,” says EContent and Oh, by the way …
… “They also will be able to purchase music through the site.”
No kidding.
A student who left Duke in May posted on p2pnet, “Despite having raised vast quantities of money the university somehow doesn’t have enough money to fund its dining service and the Art & Sciences school is running at a deficit of $1.4 million!
“They can’t hire new or good profs due to lack of money but somehow they can dole out $500,000 for friggin iPods? They have no real academic purpose or use that cannot be covered by existing resources like the library and the computer network.”
No kidding.
July 23rd, 2004 at 2:54 pm
Wow. That was a insightful commentary.
July 23rd, 2004 at 2:55 pm
You’re an idiot.
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:06 pm
Wow. The site sucks. I can’t believe this was one of the top tech stories on news.google.com.
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:06 pm
So, what exactly are you saying? That you don’t like Apple products? No kidding?
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:06 pm
It’s nice to see my quotes up on the site. Sit on it and rotate indeed.
Now there are other peculiarities about the whole situation that have yet to be explored…
Remember when Bill Gates went to Apple HQ to discuss greater cooperation? (http://news.com.com/2100-1001-264979.html?legacy=cnet) Well, it may have just started with the Duke Initiative. Melinda Gates, Bill’s wife, is an alum of Duke and regularly gives donations. So in some regards it’s The Gates giving money to Duke, who in turn will give it to Apple who will give most of it to the Big Four and reinvest the rest back into technology which they will now buy from Microsoft or an affiliated vendor.
Not to mention the hillarity of the iPod initiative considering how few Mac computers there are at the university. I wonder if that’s set to change…
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:07 pm
dude… how old are u? if you are not <8, are u by any chance retarded?
i second the previous persons claim that you are an idiot!
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:12 pm
my god, gentlemen we have a conspiracy theorist on our hands, what r ur thoughts on the missing WMDs
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:12 pm
Opinions based on ignorance are the plastic attempts at intelligence.
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:15 pm
why did google send me here? this story is completely stupid.
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:16 pm
with all your anger, perhaps you should see a therapist??
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:25 pm
you have way too much time on your hands.
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:26 pm
Yeah. Basically this is the worst article I’ve ever seen. I was linked here from Google News as well. Completely pointless and a waste of my time.
Apple’s products are “uncompetitive?” When was the last time you seriously used a Mac? If “seriously” means making snorting sounds over the one button mouse, you don’t even deserve to run this website.
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:26 pm
Sounds like your jealous that your not getting an iPod yourself for free…
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:34 pm
I agree.
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:35 pm
Amen.
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:36 pm
Regarding Apple’s “…expensive, uncompetitive computers and software…” do you actually do real work on a computer?
Apple’s hardware and proprietary software work well, straight out of the box.
You pay for what you get.
I’ll bet you drive a Cavalier.
Jude W Zimmermann,
Arrogant Mac & Honda owner
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:39 pm
Um. Yes, I have to agree. Also, the writing style in the article leaves MUCH to be desired.
Damn google for calling this news!
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:39 pm
“One of the reasons Apple has survived with its expensive, uncompetitive computers and software is because it’s been able to sell to schools around the world.”
I don’t know about other school districts, but the one in Montgomery County MD has all but stopped buying said “expensive, uncompetitive computers.” Despite this, Apple found enough business in the area to open up one of their own stores in one of the local malls. It seems they have better sales for homes and small businesses around here than schools.
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:40 pm
This article is so inane that I’m actually throwing away my copy of Limewire in protest.
I cannot believe that advertisers actually advertise on a site that is this stupid.
I suggest that all people who have been shanghaied into coming to this site also protest by not using any of the advertisers products or materials for a month or two. In this way I believe everyone will be helping the demise of these intellectual black holes on the internet.
It’s one thing the just click away disapoiinted, It’s another to do something about it. So do something about it.
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:40 pm
What about the new Sony oPid ? …looking good.
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:40 pm
This site appears as a Google headline news story????
It reads as if it were written by a disgruntled 13 year old skater boi.
You don’t like Apple products, ok – we get it. I’m not a fan either.
But if you are wasting our time with news editorials, make them insightful and intelligently written.
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:42 pm
This is the biggest POS article news.google.com has ever directed me to. No kidding.
