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2 Responses to “Bill Gates and mp3 players”

1. Reader's Write Says:
   March 26th, 2005 at 4:18 pm

   sounds like hes telling you not to buy and ipod

2. Reader's Write Says:
   March 26th, 2005 at 4:46 pm

   “sounds like hes telling you not to buy and ipod”

   **********

   now THAT’S good advice coming from anyone.

3. Reader's Write Says:
   March 26th, 2005 at 5:36 pm

   Tips for people shopping for an audio codec:

   1. seek the highest possible quality

   2. seek a highly portable and open standard

   3. seek something which will reliably play on all operating systems

   4. seek something which will allow you to choose not to buy from a music store at all

   5. seek a codec which is not continuously re-engineered with specific intent of incompatibility with open source.

   6. seek a codec which does not compel platform lockin

   *in short, seek to avoid wma/wmv and seek aac, ogg, or flac*

4. Reader's Write Says:
   March 26th, 2005 at 5:38 pm

   Don’t be an ignorant SOB…

   ipod does not compel you to purchase itunes files, nor does it reject files which are not from the itunes store.

   stop slandering a product you obviously know nothing about

5. Reader's Write Says:
   March 26th, 2005 at 5:43 pm

   tips for people looking to buy a player (software or hardware) for their crapster (napster) files.

   1 – it will only work with windows
   2 – it will only work with windows
   3 – it will only work with windows
   4 – it will only work with windows
   5 – it will only work with windows
   6 – it will only work with windows

   ~ the end ~

6. Reader's Write Says:
   March 26th, 2005 at 5:46 pm

   i’m serious.. this guy messes with his codecs every few years to keep open developers and alternative operating systems from properly interacting with their media (unless of course they install their spyware ridden, unix kernel shredding virus known as windoze media player… WTF should i be using WMP for only one set of files when quicktime and itunes play EVERYTHING ELSE)

7. Reader's Write Says:
   March 26th, 2005 at 6:14 pm

   Gotta luv those Apple apologists. It’s so good to see the non-sequiters.

   So why *is* Apple in the music distribution business?

   Just Say No To DRM

8. Reader's Write Says:
   March 26th, 2005 at 6:39 pm

   “Don’t be an ignorant SOB…”

   **********

   hello “Anonymous Coward”.

   first of all, i don’t think this is the type of “forum/message board” for mouthing off and being rude to other people. i guess that’s the type of place you come from.

   ignorant? moi!

   i don’t think so. i know quite a bit to know that i would never buy or use an apple product or napster.

   these ipods and other DRM mp3 players are mainly being bought for children and teenagers whose parents are either duped into paying the rental fees and don’t understand what they’re doing. or the kids are smarter than the parents and just get music the right way – FREE – from p2p, friends, libraries, etc. and the parents don’t have to pay for the napster and itunes crap.

   if the parents haven’t wised up, the kids certainly have and will teach their parents.

9. Reader's Write Says:
   March 26th, 2005 at 6:41 pm

   i never ask that anyone agree with me on anything. i don’t need pats on the back – especially when i state the obvious truth.

10. Reader's Write Says:
    March 26th, 2005 at 8:24 pm

    “these ipods and other DRM mp3 players are mainly being bought for children and teenagers”

    mouthing off and calling names eh? there is an old saying.. it’s better to let people think you’re an idiot than open your mouth and prove them correct.

    I’m a digital libertarian just like you my friend.. and also an ipod owner. I chose it of my own volition, bought it with my own money, and store NO itunes store files on it.
    I went from windows to linux within my first year using computers, and switched to mac because it had a plainly superior OS built firmly on open source bsd unix.

    A word for you on apple, ipod, and DRM.

    1. Steve jobs has come out on multiple occasions AGAINST drm. Despite the DMCA macos and i-apps have been miraculously and suspiciously IMMUNE to most RIAA implemented copy protection schemes applied to cd’s..

    2. The ipod contains no DRM. I challenge you to find a single writeup explaining how the ipod imposes DRM upon end users – and none of that crap about how it “hides” the songs you load on it….. all you have to do is “view hidden folders” in your OS and theyre visible.

    3. Ipod operates on a slightly modified version of itunes, so anything itunes can play will play on an ipod, with rare exception.. which is far more than most players on the market can brag.

    4. As far as competition, and why it’s the most popular.. once again.. it was the first, the most elegent, the most versatile…. You honestly think people shell out $350-$450 for something that restricts their use?

    I’m someone who collects DRM cracking tools on principle because i never know when, despite my vigilance, i may end up in a situation where i need to rid myself of it.. you think i would buy it if it had drm?

    So once again put your money where your mouth is.. put up or shut up mr “I hate apple just because it tried something stupid”…

11. Reader's Write Says:
    March 26th, 2005 at 8:40 pm

    The man was spreading a lie, a myth, that ipod contained DRM, or somehow imposed limitations on it’s owner(s) which somehow amounted to crippling of it’s functionality.

    I came forward and pointed out his lie, corrected him, and slapped him on the nose with a wet newspaper for spreading slander.

    exactly what part of my response to him is a non-sequiter?

    Also, what part of my statement is an “apology”? I’m not apologizing for this company because they’ve done nothing wrong,build a perfectly functional and OPEN player, and then people come along and slander it under a false premise.

