iPhones Can Protect Your Warcraft Account, and Someday Much More

By Daniel J. Pritchett of Sharing at Work (FriendFeed/Twitter)

Two recent iPhone stories highlight some interesting potential for Apple's iPhone and iPod family.  First up is WoW Insider's announcement of a free iPhone Authenticator available in the app store for securing World of Warcraft accounts.  A Battle.net user is typically a World of Warcraft player but the accounts can be tied to any Blizzard game you might own, including their future releases.

As shown in the screen shot on the left, the Authenticator program generates a new string of numbers once every minute or so.  Once a player links the authenticator to an account, these numbers must be supplied along with a user name and password at each login — a two-factor authentication challenge.  This iPhone app is an alternative to the existing solution where gamers can pay Blizzard $7 for a key fob that generates a similar passkey every time its button is pushed.

World of Warcraft characters and items are regularly hijacked via targeted trojans and keyloggers.  They can be stripped bare in a matter of minutes, their contents flipped quickly for tens or even hundreds of dollars on WoW's thriving grey market.  Given the time and effort involved in securing an account rollback from Blizzard customer service, many players will opt for the peace of mind granted them by this new application.

The next iPhone may read fingerprints and retinas

The second tidbit comes from Apple Insider (via Engadget): An Apple patent filling hints at fingerprint and retina scanning potential in future iPhones. Apple is researching the potential for embedding biometric scanning devices (cameras, etc.) behind the touch screen of an iPhone.  Such enhanced iPhones would allow for secure identification in order to unlock the phone itself.  These enhancements would also allow the iPhone to serve as an easily obtainable high-powered authenticator for other systems such as Blizzard's Battle.net.  While we might only imagine such tools as being necessary for sensitive operations like banking or remote logins to corporate intranets, the Blizzard app demonstrates that it can be cost effective to secure our less critical digital holdings.

The Blizzard authenticator is a great example of high-powered security applications that the iPhone family can provide right now, and the recent patent filing by Apple gives us insight into other uses for tomorrow's iPhone.  We'll certainly have the mobile available as an ever-more-secure authentication tool, but we'll also be able to use it as a remote sensor for home and office medical purposes such as the recently promised glucose monitor or a biometrically secured retail barcode scanner.  There are undoubtedly more possibilities than I can come up with on my own, and I look forward to seeing some of them becoming reality in the near future.  If you've got a great example of alternate uses for mobile phones, please share it in a comment!

Read more by Daniel J. Pritchett at Sharing at Work

DRM = Doesn't Really Matter

If one of the biggest items to be delivered at tomorrow's MacWorld Expo is the elimination of DRM from songs on the iTunes store, as is rumored, then we are on the brink of the biggest snoozefests in technology event history. Forget that Mr. Steve Jobs potentially is suffering hot flashes, and is instead being replaced by Cupertino's wild-haired Pillsbury Doughboy, Phil Schiller. This Macworld has got to be the lowest-anticipated in terms of new product debuts that I can ever remember. And when it comes down to it, despite all the online horror and tongue-lashings, I'd venture a bet that the supposed evils of DRM that Apple has wrought on its users haven't really effected but a small percentage. I don't love DRM, but I live with DRM, and it doesn't really matter.

When Apple introduced iTunes and marketed it with the "Rip. Mix. Burn." campaign several years ago, music labels were furious, thinking the Mac-maker was embracing piracy, a second back to back blow to the maligned monopolists following Napster's runaway success. When Apple introduced the iPod in 2001, and later the iTunes Store in 2003, it had to bend over backwards to gain the cooperation of the labels, restricting who could play what songs when on what computers or iPods, and how many times they could burn playlists to CDs, all in the name of preserving profits.

Over time, some of the DRM rules were relaxed, and the advent of iTunes Plus meant you could some songs from iTunes without rights management, for an additional fee of 30 cents a song. The additional 30 cents, in theory, meant you could do whatever you wanted with the file, just like you can with any hard copy you own, be it cassettes, CDs, etc.

Although I've been an iPod user practically since the first day they were announced, and followed the Apple upgrade path through to my current 16 GB iPhone, and I now own almost 6,000 songs on iTunes, a significant percentage of which were purchased from the iTunes Store, I almost never encounter any issues with DRM. I've upgraded my laptop a few times, moving my data from one computer to the next and authorizing the new machine. I've synchronized new iPods and the iPhone and always been able to play them. My music plays on my Apple TV, and can be streamed from my wife's computer on our same network.

That my music is slathered over with Apple's proprietary DRM is not a big deal, period. I would practically have to go out of my way to find a way that having "suffered" through DRM for the better part of eight years with Apple has negatively affected my music experience. I do know that I certainly am better off than those who chose subscriptions with music companies that have disappeared and gone out of business. I'm better off with my digital music here than in stacks of CDs around the house. In fact, I gave all my CDs away to a co-worker when the babies were born as part of cleaning house!

For eight years, I've wondered if the fact I didn't care about DRM was because I am a hopeless Apple fanboy. Maybe I've fallen under the spell of believing Apple should make the rules for how I use what is ostensibly my music and media. But seriously, the drama of DRM and its limits has been so overhyped I don't even know where to start. If you want to buy your music somewhere else, go for it. There are alternatives. But there's a reason iTunes, iPod and iPhone have been such a success. It's because of what they let you do, not what they don't let you do. It's the best combo on the market, and I don't care one bit about the DRM wars which just might be coming to an end as we know it tomorrow. I never have.

i.TV Application Added to Apple's iTunes Store

Three weeks ago, we showed you images from an early access build of i.TV, a new application for the iPhone and iPod Touch that lets you get the latest TV and movie schedules from your area, rate shows, and leave reviews. The application, which is free, was added to the Apple iTunes application store late last night, and is available to the public immediately.

At launch, i.TV bills itself as the "ultimate" movies and TV guide for Apple's portable devices, offering more than 144,000 TV and movie listings, data from 5,000 local theaters, and nearly 6,000 TV previews or movie trailers. It currently works in the United States and Canada, so those outside North America will need to wait.


i.TV Pulled Down My Channel Data in Seconds to the iPhone
As has been said by many, no application is complete without some social element these days, and i.TV, as you recall, is no different. You can engage with other viewers of shows you like by sharing reviews, and you can recommend shows to friends by e-mail. In fact, some of the elements of this app shadow the recommendations I gave TiVo in June. (See: TiVo Is a Zero On the Social Web. It's Time They Fast Forward.)


You Can Get Show Data and Theater Info on i.TV
I downloaded the new application from the iTunes Store tonight, and the speed is remarkably faster than the first alpha I tried last month. It automatically recognized my location, and based on that zip code, I was pulling down channel listings in seconds. Given its price (free), there's really no reason not to have this app if you already have an iPhone or an iPod Touch. You can find it here: Apple iTunes Store: i.TV.

The Real Genius in iTunes 8? Apple Will Make More Money.

At times, it seems like the mainstream press hasn't yet figured out how to preview Apple events. That Apple periodically updates its iPods or iPhones or computers and software is really no surprise. The home runs are typically saved for MacWorld San Francisco, with big announcements sprinkled in at the company's WorldWide Developers' Conference (WWDC) and the occasional one-off event. But even when the company makes largely expected announcements, some go into severe hype in advance, and severe lows following. And like the illegal drug users who share the same spike and eventual crash, they're usually left looking for more. But behind the acid trip rainbow iPod Nanos and and upgraded iPod Touch, there was an element of real genius - as iTunes was upgraded with a new tool making it even easier to spend even more money on the popular online music store.


An iTunes Genius playlist, based on ATB's "Do You Love Me"

One of the major new features of iTunes 8 is called "Genius", which will leverage your own iTunes listening history, as well as that of other iTunes users, and try to create a playlist of songs similar to that which you are listening to. Like "Party Shuffle", it will get some mixes right, and some wrong, but it's following along the path of Pandora and Last.fm to use a crowd's information to provide recommendations and guess what other songs or artists you would like.

