More griping from Apple partners?

Kant everyone just all get along

Ok this is enough Mr. Lyons! Are you out to destroy my precious Apple in one single solitary day?

Pageviews hunt?

Regarding the “proprietary authentication chip”, none of the links indicate that it is for anything besides video output. If that is so, isn’t is plausible that industry wide DRM is the cause, and not Apple gouging hardware partners? I am sure that putting “Made for iPod®” costs money but that is a far cry from ‘ta Evil TPM iPod chip’ is hardware lockout… I am not saying that Apple is above such a move, but only that the information about exactly what the hardware ‘chip’ really is seems pretty thin for the conclusions drawn in the linked articles.

They rejected your FSJ App didn’t they. That’s why you’re so pissed at Apple today…

Apple?

These dudes are planning to create tiny black holes and it is no big deal. Check it out.

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/39223/113/

If you wake up one morning and you are gone (gone gone), the LHC may have misbehaved.

My Bose SoundDock, for example, will support my iPhone in a half-assed way. First my iPhone displays a message saying that this device is not supported or something to that effect.Is this okay? Check sure. Yeah play it. Then it will pause the first few songs and display that message again. Eventually the iPhone gives up and plays like my iPod does.

No need for this. Sucks.

Of course there’s rumbling – the iPod ecosystem is no longer an anarchy and the mob no longer rules. There’s an upside and a downside to this.

Apple abandoned the standard firewire plug for its proprietary iPod plug for a lot of very good reasons, not the least of which being that I can now get higher quality output from the iPod to my stereo. The downside was a flurry, and then a deluge of dead iPods, all killed by cheap third party sync cables and docks. And who did Joe Consumer blame when their iPod died? It wasn’t the cable manufacturer (whoever that was) and it wasn’t they guy at the mall free standing store where the cable was purchased (where ever that store went). No, it was Apple and I have little doubt that Apple repaired a lot of iPods there were damaged through no fault of Apple just to avoid the hassle.

As a consumer, I welcome the “Made for iPod” sticker because it gives me greater confidence in the accessory I am buying. I won’t purchase a product without it. But give us a real story here Dan. Tell us about why Apple is selling music with DRM when Amazon is selling it without. Oh, that’s not Apple’s fault, eh?

I gotta tell yah Dan, you were better when you were not real. You first two stories have been nothing more than spread for the garden.

So, WTF is new? I heard the same grousing about Apple in the ’80s as I heard in the ’90s. What, because we’ve landed in a new millennium you and everyone else thinks Apple’s changed? You think they’re any different from IBM, or Microsoft, Google, GM or Shell? Heck no, they’re out to make a buck, and as long as the status quo feeds into their horde they’ll go along. As soon as the status quo changes, so do they. Beside, you forget, Apple is no longer just a company that makes computers with a toy OS. They now have to live in an ecosystem that is as directed by business demands, as consumer demands, as content provider demands (who happen to like lawsuits and for all their bitching seem to have really deep pockets). Like watching those videos on your iPod? Well, Apple’s gotta CIA (or, CYA for those of you thinking only of yourselves). So, I’m sure there are a lot of niggling little things that make life difficult for 3rd party hardware/software vendors. Apple’s just as much in the middle as YouTube, but with better profit margins.

When was Apple ever a good partner. They’re practically French in their attitude. Motorola. IBM, Power Computing, add to the list as you see fit. Which partner have they treated well? Apple does what’s right for Apple. Luckily for a subset of computer users that has been good enough. Now that the competition is at an all time low and Apple is garnering some attention everyone who was a Windows business partner wants to turn to Apple. It’s were the money is in Computers these days. And smart business follow the money. Dell and others want licensing because thats the way they have been treated in the past. The 800 pound gorilla in the room isn’t that Apple is popular it’s the fact that Apple has customers that spend money, Real hard earned cash on products. Business for some funny reason loves customers that spend money, even when there are illegal or free alternatives. Something about feeing the kids and putting them through school.
Business sees the tide turning and now is the time to carve out their “piece” of the pie.
Just as FSJ used to be able to see the callous self serving press releases of the big media and Music companies, I find it shocking that you can’t see these press releases as more of the same from the App and Hardware business. Business is just jockeying for a better bargaining position at the table. if it gets Apple to take 27% instead of 30% then thats 2 % more in their pocket. A few David Goliath sob stories, mix in a bit of Blogger backlash and voila, Better bargaining position at the next round of licensing talks.
It’s just positioning. Something that FSJ was so prescient at seeing, it seems that it may take a bit more time for you to get comfortable in your new digs. But I have faith I know you will.

@mcloki

You forgot about the Apple and Microsoft partnership…bwahahahhahahahaha

This iPod chip nonsense was bashed to death nearly 12 months ago when the new iPods and cables, etc. first came out, you (and others) are so late to this party it’s not funny.

As mentioned previously the chips are only for video output from iPods and the reason is quite simple – the then-new iPods are able to store and playback higher quality video than previous models, component video, HD video; Hollywood (MPAA, etc.) saw the potential for piracy here and insisted Apple had to limit the output of video from the new models to devices they’d certified as not able to be used for piracy purposes. So Apple put a special chip in to prevent unlicensed video accessories (docks, cables, etc.) from working with the new iPods. This certainly has the advantage for Apple that they get more control over their partners than they had previously (to make a video iPod accessory now you pretty much have to be a member of their approved accessory club and pay them money) but it’s not the main reason for it. Really this is just another example of how Apple is happy to use the paranoia of organisations like the RIAA and MPAA to make more money and increase their dominance in the marketplace. The music and video publishers just never learn, they can’t stop shooting themselves in the foot again and again. Steve must love dealing with them, while trying desperately to protect their precious “content” with ever more elaborate technical fixes they make it difficult for anyone to compete with Apple in the music/video download market and ensure Apple has an endless supply of new ways to screw more money out of customers, partners, etc.

