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Mar 03, 08 - 10:40 pm Comment from: HotinPlaya

not good

Mar 03, 08 - 10:42 pm Comment from: Scott

Apple hasn't missed that many targest for things they have total control over. The movie industry is probably more to blame than Apple for this because if Apple pushes them, the movie companies could easily just say, "well screw it then." And I'd rather them miss the dealine that was self imposed to please the crowds at the time, than them hit that time frame and release bug filled items like their competators. The music companies were slow to adopt the new model too, so cut them some slack. I'd prefer they go back and not tell anyone any dates. But then everyone would complain about buying something and it getting upgraded the next week. People will always bitch. All that will change is who is doing it.

Mar 03, 08 - 10:42 pm Comment from: GranitW

I hope Steve Jobs isn't falling into some kind of denial slump again like in 85, otherwise something bad might come of it.

Mar 03, 08 - 10:49 pm Comment from: Mac4lfe

This is all on the movie studios. Can you say sabotage.

I think it is Apple's fault for not hiring and training enough staff to encode and verify the integrity and formatting of the movies. I have been concerned since the announcement for the iTunes rentals that they wouldn't have enough staff to encode, format and catalog the movies for putting up on iTunes. We know that Steve doesn't like to hire extra staff, and I think he blew it here! Please give us the 1,000 movie rentals stat!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: You just gotta be both right AND on time.

So here's the question for Apple: What are you going to do? If the stock price was at $200, you could just say "Screw 'em ... We ain't explaining nothin."

But at $122, you best start 'splainin.

Mar 03, 08 - 11:11 pm Comment from: Predrag

It's pretty obvious this is squarely on the movie studios' shoulders. They are much more cavalier with their promises than Apple.

To not be able to encode 1000 movies is an excuse that is as lame as it could possibly be (I could probably do it myself, on my three Macs, in a few weeks).

I doubt this is worth explaining; It is not like people have already seen everything there's to see and are now waiting for more movies...

"IBM and Apple are pleased to announce, that by this time next year, we'll be at 3 GHz."

maybe it wasn't apple that couldn't meet the goal, but the studios...

Mar 03, 08 - 11:18 pm Comment from: Romeodawg

It seems like the only thing we can do is boycott the studios completely and ONLY purchase and rent movies through iTunes. I'm so sick of being "marketed to" and the studios making all these restrictions as they try to squeeze the most theoretical profit out of everything. We want to pay them money, we just don't want to support this antiquated distribution system and frankly I don't give a f*ck if Walmart goes out of business or not -- I just want to watch the movie. I don't want it for free, but my god - when will they ever learn that it's about giving the customers what we want????

How is this any different than promising that IBM/Motorola would have 3Mhz G5 chips in 12 months?

Mar 03, 08 - 11:18 pm Comment from: AAPL

ha ha ha

a steve note is a guide \ and the current plan not contracts with stock holders or customers

most of you are missing it

If it were up to steve
all the movies would have been up
all bands would be on itunes

what I want to know is how is rev now that there are rentals?

I say spike and much more to come

I cancelled net flix ... ready to cancel cable heck ready to cancel my phone

ALL OF THE NEW MONEY going to AAPL

and they just do what????

OS
CPU
content player / store
tv
iphone

show me who is doing it better first
company A really has a handle on XYZ

I say they can't hold a candle

stand by take off

once again

Wow, Apple screws something up yet MDN take mentions Microsoft. Are all die-hard Mac fanatics this obsessed with Microsoft that they feel the need to mention it with regard to topics that have to do with Apple screwing up?

Apple is the new king of delays: Leopard, iPhone SDK, Apple TV 2, etc. And now it's aiming to replace Microsoft. Not in terms of OS market share, but in terms of Vaporware king.

Not all mac users relate Apple delays with Microsoft. But a lot of mac user really hate the problems we had on the window platform. Kinda like someone with a Honda that has had problem list the other cars that has problems. Defense of a good platform made by Apple and the lack of love for windows and the problems.... A view point.