(See also: ReadWriteWeb: iTunes 8: The Genius in the Box and Mark Evans: Is Apple’s Genius Good or Evil?)

The breakthrough for Genius isn't so much that you can rediscover old music that you've neglected, although for some that is no doubt true. The real value is in the Genius sidebar, which is plastered with "Buy" buttons linking to the iTunes Music Store. In a time when so many Web services are hoping ad clicks will provide them with a way to the promised land, the simplicity of how Apple rolls out new services that enable a larger revenue stream is impressive.

For me, Apple iTunes long ago became my default source for new music. Even if I found a song on the radio or through Last.fm or another source, the first step is to head to iTunes to get it and download it. If iTunes doesn't have the song or album, it might as well no longer exist. I won't be heading to another service to find the song, but I may buy something else instead. That Apple has now made a mainline to my credit card every single time I fire up iTunes is a great way for me to continue making regular donations to my favorite for-profit Cupertino-based charity.

Of course, given I already have 4,342 songs totaling 18.3 days worth of music which hasn't been listened to in the last six months, according to my "Neglected" playlist, maybe I should be satisfied with what I have. Now that would be true genius.

i.TV Launching iPhone App for Local Movie, TV Listings

Apple Computer's Steve Jobs famously said, in 2004, that he felt "you watch television to turn your brain off" and use the computer "to turn your brain on". In the ensuing years, however, Apple has marched directly into your living room, with the Apple TV, and the company's digital devices are making the partnership between your computing side and your television-watching side better and stronger. A new iPhone application from i.TV debuts today, letting iPhone and iPod Touch users tap into the Web, and pull down local movie and TV listings, search by name, and see user-submitted reviews.

And interestingly, the application, though in its infancy, teases with options about scheduling shows for recording on your DVR, or even renting and buying selected media.


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Once you have downloaded the i.TV application to your iPhone or iPod Touch, its first query is to ask you your zipcode. Entering your zipcode references available TV service options for your area. When you've selected a TV service, such as Comcast, i.TV will take a few minutes to pull down your full channel listings and TV schedule.

From this point, you can browse channels by time, starting with the current time, and go forward and backward in time. Using Apple's touchscreen technology, you can select any TV show to see more detail, rate it from one to five stars, give a thumbs up, or see user reviews.


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You can also use i.TV's database to search TV listings. As you can see in the screenshots, I did quick searches for "Conan", looking for Conan O'Brien, and the term "Law &", to see how many Law & Order derivatives I could find. Obviously, quite a few.


Click Images for Larger Size

i.TV, which has offices in both Palo Alto and Park City, Utah, also offers the same level of detail for theater listings. Using the same zip code information I previously entered, I could browse local movie theaters, see which films were playing, and get a quick synopsis of the movie.


Click Images for Larger Size

But gathering data from i.TV is not a one-way passive operation. i.TV's developers promise the ability to send alerts to friends, write reviews and respond to reviews by other i.TV users, making a microcommunity around television and theater entertainment consumers who own iPhones or the iPod Touch. The i.TV application, added to the Apple iTunes Store today, can be found on their App Store, here: http://www.apple.com/iphone/appstore. The company's Web site is here: www.i.tv.

It Still Has That New iPhone 3G Smell

As promised late last night, this morning started off by finally going out and getting an iPhone. I ignored all the common sense and all the excuses, drank my fanboy Kool-Aid, and made my way to the nearby Apple Retail store, looking to possibly leave my life of Blackberry behind and start anew with the world's most coveted gadget. By the time I left the store, I not only had the iPhone 3G, but also a 500 Gigabyte Time Capsule, a new iPhone 3G case with belt clip, and a line-in adapter for the car. There's no question, at least for one day, Cupertino is happy with me.

As you can imagine, the first few hours of iPhone ownership are less about being functional, and more about syncing data, and trying out all the new widgetry.

Luckily for me, iTunes smartly asked if I wanted to restore the settings and data from my iPod Touch to the iPhone. This set things in motion so all the purchased iTunes App Store programs were moved over, along with my e-mail accounts, photos, and music. In fact, if it wasn't for the iPhone's new shape and the Phone application itself, it'd be pretty easy to forget I made a change.

I haven't yet decided what I'm going to do with my now two phone numbers. It's tempting to get rid of the old number and start new with AT&T, and also tempting to never use the new number, migrating the old to the new phone. That's why, at least for now, I don't plan on giving anybody the number for the iPhone. But that doesn't mean I'm not messing around with it. I found myself taking random photos, and sending useless SMS messages just to prove I could. I sent a photo taken with the iPhone via e-mail, again, just because I could.

In Folsom, where we're staying with my family for an extended weekend, we've had spotty 3G access. Sometimes it's on, and sometimes, Edge shows up, so I haven't been testing speed, but it does exactly as I would expect. The iPhone downloaded all my e-mail from the Mobile Me, GMail and Exchange servers quickly, and Internet browsing is at least as fast as it was on the iPod Touch.

Like any good new toy tool, it's tempting to just find reasons to get it out, or to wear it prominently, just so people know I have one. It's tempting to bring it out in the middle of dinner, to find an answer to a question in conversation, or to use it instead of the laptop, just because I can. It's like having a new car and getting excited just to drive down to the market and pick up milk and eggs. But the necessary transition has occurred. Last night, I went to bed as a non-iPhone owner, and tonight, I have joined the club. Looking forward to moving on from the novice to expert stage.

When it Comes to the iPhone, Never Assume Rationality

As far as the iPhone is concerned, I have failed in my role as an early adopter. Two generations into Apple's delivering the most talked about cell phone in history, I as an Apple aficionado practically have a legal obligation to not only have one, but to have more than one. But even today, I do not. I've instead slogged along with a previous-generation BlackBerry, and a first-generation iPod Touch, arguing that in combination, the two provide just about everything the iPhone would give me. Add on to that fact that I've had my phone service paid for and the BlackBerry provided for from work, and it makes for enough good excuses not to join the iPhone faithful.

But in hours, it's likely this all comes to an end, despite all my protests.

Armed with a coupon to the Apple Store, courtesy of Social Median, I have every intention to get up at the crack of dawn Saturday, and with my sister, an Apple Store retail employee herself, go in to buy an iPhone 3G. She knows her store has hundreds, and we want to beat the line.

What do I get from the iPhone 3G that the iPod Touch doesn't have? Well, aside from the entire functionality of the phone itself, I also get a camera, and Internet anywhere - not just in range of WiFi. It's this last part that really hits home, to be honest. I know the camera's not the best in the world, though I'll love always having one in my pocket. But I really, really, want "real Internet" with me wherever I go, even though 90+% of the time, I'm within range of WiFi, whether I'm at home, at work or anywhere else. What I really want is the ability to just pick up the iPhone from the supermarket, or from the A's game, or in that small percentage of places where WiFi wasn't enough.

Even with this added functionality, I still have the issue of paying AT&T where to date, I've let work pick up the tab. Maybe I expense my monthly bills, if they go for it. Maybe I say goodbye to my current phone number and start over with a new one. And maybe I transfer my old number to the new iPhone and keep the number that, for now anyway, belongs to the corporation and not little me.

It's not rational, to be honest. I've heard the horror stories of people struggling to get good 3G access, or of battery issues. I've heard rumors of Apple even recalling the iPhone 3G, which would be an unquestioned public relations and business disaster. I'm staring in the face of almost $1,000 in phone bills, where there were none before. Yet... it somehow feels right. It's what I'm supposed to do. I can't take the gift certificate from Social Median, which was intended for a new iPhone 3G and put it toward a Time Capsule, which I'm also thinking of getting. That'd break an unwritten rule. While I held out for so long, for me anyway, the wait will soon be over, as I fling off the shackles of responsibility and head to the Apple Store like a lemming. Can't wait.

iPod Touch As An Apple TV Remote? Cooler Than I Thought.

