Apple threatens to shut down the iTunes Store!

Demise of iPhone coming soon?

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/...cle4859885.ece

-- Mark --

http://panda.com/mrc
Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to eat for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed sheep contesting the vote.

Mark Crispin <mrc@panda.com> amazed us all with the following in
news:alpine.OSX.2.00.0810011207340.467@pangtzu.pan da.com:

> Demise of iPhone coming soon?
>
> http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/.../article485988
> 5.ece
>
> -- Mark --
>
> http://panda.com/mrc
> Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to eat for lunch.
> Liberty is a well-armed sheep contesting the vote.
>

Demise of iPhone, demise of iPod, rapid decline of $1000+ computer sales
worldwide, tainted image of other products. It all smells of the demise of
Apple yet again. They couldn't force a closed market the first time and
they can't do it now.

The only proof I need is the immediate evaporation of fanbois over the last
week. Hell, even the fanboi blogs are starting to show their disgust.

They'll never shutter iTunes- the business can't afford it.

At 01 Oct 2008 18:26:38 -0500 The Bob wrote:

> They'll never shutter iTunes- the business can't afford it.


Agreed- while I personally don't want to see fees increase, I'm almost for
it just so they can call Apple's bluff!

Fees go up $0.06, and iTunes' songs go up to $1.05 instead of $0.99.
Where's the problem? Is Apple afraid it's customer base will be hopelessly
confused when $1 <> one song anymore?

Todd Allcock <elecconnec@AnoOspamL.com> wrote in
news:gc18i5$4v2$1@aioe.org:

> Fees go up $0.06, and iTunes' songs go up to $1.05 instead of $0.99.
> Where's the problem? Is Apple afraid it's customer base will be
> hopelessly confused when $1 <> one song anymore?
>
>

If fees go up .06, knowing Apple, don't you suspect iTunes will be $1.49,
1.59, 1.79 or even $1.99?!

That sounds more reasonable for a company that retails a minimal laptop for
$2,499 at Best Buy that doesn't even have a DVD burner.....

Frankly, I'd like to see this HARDWARE company get out of the Sell-Me-Some-
Songs business. Then, they could concentrate on making the finest MP3
players WITHOUT having a pecuinary interest in making sure it only plays
music they're gonna SELL to you.

The hobbling crapware would come off in a week, shaking the competition to
the foundation of its buildings.

Todd Allcock <elecconnec@AnoOspamL.com> amazed us all with the following
in news:gc18i5$4v2$1@aioe.org:

> At 01 Oct 2008 18:26:38 -0500 The Bob wrote:
>
>> They'll never shutter iTunes- the business can't afford it.
>
>
> Agreed- while I personally don't want to see fees increase, I'm almost
> for it just so they can call Apple's bluff!
>
> Fees go up $0.06, and iTunes' songs go up to $1.05 instead of $0.99.
> Where's the problem? Is Apple afraid it's customer base will be
> hopelessly confused when $1 <> one song anymore?
>
>
>

What we're seeing here is a brick-and-mortar mentality at it's finest.
They feel they have to keep it under a buck because old-time marketing
tells them so. These aren't the days when children saved their pennies to
go to the local record store and get the latest 45.

In their infinite stupidity, they fail to realize that they hold a
precarious edge onthe competition- their market penetration is high enough
that they could probably go to $1.25 and not see a blip in music sales.
iPod owners are so conditioned to going there that the extra quarter would
simply be viewed as a "convenience fee" by many users for continuing to
have access to a familiar platform and inventory of songs.

But it doesn't really matter. The closure of iTunes would only accelerate
the inevitable crash-and-burn that is probably only months away.

In article <Xns9B2AE1E954483noonehomecom@208.49.80.253>,
Larry <noone@home.com> wrote:

> If fees go up .06, knowing Apple, don't you suspect iTunes will be $1.49,
> 1.59, 1.79 or even $1.99?!
>
> That sounds more reasonable for a company that retails a minimal laptop for
> $2,499 at Best Buy that doesn't even have a DVD burner.....

Hey, waffle boy--please show me that $2499 laptop--the "minimal" one, as
you call it--that doesn't have a DVD burner built in.

Go ahead. We'll wait.

Oh, you can't. Because you made it up out of thin air.

They DO have a model for more than that, and they DO have a model for
less than that--significantly less.

But tell us all, waffle boy--why does it bother you that the MacBook Air
doesn't have a built-in DVD burner? Does your precious N800 have a
built-in DVD burner?

No, it doesn't. You end up carrying a car full of crap around with you
so that you can have the functionality you need. But for some reason,
when YOU do it, it's OK. When OTHERS do it, it's not OK.

"Elmo P. Shagnasty" <elmop@nastydesigns.com> wrote in news:elmop-
62F87F.06364602102008@news.x-privat.org:

> waffle boy

Does your mommy know you call people childish names, potty mouth?

The Bob <nospam@bob.com> wrote in news:Xns9B2AE0572ABA1bob@216.196.97.136:

> These aren't the days when children saved their pennies to
> go to the local record store and get the latest 45.
>

A DOLLAR?!! I'd never have that much! Those were 29c, about the price of
a 16oz loaf of the best bread.

A dollar for a 45? How silly!

"Larry" <noone@home.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9B2B74BF19E13noonehomecom@208.49.80.253...
> The Bob <nospam@bob.com> wrote in news:Xns9B2AE0572ABA1bob@216.196.97.136:
>
>> These aren't the days when children saved their pennies to
>> go to the local record store and get the latest 45.
>>
>
> A DOLLAR?!! I'd never have that much! Those were 29c, about the price of
> a 16oz loaf of the best bread.
>
> A dollar for a 45? How silly!

That's what they cost in the late 70's/early 80's when I bought them (also
about the price of a loaf of name-brand bread at the time.) Then the
"cassingle" came out at around a buck and a half for walkman/car player
users unwilling/too stupid to copy their 45s to blank cassettes, and the 45s
began to disappear. Between the cassingles and the cassette versions of
albums having extra songs or extended versions vs. the LP, the industry
REALLY wanted us to stop buying vinyl for some reason!

"The Bob" <nospam@bob.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9B2AE0572ABA1bob@216.196.97.136...

>> Fees go up $0.06, and iTunes' songs go up to $1.05 instead of $0.99.
>> Where's the problem? Is Apple afraid it's customer base will be
>> hopelessly confused when $1 <> one song anymore?
>
>
> What we're seeing here is a brick-and-mortar mentality at it's finest.
> They feel they have to keep it under a buck because old-time marketing
> tells them so. These aren't the days when children saved their pennies to
> go to the local record store and get the latest 45.

Agreed. But if you accept the role of iTunes store as a facilitator to
selling iPods rather than a profit center in and of itself, the perception
that iTunes is a "good deal" is important to the iPod's success.

> In their infinite stupidity, they fail to realize that they hold a
> precarious edge onthe competition- their market penetration is high enough
> that they could probably go to $1.25 and not see a blip in music sales.
> iPod owners are so conditioned to going there that the extra quarter would
> simply be viewed as a "convenience fee" by many users for continuing to
> have access to a familiar platform and inventory of songs.

Yeah, that's true now, but again, that's only because they're the leading
music store.

> But it doesn't really matter. The closure of iTunes would only accelerate
> the inevitable crash-and-burn that is probably only months away.

I doubt iTunes, iPods or iPhones are going anywhere for a long time...