MacDailyNews - Where Mac news comes first

Sep 29, 09 - 12:13 pm Comment from: Amorstus

Ah... It amazes me how stupid some people can be...

" . . . and Palm is clearly in the right."

What kind of fsckhead could make this statement if logic and intelligence were enabled in his scatbrain? Hitwhore, indeed. Don't click him.

Sep 29, 09 - 12:24 pm Comment from: HMCIV

"If Microsoft began preventing rivals' devices from connecting with Windows, the tech industry would go ape."

Oh you mean like Zune and Microsoft PlaysForSure. How did that work out for everyone?



Wikipedia, your thoughts?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PlaysForSure

Content providers which formerly offered PlaysForSure
- AOL MusicNow (closed)
- Musicmatch Jukebox (closed)
- Yahoo! Music Unlimited (closed)
- Spiralfrog (closed)
- MTV URGE (closed)
- MSN Music (fraked itself)
- Musicmatch Jukebox (closed)
- Wal-Mart Music Downloads (switched to MP3)
- Ruckus Network (closed)
- PassAlong Networks (closed)
- Rhapsody (switched to MP3)
- iMesh (switched to MP3)
- BearShare (switched to MP3)

Sep 29, 09 - 12:27 pm Comment from: G4Dualie

Is Manjoo some kind of milky discharge?

Sep 29, 09 - 12:28 pm Comment from: Mormegil

I wonder how much space there is in Manjoo's universe? The writer is an insult to the term "tunnel vision"!

This says it all. Can the guy not even read!

"If Microsoft began preventing rivals' devices from connecting with Windows, the tech industry would go ape."

That's right, and if Apple did the same thing with OSX, the tech industry would go ape as well. I have noticed a concerted effort to make Apple look like a closed system over the past few months and it is troubling.

Sep 29, 09 - 12:34 pm Comment from: Deus Ex Technica

**DEAR MEMBERS OF THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS PRESS**

Please do not make the mistake that many in your profession have made on this topic: That mistake is failing to understand that there is a difference between the iTunes application and the iTunes library.

The iTunes application is Apple's gateway to the iTunes library for APPLE devices.

For non-Apple devices, Apple provides an API to the iTunes library so that other software developers/device manufacturers can develop their own software to connect their own devices to the iTunes library.

RIM has appropriately used that API to write it's own software which allows RIM devices to access the iTunes library. It is no more fair/logical/intuitive to claim that Apple *should* allow non-Apple devices to connect to the iTunes application than it is to claim that RIM *should* allow Apple devices to connect to the BlackBerry Media Sync application.

Palm is simply unwilling or (more likely) unable to develop their own software to connect their devices to the iTunes library, which is why they have tried to co-opt Apple's USB vendor ID is plainly and unequivocally W.R.O.N.G.

If you can't see that, you're less principled than we all had previously thought.

Sep 29, 09 - 12:35 pm Comment from: silverhawk

schmluss
M$ has been doing that for years. Remember Ballmy stating the iPod is a "proprietary," as in closed, system? We should be thankful.

Sep 29, 09 - 12:39 pm Comment from: Cubert

"It's the digital equivalent of telling a bouncer that you're McLovin."

No, it's the digital equivalent that leads you to sharing a jail cell with Ben Dover.

Sep 29, 09 - 12:39 pm Comment from: LordRobin

What. A. Retard.

Clearly, this idiot has no idea that Blackberries can sync with iTunes! It's the only explanation for what he wrote.

How the hell do people this oblivious keep their jobs? I often wonder what the minimum standard is to be a magazine journalist these days. Don't sh*t your pants in the office?

------RM

@Deus Ex Technica

EXCELLENT....THAT is a far better take than MDN's...which I usually enjoy and not that theirs is wrong...your clear, focused and
definitive take should be posted on the wall at ZDNet, CNET, and PC Magazine.

Sep 29, 09 - 12:42 pm Comment from: Cubert

"I hope the company continues to search for ways to sync with iTunes, because the fight—silly as it seems—is important, and Palm is clearly in the right."

So, the spammers who send out emails that look like they came from your bank or PayPal are also in the right?

Sep 29, 09 - 12:46 pm Comment from: jtc

HAHAHAHAHAHAH "It's the digital equivalent of telling a bouncer that you're McLovin.""