Like I keep saying, Apple simply cannot meet deadlines! Just cannot. Almost as annoying as all the Obama Bin Ladin banners on this site!

Mar 03, 08 - 11:43 pm Comment from: gav

Spliting hairs boys and girls .... I bet the 6th will tell a bigger story - relax and rent - ahhhhh

Mar 03, 08 - 11:51 pm Comment from: DogGone

@AAPL

Can you repeat that in English please?

I added them up and got 802 total..

iMaki,

Maybe on your version of the site you have…Osama what???? Where I come from I see various Apple products for sale, Nintendo Wii and one of those stupid lame-brain "message alert" ads. So, like are you on some medication, illicit drugs or just plain crazy. Frankly…I don't give a damn!

Mar 03, 08 - 11:57 pm Comment from: Jim - TIV

Whatever AAPL is smoking, can I get some?

Mar 04, 08 - 12:00 am Comment from: Cubert

@sl,
Too fscking funny!!! I remember how horribly off Apple was on that prediction.

Mar 04, 08 - 12:03 am Comment from: Cubert

"So, like are you on some medication, illicit drugs or just plain crazy."

Well, for me (in case you care), I smoked some weed earlier - nice diesel, too - and I'm kinda crazy, too, but in a good way.

Maybe those who have been warning of Steve's obsession with all these 'great products' 'beautiful products' 'breakthrough products' etc., are taking a toll on Apple's future as the best computer company in the world.

iMaki,

Oh now I get your asinine humor. I went to this site through an overseas server. Don't you mean Barack Obama the American senator from Illinois.

Political discourse is fine but narrow-mindedness is un-American. It allows America's enemies to peddle their lies about the country. If you're so fixated with Osama Bin Laden why don't you join the armed forces and volunteer to fight in Afghanistan against the Taliban and al-Qaida.

Mar 04, 08 - 12:25 am Comment from: Ashley Grayson

In the few weeks we've had an Apple TV I've watched a lot of You Tube and rented three HD movies at $4.99 that I would not have otherwise watched. So the industry has more of my money than otherwise and I'm happy with the Apple TV and service.

If Apple had a thousand film library I might have watched something different but not watched more, so what is there to complain about? Eventually, there will be more choice.

Interesting indeed, where is the bottleneck? Or is the delay caused by movie rental biz people who are telling to the movie studios: "Don't release the iTunes movies too fast, we need time to exit the rental biz".

Some kinds of contracts must be in place to protect them and isn't it so that the movie studios also own parts of the rental firms.

Then of course it just might be that the lonely movie coder at Apple got flu and was off work one week.

Mar 04, 08 - 01:15 am Comment from: iDon't

Big deal. People are to entertained (trained) anyway.

I don't see the problem...

but then again - I live in Europe

Mar 04, 08 - 01:21 am Comment from: ibookboyuk

@sl

*bows head in respect*

By the way, on politics, if I call them Osama and Hitlery to myself it makes me smile every time

"Eventually, there will be more choice."

Apple customers have been saying that about Apple products for 20 years.

"If it were up to steve
all the movies would have been up
all bands would be on itunes"

But it's not about what Steve wishes would happen but about what he can make happen.

If it were up to him Apple stock would probably be worth a million a share. Or at least closer to $200.

Ooh! Gosh!
What's the matter?
This constant running after performing this and that is just a neverending hoak!
No such hurry, anyway... only a dumm way for making money on shares values...

I have started renting movies on itunes and i must say that I have quickly run out of content to watch ... and that is after just 5 rentals ... I find it a great service but you need the content ... once they get up to 5000 movies we will be talking!.

by the way has anyone else noticed that the sound quality is not great (probably due to compression) ... it sounds tinny on my surround system

cheers

Harsh MDN, harsh... This is an ENORMOUS undertaking by Apple. This is the "I-tunesing" of movies. And EVERYONE in the movie industry can see it, and NONE OF THEM want it.

