IPod is wildly popular at Microsoft

Post #192,597 by bluke 2/2/05 6:10:23 AM Reply	IPod is wildly popular at Microsoft [link\|http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,66460,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2\|Hide Your IPod, Here Comes Bill ] "To the growing frustration and annoyance of Microsoft's management, Apple Computer's iPod is wildly popular among Microsoft's workers. It is unknown if Bill Gates is the happy owner of an iPod. "About 80 percent of Microsoft employees who have a portable music player have an iPod," said one source, a high-level manager who asked to remain anonymous. "It's pretty staggering." So popular is the iPod, executives are increasingly sending out memos frowning on its use. ... "These guys are really quite scared," said the source of Microsoft's management. "It shows how their backs are against the wall.... Even though it's Microsoft, no one is interested in what we have to offer, even our own employees." So concerned is management, owning an iPod at Microsoft is beginning to become impolitic, the manager said. Employees are hiding their iPods by swapping the telltale white headphones for a less conspicuous pair. "
Post #192,650 by Andrew Grygus 2/2/05 12:58:35 PM Reply	This is good for all of us. Now you folks know I harbor no love for Apple, but the iPod success is good for everyone (except Microsoft). It's raised the visibility (and sales) of Apple computers, particularly notebooks. More Apple computers means more non-Internet Explorer browsers on the Internet, which means fewer sites using Windows specific patented technologies, which means OS/2, Linux and even Amiga users will be able to enjoy the Internet on into the future. At this point dropping Internet Explorer support for Apple computers is exposed as a strategic blunder on Microsoft's part - and they thought at the time it would marginalize Apple users. Microsoft is hamstrung by Windows, an unwieldly, insecure, bizarrly complex and fragile structure based on antique code, obsolete methods and always on the verge of total collapse. I'm sure they've never completely understood how it works. Bill Gates made very clear how irrevocably bound Microsoft is to this beast when his people enthused over Java in a meeting. His angry statement, "Has anyone here ever heard of Windows?" effectively ended any possibility of breaking free. So yes, they should be very much afraid. Far from the World Domination they expected NT/IE to bring, they are now in a defensive position, under attack from multiple forces with more flexible and rapidly strengthening weapons. Defensive positions always lose in the long run. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft issued a total ban on iPods, but it would serve only to increase the company's insularity and misjudgement of the world at large. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #192,665 by flatboy2016 2/2/05 2:04:53 PM Reply	Re: This is good for all of us. Well, Microsoft is in a position that it hasn't been in since 1981. The digital media field is still virgin territory, with a few players like TiVo, the cable companies, and Microsoft jockeying for position. They don't have the privileges that a monopoly affords them in this new market. Apple has shown a pretty good view of what customers want with regard to digital music. Are there more fully-featured MP3 players out there? Absolutely. Are they getting as much attention as an iPod? No. Why? Because the end-all be-all aspect of the iPod design was simplicity. By putting the ENTIRE digital music experience in Apple's hands, they created a model of ease of use. And now they enjoy a "Microsoftian" share of that market. It'll be interesting to see how Apple gets into the digital video pie. The Mac Mini makes a perfect "Media PC". Tiger will have H.264 codec support in Quicktime 7. Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has-Margaret Mead
Post #192,670 by Another Scott 2/2/05 2:30:30 PM Reply	Ob... [link\|http://www.weebl.jolt.co.uk/pie.htm\|Mmmmmm! Pie!] (You might want to turn the sound down before clicking that). Cheers, Scott.