Well said Deus

Sep 29, 09 - 12:49 pm Comment from: dangerfrog

Here is my letter to Slate:

ear Sirs:

My attention has been drawn to Farhad Manjoo's assertions that Apple did wrong by failing to cooperate or facilitate Palm's attempts to hack into iTunes.

The whole concept is silly, and there are numerous misstatements in the article; but the suggestion that Microsoft does not block competitors from accessing its technology is so absurd as to suggest Mr. Manjoo is from another universe entirely.

For example: Microsoft had to be ordered by the EU to open its standards in Word so that others could write compatible files; Microsoft makes each new version of Office write files that are incompatible with previous versions and with other word processors; DirectX, WMA, etc., etc., etc., are all initiatives that MS has taken to keep every single aspect of computing proprietary to Microsoft.

While Mr. Manjoo does string words together smoothly, a journalist needs to make sure the words also convey some reasonably truthful and meaningful content. In this instance Mr. Manjoo has failed utterly. By publishing such absurdity, Slate has also failed.

Apple has no obligation to support any device other than their own. Doing so would harm Apple's ability to claim, "it just works".

BTW, Manjoo is not right that the internet works with everything. Many sites will not work properly with Safari. Those same sites will work with other browsers running in OSX. The Palm pre could work with other software on OSX, they just want to work with iTunes. Software manufacturers almost never have an obligation to work with all devices. They can try to expand their supported device list to encourage more people to use their software. Apple, fortunately, does not have that problem and, even if the iPod and iPhone were not as popular as they are, would probably not do so because it would create a Plays for Sure nightmare of drivers for them.

@Cubert

Spot on.

"Manjoo continues, "Palm had to resort to hacking only because Apple closed down any legal paths for entry ..."

That's incorrect, because we know there is a "legal path for entry"

' ... making illegal the very same sort of compatibility that Apple itself has long depended on."

WTF is that supposed to mean? Does he or she mean that on Windows Apple syncs its iPods with Windows Media Player instead of writing software of its own ... because it doesn't.

Another unprincipled hack journalist cranking out trash by the minute.

Just another side-effect/symptom of the MStockholm Syndrome. People captured, caged, and raped by Windows in a dungeon on a daily basis developed the weird "logic" that "as long as you comply with Windows rules and specs, everything is *open* and *interoperable*". Kind of like telling Iranians that as long as you vote for the current Iranian president and praise its supreme rulers and say nothing against them, you are living in a democracy.

Apple has the right to squash any F'ing parasite illegally riding Apple's wave and not doing an F'ing thing to earn it!!!

Dear Slate -

Mr. Manjoo's article in which he makes the case that Apple should make it easier for competitors to undercut Apple's revenue model is absolutely brilliant, pure genius.

Early congratulations to Mr. Manjoo for his upcoming Pulizer.

Fondest regards-

Steve Ballmer

@freebeer

The Iranian leadership do not claim to be a normal democracy.

Iran was a liberal democracy until 1958 when America collapsed their elections and replaced democracy with the murdering, torturing Shah.

Under such repression, the only place men could meet in groups were in the mosques, and the only people single-minded enough to face likely torture and execution were fundamentalists. This what it takes to overcome an American-backed dictatorship and why the revolutionary council are as loopy as they are.

This guy should get a job as a dj at WAFM (What An Fscking Moron)

I wonder if Microsoft's ad agency is paying a bounty again for people who write articles attacking Apple.

Sep 29, 09 - 01:52 pm Comment from: Scott Rose

It's called Missing Sync for Palm Pre... available from markspace.com

" . . . and Palm is clearly in the right."

Sounds like a Democrat.

Defending lawless actions because something is- "unfair".

Boo F-ing Hoo

"... The principle underlies everything we take for granted in tech today: It's why the Internet, your home network, and the PC function at all. And it's why Palm should keep storming the iTunes fortress."

Well, I guess Farhood would be correct if he just added a few words, like this,

" ...Various manufacturers all vying for supremacy by releasing proprietary coding, while pretending to work with others so that you'll pay for their products, results in the principle that underlies everything we (Windows apologists) take for granted in tech today: It's why the Internet, your home network, and the (Windows) PC hardly function at all. "

@Steev

Spare me the at hominem "Sounds like a Democrat" crap.

Sep 29, 09 - 02:40 pm Comment from: twilightmoon

"Stephen Hawking, you've got more work to do, for Farhad Manjoo is clearly denser than a black hole. "

lol.. does he have an event horizon?