When Apple's iTunes application store opened up last week, I, at first, skipped over the free Remote application that offered the option to manage iTunes or the Apple TV from your iPhone or iPod Touch. It just seemed stupid at worst, or a proof of concept at best. Why would I want to duplicate the Apple Remote's capabilities with a much more functional device, I thought? But after checking the application out the last few days, I can attest to the fact I've been pleasantly surprised, and am now taking my iPod Touch with me around the house, acting as a DJ on the move.

As the screenshots included in this post show, the Remote application on the iPod Touch or iPhone does more than just meet the same capabilities offered by Apple's miniscule white remote. Benefitting from the wide touchscreen, I can browse thousands of songs, albums and artists quickly, and see a mirror image of what's playing on my Apple TV, letting me change the song with a single tap of my finger, anywhere in range of the Airport wireless network that both my device and the Apple TV share.


In contrast, the white remote has always been painstakingly slow to browse large libraries, practically forcing an indent into my thumb as I held the down key just to pass the letter "M". Given my library has almost 6,000 songs on it, and 23.6 days worth of music, that can be a frequent problem.

Once the Remote application is synched up with your Apple TV, using it is very simple. Choose "Playlists", "Albums", "Artists", or search for a song or any band. Unlike the white remote, you can actually type on your iPod Touch or iPhone, making this very quick.


Now, instead of relying on my iTunes on the laptop, and just turning up the sound to full blast, or resigning myself to not listening to my music as I move around the house, I can leverage the sound system on my TV set, and play DJ from room to room. I can even go to the "More" tab and select what the Apple TV was always intended to do - play movies and TV shows. But overnight, this little would-be useless application has become a must-have. I'm not leaving my iPod Touch laying around any more.

Apple's Own iPhone Apps Create Concerns for Small Developers

Apple takes great pride in the fact the company controls both the hardware and operating system for its Macintosh line of computers. In theory, this tight-fisted control can lead to higher product quality and an improved user experience. But as Cupertino expands its array of software titles from the desktop to the iPhone platform, independent developers are feeling the squeeze that comes when competing with the hometown team.

Yesterday night, just a weekend after Apple unveiled the AppStore for iPhone and iPod Touch, I got an e-mail from Kevin O'Neil of Candywriter.com, the creator of Imagine Poker, a Texas Hold 'Em game for the Macintosh. O'Neill wrote with excitement that the application had now also been released for the iPod Touch and iPhone platform for all of $4.99. But included in the good news was a foreboding note:

"When the App Store opened last week, it was revealed that Imagine Poker's rival Texas Hold 'Em game on the iPhone was actually created by Apple itself. We encourage you to check out their version of the game too (you can't miss it) but, as an independent developer, we hope you can come to appreciate the same solid game-play and sense of humor in Imagine Poker Touch that has made Imagine Poker Mac a success."

You can read between the lines and see the worry the small independent developer has with facing the Apple machine, just like Karelia Software saw when Apple introduced iWeb in parallel with their development of Sandvox, and of course, famously, when Apple embedded capabilities in Sherlock that closely mimicked their desktop search engine, Watson.

Microsoft got in all sorts of hot water when they embedded Internet Explorer in Windows, and forced third party hardware manufacturers to include the browser as part of their package, or face de-licensing. Apple, enjoying its minority position in just about all markets, has not always faced such scrutiny, even as they rolled out Apple Mail (eliminating the need for Eudora and Entourage), Safari (as IE languished), and an array of productivity offerings for free, including Preview (versus Adobe Acrobat), iCal and iPhoto. While the iPhone doesn't share the market position Windows does, it is taking an increasing share of the pie from Windows Mobile and Blackberry, and there could come a time when Apple's embedded apps or competitive apps gain more scrutiny than they do today.

Cyndy Aleo-Carreira of Profy has discussed the seeming non-balance she's already seen at the AppStore in a pair of posts: iPhone App Store: Eliminating the Competition and Advantage App Store: Two Paths to iPhone User Adoption. As she writes, "People are generally lazy, and will opt for the easiest and most convenient choice." For Candywriter.com, the easiest choice for customers just might be to keep Apple's Texas Hold 'Em game, and not seek out Imagine Poker, and this just might be the tip of the iceberg. If a small developer believes Apple will crowd them out of the market, then why try?

As for me, I did buy Imagine Poker. It's been a fun game on the Mac, and I'm looking forward to wasting more time with it on my iPod Touch.

Do you know any other third-party application developers on the iPhone who are now feeling the heat from Apple?

After Slow Start, My iPod Touch Is a Happy 2.0 Camper

As far as dedicated Apple fans go, I think I've had to turn in my "First Class" ID in exchange for a "Second Class" ID ever since the iPhone came out. The reason? I still don't have one, and no matter how many days in a row I wear my Apple logo watch or my Apple logo shirts, it won't make up for the fact the rest of the digerati have moved forward, and yet, I hold on to my two or three-generations old Blackberry.

But my so far steering clear of the iPhone doesn't mean I didn't get the chance to benefit from Apple's releases on Friday. While the reports from Apple Stores across the country poured in about long waits, activation delays and software bugs, I was at home trying to find some way to get my iPod Touch software updated, to benefit from the newly introduced iTunes Application Store. I had jumped the gun on Thursday, purchasing several of the apps, and yet, the 2.0 software package was playing hard to get.

Virtually all of Friday, the 2.0 upgrade for the iPod Touch was out of reach. Apple's Web site said it was a click away, but iTunes would continually fail, saying the upgrade was unavailable, putting me in a seeming infinite loop of futility. iTunes said I had an OS upgrade available, but it wouldn't even take me to the page where I could pay my nominal $9.95 and take my iPod Touch from trailing edge to leading edge.


Alright, I can Upgrade!

But Wait, This is Taking Too Long!

Ack! Failure Again!
But finally, after midnight last night, the trains started to run on time. I downloaded the more than 200 megabytes needed, over a half hour's time, and let my laptop and the iPod Touch spend some quality alone time, while data and settings were backed up and synchronized.

When all was completed, I not only had the 2.0 software, but several new applications for the iPod Touch, both free and premium, including:

• AOL Instant Messenger
  
• Baseball
  
• Facebook
  
• Google Mobile App
  
• MLB.com At Bat
  
• Salesforce Mobile
  
• Twitteriffic
  
• WeatherBug

I also added a handful of games, of course, from the basic SuperPong to Air Hockey, BlackJack, ZEN Pinball, and 300 Bowl.


The upgrade, despite the first day snafu, is absolutely a gem. Having push e-mail to the iPod Touch, and the addition of Twitterrific already has the iPod Touch playing a much more significant role as a communications device, and I'll be setting it up for full Exchange synchronization later today for sure. I'm also looking forward to working with the Salesforce.com tool, as Salesforce.com is one site I use constantly at the office to track leads, opportunities, reports and revenue.

And I can't overstate the geeky fun of the Baseball application. I was checking it out late last night, and what it delivers for any true sports nut is every statistic - ever - from the beginning of professional baseball through the 2007 season. You can browse by team, by year and by player to get all the data you'd need to win trivia games, or just to annoy your neighbors at the ballpark. Used in tandem with the MLB.com At Bat service, which lets you see game highlights on video throughout the contest, and after its completed, and you've got the potential to be a real seamhead as well as being a geek.

As for eventually crossing the chasm and finally getting that elusive iPhone? Trust me, it's tempting. The iPod Touch does a lot for me, but I would love to get it down to one device. But if your work paid for the BlackBerry service on Verizon, wouldn't you stick with that, instead of moving to AT&T and paying out of your own pocket?

My iPod Touch is Rarely Used for Music

Almost three months ago, we welcomed the iPod Touch to our family.

