iTunes Movie Rental Model

What do you guys think of renting movies on iTunes?

iTunes Movie Rentals

I think it's a great idea. Supposedly Apple will team with Disney and Fox to rent movies on iTunes. It has been said before: people rent movies a lot more than they buy them. I almost feel that's how Apple should have approached movies right at the beginning. Do you guys think this move will spur additional sales of the Apple TV? I would hope so, but I'm a little concerned the average consumer won't feel that compelled to have to buy the Apple TV just because they can rent movies on iTunes. I put myself in that category, but then again I'm not the biggest consumer of movies rentals.

RIAA Reaches New Lows!

Gentlemen, check out the following Washington Post article:

Ripping CD's Illegal

According to the article, in a brief filed by the RIAA in an Arizona case, the RIAA has said it is illegal to simply rip your own personal CD onto your computer. Yeah, you may have bought the CD and have absolutely no intention to distribute the file, but as soon as you rip it so you can put it on your iPod, you've broken the copyright law. I think this is outrageous! What do you guys think? It seems to me the recording industry is digging their own grave.

Apple's heavy hand shuts down ThinkSecret

What do you think about the latest news that Apple has negotiated with the Apple rumor web site ThinkSecret to shut down for good. This is because of repeated leaking of Apple plans for future products and releases. The details of the agreement were not disclosed. But it seems to me that they bought them off. This seems to me that instead of silencing the free press, Apple should police their own employees for leaking the information to begin with. In my opinion, this latest tactic from Apple is not keeping with the good image Apple has built up over the past. A bit disappointing.

Apple's next Generation iPod HiFi?

Gentlemen, check out the link:

Boom Box

It appears that Apple may give the Boom Box concept another shot. Hopefully they'll be a little more realistic about how they describe it. I don't think any audiophile honestly believes one can get audiophile like sound out of any boom box. There is apparently a remote that allows "Front Row" like interaction with the device.

Great Apple ad on NyTimes.com!

Check out the new ad on NYTimes.com that has Mac guy and PC guy. I didn't even know the New York Times would allow this!

nytimes

Apple occupies 9 of 10 top spots on Amazon

As Christmas approaches and folks rush to buy the coolest stuff, the iPod is making a magnificent showing on Amazon. The cool thing is that Amazon reflects a small slice of the outlets where Apple is selling its products. Not only does Apple have the online and retail stores, there are also the big name retail stores that have begun selling Apple products. Thank goodness Apple found a way to work with these guys like Best Buy. No longer is Apple on the sideline in terms of outlets. Let the consumer choose!

Universal's Deal with Imeem

Gentlemen, what do you think of Universals' new attempt to kick Apple out of the music loop?

Imeem

Users of the social networking site Imeem can listen to any song streamed to their PC for free as long as they see paid advertisements as well. Apparently the paid advertisements help Imeem make some cash for themselves as well as Universal. If a user wants to listen to the song on an MP3 player, they need to pay the 99 cents for the track. The article says this could be the perfect compromise for a company like Universal to get the revenue stream they feel they're entitled to. Comments?

Warner Brothers leaning toward Blue Ray?

The following article:

Warner Bros

seems to suggest that Warner may be leaning toward Blue Ray. What amazes me is the last line of the article:

" But Toshiba’s main attraction to Paramount and Dreamworks was its offer of $150 million in incentives."

It is very Microsoftian to pay one's way into a market. I wish it weren't that way. I wish the merits of each format were the sole determiner of who wins. It would be cool if free markets were actually free and based on quality of services and technologies. Gentlemen, am I too idealistic? If someone even has an argument that a payoff of that magnitude could be justified, I would certainly listen.