12. Reader's Write Says:
    March 26th, 2005 at 8:57 pm

    why don’t you go ask someone who actually OWNS an ipod to borrow it and use it before “proclaiming” your self-absorbed fabrictions

13. Reader's Write Says:
    March 26th, 2005 at 9:06 pm

    hello “Anonymous C-O-W-A-R-D”

    please get off your high horse about apple/ipod. you might fall off.

    i am continually telling ignoramuses here that i am not their personal search engine or encyclopedia. but i guess i’ll just have to add another Anonymous Coward to that list.

    here, for your own perusal, are several reviews and/or articles on why ipods – and apple – suck.

    The Mac Skeptic: A Digital Music Duffer
    http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,113694,00.asp

    New Players Challenge IPod
    http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,117955,00.asp

    The End of the iPod
    http://www.drmblog.org/index.php?/archives/150-The-End-of-the-iPod.html

    Why DRM Offends the Sensibilities
    http://www.drmblog.org/index.php?/archives/148-Why-DRM-Offends-the-Sensibilities.html

    iTunes 4.7.1 Quietly Brings Sharing Restrictions
    http://www.drmblog.org/index.php?/archives/152-iTunes-4.7.1-Quietly-Brings-Sharing-Restrictions.html

    iPod and MSN Music
    http://blogs.msdn.com/omars/archive/2004/09/04/225553.aspx

    i’ve put up – as you asked. now YOU please shut-up. do your own research from now on.

    i guess i win the “challenge”.

14. Reader's Write Says:
    March 26th, 2005 at 9:15 pm

    yeah, that’s a problem because i don’t know a single person who owns an ipod or an apple product, or who would even consider owning one.

15. Reader's Write Says:
    March 26th, 2005 at 9:26 pm

    It is not the “IPOD” preventing you from loading itunes store files, it is itunes… which is a completely separate program which is different from the skeletal version which governs the ipod.

    In fact..all of these site “ITUNES” restrictions..
    here is one such “horrid” restriction…
    ” Apple has quietly introduced a limit to the number of users who can access your iTunes shared music per day”

    now let’s see.. on the average home network.. or even local university group (i should know.. i live on a campus) will contain no more than 15 people.. wow. STILL HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IPOD!

    let’s see.. that last one says it all.. MSN music..
    “Unfortunately Apple refuses to support the popular Windows Media format on the iPod, choosing to only support their own proprietary DRM format.”
    (first off i’d like to scoff at the idea that WMA is “popular”.. considering mentioning it is a ban in most respectable irc nets)
    ACTUALLY: this is not limited exclusively to the ipod, but macos X in general, along with most unices, mplayer doesn’t even play the latest windows media codecs because WM is continually engineered for incompatibility.

    format support, or the lack thereof, does not equal DRM.

16. Reader's Write Says:
    March 26th, 2005 at 9:29 pm

    from what i remember.. there were several types of quicktime codecs which refused to play on windows..

    maybe we should start lambasting all windows pc’s for DRM restrictions eh?

    Lack of codec support for WMA is not apple’s fault.. it’s microsoft’s fault for not making it open enough.

17. Reader's Write Says:
    March 26th, 2005 at 9:35 pm

    you were taught to hate apple for no reason by people who also hate apple for no reason.

    they cite fallacies to support their untennable position.. such as “there are no programs for apple” or.. “nothing will work with apple”..and i guess the newest incarnation is “apple is loaded with DRM”… then extend it to the ipod.

    I sincerely hope you’re not a microsoft user, because while Jobs has been struggling valiantly to keep his machines as open as possible, gates has been cozying up to the entertainment industries supporting such DRM schemes as CGMS-A (to prevent you recording tv on your MCE edition computer), among others.

18. Reader's Write Says:
    March 26th, 2005 at 9:51 pm

    I don’t want some random whining blogger from such blatantly biased cites as PC world talking about something they’ve never used.

    I want an educated computer scientist explaining in detailed terms precisely what and how the IPOD.. not itunes.. not the itunes store.. not simple lack of microsoft codec support (microsoft does not support apple codecs either).. but how the IPOD ITSELF is digitally restricting uses which should be there.

    Allow me to explain a few things about how the ipod works to allay some of your arguments before you pose them:

    1. The reason why the music folder is “hidden”.
    This has to do with filesystem optimizations made to conserve power by both minimizing memory consumption and minimizing disk reads and search times. The songs, when loaded, are hashed and parsed into a highly specialized data structure which is designed to allow optimized search and retrieval of songs by the device through any of the parameters.. such as artist.. album.. playlist… It makes perfect sense to the ipod’s os.. but is gobeldygook to humans.. which is the primary reason it’s hidden.

    2. You CAN access these files anyway by viewing hidden folders..or you can simply enable disk use and store whatever you please on the space.

19. Reader's Write Says:
    March 27th, 2005 at 10:43 pm

    “open as possible”

    Apple is so closed. Thier licensing is so closed. lol. Who’s the zealot?

20. Reader's Write Says:
    March 28th, 2005 at 2:22 am

    actually.. check the apple developer connection website.

    access to all their OS documentation is completely free to all members.. all you need do is sign up. A small fee will get you live and round the clock phone support for your apple compatible software projects.

    Developer tools come free with every computer and every new OS.. and can be downloaded free with any level of apple developer connection account.

    further.. for some $300 you can get beta seeds of their operating systems and programs for a year.

    And of course they base their system on an open source GPL darwin core.

    so YES. you are an apple hate zealot.. and as i said before.. a simpleton who bases all his opinions and assertions on fallacies.

21. Reader's Write Says:
    March 30th, 2005 at 3:29 am

    a·pol·o·gist Audio pronunciation of “apologist” ( P ) Pronunciation Key (-pl-jst)
    n.

    A person who argues in defense or justification of something, such as a doctrine, policy, or institution.

    Dumbass.

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