At the time, I was looking forward to taking videos with me on trips, for surfing the Web via WiFi, and for listening to scads of music. After all, Steve Jobs once said the iPhone, and ergo the iPod Touch, had the best iPod experience ever created. But it's been interesting to see that while my first iPod was all about music, the iPod Touch hardly ever gets used for that purpose.

So what am I doing with my iPod Touch? The overwhelming majority of activity is to browse the Web via WiFi, whether just away from the laptop, or at a friend's home with WiFi. Given the iPod synchronizes its bookmarks with my Safari Web browser, and with the addition of widgets for e-Mail, stocks and weather, just about anything I need is a few "touches" away. And the iPod Touch, to be honest, is the best device I can think of for taking the Web into places where a laptop wouldn't make sense. Ever take a PowerBook into the men's room at work? Didn't think so. But an iPod Touch fits right in your pocket...

As expected, I have used the iPod Touch for viewing movies and TV shows, especially on plane flights. Before my flight to Boston last month, and for this shorter trip to Phoenix, I made sure to rent one or two films before taking off. While Apple hasn't gained the fullest of movie libraries for rent yet, I've found a number of titles worth watching, especially when my alternative is craning my neck to see whatever United or US Airways has on tap. (My latest iPod Touch movie? Punch Drunk Love... and you can skip it.)

With Web access and TV or film, the need to play music is fading. While on my laptop, I almost always have iTunes going, but for my iPod Touch, iTunes is almost a forgotten app.

Recent Apple advances have made iTunes music even less important since I first got my iPod Touch. I've added custom icons to my home screen for Facebook, louisgray.com, FriendFeed and Twitter, and each offers me one-click access to where I'm most frequently engaged and communicating. I'd have added buttons for TechMeme and SiteMeter as well, but so far, I've chosen appearance over functionality, as neither site has a good custom icon. (Here's a great "how to" from Webomatica.)

Gaining the new widgets now puts .Mac and GMail in my pocket, with send and receive functionality. It's not quite able to replace the Blackberry yet, but I've grown quite adept at touch typing on it, more so than I had originally expected. Adding movie rentals to iTunes also made going to P2P networks for films much less inviting.

I'm near my laptop at home and work so often it's a rare time that I need to use my iPod Touch for music. I'm glad it's there if I ever need to tap into it, but over time, it's becoming less and less. Now it's a lot less about finding the right playlist, and a lot more about finding the best open wireless hotspot. That's more than I would have expected when Apple first debuted their original iPod years ago.

We Welcome iPod Touch to the Family

Home is Where the iPods Gather
Despite my role as an unrepentant Mac geek, I've been a longtime (for me) holdout in the iPod Touch/iPhone arena. After my 60 Gigabyte iPod Photo started trying to die, I switched to the cheaper, lighter, iPod Shuffle for music, and the upgrade to a new MacBook Pro negated the need to cart the old iPod around solely for disk storage. When the iPod Touch and iPhone came out, I knew they were leagues beyond what I had, but as much as I knew I wanted them, I couldn't justify buying them.

So, imagine my delight when a frequent reader of this blog saw my call for help last Saturday, and bought me an iPod Touch.

Today, FedEx dropped off a package from Amazon.com at the office, containing a brand-new 16 gigabyte iPod Touch, free of charge. Now, thanks to their overwhelming generosity, I can watch videos in wide-screen mode, I can browse YouTube, I can download TV shows and take them with me, in my pocket, and browse the Web anywhere I can get WiFi. This new device, already far better than any iPod I've ever had, will be an amazing gadget for cross-country flights, and it makes me feel whole again, as a Mac geek. I no longer have to admit being so far behind when friends show me their iPod Touch, and when iPhones come up, at least I can keep my head up.

Since unwrapping the new iPod Touch, I loaded up more than 1,200 songs, visited a few Web sites, including FriendFeed and Louisgray.com. I logged into our company's Webmail access for Exchange, and it performed flawlessly. I checked out YouTube, enjoyed CoverFlow, and keep rotating the device to see the screen's orientation change. It's just too cool.


The Real Internet, In Your Pocket
As you can see in the top photo, the iPod Touch joins our first and second generation iPod Shuffles and the aforementioned iPod Photo in the louisgray.com household. Now, I will retire our iPod Photo to its permanent roost atop our iHome alarm clock, my wife will utilize the 2nd generation iPod Shuffle, and in the case I need to travel light, I'll keep my 1st generation Shuffle around. But if anybody tries to tell you there's such a thing as too many iPods, they're wrong. Just make sure the iPod Touch is one of them!

Apple's One Day Sale Lacks Premium Product Discounts

As the company does every year, Apple is holding a one-day "Day after Thanksgiving" sale, encouraging buyers to get an early jump on the holiday rush. But while iMacs, MacBooks, and low-end iPods were on sale, at roughly 5-10% discounts, the company's most sought-after products, including the iPhone and iPod Touch, didn't get a single dollar's worth of reduction.

As many Mac-focused sites reported, including MacRumors and Chris Pirillo, you could save from $51 to $101 off the price of a new iMac, the same $51 to $101 off from MacBooks, and anywhere from $11 to $31 apiece on iPod Shuffles and the iPod Classic.


While Apple billed the sale as letting customers "save big on some of our best sellers", it seemed you're really only able to "save small" on some of their products. The company's front page also stated, "Save big on iPod, iPhone and Mac gifts," but instead of discount iPhones, you instead have the option to get price-reduced bluetooth headsets, or carrying sleeves. Not exactly the same thing.

If you were interested in getting a new iPod Touch, iPhone or MacBook Pro, there's no sale for you. So not even this Apple fanboy will be reaching for his credit card for this sale.

Apple Analysis Analysis - Earnings Call Extra

Following today's earnings announcement from Apple, the company held a conference call with analysts, which is typical. Thanks to Seeking Alpha, we have the full transcript from the call, and can see how often analysts and the company talked about specific aspects of the company's business.

As you can see in the below chart, despite having revenue of more than 60% of the company's business, the Mac, by all accounts, growing in market share, played the poor second cousin to the continued buzz around iPhone and iPod.


Click to Enlarge Image

Using Safari 3's "find matches" tally, we see the call featured the following terms the following number of times:

iPhone: 51 times
iPod: 41 times
Mac: 25 times
AT&T: 12 times
iTunes: 8 times
Leopard: 7 times
Macbook: 4 times
iMac: 4 times
Macintosh: 3 times
iPod Touch: 2 times
iLife: 2 times
Apple TV: 1 time
iWork: 1 time

** The two iPod Touch mentions are also included in the larger iPod number.

While Apple reported that Mac products and services were 62% of total revenue, in contrast to 36% for Music products and services, iPod and iPhone total mentions outpaced Mac mentions by a combined 92 to 36. Throw in AT&T and iTunes, and Music outpaces Mac by a whopping 112 to 36. Who cares about actual revenue when you've got buzz?

Also, the laggards in Apple's portfolio, iWork and Apple TV, got just about the amount of attention I would have expected - one mention apiece. It's not as fun to talk about those aspects of the business that aren't gracing magazine covers and becoming the must-have items of 2007.

To listen to the call yourself, check out Apple's archive on their Web site.

Can I Convince Myself to Get an iPod Touch?

I'm getting that itch again. That "I need a new shiny gadget" itch.

I just upgraded to a new MacBook Pro with VMWare Fusion, and am ecstatic about that. I even put in an order for a new TiVo HD last night. So that's covered. But when it comes to my iPod, I've got Apple's low-end first generation Shuffle, and an outdated, trying to die, iPod Photo with 60 Gigs on it. Neither device plays TV shows or movies. And clearly, neither device comes close to making me think its an iPhone.

This upcoming week, I've got a two-day business trip to Dallas, Texas. For the flight out and back, it'd be awesome to have an iPod Touch with me. I've tinkered with the iPod Touch at the nearby Apple Store, and coveted its Web access via WiFi and multimedia on the go. Could this be the trip where idle hands and available credit form a perfect storm that see me adding yet another unnecessary device to the arsenal?