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:43 pm
The guy who wrote this does want an IPOD and doesn’t have the money. So he decided to take up a job as a journalist and write an article to make the cash. That’s when he finds out that you can’t get any cash for being a poor writer. hmmmmm No kidding.
Either way, this article is good for a laugh.
His total lack of understanding of economics makes this article so easy to be made fun of. Who ever heard of a company charging a lot of money for a product so they can make a bigger profit? It’s totally revolutionary. Just like buddy’s article.
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:45 pm
this is most likely the worst web site I have EVER seen!
This guy has no knowledge but posts his own opinion as ’stories.’
i echo the previous comments… have you EVER used an apple product? and don’t tell me you used system 7 back in the day! have you used OS X? an iPod? iTunes?
IF you had, you would realize that they are all far superior to their corresponding competion. (i.e., XP, Dell/Nomad/etc crap, windows media player)
some people just spread propaganda… but i’ve used them all. but hey, if you don’t want superior products, that’s fine. but people who drive Geo Metros (or whatever crappy car you drive) should complain to the rest of the world about the press coverage of german sedans.
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:45 pm
ipod rage
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:48 pm
Watching paint dry is positively more exciting than any paragraph in your feeble attempt at an article. So you’re basically saying you don’t like Apple, which means you’re probably another lame PC user that hasn’t even touched a Mac.
You’re saying Apple is full of PR speak and that it’s real goal is to sell more ipods, as if you’re possessed with some incredibly acute sense to uncover their true motives – but all you’re doing is shouting the obvious. Congrats, you’re a bona fide bonehead.
July 23rd, 2004 at 3:57 pm
Despite the overuse of single quotations and “No kidding”s, what’s wrong with this article? Do you think the soothing voice of Sophia Choi would say it better? “Duke students awoke to a warm welcome today, a welcome warm as Apple pie…” This article may be a bit underdeveloped and a bit… unobjective, but at least its not TV news trash faking objectivity. This article provides a glimpse into the future of unrelenting, inspired journalism.
Just kidding.
It’s crap.
July 23rd, 2004 at 4:01 pm
Hi, I guess that I am an anonymous coward… I am a university professor and I love my ipod. On my campus the most interesting people – and professors – use Apple computers and listen to ipods. Even my windows-based students are moving to ipods in droves.
I guess that p2p’s future is in trouble and hence the vitriol spewed in this site’s op-ed…
But, freedom of speech is of the highest order… keep on postin’…
July 23rd, 2004 at 4:01 pm
woohoo : – ) It looks like the same guy posted most of the comments. it says right at the top that this is an opinion. so its an opinion. you don’t have to agree. that’s my two cents.
July 23rd, 2004 at 4:16 pm
You tell me where you can buy a 4 gig microdrive that’s self powered, can play mp3s, recharge over USB and Firewire, store ANY type of data, includes a backlit display, and only cost $250—–THEN I WILL AGREE ITS OVERPRICED (WTF?) AND HAS NO USE FOR AN A LIST UNIVERSITY STUDENT WHO JUST *MIGHT* NEED A PORTABLE STORAGE SOLUTION, AND WOULDN’T MIND AN MP3 MUSIC PLAYER ON CAMPUS!!!! GET REAL!!! THE APPLE IPOD IS AN INEXPENSIVE, INNOVATIVE, STYLISH DEVICE WITH A LOT MORE USES THAN A GLORIFIED MP3 PLAYER. If it is so awful go buy an ugly 128 MB mp3 player that can ONLY play music (a CD or 2) for $50 less. And have fun shelling out $50 a month on batteries for it. Jeees.
July 23rd, 2004 at 4:16 pm
WORD.
July 23rd, 2004 at 4:19 pm
Yeah, but who’s agreeing. Everyone else who posted their comments are just commenting….it says so right at the top, Comment. So its a comment. they don’t have to agree with the opinion. That’s my three cents worth.
July 23rd, 2004 at 4:24 pm
I agree that this is an awefully written, one sided article. In fact this is an aweful site. These guys are so threatened by LEGITIMATE music downloads that iTunes offers, that they have to really put it down. They just want their advertising to sell too.
Commercial cheapness, this site is. Simple and plain, sensational journalism to get people to come here and they can tell their advertisers “Oooo looky…so many people saw your ads…”
Not kidding.