Erm, I'm sure I remember a piece of news not that long ago about Microsoft losing very badly in court for not providing open source (and possibly commercial software companies) access to specific files needed to properly interact with Windows

(Found it! http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-171471.html )

So this kinda makes Manjoo's point about "IF Microsoft did such a thing there would be a s**tstorm" invalid, they already have, to a point where it was common practice for so long that it took them 2 years to restructure and comply with the court ruling. And as mentioned in the article repeatedly, Apple HAS allowed RIM legal access to iTunes. It always surprises me how short a memory people writing for alot of tech blogs have, either that or they just dont have a clue about the industry their writing about and go "Hey! I use a PC everyday to watch Pron, I must be good with computers! I should share my uber knowledge with the rest of the world!"

I pity the idiot who hired him.

Sep 29, 09 - 02:52 pm Comment from: theloniousMac

It's "Slate."

You're not supposed to expect intelligence.

We need to set the record straight here as well: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090929/0337136349.shtml

I read some of the comments & u guys were spot on!! If I put a program on my computer shouldn't i be able to sync it to whatever I want? Isn't Itunes made by Apple and most of us use PCs (mainly because I can't afford an apple)? If microsoft could, I'm sure they would block itunes so people could use windows media & whatever media site they profit from? Whether or not people want this or not coincides perfectly with iphone users & pre users. I've owned both, and the iphone WAS not for me (i use it as a paper weight now). I love my PRE. Apple develop a palm pre app so people can purchase songs from you & get over it!!!

Sep 29, 09 - 03:20 pm Comment from: KingMel

"But by blocking non-Apple devices from its music app, Apple is violating a more fundamental principle of computing—that unalike devices should be able to connect to one another freely."

Microsoft is king of creating barriers to interoperability. One classic example are the Internet Explorer HTML extensions. I don't think that MS Office has ever been 100% interoperable between Windows and Mac, and it has been getting worse in some respects with the elimination of VB and unsynced release schedules. M$ squashes innovation and open source whenever possible.

"Stephen Hawking, you've got more work to do, for Farhad Manjoo is clearly denser than a black hole. "

Best. Line. Ever!

Yo! Kanye, i'm really happy for you,
and imma let u finish,
but Manjoo is the biggest dumbass of all time!
OF ALL TIME!!

Funny how when I write stuff that jibes with MacDailyNews' POV, they praise me:

http://www.macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/14518/
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/20666/

But suddenly I'm a hack if I put Apple on the hot seat.

To the substance: You argue that Apple isn't really blocking anyone because it lets other firms read the iTunes XML file and sync that way.

That's bogus. That legal path doesn't allow anywhere near the functionality that I'm calling for Apple to add to iTunes, or that Palm could achieve by copying the USB ID.

The Blackberry way doesn't let you manage the syncing from iTunes -- you can't see the player in iTunes, or choose which files/playlists sync, or drag and drop, or do anything else you can through the player. All of these things are obvious advantages. Being able to sync to other devices from inside iTunes would obviously improve the software for iTunes users.

And of course, you've got to run two apps instead of one. Running two apps to sync your music is obviously more of a hassle than running one app. If you don't think so, you don't care about good software, and I don't know what you're doing running Apple stuff to begin with.

Let's say Apple decides tomorrow that in order to sync with iPhoto, all digital camera makers will have to use a Blackberry-type third-party app -- but the iPhone and any other Apple-branded cameras can sync with iPhoto directly. (Or do the same scenario with iMovie.) Would you be able to say Apple still lets cameras "connect" to iPhoto? Sure -- in a circuitous, unsatisfactory way Steve Jobs would never sanction for his own products.

Bah bah baba, baba bah baba
I wanna be beleaguered.

Sep 29, 09 - 06:04 pm Comment from: Sir Gill Bates

@ Farhad Manjoo,

"But suddenly I'm a hack if I put Apple on the hot seat."

You put Apple on the hot seat? You flatter yourself.

And the term is 'in the hot seat'.

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/in+the+hot+seat

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/bottled-water-makers-in-the-hot-seat/

http://torrentfreak.com/the-pirate-bay-in-the-hot-seat/

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=in+the+hot+seat&tag;

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&rlz=1C1GGLS_enUS291US303&q;="on+the+hot+seat."