Right now, I'd give it an 80/20 chance it's not. But part of me wants to get up early tomorrow and make an Apple Store run.

How to See an iPod Touch Your Web site

Not too long ago, in June, we had the novelty of seeing Apple's pre-release iPhones surfing the Web, either from early adopters, Apple employees with early access, or simply in testing. Now, as Apple has also introduced an iPod capable of browsing the Web, in the iPod Touch, I thought it would be interesting to see how the iPod identifies itself to Web logs.

While at the Apple Store yesterday to pick up my MacBook Pro, I set upon a displayed iPod Touch, fired up Safari, and headed to louisgray.com. As I would expect, the site loaded in full, though it was drastically skinnied down to fit the iPod Touch's miniature screen.

Logging on to SiteMeter, you can see this visit as having come through AT&T WorldNet Services. Oddly, it registers as being from Fresno, California (though I tested from San Jose). All else is familiar to most Web site owners. The Operating System is displayed as MacOSX, and the Browser is Safari 1.3 - even though all Macs ship with Safari 2, and Safari 3 beta has been out for some time.

In fact, in June, the iPhone reported a later version of Safari:
Browser Safari 2.0 Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en)

Unique to the iPod Touch, however is the machine's identification, of (iPod; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en). The iPhone, in contrast, identifies itself as the iPhone, simply enough.

As with most hardware manufacturers, the browser detail doesn't identify the model number or revision, by any means. When an Intel-based Mac visits my site, I just know it's an Intel-based Mac, not whether it's a tower or a laptop (unless I geek out into screen resolution detail), and if a Dell visits my site, I can't distinguish it from an HP or a Gateway computer. In that same vein, the iPod Touch doesn't say it's an iPod Touch, just an iPod, and going forward, the iPhone will likely continue saying its an iPhone, even if Apple went nuts and released new models, like an iPhone Nano or an iPhone Extreme, as is occasionally rumored.

So, if you want to know if an iPod Touch has been browsing your Web site, look for the browser detail and the keyword iPod. With the Web reaching well beyond computers, to handhelds, TVs, and mobile phones, we can expect to write once, publish anywhere, and hope the Web standards will display well for all.

New TAB Post: iPod Touch Promotes iPhone Sales?

Apple just introduced the coolest iPod lineup ever, without a doubt. But as much as I think about putting down a little cash and buying a new one - whether it be the new iPod Nanos or an iPod Touch, the more I realize I should make a real upgrade and head to the iPhone, if it wasn't for AT&T mucking things up.

The iPod Touch looks like the iPhone, feels like the iPhone, and acts like the iPhone in many ways, but it definitely comes up short - a point not lost by its only having half the icons displayed as an iPhone does. The iPhone simply does more. So, was it released to tease us into getting the iPhone after all?

That's the background behind my most recent contribution to The Apple Blog, titled iPod Touch Designed to Push iPhones?. Per agreement with them, I will not be cross-posting the piece, but instead, have provided a link. Enjoy.

We Discerning Apple Fans Always Want More

Unless you've been living under a rock, you already know that Apple raised the ante once again with a slew of updates to their iPod lineup, introducing a new iPhone-like iPod touch, with a widescreen look, touch screen application launching, built in wireless downloads and the dreaded iPhone keyboard. The company also added new colors to the iPod shuffle, further shrunk the iPod nano, and expanded the iPod (now the iPod Classic) to a massive 160 Gigabytes. Oh yeah, they also reduced the price of the iPhone by 200 bucks - meaning the barrier to entry, not counting AT&T, is a mere $399.

Sweet.

Apple owns this space, and rightfully so. While slower moving dinosaurs, including Microsoft and Sony, try as they might to approximate the company's previous iPod model, Apple is more than happy to innovate faster than everyone else and change the game right from under their feet. And consumers are loving it - with more than 100 million iPods sold (including several to my household). But the funny thing is that the more we Apple fans overthink the whole thing, it's not too hard to always want more, and find ourselves demanding the impossible - a new device that doesn't exist, and isn't coming.

Here's the thing. The iPod touch is exactly what everybody was begging for: An iPhone without the phone, plus a wireless iTunes Store - including the ability to hook up to WiFi and watch YouTube, view TV shows, photos, and even surf the Web. But saddled right next to the iPod classic, we start thinking... only 16 gigabytes? But the iPod classic has 160! That's ten times more! Bah humbug!

And don't even get me started on the whining around the iPhone price drop. Fans are screaming bloody murder, from Engadget, Paul Thurrott, Business 2.0, Zoli Erdos and Chris Pirillo to TUAW, who went so far as to say "Apple screwed you". (At least ParisLemon gets it.)

Silly consumers.

All Apple has done is create the widest, most versatile lineup of digital audio devices out there, period. Want the minimum? Shuffle is for you. Want a phone? The iPhone is for you. Want to store your entire music library? You need the Classic. But we seem to always want to have this delicious sounding mashup - say... a 160 Gigabyte widescreen iPod with a touchscreen, wireless downloads, infinite battery life, and phone capabilities, not from AT&T, for $99. It's not going to happen.

It reminds me of the famous Homer Simpson line, when Lisa informs him that bacon, pork chops and ham all come from the same source. "Yeah, right Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal."

If Apple announces the world's largest, clearest laptops, we want them lighter. If Apple announces five colors of iPod shuffles, we want a black one. If Apple announces the iPhone is on AT&T, we want it on T-Mobile. Though Apple surprised us with a partnership with Starbucks, many were expecting the long-awaited addition of The Beatles. It's enough to make a product marketing, product management and engineering team completely crazy.

So while I drool over the new introductions, take time to watch the Steve Jobs presentation tonight, and try to think about good reasons to upgrade my iPod or switch over to the iPhone, we should all remember that despite the company's God-like appearance, they still have to operate within the laws of physics and fiscal responsibility. Oh! And if I end up purchasing anything nifty, I'll be sure to let you know.

Why the Google Phone and iPhone Can Both Win

Even without making any official announcements, Google and Apple both have the ability to set gadget lovers and bloggers aflutter. This week's dual track mania will focus on two things: Apple's impending launch of next generation iPods on Wednesday, and the potential unveiling of a new mobile phone from Google - just months after Apple's much-anticipated iPhone redefined the mobile Web experience. And while there are sure to be constant comparisons between the rumored Google Phone and the iPhone, the truth is that both devices can win without killing the other.

As Read/Write Web notes, the hottest thing for tech companies, like Google, Apple, Microsoft and eBay, to do is announce they're moving into the phone space - filling a technology void made possible by a lack of innovation by current leaders, including Nokia and Motorola. And while the popular thing to do is say that the Google Phone will go head to head with Apple's iPhone, there is more than enough room for two dogs in this fight, especially when both companies are coming at the opportunity with their own strengths.

For the last five years, Apple has been a leader in digital music, and no company - not Microsoft, not Yahoo!, not Sony nor Amazon, has come close in offering a single package that rivals the iPod. When making the iPhone, Apple first made it the world's best iPod on the planet, and then added phone and Web features - borrowing heavily from their previous work on Safari and Mac OS X.

For about the same amount of time, Google has been the leader in Web search, and is growing a vast stable of Web applications, from GMail to Google Calendar, Google Reader, Google Maps, Google Checkout, Picasa Photos, Google News, and so on. But the company's Google Video site was a dud, leading them to buy out YouTube, and the company recently made news for shutting down their paid download online video store. It's becoming more clear what Google is good at (Web Apps) and what it is not good at (Media downloads).

Just as Apple started with its core strength (the iPod), Google will likely start with its core strength (Web search and integrated Web applications), rather than trying to be a swiss army knife solution - one überphone to rule them all. As a result, Google Phone consumers will not always be potential iPhone consumers. iPhone consumers will continue to be media driven, while Google Phone users will be Web search and Web applications driven. And neither of them will take away too much share from Blackberry users, who are Microsoft Exchange driven - a niche that neither Google nor Apple look ready to take on yet.