July 23rd, 2004 at 4:26 pm
Yeah, this site does suck….and why is it that anyone who wants to post a comment is called an “Anonymous Coward”, just because we don’t want to log in and sign in, so they can make money out of us by sending us spam?
Boy, the lows people stoop to.
July 23rd, 2004 at 4:30 pm
I have to give it to Apple – it’s been able to create a virtual religion ; )
One of the posters says my clearly marked ‘opinion’ piece was vitriolic. Maybe. But it’s what I think and as a father, I’m seriously concerned that universities – supposedly institutions of higher learning – and other kinds of schools are being turned into sales units for various entertainment industry products – and with absolutely no reference to students or parents.
Do I hate the Apple Mac? Nope. It’s just a computer. Do I hate iPod? Nope. It’s just an mp3 player. But I DO hate the way this wholly sales and marketing effort is being presented as “an initiative to encourage creative uses of technology in education and campus life”.
What a load of old bollocks.
Cheers!
(PS: A lot of the posts do indeed look like they come from the same person, as someone points out. Now THAT’s vitriol : )
(PPS: But we’re OK for the moment – we home-school our daughter.)
July 23rd, 2004 at 4:33 pm
I second that. There’s way too much commercialism in our schools. The computer lab at our school is all-Mac and the kids don’t know there is anything else in the world.
July 23rd, 2004 at 5:04 pm
> The computer lab at our school is all-Mac
Why didn’t anyone give a bunch of Linux boxes?
> and the kids don’t know there is anything else in the world
How is that the fault of someone who has something to give? Why isn’t it the fault of all the others, who give nothing?
July 23rd, 2004 at 5:24 pm
Were these Macs given or sold? Like, all these Mac computers in schools.. were they paid for by the schools or donated free by Apple? Also did Apple give the software or did the schools buy it?
July 23rd, 2004 at 7:46 pm
Er, i just bought an Archos jukebox FM Recorder 20gig for 120 quid….
with open source software – ipod sucks shit.
July 24th, 2004 at 1:44 am
P2Pnet is usually lucky to get one or two comments on an article – what a change!
I just took a quick look at a few of the tidal wave of comments – all were similarly short and negative. Had this article been “Slashdotted” – linked to from a popular media outlet, I would expect to see at least a few neutral to complimentary comments.
This reminded me of the predictable response to the posting of an ES5-critical article on p2p sites such as Slyck. The forum would then draw a flood of new guest posters “the ES5 trolls” claiming to be satisfied ES5 customers who all doggedly defend the scandal-plagued P2P – often using an obviously similar writing style, if not outright cut-and-paste replies in long-winded polemics.
The forum-spamming got so bad that Slyck was forced to discontinue allowing guest posting entirely.
July 24th, 2004 at 2:21 am
For sure, or maybe there were two of them …… hehehe
July 24th, 2004 at 5:07 am
Given for free, or sold at a deeply discounted price, I don’t think it matters. The thing is, you can’t blame it on someone who tries to do self-promotion by giving stuff.
Brainwashing children? For years? Please!… Last time I checked, Apple is not by any means the dominant platform, so how come that “brainwashed” people do not use it most often?
I have another question: Do you acknowledge that not all people in this world are geeks? Or, do you imagine a geography teacher typing regular expressions, piping the query result to a filter, and putting everything in backquotes, in order to find a certain town near a certain river in a certain country?
I’m happy for this Apple program in schools. I’m glad that kids learn how a user interface is supposed to be. I think too many people are brainwashed by Windows, which is technically and visually inferior. And Linux still has a long way to go to become the desktop for the simple people, with a straightforward vision of life. Linux is good, but I wouldn’t try to teach my grandmother to use it.
July 24th, 2004 at 3:21 pm
your not by any chance a member of the church of apple, are you? ; – P
July 25th, 2004 at 2:26 am
> your not by any chance a member of the church of apple, are you? ;-P
Not yet. I’m a grad student and I’m poor. But after I finish my PhD, I hope I will be able to buy a nice house, a German car and an Apple computer (hoping that the “make it all cheap” gang of people won’t bring down German car companies, or Apple Computers…) ;-P
July 25th, 2004 at 3:16 am
hahaha: i’m out there in the workforce using pc’s but i want a german car too. er …… i want a german bike, actually. and you can keep your apples ;-p
(nice that your not slagging anyone off)
July 28th, 2004 at 10:53 am
No, r u?