And yet the Apple juggernaut steamrollers on. It really doesn't matter how many movies were for rental at the end of the period, it just matters whether the juggernaut was accelerating at the end of the period. Because the juggernaut is irresistable. Its reason for existence perfectly obvious to everyone. Apple provides the simplest, cleanest, most efficient, and most logical solution again.

The rave reviews of Apple TV 2.0 seem somewhat odd when viewed against the comments of Apple insiders. "Oh Apple TV is a hobby."

Haha.

Cheeky Steve Jobs was telling the movie industry that he was about to tear their world apart, and he didn't even need the money. He could afford to do movies "as a hobby".

Some hobby.

Mar 04, 08 - 05:17 am Comment from: MCCFR

I know it's fashionable to throw brickbats at private-equity, but can I just point out that if more movie studios/tv networks were owned by private-equity firms - who understand the desirability of gaining the most return from assets - that the 1000 movie deadline would have been passed on schedule and they'd be converting films from the 1960s onwards in order to get as much material on-line as humanly possible.

Mar 04, 08 - 06:09 am Comment from: R

Dear Steve,

The movie industry is trying to make you look bad. Stop looking into their eyes to see their souls. They have none.

No need to promise dates, or amounts, or any specifics. We'll be here when you're ready.

Toodles,

The Big Us

Over Promise. Under Deliver.

Oh wait, it supposed to be the other way around.

I love Apple, but they need to start hitting their marks or making up for it by announcing 2,000 movies this week!

I'm not concerned with the number, I'm concerned that it is changing up and down. '300' was available to rent first day, but is no longer on iTunes. Is this going to be a trend, that movies come and go. If so, this will not be much different than On Demand thru cable. If they are going to do that then they need to start offering TV shows On Demand at cheaper prices, to compete with cable.

Mar 04, 08 - 09:29 am Comment from: Ampar

It would be nice if they also offered a movie for purchase that is available for rental.

Just wondering...

Lets see it takes about an hour for a computer (not mine) to rip a movie from a DVD. So a 1000 movies would take about 42 days (on 1 computer working around the clock) to convert movies for download. I am just guessing here, but I believe that Apple has more than one computer to devote to this task.

Let's see Macworld was held on Jan. 14th add 42 days to that and we have Feb. 25th.

Yep, missed it by THAT much!

The Movie studios have one foot in iTunes, and one foot in anything else but.

Mar 04, 08 - 10:13 am Comment from: Jubei

It's not so bad. If Apple was in the same league as MS with delivering products, we wouldn't see 1000 movies in another 4 years.

Wait, if Apple does that. Under promise and over deliver on movie downloads,------- it could send the stock down again!! LOL

Mar 04, 08 - 10:14 am Comment from: Spark

It is pretty obvious, to me at least, that had Apple received the movie content from studios they could have easily had them encoded for iTunes. If you want to be angry at Apple and Jobs, be angry that they trusted the studios to keep their end of a bargain.

Mar 04, 08 - 10:20 am Comment from: Ampar

I'm just speculating but distributions to iTunes may have been held up by the ongoing legal negotiations with the Writers Guild of America especially considering the primary reason for the strike.

Logical?

Mar 04, 08 - 10:45 am Comment from: mike k.

suck it MAC dorks?

Mar 04, 08 - 10:49 am Comment from: Ampar

To mike k.:

Sure. But since iTunes is available for Windows and the Mac, there is an Equal Sucking Opportunity (ESO).

Mar 04, 08 - 10:52 am Comment from: mike k.

ahem ...

suck it ITUNES dorks.

ONLY 399 movies available? GRRR ... what am I going to do for the other 601 days in March I was so looking forward to?

Mar 04, 08 - 11:14 am Comment from: Ampar

To Abdullah:
But honestly, they have a long way to go to round out the content. Two each of movies from Hitchcock and two for Bogart is pretty sad in my opinion.