Apple initially claimed their target with the iPhone was to garner a 1% market share within 12 months - an aggressive, yet realistic goal. That leaves 99% of the market for Google to play with, and if early indications are true, they will be letting their plans be known very soon. As we've seen in the last 12 months, Google and Apple have drawn close as companies. I hope they can see room for both to succeed, and that in every respect, customers will win with this race to add new features and capabilities to what just recently had been an incredibly boring market.

For Apple Legal, Resistance is Futile

As I mentioned in a quick note on The Apple Blog yesterday, the latest rumor du jour is that Apple is set to soon release shorter, wider versions of the iPod Nano in a variety of new colors. While the initial "spy shots" on some sites have been blurry at best, subsequent requests by Apple Legal to a number of those sites, from 9to5mac.com to Gizmodo, and most recently, Paris Lemon, for them to remove the images, seems to be a lot like asking for the barn door to be shut after the cows have been released.

Once a rumor or leak hits the Web, it's out, period. If it's an Apple rumor, it's likely on Digg. Other Mac users, like I did, downloaded the images to their hard drives en mass, in the event the takedown notices were issued. If the photos were reposted anywhere, they're on blogs, and Google Images would be next to reindex the images in their library, and cache them forever. Archive.org may crawl the page and take a picture. Even if Apple Legal reached out to everyone, and everyone complied, those images are out for good.

It's an oft-repeated sport for the Mac rumors sites to seek out leaked info, and then for Apple Legal to go after them. But even though I respect Apple's need for secrecy and privacy and for them to break the news, in the world of the Web, with such a maniacal fan base as they have, resistance is futile, and they might as well focus more on those internally who broke the rules, instead of shooting the messengers.

New TAB Post: Five Steps to Being an Apple Fanboy

It wasn't all that long ago when the rest of the world wouldn't obsess about the latest Apple products. There was a smaller subset of us who watched the Steve Jobs keynotes, bought and sold Apple stock below $15 a share, and knew that despite our low market share, we had made the right choice. Boy, have things changed. With the iPod, iTunes, iPhone and iMac, Apple is back in a huge way.

For those new to the platform who want to be good Mac advocates, I noted five lesser-known tips on The Apple Blog, namely:

1. Never Admit Fault With Apple Around Non-Mac People
2. Make Your Apple Usage Visible
3. Present the Apple Logo in a Good Light
4. Don’t Sound Too Eager
5. Do Your Homework. People Will Expect an Expert

That's the background behind my most recent contribution to The Apple Blog, titled Five Lesser-Known Tips on Being an Apple Fanboy. Per agreement with them, I will not be cross-posting the piece, but instead, have provided a link. Enjoy.

Seven Days Without iPhone, and Still Breathing

Counting Friday of last week, when the iPhone first went on sale, today marks the seventh day that Apple's hybrid phone/Web browser/iPod has been available to the masses, stock depending of course. And despite my being a well-known Apple fan, and having a tendency to acquire Cupertino kit on the first day of release, I still haven't ordered one, haven't set foot in an Apple store, and haven't seen one in person. Yet life continues.

As I noted before, I'm holding out for version 2.0, at the very least. I am not a huge fan of switching to AT&T as my cell phone provider, and don't expect I can just pick one up and ask the office to approve its purchase if I were to submit an expense report.

Meanwhile, as I received jubilant calls from my younger sister, a proud recipient of a free 8-gigabyte iPhone, courtesy of Steve Jobs, as a 20-month Apple Store retail employee, as I read the many gushing reviews by early adopters, and read media reports that Apple may have sold upwards of 1 million devices since launch, and that the iPhone is practically sold out everywhere, I watched, amused, but not with a longing that truly felt as if I were left out.

I am happy for Apple that the company has another hit on its hands. I am glad that for those early adopters, that the iPhone is doing what was expected. I expect that in the next few years, should Apple continue innovating, that one will find its way into our home, but not yet. I also expect I just might make a trip down to the Apple store soon to hold one, see the interface and give it a try, but for that trip, I will leave my credit card in the car, to avoid any mistakes.

Besides, if Engadget's review is any indication, the iPhone isn't yet a Blackberry killer when it comes to e-mail, and for me, that's a critical must-fix before I pick one up. Apple, we'll be watching to see your continued efforts and enhancements. Get the e-mail right, and we'll start to see our resistance shed.

Everybody but Me Thinks I'm Getting the iPhone

I started to get the e-mails last week. From one former colleague: "R U camping out to get your iPhone? Will you be on the Apple store’s doorstep at 6 PM sharp?" and then another came. "Have U ordered your iPhone?" they asked. Then I started getting text messages. My little sister hit me up... "Are you excited about the iPhone? Getting one?" And this doesn't even take into account the many repeated questions I've received in person and on the phone.

It's as if everybody expects me to be walking out of an Apple Store on day one with an iPhone in tow. I've even had to make a standard response to the inquiries, either by saying I can wait until version two, or explaining that I really don't need a new phone all that badly, that my Blackberry works great, and doesn't cost me a dime. One person, thinking along the same lines, wrote me, saying, "I am actually holding out. It is tempting, but I bet they release a higher capacity model come Christmas time." And maybe he's right? Who knows?

It's no secret that Apple, despite all the interest in the current iPhone models, will continue to innovate. It's no secret that hard disk capacities and flash memory capacities are increasing. And it's no secret that software or firmware updates will be upcoming to the iPhone, just like they have for the iPod and Apple TV. One could arguably wait around forever for the next version of anything. Any time I make a purchase, I run the risk of finding myself left with the previous generation shortly thereafter, and there's something to be said for not having buyer's remorse for products, so long as they're working.

With that said, I'll spell it out here, and look forward to any debates in the comments. I do not, at this time, plan to buy the iPhone tomorrow or next week, or for the foreseeable near future. I am extremely intrigued by its capabilities and how it could impact not only Apple but the entire mobile phone industry, but I don't need one. I will more quickly buy a next-generation iPod before I buy the iPhone. My Blackberry is paid for by the office and comes with a company number. Buying an iPhone would require a new number, a second phone to carry, and a new rate plan from AT&T, who is nobody's favorite. I may be an Apple fan. I may have a solid track record for early adoption of the company's products. But I'm trying to let logic win out over emotion in this case, and I will let this initial wave pass me by. And if I do give in, like a fool, and buy an iPhone at any point in the next six months, please do refer back to this post and mock me. I know I would.

WWDC: Apple Introduces Safari for Windows

WWDC and Macworld Expo come only twice a year - and that's too bad. Because twice a year, the Mac community gets all excited when Santa Jobs comes in bearing presents and we all can't wait to see what's there to unwrap. I've been following each of these keynotes for the better part of ten years now, and while some have been disappointing, the surprises outweigh the doldrums.

Today's surprise? Apple announcing that the browser wars aren't over by a long shot. After the company's success with iPod and iTunes for Windows, they're branching out by bringing the somewhat popular Safari Web browser to the forbidden platform.

Web browsing on Windows today is yucky. I noted here a while back that I actually preferred Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 browser to Firefox for Windows, but that just goes to show how bad the offerings are over there in Redmond.

Will Safari take off on Windows the way iTunes has? I really don't know. I think the barriers to entry in the Web browser market are very big. Microsoft went to court to defend their monopoly in this space already, and many a browser has come and died in the face of the IE juggernaut. I also don't know that there's a groundswell of Windows users begging for Safari, which isn't perfect in itself.

But if I ever have to power up my Dell laptop again, you know one of the first things I'll be doing is downloading Safari for Windows and seeing if it's as fast as Steve Jobs told the WWDC crowd it was just this morning.

I'll say one thing though. Apple never gets boring.

Apple Entering Video Rental Download Market?

