Apple to be trounced by the Kazaa creators

I was reading an article in Wired magazine about this new file sharing program called Joost. It is from the creators of Kazaa and Skype. Joost claims to be the new replacement for television via the internet. I know, everyone makes this claim, but Joost will be using the same file sharing peer to peer system that Kazaa and Skype have used to take the distribution load off of large centralized servers. And the developers have learned their lesson from Kazaa that they need to play legally. So it has high level encryption.

The basic idea is that content is originally stored on a central server along with the advertising to support the system. As people load Joost onto their computer, then they become a mirror site for content. Therefore the central server does not get all of the load of supplying content. This is the key breakthrough. For such a large system to work it needs to be distributed, otherwise the cost of these large central servers would kill you.

Advertisers are very excited about Joost because it allows them to target very specific markets with direct advertising. Not everyone who watches the same show will have the same advertising. The developers of Joost claim that because of this very targeted advertising, there will only need to be one small commercial for a 1/2 hr show.

I personally believe that this is a much more logical system than the central server, no commercial, pay $3 per show model that Apple is using.

At this time content providers are few and far between right now for Joost but there does seem to be an interest. The encryption of content goes a long way. The interesting thing is that Joost is built from a collection of free open source software combined into a fully integrated system. I hope Apple takes notice. This is the TV of the future.

Joost

No Beatles exclusive for Apple

I think it would have been a magnificent follow up to the iPhone announcement - an Apple-Beatles spectacular with a special iPod, etc., but it didn't happen! I can't help but think that Apple and the Beatles would be able to make so much money if they put their heads together for something special. Maybe there's still too much bad blood for them to work together like that. Is anyone else as disappointed as I am?

Market Capitalization Update

Back in Nov 2005 I showed the market capitalization of Apple and a few other companies. Here is the latest update.

Company Nov 2005 Feb 2007
Dell $70 Billion $54 B
Apple $51 B $74 B
Ford $15 B $16 B
Microsoft $278 B $287 B
Google $101 B $111 B
HP ? $115 B

As you can see, Dell is fading from popularity on the PC side of the biz but HP is taking off like gangbusters (sorry missing data for 2005). Apple has grown significantly. And the big MS snowball keeps getting bigger and bigger. Probably due to momentem no doubt. Apple is still playing in the big leagues!

Will Apple Corp be the DRM free record label?

Did you hear the rumor that Apple is going to release Beatles songs which have yet to be released. Big news in and of itself, but the real kicker is that they plan to do this without DRM attached. The article that I read, which was actually on Schwab.com, said that Jobs is planning to start a new revolution without DRM.

You have to wonder why Apple Corp made such grand statements after the Apple/AppleCorp deal. From the article on Schwab.com they said:

This week, Apple Inc. and the Apple Corps Ltd. announce an agreement bringing this statement from the Beatles music company manager, "The years ahead are going to be very exciting times for us." (This is also the guy who would have the new tracks from the vault.)

I am going to do some wild speculation here and say: It sounds like Apple Corp may become the record company which supplies Apple with DRM free music. You know that Apple must have offered something really big for Apple Corps to make such a bold statement about the future. I don't think just providing Beetles music on iTunes would have prompted this type of response. If Apple Corp does go this route maybe this will prompt some musicians to sign with Apple Corp which will free Apple from the DRM stranglehold. You can tell that Jobs is very unhappy about how the labels are forcing the DRM on them. Plus with all of the latest lawsuits, the writing is on the wall. Apple's agreement with the record companies says that if there is a breach in the DRM system Apple has only a few weeks to fix the problem or the record companies can pull out all of their music libraries. Am I nuts? Apple has always said that they don't make the money with iTunes, its the iPod that brings in the cash.

Apple TV dropped out, but...

Stitch, Apple TV officially dropped out of the top sellers list on the Apple store, but guess who's back on top - the iPod shuffle!! I'm assuming the shuffle's new colors is causing the stir! So cool - release exactly the same iPod, but add color, and get an instant surge of sales (it was number 3 just a day or 2 ago)! Awesome!

Steve Job's letter on DRM

Gentlemen, what did you think of Job's letter about the state of the DRM? A norwegian official already criticized Job's letter, saying Apple was distributing the music, so they were responsible for providing the music free of DRM to ensure customer choice. I just don't understand that - if Apple gets rid of the DRM, in the current climate the record companies will rescind their ability to distribute the music. I don't get why the Norwegian official still suggests that. Any ideas?

Gates tirade

Bill Gates is pissed about Apple stealing all of their ideas. This Newsweek article of an interview with Bill quotes him saying that "Apple steals our ideas". It is pretty amazing if he really believes this. I think the only ideas Apple has ever gotten from MS is the ability to tab between applications quickly and the three button mouse. He also comments about Steve Jobs in a not so friendly way. Oh he also says MS invented the idea of "File Edit ..." menu layout. Enjoy the article.

