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iTunes coming any day now...

I'm not holding my breath, but the AFR reports today on Apple Australia's plan to introduce iTunes, possibly by September. I guess that's progess of sorts!

btw, I'm not sure why the Fin thought this was a story today. Both The Aus, and El Reg had the story on Sept 19.

iBrand

I read a lot of Gadget news, but don't make a habit of posting too much. But the iBoom story at Gizmodo has caught my eye. Sure, the idea of plugging your iPod into a portable boom box deserves some credit. But what continually amazes me is the extent to which Apple and third party companies can develop creative branding around the letter "i". The "iBrand," as it were, has become one of the biggest consumer marketing success stories in recent years. And no, Apple didn't pay me to say that. ;)

Is Apple becoming un-cool?

Apple and Motorola are working on a deal to put iPod technology on Motorola cell phones. According to published reports, the hope is to create a cell phone/iPod sub-platform that can be licensed to other makers such as Nokia and Samsung. The idea is to develop a proprietary music delivery system with the phone carriers. This gives them a new opportunity to add additional fees to the already burgeoning cell phone bill, this one for music.

Worthwhile read over at AlwaysOn regarding the latest angle on the Apple vs Real saga: "It's not about the music and the player. It's about a scheme afoot to monopolize music delivered to cell phones."

Apple can't be too happy about this one. I can think of only one other vendor that regularly generates copy containing the words "proprietary" and "monopolize."

iPod's double edged sword

I don't have too many causes or bandwagons. But in case you've not noticed, iTunes is one. Not only is iTunes not available in Australia, but as this SMH article points out, Apple is knowingly making criminals of its users by selling the iPod in Australia.

Under Australia's archaic laws it's illegal to copy music from a legally bought CD to your iPod.

As I've noted before, legal online music sales/downloading are very much a mainstream gig these days. Memo to Apple: I'm one of many people who are willing to buy songs from you if you will only get your act together. Your continued indecision to launch iTunes in Australia is perpetuating the illegal download phenomenon. Sure, it won't eradicate illegal downloads, but it's a start.

Never leave home without it

This WSJ story about Steve Jobs' successful cancer operation included the full text of the email he sent to Apple staff. Here's the sentence that caught my eye:

PS: I'm sending this from my hospital bed using my 17-inch PowerBook and an Airport Express.

Talk about dedication to the cause! And in case you stumble across this post from the comfort of your hospital bed, Steve I hope the recovery progresses well.

ps. Reuters story here if you don't have WSJ sub.

Sour Apples

Apple's a little upset about RealPlayer's ability to let users buy music from its site and upload them to your iPod. (TechDirt and Slashdot are just two of many sites carrying the news.)

Oddly enough, I just downloaded RealPlayer today to watch a webcast. In the process of poking around and checking out its features, I attempted to buy a song online. Do you think they will let Aussies buy songs from the US? Nope. Does Apple iTunes store let Aussies buy songs? Nope. Apple's been dragging its feet on this issue for months.

So while Apple worries about losing a few dollars to Real, the rest of the world outside the US remains a lost opportunity for both companies.

Now *this* is cool!

Video conferencing at 35,000 feet, Apple style.

Aussie geek builds iPod Web server

The DOT-POD software, available in server and client versions, lets users share tracks from their iPod with others via the Internet. The software betters a standard Web server by displaying track data in HTML, and offers specialised searches and user controls.

Very cool. Full story at PC World Australia.

iTunes troubles

Apple wants customers to advance into this digital-music future without a map. In so doing, it's showing itself at its least attractive: resolutely proprietary and secretive to a fault.

The Washington Post nails the trouble with Apple's iTunes business - inflexibility outside the proprietary iPod platform. Interesting story because Apple now has so much riding on the iTunes/iPod connection. Sales of iPods now outnumber Macs, giving rise to suggestions by The Beatle's Apple record company that Apple Computer is wading too deep into the music business and away from its roots.

Linux on iPod

A guy called Bernard Leach has ported a version of Linux to the iPod. Cool. The site's FAQ reports the project is not trying to turn the iPod into a PDA. Why not?

(via Slashdot)