Wow, Apple wants to control who makes peripherals for their hardware, rather than have the giant crapfest of junk that’s associated with every other platform. BIG SHOCK.

You know, I’m done with you, Dan.

All you do now is rag on Apple and spout MS-ese “it’s not open” nonsense.

You’re not a journalist; you threw that away when you started doing Fake Steve Jobs. That’s fine, lots of humor writers and technology columnists make a good living.

You can’t be a real tech columnist, because you’re no good at technology. You’re a borderline moron.

So if you’re not funny, you’re nothing, and the real Dan Lyons is a whiny, annoying bore.

Josh. Excellent.
Sometimes you have to study at the feet of the master.

Dan, dude, check it out. Apple made the iPod/iPhone and does not want shenanigans to make non-worthy accessories for it. Just look at those earpieces for other devices. They are f-ugly. They have no style. And they are cheap, with low profit margins. Nobody wins. Instead, we got Jobso to defend the stylishness and profitability. Ask Larry. He is on the board and he approved everything. Or that IBM CFO dude. Just ask them. Don’t tell them I sent you because they have no idea who I am.

Is this a good thing, the control? It probably is. Just look at how Microsoft dug a hole for itself with bogus Made for Vista stickers. It would be so nice if Designed for Windows worked with Windows. It never really did, since 1995. It was a disaster. Jobso learned from them.

I am not a Macer nor a Windower. I am Macwindoer. I got dual cores spinnin’ on both machines, dude. I love ‘em both.

Peace out. Namaste. Ta-Da.

Yeah, the MS and Apple partnership. How did Schiller call it once? ActiveStink (instead of ActiveSync), while talking about Exchange integration.

Some dudes here like to insult Dan which is not cool. Hey, man’s got a new job at Newsweek, has ropes to learn, kids to juggle, columns to write. This stuff here is pro bono, alright? Give him some space. I want FSJ back too but it ain’t gonna happen. Man’s got a literary talent brewing. New cubicle, new paycheck, it takes time to adapt. Yes, recent posts stink somewhat but that’s churn, you know that stuff you get out of the muffler when you first start the 911. It stinks but the stuff after that is a pure roar.

Alright? Dan is a good man. Let’s give him room (couple of bi-weekly paychecks) before we send him to a writing course. I am sure he is not going to need it.

Love, peace, namaste, ta-da.

Ve vill admitten der defeat und arst sailingjen und Neu Zealand unt settling in Sud Ile. Feck dem alles. Suffer under Python Fraulein Fishmonster. Obama hast lossen der election to der stoopids, vairytale vorshippers, gammen nuthatch boobies. You alles deserven to sink before Sina, Rus, Brazil undt India.

Dear Dan, you’re just one of the guys singing Microsoft’s tune, prasing a company where there’s all about incompetence, greed, and holding back technical progress to jack up consumer prices and stop competition.
I thought FSJ was funny, but now I know why you did it. That’s pathetic.

Did Dear Leader refuse your date invitation Lyons? You have been acting like a spurned lover ever since?

I heard he might actually look healthy to you. Whatever shall you do? But I have faith in you. You will find something worthy of ValleyWag. By the way, I hear they’re hiring. Better keep your ‘options’ open.

Blen.

Dan Lyons is on a personal crusade to make sure OS X becomes as virus-ridden as unusable as Windows Vista.

Vote no.

Combine this with a new kinder, gentler Microsoft, and you have the makings of a revolution.

Microsoft learned their lesson. Apple will soon learn theirs, I reckon.

Heh. I just used “reckon” in a sentence, y’all.

Tom Cruise, or rather the PR firm handling this announcement, says the actor’s official Web site is reportedly the “most visited official male movie star site on the Web.” His site will now fit the lovely screen of your iPhone, we are told. A bonus for those who use the iPhone friendly version is “an exclusive and celebratory retrospective film career video clip that includes movie clips” from many of his films over the last 27 years.

What – you don’t have an iPhone you say? You can view a strange demo of the site’s functionality via YouTube. You can also register for Web site updates directly from your iPhone, if you desire.

Hits “unsubscribe.”

I’m beginning to think these Apple duudes have no sense of humor at all. The employees I know, the ones that can still form sentences after working 18 months straight, are just too tired to laugh at much.

get a grip duudes.

ok! ok! we get it! you did your research for the newsweek column! ok!!

still think ryan has a valid point — you say record co.’s claim apple takes 30 off the top from them also. i say the day you can believe anything the RIAA, MPAA, a record, movie or tv company tells you is the day you’ll also probably win the lottery. remember, these are the bastards who told sigourney weaver & crew on the film “alien,” then the largest grossing sci-fi film of all time, to work for scale and take points on the NET instead of the GROSS and they’d all end up rich. and on paramount’s books, cooked and simmered to a fine reduction, that film still shows as a loss, believe it or not, and therefore there is no NET, so they all saw nada.

if movie/tv/record companies say someone took 30% from them, be sure it was pretty much 30% of nothing. ’sides, those contracts with apple have been negotiated and re-negotiated several times over since then. think apple hasn’t sweetened the deal to keep them in the fold an bring nbc/universal back? trust me, there was some bending over backward to perform unnatural acts on both sides of the fence in these deals.