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/letters-to-the-editor/2009/09/01/healthcare-reform-on-the-hot-seat.html

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/article/2009-09-09/nfl-coaches-on-hot-seat-afc-edition

Sep 29, 09 - 06:56 pm Comment from: AmericanJoe

Mr. Manjoo,
you appear to be harboring some animosity toward the reading public (granted, they are mostly of the mac loving type, like myself) to the point of appearing to act like my 4 year old daughter trying to defend herself against her siblings. Can't take the criticism? Get out of the industry you Pansy. BTW, your iPhoto argument doesn't hold much water. iPhoto is designed to primarily receive photos from cameras. iTunes is designed to mainly manage iTunes libraries on both a computer and an iPod/ iPhone. In other words, data transfer is biderectional, weighted toward transfer to a device as opposed to receiving from a device. As such, there is another level of complexity and standards that need to be factored into the equation.

Finally, the fact that you are defending a company that tried to twist an impartial set of standards that it knowingly violated runs the risk of compromising the standards that exist for the benefit of all. This will only lead to more incompatibilities in the marketplace. Of course, this may be what you are ultimately after- so you can have something else to whine about.

Pansy...

I'm responding to the criticism. That doesn't qualify as an inability to take it, and it's wholly more mature than your unnecessarily capitalized name calling.

You don't explain why that bi-directional complexity makes it OK to excluded third-party devices. Why not publish an API that lets players into iTunes? (And not the XML-parsing that's allowed now.)

Sep 29, 09 - 07:14 pm Comment from: silverhawk

Farhad Manjoo
Apple developed the IP. Apple can do with it what it wants. Very simple. Let Palm develop something for themselves, otherwise it's IP theft.

In your business you might refer to theft of your writings as plagiarism. Would you mind if someone reprinted your writings with their name on it? I don't think so! Anyway, it was a poorly written piece, you can do better. Just work for it.

You people are all poo-poo heads!

@ Farhad Manjoo

RIM has developed their own BlackBerry Sync desktop software for their devices. iTunes is Apple's desktop software for their devices. Let Palm write their own desktop software too.

Why should Apple be expected to support the hardware of a direct competitor – with all of the incompatibilities and support problems that creates?

And why would Palm be idiotic enough to leave a significant part of their customers' user experience in the hands of a direct competitor? Would Burger King entrust their drive-thru experience to McDonald's employees? Would you entrust a directly competing publication to provide your readers with a significant part of their reading experience?

Sep 29, 09 - 07:31 pm Comment from: AmericanJoe

Farhad,
the second Apple opens up iTunes to third party devices, the flood of complaints that Apple will get from the third party device manufacturers would be overwhelming, to say the least. The next thing you know, we'll have the windows dilema all over again, namely the lack of ease of use that had to go the way of the Dodo to accommadate the multiple lack of adherence to standards that the third party manufacturers refused to conform to in order to save a buck for the shareholders.

You still don't get it, do you- Apple makes a great product because the manufacture the whole widget. The second it is compromised it can no longer bear the moniker of Apple. It gets sent to Microsoft for them to regurgitate(sp?) into a halfassed and bastardized version of what could have been.

Apple has never hid the fact that iTunes was developed for them to sell iPods. Who in their right mind would allow another company to use thier software so they could profit and be more competitive with Apple in an industry that is already cutthroat. You're a frigging idiot and still a thin-skinned Pansy.

Keep defending yourself- it's making for great entertainment, which is, afterall, why many of us read the stuff on this site.

Thanks for the fun! And know that you have lost a possible reader of your work on any other site. You have clearly demonstrated your inability to thrive in the journalistic industry for much longer than the life of said flower that I likened you to.

Sep 29, 09 - 07:35 pm Comment from: zek

Fathead... Good name!

Farhad Manjoo? Only cruel parents would name their kid Farhad Manjoo. They must have known he would grow up to be a retard.

Farhood is a democrat.

Sep 29, 09 - 10:16 pm Comment from: MacSmiley

@zek & @Proud Puppy,

Only the persuasively challenged resort to name calling and base ridicule.

Farhad is usually spot on and has been posted here on MDN many times for his normally positive articles about Apple.

Looks like he just had a bad day. For the Stephen Hawking fans out there, this article was merely a cosmic anomaly.

Sep 29, 09 - 11:18 pm Comment from: montex

I think it is tacky to engage in these ad hominem attacks against a journalist. Sure, he's wrong, but the name calling and derogitory language is childish... unless, of course, you're a Republican and then that's the name of the game!

get it? too subtle? hint: look up "ad hominem".