“Microsoft is laying the groundwork to compete against Apple Computer Inc.’s iPod digital entertainment device and iTunes service, sources familiar with the discussions and plans said on Friday,” Reuters reports.
“Microsoft has held licensing discussions with the music industry to create its own music service,” Reuters reports. The Redmond, Washington-based developer of software that runs most of the world’s PCs is also demonstrating an entertainment device that plays videos and music, the sources said.”
Full article here.
So, they’ve lost the urge to work with MTV already? Whatever. The one constant in every failed iPod- and/or iTunes “killer” is Microsoft. So, once again, we predict an Origmai-like success story. Perhaps due to excessive floundering, they don’t seem to grasp the obvious: too many iPods already. It’s over and it’s been over for a long time now. Microsoft’s only hope would be an attempt to illegally leverage the good ol’ Windows monopoly once again and even that would have a tough time, if by some miracle they were even allowed to do it for longer than 5 minutes. Microsoft should just calm down, towel off, decide it’s okay not to own every single market on earth, and, oh, we don’t know… how ’bout concentrating on finally shipping Windows Vista or something?
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Leave Bill and take those sad, old, out of touch ideas men with you.
[sigh!]
Again???
This article is a snap to write – just change the dates.
What is this, about the millionth time we’ve heard this “news about M$ and their iPod/iTunes killer”?
If I was a Microsoft “partner,” I’d be looking for a small start-up that could write me some software, so that I could stop getting dicked around by them.
Microsoft readying Apple iPod+iTunes rival
Looks like that Fairplay DRM lock is going to come in handy now.
too bad 90% of iTunes users have only bought between 100-200 songs from iTMS, pretty easy to convert that.
And if Apple licensed Fairplay to a couple other sites, and maybe a couple MP3 player manufacturers they’d be rid of ever having to look over their shoulder for MS and crew sneaking up on hem and probably get rid of the stupid moves being made by several Europeans all at the same time.
Apple would cast their role in an unassailable way if they did this.
Instead the market is always waiting for MS & crew to attack You know they will over and over and over as they just have way more money to spend collectively than Apple does all alone.
Getting a few partners on board would be a huge step forward for Apple.
Maybe Sony and allofMP3 ?
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DL, you said a mouthful. OK, well a nibble.
The article says, “It is unclear when Microsoft plans to launch, they said.”
Its not the “launch” that its important, its the actually leaving the dock.
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Urge launched. Still at the dock.
etc
etc
etc
It is said that the definition of crazy is doing exactly the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.
Sound familiar??
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Norm
The harder M$ tries, the better it gets for all of us. I sincerely hope they push Apple to put out an even better product with less DRM. The player + the rights to buy songs legally with a minimum of restrictions/hassle will be the two intertwining factors that define who wins this war.
My money is on Apple.
This company REALLY needs to stand down, re-evaluate, and get back to its roots.
Continuously attempting to usurp the successes of others is clearly no longer a viable business model.
It is now, and has been for quite a while now, time for MS to take the same poision pill Apple did and toss Windows out.
They should start development of an entirely new OS, preferably built on a UNIX core.
You cannot continue to pile crap on top of crap and expect anything other than more crap.
Yes “MacGuy,” MS, does copy Apple, and everyone else. They just don’t do a very good job of it. For a while they got away with it. They didn’t have to do a good job.
Now their shoddy practices are starting to catch up with them. Gates has had it, he’s walking. The company is too big, lumbering, and stupid to produce an effective product.
The government would have done them a favor if they had been broken up.
If Gates wants to save his company, he’ll break it up before fading into the sunset.
When microsoft tries to compete against Google, its obvious they will fail.
When microsoft tries to compete against Sony PlayStation, its obvious they will be some what successful.
When microsoft tries to compete against Apple iPod & iTunes, its obvious they will succeed.
here’s why:
1) Microsoft has access to everyone who uses iTunes
2) Microsoft is huge, they will spend billions in advertising.
Great take MDN. Love this line: “Microsoft should just calm down, towel off, decide it’s okay not to own every single market on earth”.
This is a non-news story that keeps popping up. MS has their hands full with Xbox and Vista.