Post #192,669 by tuberculosis 2/2/05 2:29:13 PM Reply	Yep, I see them everywhere here I hit Apple's store the other day looking for specs on the new powerbooks and was completely struck by the sweeping coverage of Apple's product line. They've got it all from way cheap (iPod Shuffle, Mac Mini, iBooks) to high end (XServe, G5's, Raid, X-Grid) and everything in between. Then there's the software which continues to improve while remaining simple but powerful. User centered design like Microsoft never did. Software that gets simpler every release? Very impressive. What's not to like? My only complaint is that the coverage in the iTunes music store for some older music isn't so hot. In that case, I end up using amazon to buy the CD's from various clearance houses that sell cutouts for cheap. My threshold for music cost is right there at $10 per album. Keep it at that and I buy a lot. Raise it above that and I don't buy at all. Its all quite brilliant. I really do think Apple is going to kick MS's butt on the long game. "Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect" --Mark Twain "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." --Albert Einstein "This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses." --George W. Bush
Post #192,847 by pwhysall 2/3/05 11:50:02 AM Reply	All iPod here... ...that I've seen. All the portable MP3 players at work seem to have turned into iPods of some stripe or other. Peter [link\|http://www.ubuntulinux.org\|Ubuntu Linux] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Home] Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
Post #192,853 by Yendor 2/3/05 12:05:12 PM Reply	Review request: Other portable music players? (new thread) Created as new thread #192852 titled [link\|/forums/render/content/show?contentid=192852\|Review request: Other portable music players?] TIA, -YendorMike "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin, 1759 Historical Review of Pennsylvania
Post #192,998 by bepatient 2/4/05 7:56:38 AM Reply	I must admit I've had an ARCHOS and nephew had a creative...the iPod simply sounds much better much, is easier to use (better menu, clearer display) and it just looks cool ;-) If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. _{Fudd's First Law of Opposition} [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]
Post #193,009 by folkert 2/4/05 8:39:26 AM Reply	Had an Archos? WTF? -- [link\|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net\|greg], [link\|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry\|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ *i_wethey* [link\|http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=134485&cid=11233230\|"Microsoft Security" is an even better oxymoron than "Miltary Intelligence"] No matter how much Microsoft supporters whine about how Linux and other operating systems have just as many bugs as their operating systems do, the bottom line is that the serious, gut-wrenching problems happen on Windows, not on Linux, not on Mac OS. -- [link\|http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1622086,00.asp\|source]
Post #193,091 by bepatient 2/4/05 8:36:43 PM Reply	Re: Had an Archos? [link\|http://www.archos.com/home.html\|These guys] Had a Jukebox 6000 that I modded [link\|/forums/render/content/show?contentid=72059\|Post #72059] If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. _{Fudd's First Law of Opposition} [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]
Post #193,092 by Another Scott 2/4/05 8:45:42 PM Reply	I think the emphasis was on had. What happened after the drive replacement? Cheers, Scott.
Post #193,112 by folkert 2/5/05 12:03:02 AM Reply	So, what did you do with it? Is it still hanging around? Still working... etc? -- [link\|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net\|greg], [link\|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry\|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ *i_wethey* [link\|http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=134485&cid=11233230\|"Microsoft Security" is an even better oxymoron than "Miltary Intelligence"] No matter how much Microsoft supporters whine about how Linux and other operating systems have just as many bugs as their operating systems do, the bottom line is that the serious, gut-wrenching problems happen on Windows, not on Linux, not on Mac OS. -- [link\|http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1622086,00.asp\|source]
Post #193,121 by bepatient 2/5/05 1:50:15 AM Reply	Drive failure So far as I can tell. Sound was poor always. Decided not to fix it again. I got a bit more than a year out of it. If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. _{Fudd's First Law of Opposition} [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]
Post #193,138 by folkert 2/5/05 10:29:08 AM Reply	Dustbin'd it? -- [link\|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net\|greg], [link\|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry\|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ *i_wethey* [link\|http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=134485&cid=11233230\|"Microsoft Security" is an even better oxymoron than "Miltary Intelligence"] No matter how much Microsoft supporters whine about how Linux and other operating systems have just as many bugs as their operating systems do, the bottom line is that the serious, gut-wrenching problems happen on Windows, not on Linux, not on Mac OS. -- [link\|http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1622086,00.asp\|source]
Post #193,199 by bepatient 2/6/05 10:55:47 AM Reply	Never Its here. If I get my hands on another 9.5mm drive I may swap it out again. If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. _{Fudd's First Law of Opposition} [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]

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