The Financial Times confirmed today what many of us have already suspected, that Apple is working with movie studios to finally offer video rentals from iTunes for the low, low price of $2.99 for 30 days worth of access, including the ability to watch the film via iPod or iPhone.

If this comes to bear this fall, it will be the ultimate video on demand solution, and will help the Apple TV reach its full potential. If Apple has enough relationships with leading studios to deliver an impressive on demand video library, we will be canceling our Netflix account, and will start spending our money in $2.99 increments. Forget going to the theater for $10 or more per person. We'll wait for iTunes.

More of my previous comments on Apple and the dramatic effect the company could have on the video rental market can be found in the below links.

The Apple Blog: How Will Apple Compete With “On Demand”?
louisgray.com: How Apple Could Crush Netflix Now
louisgray.com: The Apple TV Debate is Upside Down
louisgray.com: What is the True Value of an Entertainment Download?

More discussion of the Financial Times news can be found on Ars Technica, Paidcontent.org, Business 2.0, Mashable! and the Wall Street Journal.

Sadly, Maybe I'm Not An Early Adopter Anymore?

A big part of me wants to make up reasons to go out and get an Apple iPhone when it debuts June 29th. Steve Jobs' introduction of the product at Macworld San Francisco, ensuing media coverage and reviews, and the company's recently introduced four commercials touting the iPhone have got me musing ways to make my acquisition of an iPhone make sense. And I can't get there.

The iPhone has three major features: A widescreen iPod that plays music and video, a touch-oriented cell phone, and what Apple is calling a fully-featured Web browser, akin to the Safari experience on Mac OS X. But, in order, I have both a 60 Gig iPod and an iPod shuffle already for the music side, and a perfectly capable BlackBerry handset, which gets me e-mail immediately, works well for phone calls, and actually does an adequate job of surfing the Web should I need to. Best of all, I'm not paying for the BlackBerry. Work is. And the BlackBerry service is through Verizon, not AT&T, the sole wireless carrier signed up with the iPhone. So that's two major strikes against my moving to the next awesome product from Apple.

At the dawn of the decade, I probably wouldn't have let that stand in my way. I got the first generation Visor Deluxe handheld when they debuted, the first VisorPhone module that married the Palm OS with the cellphone, and later, the first black and white Treo handset. I also, as noted here before, bought the first generation iPod on the day they debuted.

But now, I'm getting more content with utilizing previous generation hardware. My iPod doesn't play video, and is the 60 Gigabyte model, not 80 Gigabytes. My Apple laptop is a PowerBook G4, not an Intel-based MacBook Pro. Our TiVo is a series one console, and we're not even signed up for high definition broadcast from our cable provider, Comcast. We don't own a video camera, my car is pushing nine years old, and didn't even come with a native CD player, let alone Sirius or XM satellite radio. Sometimes, I even go into Fry's and come out without buying anything. It's as if there's some sort of anonymous group I should be joining...

Inside, I want to spend my money with wanton disregard for budgets and needs. I want to sell recently obsoleted technology on eBay after upgrading to the newest gear. I want to have the newest products before my colleagues and friends even know they exist. But lately, I'm getting more and more content to wait out the first generation until the bugs are out of it, and see if I can get the second generation cheap. It's sad, really. How can I respect myself among my peers now that this is off my chest?

For $33.75, I Could Ditch DRM from 130 iTunes Songs

Apple's iTunes Plus project launched today, giving me the option to strip digital rights management (DRM) from a select subset of my musical library for 30 cents per affected song. As the promotion only covers a fraction of the total available iTunes Store, I was curious to see how many I would be offered, and at the end of the first day for this promotion, I could upgrade 130 songs for $33.75, Apple says.

What would I get?

With iTunes Plus, I would remove the iTunes and iPod-only barrier from these songs, letting me pass songs to friends, copy to multiple computers, or in theory, play on other, inferior music devices. Additionally, the songs would be offered in higher quality bit rates.

On the first day of announcement, bands in my purchase history that are available include Coldplay, Beastie Boys, Royksopp, The Chemical Brothers, M83, Fatboy Slim and Cosmic Gate.

While others are excited about the move and hate all things DRM-related, I haven't seen Apple's limitations as much of a hindrance to the way I enjoy music. The iTunes and iPod combination work for me, and I won't be paying a premium to convert my library to iTunes Plus any time soon, whether it was $3.75, $33.75 or $337.50.

Update on the iPod: It's Alive!

On Monday, I noted my two-year relationship with my 60 Gigabyte iPod had come to an end. I had moved on, ready to upgrade to the next version - even thinking about how cool it would be to have the new iPod Video and watch TV shows on the airplane.

But before I made a trip over to Fry's or the nearest Apple Store, the iPod came back to life. Needless to say, I'm happy I don't have to shell out any dough in the near term, but on the downside, I kind of wanted to move forward.

More details around how I managed to get the iPod back to life are covered in my latest post to The Apple Blog, titled iPod Death and Rebirth. Per agreement with them, I will not be cross-posting the piece, but instead, have provided a link. Enjoy.

Today, My iPod Left to a Higher Place

In the summer of 2005, I did the unthinkable, and left my iPod, chock full of tunes, photos and company data, on an airplane, when traveling from Chicago to Baltimore. Not having backed up my data in a while, I was challenged to find out a way to rebuild and not lose anything important, and starting over, with a new iPod, took quite a bit of time.

Not two years later, the newer iPod, a 60 gigabyte iPod Photo, has met a similar fate, once again having to do with air travel. This morning I flew from San Jose to San Diego, and upon reaching the hotel, plugged in the iPod to my laptop. After leaving the room for a few hours, I came back to find both the PowerBook and iPod were stuck in time. The seconds in my menubar weren't moving, and the iPod wasn't doing squat.

While the iPod isn't lost, it is most definitely dead, offering up only a sad iPod icon, and asking me to contact Apple support. It won't mount on my laptop, or play music. Although I've been better about backing up since the first incident and did a full backup to my laptop a week ago, this is in no way convenient. The iPod has served as the best way for me to easily transport data from one location to another, serving as much more than a portable jukebox. Now, it's a paperweight.

The question is, what to do next? Do I send it off to Apple to be repaired, uncertain as to when I'll get it back and for how much? Do I buy a new one, and junk the old one? Or do I stop with the iPod cycle and try something new? None of the options sounds cheap, and none is preferred to somehow magically fixing the one I've got, but here we are. Sigh.

My First Weekend With Apple TV

On Friday, the Apple TV showed up, much to my delight. By Friday night, we had the box up and running, and by Saturday morning, more than 30 gigabytes of video and audio had been synchronized from my PowerBook to the Apple TV device. Now, I can watch TV shows and listen to my music through the TV set that were previously "trapped" in my computer or iPod.

To see pictures of the setup, take a look at the post I made to The Apple Blog this morning, covering my first 48 hours with Apple TV. (See: Life With Apple TV: The First 48 Hours) In addition, the ease of use of the Apple TV really got me thinking about where else Apple could go to take the technology. With a little tweaking, and a much bigger hard drive, Apple could be a serious player for home network storage. (See: Will Apple Ship Wireless Network Storage?)

Per agreement with The Apple Blog, I will not be cross-posting the piece, but instead, have provided links. Enjoy.

The Apple TV Debate Is Upside Down

The early reports on the Apple TV, from Walt Mossberg at the Wall Street Journal, David Pogue of the New York Times, and Engadget are all saying the device is simple, has a great GUI, and accomplishes the user's needs to sync their computer's media with their television set. But there's an underlying note in many of the pieces, saying that Apple has charged too much for a box that does too little. (For example: Gizmodo: Apple TV: Worth It?)

If this line sounds familiar, it's because the exact same grumblings were lodged against the iPod when it first debuted, and all those naysayers have been proven wrong. They will be again.

Engadget sums this up in an otherwise great-looking photo gallery by saying:

"For someone with a lot of cash invested in a collection of iTunes media, the Apple TV seems a solid -- if pricey -- buy, but for most people with more diverse media collections and saner pocketbooks, this is a hard one to recommend."

