Linked List: August 10, 2007

Friday, 10 August 2007

Griffin Technology 

My thanks to Griffin Technology — makers of fine iPod and iPhone peripherals, and the industry’s leading pulsing-blue-light gadgetry — for sponsoring the free RSS feed this week. And if it weren’t for their wonderful iMate, I wouldn’t still be able to use my beloved Apple Extended Keyboard II.

Derek Powazek: ‘The Columbo Technique’ 

More on Stickergate from Derek Powazek, who offers the best defense of Bob Keefe I’ve seen so far:

To the Apple faithful, sure, it was dumb. But a PR event is not for the faithful (that’s Macworld), it’s for the rest of the world. And to the world at large, it’s not a dumb question at all. Why does Apple get a pass when every other PC manufacturer has those awful logos all over their products?

That is a good question. And I would bet a large sum of money that Apple’s contract with Intel is like no other PC maker’s contract with Intel. But that’s not the question Keefe asked.

‘How Apple May Deal With the Dreaded “Intel Inside” Sticker’ 

Joy of Tech nailed it back in 2005, when Apple’s switch to Intel chips was first announced.

‘Ridicule Has Its Place’ 

The Macalope:

To ask such a question is simply to display one’s ignorance of Apple and Steve Jobs. The only stickers that you’ll find on Apple products are those clear ones that protect them on their magical journey to your doorstep.

MacJournals on Stickergate 

MacJournals disagrees that Keefe’s sticker question was stupid. MacJournals is wrong, but wrong and well-written.

‘And They Call It the Cult of Mac’ 

Bob Keefe:

I’m the Jackass of the Week.

Ninjawords.com 

“A really fast dictionary”, lives up to its slogan in my use. Definitions and content powered by Wiktionary.

Stuck on the Enterprise 

John Siracusa:

Still holding that thought about the Intel stickers? Listen again to Steve’s final words on the subject. “We put ourselves in the customer’s shoes and say, what do we want?”

This is why Apple does not compete in the enterprise market in the traditional sense. This is why no other company created the iPhone. This is why most desktop PCs are pieces of crap. When you don’t focus on the user, the user gets shafted.

New iPhone Commercials 

“Instead” and “Amazing”, the sixth and seventh iPhone commercials.

Universal Will Sell DRM-Free Online Music, But Not Through iTunes 

So Universal is going to sell DRM-free music through Amazon, Wal-Mart, RealNetworks, and others, but not through iTunes. Why?

But the music will not be offered D.R.M.-free through Apple’s iTunes, the leading music service. The use of copy protection software has become a major bone of contention in the digital music business, where iTunes accounts for the vast majority of download sales. The record labels generally have required that retailers place electronic locks to limit copying of music files.

But Apple’s proprietary D.R.M. does not work with most rivals’ devices or software — meaning that music sold by competing services cannot play on Apple’s popular iPod. Some record executives say they believe that the stalemate has capped the growth of digital music sales, which the industry is relying on more heavily as sales of plastic CDs slide.

Um, Universal won’t sell DRM-free music through iTunes because they don’t like Apple’s DRM? WTF? Am I even supposed to pretend this makes sense?