Gates tirade

Apple TV dropping in popularity rankings

I noticed that the Apple TV has dropped considerably in the most popular rankings at the Apple online store rankings. It was the last item that they ranked. I guess it is better than not making the list. I think it would be premature to buy something like that at this time. It only works on a high definition TV but iTunes max format size is only 640x480. While HDTV goes up to 1080i. Will you be able to upgrade to the higher definition later if you buy content now? It still is almost twice the resolution of regular TV at least but still not as good as DVD. I suppose its all due to bandwith limitations and download speeds.

Wow - all the changes at Blogger caught me!

Gentlemen, the chances caught me off guard! Good thing I already had a Gmail account!

And now there is color!

McFan, I believe that now that the Shuffles are available in colors. You may need to upgrade to a more colorful world. This is a strange upgrade for Apple. Just color the packaging without any technical upgrade. This I believe is stalling for the release of the next generation iPods which will have no click wheel and the multi-touch screen of the iPhone. Any guesses for the release dates for the touch screen iPods anyone?

Another proud new iPod owner

I have failed to mention that I bought Christina a green anodized aluminum iPod nano for Christmas. She takes it everywhere, playing songs in the car and using it during her workouts. My son likes to use it so much that the other day he asked "How old do you have to be to get an iPod?". When I heard this, I got a bit choked up. "That's my boy".

Big iceburgs melt very slowly

I saw this article about how Microsoft Vista is not the rage of other MS OS releases. Windows 95 had people lined up at the stores dieing to get the new release. It is predicted that for most people, they will not pay to upgrade to Vista but will wait until they need a new computer and then getting it for free. The focus of the article was to say that MS is becoming less and less relavent. It's focus was on "Internet based software" and "Open standards" for software and the interchange of information. Saying that people don't upgrade like they used to. But my favorite quote was in reference to Microsoft slowly fading from importance since the majority of their income and profits comes from MS Office and their operating system. The quote was that "even big iceburgs melt, but very slowly".

Apple products yet to be released.

Check out this online Photoshop contest for people to come up with wild and crazy products which Apple might create. Many of them incorporate very simple interfaces, and have sleek designs. But most of them are completely bizarre. Check out the link below. One of my personal favorites is the iCalc. Which is a calculator with only one arrow key button. The simpliciy of it all. Enjoy the others.

Contest Link

Why tech companies don't "get" Apple success

Gentlemen, I found an outstanding article which spelled out as clearly as I've seen why companies simply are not competing with the Apple iPod and probably the iPhone. I'd be interested in any feedback!

iPhone success

Apple TV Number 1!

Gentlemen, I was shocked to visit the Apple Store online to find that the Apple TV device was the hottest seller, besting all the iPods! That stunned me, even if it is true for only a few days. I never thought it would be that popular even for a little while!

Where are the other members?

Le and Macminni. Is it possible that the introduction of the iPhone was not revolutionary enough to get you post on Macnight? We are waiting with anticipation for your comments and insight to this new device. Apple TV seemed like a much more secondary release but in the long run could blossom into some really cool device when very high speed internet connections become more prevalent.


Hello...............







are you out there........................

Apple to merge with Google?

Did you pickup on the reference in the Jobs keynote where the CEO of Google said something like: "as Steve says, you don't have to actually have a company merger to have a merger". I took this as if Google wanted to buy up Apple and Jobs talked them out of it. The Google CEO also said: "it is best for each company to do best what itself does the best". As if this was the justfication for why companies should remain independent and then just form partnerships. I agree with this philosophy in general. It seems many of these mega mergers don't go anywhere. Look at AOL-Time Warner. AOL is pretty much gone as a company. Hopefully Apple will never be gobbled up in a hostile takeover.

"I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been."

I love this quote from Wayne Gretzky, which Jobs used in his keynote. This quote was in response to someone asking Gretzky, "What makes you so great?". Gretzky is actually not too big to be a hockey player, and he does not have the fastest shot, or is the fastest skater. Yet he has stats for goals and assists which far exceed any other player who has played the game. Gretzky is the all time career points leader in the history of the NHL. Points include goals and assists. He had 2857 career points. Which is over 50% more than the next closest player. After Gretzky it goes 1887,1850,1798,1771,1755,1723.

How did he do this? Just as his quote says, he goes to where he should be. Apple is following the same mission. Don't do what everyone else is doing, go to a new place with there products. A place where technology is going not where it has been.

Holy Crap !!

Can you believe the new iPhone? What a leap in technology. They were even able to cram a scaled down version of OSX into it. And the idea of no buttons so that it can change with the times is a stroke of genious. I hope the interface is as good as they described it. The screen resolution looks amazing and even the price is reasonable for what you get. No wonder after Job's presentation they gave him a standing ovation. Bravo. The Zune looks like a joke in comparison.

Welcome to 2007, Apple style!

Gentlemen, the image emblazoned on the Apple web site suggests some serious innovation from Apple for 2007 and beyond! I find that very comforting. Clearly Macworld 2007 will be a huge stage. Will Apple introduce its own phone? If they do, I'm dying to find out what networks they may use. Will an iPhone be significantly different from other phones?