Certainly an easy summary, but still wrong.

When the iPod was first announced five years ago, it looked like an overpriced MP3 player. It didn't show photos. It didn't show movies. It was monochrome. It didn't even work on Windows computers. But what it did do was set the stage for what was to come, and redefined the entire conversation about how you interface with your music. What made the device ultimately win was iTunes. The iPod's marriage to iTunes helped Apple sell music to iPod users and sell iPods to iTunes users. Later, the iPod was made available for Windows, added color, added photo support, added video support, and then went through a myriad of form factors, from the postage-stamp like iPod Shuffle you see today to the more brick-like first-generation iPod Photo, and the soon to arrive iPhone.

Check out this quote from CNET in October of 2001:

The iPod has "good features, but this is a pretty competitive category," (Stephen Baker, an analyst at NPD Intelect) said. "The question is whether people want that robust of a feature set with that high of a price."

Tens of millions of devices later, I think it's safe to say people warmed up to the iPod.

I believe Apple TV will see the same growth and has acted as a beachhead for Apple in the living room. And while Engadget says it doesn't matter much to people who may not have all their media on iTunes, it will absolutely change buying behavior - and will catapult the amount of TV shows and films purchased from the iTunes Store to date. There is no question. While today, we have been limited in our purchasing of TV episodes and movies from iTunes because of portability, picture quality, and viewability (on a laptop vs. the TV set), it all changes with Apple TV.

With the Apple TV connected to my flat-screen television, I will definitely go out of my way to find and procure content from the iTunes Store for anytime viewing. As Apple builds out the store's offerings, it will be offering one of the first, and most viable, Video on Demand (VOD) solutions on the market, one that may not have all the whiz-bang features (like DVR capability) just yet, but one that will grow to do all these things.

Those that doubt the Apple TV today, and mock its price or inferred limitations don't see the full picture. Like with the iPod, Apple is establishing the de facto standard in this market, and will further tie in iTunes as the go-to media store for near-instant gratification.

As for my own Apple TV? It's already in San Jose, according to FedEx, and I should have it tomorrow.

Tidbits from the Link Blog: March 14, 2007

We're only two days away from a four-day mini-vacation to see the A's do battle in the Cactus League for Spring Training, but until then, we are certainly chained to the desk. That leaves opportunity to highlight the day's prominent stories.

It's no surprise that yet another company is out to get the iPod and steal some of Apple's thunder, and even less of a surprise that Blackberrys can cause accidents just as mobile phones do, or that big companies are moving to advertise on the Web. Given that all those aren't the biggest of surprises, it's a real surprise there's some strong writing on those topics today.

Don Dodge: Why Search Engines Rank Blogs Higher than Web Sites
Internet Outsider: Advertisers Fleeing TV, Radio for Internet, etc.
Slashdot: Legislators Ponder BlackBerry Pileups
TechCrunch: Reckoning Day For Venture Capitalists?
VentureBeat: Slacker, the Real iPod Killer?

To see what I'm finding interesting, bookmark or subscribe to my link blog.

New TAB Post: iTunes Offers Up Massive Song Sets

Today my iTunes library reached the 4,000 song barrier, exactly. This was in no small part due to my discovery of 50-song trance albums Apple has posted to the online music store, for only $9.99 apiece. So far, I've found six, with two new ones being downloaded today, meaning I've got 300 great songs for less than $60 bucks. (See Previous: 100 More iTunes Trance Songs for Less than $20)

While these offer the best price/song ratio I've found on iTunes, there are plenty of other ways you can fill your iPod, including ways to download 400+ U2 tracks or 600+ Depeche Mode songs in one swoop. (See Previous: Apple Says: Download Every Depeche Mode Song Ever) I went out and found quite a few more.

That's the idea behind my most recent contribution to The Apple Blog, titled iTunes Offers Up Massive Song Sets. Per agreement with them, I will not be cross-posting the piece, but instead, have provided a link. Enjoy.

Tidbits from the Link Blog: March 11, 2007

I hadn't intended for today's collection of links to be all on Apple and Microsoft, yet that's what's happened. While some thought the OS wars were over in the 1990s (and Windows won), there is significant momentum at Apple's back, and it's getting people thinking of how the company can move further into the enterprise and leverage its success with iPod, iTunes and increased market share.

Meanwhile, Microsoft certainly isn't winning over fans with the continued mediocrity of its products. Six months after the debut of Zune, Engadget's Ryan Block says the device "still sucks", while Chris Pirillo says people are completely disillusioned with Vista. A friend I spoke with Friday says that if you launch Microsoft Visio twice in Vista, the system is a guaranteed hang. Wonderful. Can you feel the "Ow"?

Applepeels: Is the biggest challenge to Apple in the Enterprise still the IT Director?
Chris Pirillo: Windows Vista Help
Ryan Block: Zune at the 6 month mark — it still sucks
Wall Street Journal: Music's New Gatekeeper

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Tidbits from the Link Blog: February 7, 2007

If Steve Jobs were to create a blog, how popular do you think it would be? Yesterday, Jobs posted a note on Apple's Hot News section of the company Web site, saying that Digital Rights Management (DRM) was the product of a few large music labels, and that Apple would be happy to not use DRM if allowed. This ran contrary to most thinking, which believes that Apple embraces DRM, in order to tie the iTunes Music Store to the iPod. His comments set the blogosphere ablaze.

Some of the highlights:

Don Dodge: Bill Gates and Steve Jobs agree - DRM is broken
PaidContent: This Just In: Steve Jobs To Music DRM: Drop Dead
Blog Maverick: What should the music biz do next?
Robert Scoble: Steve Jobs: world’s best linkbaiter
TechCrunch: Apple Openly Supports Death of DRM

Yet, there was more going on besides a bunch of chatter about iTunes. This morning, I was surprised to learn that Sacramento Kings player Ron Artest had recently had his Great Dane taken away from him by the local ASPCA, as the animal was malnourished. Artest, a millionaire ballplayer with a spotty track record, says it's not his fault, but that his bulldog ate the Great Dane's food. Even so... that's no excuse, and I said so this morning on Sactown Royalty.

Sactown Royalty: "The Man" Says Artest Doesn't Feed "The Dog"

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Note to Self: Don't Tick off Apple, iTunes Community

One of the goals I have in writing for The Apple Blog is to put out ideas that may not be in the mainstream for Mac users. I hope I can introduce new software products that many aren't familiar with, or to comment on trends, like seeing Apple go to a nearly all-white lineup, or suggest that some products aren't growing as well as others, as I did with questioning iWork's success.

Today, I said that I feel Apple should make a change with iTunes (see: Apple Should Drop Notion of “Purchased Music”), in that they shouldn't highlight songs purchased from the iTunes Music Store as "Purchased". The inference I gain from iTunes' designation is that everything not purchased from iTunes would be not "Purchased", i.e. "Stolen". The best example of this would be a dual-CD set I just bought in New York. While I paid $18.99 for it, iTunes doesn't mark it as "Purchased", but just sifts the items in my library, as if they were downloaded for free (i.e. illegal) or ripped from a friend's copy.

So far, despite the article's stirring up conversation, many of the comments are quite negative. It seems everybody thought my suggestion fairly daft. One says, "Please take off your Che Guevara t-shirt and put down your anti-drm protest sign long enough to pay attention." Another says, "I think you are a way overly sensitive on this one." Then they pile on. One says, "Make peace with your iTunes and you will find peace in yourself," while one adds, "No ones saying you stole anything…martyr-complex much?" and another... "You’re corporate paranoia has gone just a tad into the red zone."

Typos aside, everybody thinks I'm reading too much into it, that Apple is not saying I stole the other 2,000+ tracks from iTunes, only that they weren't purchased from the iTunes Music Store. And of course, they're probably right. I was instead suggesting that the wording could be changed.