This is crap and not to be worried over. It’s like the Apple phone, let us know when it ships and shut up until then.
Microsoft: you’re an idiot. Bit like the state the company is in just now…
Oh no!!! Another iPod killer! We’re doomed!!!
Here’s another option for Microsoft: shutting down the company and giving the money to the charity
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Vista? Do the world a favour and throw it away – we’ll be better off.
(shareholders don’t deserve the money, since a big chunk is ill gotten gains obtained from illegal activities they turned a blind eye to)
Their software? Open source it. After all, when you take out the reverse engineering, IP theft, misc. acquisitions here and there, is there anything left?
I just visited a computer-store it is amazing how this stuff is sold to the people.
As if you buy a double pound of sugar with a: to be clean certificat !
That certificat that you have to pay for.. micro$oft ..
theloniousMac wrote: ‘It is now, and has been for quite a while now, time for MS to take the same poision pill Apple did and toss Windows out.’
You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if MS hasn’t been developing a brand-new OS from scratch for some time, just for the hell of it. (With some of their best minds tied up doing that, it’s no wonder Vista is so late.)
Microsoft = Troll
Your argument is fallacious. Microsoft also has access to everyone who uses Google. The problem is not access to a target audient, it’s quality of product, and by this measure, Microsoft loses on all three counts.
MW: merely, as in: People are finally starting to wake up to the fact that *merely* slapping the Microsoft brand name on a product doesn’t mean it’s good. In fact, it more than likely means the opposite.
Microsoft’s *Other* OS: Singularity
Wonder if Norway can sue MS now.
MW is “anti”; now doesn’t that bring up some possibilities!
RE: Microsoft
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1) Microsoft has access to everyone who uses iTunes
2) Microsoft is huge, they will spend billions in advertising.
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When a tech company becomes a marketing company, it will fail. They’ve been failing at Longhorn year after year, they’ve been failing against iTunes for year after year and they will fail at everything they cannot simply purchase and re-market. Billy is jumping ship for a reason — Or at least as far as he can, owning all of that stock. How long before he decides to dump it so he can do more with the Gates Foundation?
When a tech company becomes a marketing company, it will fail. Microsoft’s been failing at Longhorn year after year, they’ve been failing against iTunes for year after year and they will fail at everything they cannot simply purchase and re-market. Billy is jumping ship for a reason — Or at least as far as he can, owning all of that stock. How long before he decides to dump it so he can do more with the Gates Foundation?
theloniousMac wrote: ‘It is now, and has been for quite a while now, time for MS to take the same poision pill Apple did and toss Windows out.’
Brit wrote: “You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if MS hasn’t been developing a brand-new OS from scratch for some time, just for the hell of it. (With some of their best minds tied up doing that, it’s no wonder Vista is so late.)”
I doubt it. Microsoft is incapable of seeing itself failing at anything. They see something. They buy it, subvert it, and dominate it. They use illegal practices to promote it and destroy the competitor (usually the originator of the idea). When someone complains, they only have to drag things out in court until a more Microsoft-freindly administration comes into power.
Microsoft is just now seeing the system fail in some areas. They’ve had several Longhorn delays, each of which brought innovative features to the chopping block. If they’d had a super secret OS in development all this time, they’ve had plenty of time to move a Vista GUI on top of it and get it out the door.
It’s just not Microsoft’s style (if they can be said to have a style).
Jobs & Company on the otherhand, have had an Intel version of OpenStep / Rhapsody / OS X since before they had a PowerPC version.
Apple continually innovates. Microsoft continually looks around for people to copy. The only thing big enough to change Microsoft would be if Vista failed. But it won’t because the corporate sheep will line up at the slaughter house, checks in hand and wait at the door for the butcher to finally arrive.
“Microsoft is laying the groundwork to compete against Apple Computer Inc.’s iPod”
Yes, in France, then Norway, and now in Sweden.
i got the insider tip, yo. here’s how M$ plans on “switching” users to their music solution:
1. roll out music software as part of “critical” Windows update
2. new software causes iTunes to break, crash frequently, lose data
3. profit!