Comments on: iTunes ushers in a year of change

One year after its launch, Apple's song store has changed the way the music industry views online distribution--and the way Americans buy music.

Although Apple has taken a largely proprietary approach

Deservedly so at this time.
Having created the ONLY proper working model for paid
downloads, Apple deserves to benefit from iPod sales too.

iTunes music store will always be in the top three no matter how
many services show up.

If anything, EVERY other company will owe something to Apple
for even giving them the concept of this model, and Steve Jobs
for being the ultimate voice that the music labels listened to and
realized it can be done right.

As usual (love or dislike Apple) they led, showed and taught the
others how to make things happen in this industry.

[unknown unknown]

RE:Although Apple has taken a largely proprietary approach

"If anything, EVERY other company will owe something to Apple
for even giving them the concept of this model"

Apple didn't invent the model. They did however manage to get the record companies to allow them loosen the restrictions and charge a flat rate (which is changing. Some albums on iTunes cost more to download than to buy the CD).


"and Steve Jobs
for being the ultimate voice that the music labels listened to and
realized it can be done right."

Steve might stop being so popular with record labels considering that Apple's Fairplay DRM has been cracked.

[Ipod Apple]

top three

http://www.analogstereo.com/tonearm_linn_akito.htm

[peartree]

The Dark Side of the Force

iTunes has its dark side that no-one talks about- If you pay for and download music, burn it to CD IMMEDIATELY, if not sooner. If it's lost FOR ANY REASON, even reasons not under your control, you've got to go back and pay for it again. Period.

Not only that, but any claim of customer support is laughable AND, Apple actively censors the user forums to wipe out any complaints.

Hardly a "dark side"...

"iTunes has its dark side that no-one talks about- If you pay for
and download music, burn it to CD IMMEDIATELY, if not sooner.
If it's lost FOR ANY REASON, even reasons not under your
control, you've got to go back and pay for it again. Period."

No different from buying anything else, really. Walk in to Best
Buy and buy a CD. If you lose it, break it, etc., Best Buy won't
just give you another CD for free. You'll have to buy another if
you want another.

And the great thing about iTunes is that you've got unlimited CD
burning capability built right in. So it's easy to make back ups of
your music. Backing up your files is always a good idea.

"Not only that, but any claim of customer support is laughable
AND, Apple actively censors the user forums to wipe out any
complaints."

And, not like it's too hard to find on Apple's site but here it is
anyway, the link for support is:
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/

You'll find free video tutorials that show you the features of
iTunes and the Music Store, as well as answers to any questions
you may have.

Also, the three months of Applecare phone support that comes
standard with all Apple hardware is available for customers who
need support. Applecare was rated the highest in customer
service and satisfaction across the industry for the second year
in a row in the current issue of Consumer Reports.

So, if you're looking for customer support, it's readily available.
And, yes, if you buy something and lose it, a store will not give
you another one for free. Not a new concept.

[usario clave]

How will other vendors survive?

Given that Apple is making its money off of ipod sales, not
music downloads, how do the other song vendors expect to
survive?

why are the russian sites ignored?

www.allofmp3.com is legal and much better than iTunes, Napster or any of the domestic competition.

Why are they consistently ignored?

for those of you who question the legality of buying music from allofmp3.com I challenge you to find a single instance of RIAA successfully procecuting a case against someone for buying music from them :)

[unknown unknown]

Reply

The fact that the RIAA hasn't filed a lawsuit doesn't necessarly mean they're legal.

Credibility relies on getting facts right

At the bottom of the article, links to stock quotes for relevant
companies are provided. There's a link to Helmerich & Payne Inc,
an obscure Oklahoma oil and gas Co. Surely anyone doing
reporting in IT knows that HP is Hewlett Packard (stock symbol
HPQ). Not knowing the name of one of the major industry firms
does not give me a lot of confidence in the author's level of
subject knowledge.

[Ipod Apple]

major industry firms

http://www.analogstereo.com/tonearm_kuzma.htm