Whats the big Apple announcement going to be [2010-11-16]?

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exportgoldman

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#406134 18-Nov-2010 00:33

steve98:

A fair chunk wouldn't even have a computer and are accessing iTunes directly via their iDevice.

I think you misunderstand the regular consumer. There are only three 'iDevices' that can access iTunes without a computer, the iPhone, the iPad and the iPod touch. The kind of people that own those are not the kind of people who don't use iTunes on their computers. In fact, they HAVE to use iTunes on their computers to activate said iDevices and apply software updates. They *have* to be computer savvy, to a degree.

Ummm, Vodafone and other iPhone retailers will activate iPhones in store, and the iPad does not need activation, or to be plugged into a computer to first activate. I think you misunderstand the Apple elegance of design, if you think you need to be savvy to work a iPhone. I know of customers which have never plugged their device into a computer, but is it not common.

If he's not the kind of consumer that knows how to rip a CD (and I find that a bit patronising... it's technology that's been around for about 15 years now) and not the kind of consumer that knows that iTunes can even do that, then I say to you again that he's not the kind of consumer that even knew that the Beatles wasn't available on iTunes until now, and he's not the type of consumer that gives that much of a damn about it. p

I would introduce you to my mother, but she still uses a typewriter, and likes Cliff Richard. I assume sitting in your ivory computer tower have not met a lot of common folk. Trust me, theres a whole lotta people which can't figure out how to rip CD's, and ask others to. . . But they all like music, and some of them iPod's for presents.

remember November 18th 2010 as the day that The Beatles catalogue came out on iTunes? Behave! Do they remember the day they came out on tape? Or CD?

Totally :-)

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jtbthatsme

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#406137 18-Nov-2010 01:32

Sorry I have to say that even though I do not own a single Apple product, nor do I use Itunes but really this is not something that is that memorable. I totally agree with the previous comment about how when they came out on CD they would have been bought.

Also I need to point out that those who did buy it on CD in NZ are allowed to format shift so why would you redownload it if you bought the cd's already??? Simply put only a idiot would do so. I know I would not buy them again so not really a life memorable moment.

Don't get me wrong I like the Beatles and they did wonders for the music industry at the time but this is not a memorable thing, unless of course you remember it as the Apple said you would remember this day due to their BIG announcement and then you may remember the day you felt let down by Apple.

For some who say a lot of consumers wouldn't know how to rip a CD that's rubbish insert cd into pc and you would generally get a lot of autoplay options popping up. On my pc it offers me 2 o3 (or maybe 3 or 4) different programs to do this for me. So if by would not know how to rip a cd you mean don't know how to 1) Insert CD into computer and 2) click the convert to ....(fill in the one of many options for this here). It's not exactly hard.

steve98

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#406151 18-Nov-2010 07:30

exportgoldman:
I would introduce you to my mother, but she still uses a typewriter, and likes Cliff Richard. I assume sitting in your ivory computer tower have not met a lot of common folk. Trust me, theres a whole lotta people which can't figure out how to rip CD's, and ask others to. . . But they all like music, and some of them iPod's for presents.

I love the way you're the one still arguing that "common folk" as you put it will remember yesterday forever more as the day the Beatles came out on iTunes, yet apparently I'm the one sat in an "ivory computer tower". Classic!

I realise that as a Geekzoner I'm in a small minority, a tiny segment of the consumer electronics market. However, many Geekzoners seem to wrongly imagine that everyone else, i.e. the average consumer, don't own computers or barely know how to turn one on. That's simply not true. Almost every household in NZ has a PC and your average consumer, believe it or not, is perfectly capable of carrying out simple computer tasks and engages in activities such as buying things via TradeMe, writing emails, and - yes - importing CDs. The type of person you describe as the average consumer, the kind that stopped following technological advances at the typewriter, is actually not the average consumer at all, and is in fact as rare as the Geekzoner, but at the other end of the consumer spectrum. They are the consumer dinosaur, and Apple is not addressing them.

All of this is academic though. The fact remains that many people, despite being aware of its existence and having the basic skills required to make use of it, still don't buy music from iTunes, and even fewer would probably be aware that the Beatles weren't already on it or that there was some epic story as to why not.

I do need to set you straight on a couple of things though. First - activating iDevices. All iDevices require activation via iTunes the first time. Here is an unboxing pic from iPhonewzealand which shows the iPad asking to be connected via USB to iTunes. Until this is done, the iPad is nothing but a pretty, illuminated image of a USB chord pointing at an iTunes logo.

exportgoldman: I know of customers which have never plugged their device into a computer, but is it not common.

Well, I hope that they are enjoying their pretty picture.

Second, your Mum with her typewriter and her Cliff Richards collection, probably doesn't own an iPad or an iPod touch or an iPhone. She might own an iPod Classic or Nano or Shuffle, but she has probably never looked at the iTunes Store, probably doesn't realise there is one and if you told her the Beatles were on it now she would probably go "really? that's nice dear" to appear interested in the things you like and then promptly forget all about it as she goes back to her copy of Woman's Day.

And that's the point I was making in my post. The average consumer doesn't care about this. Don't tell me that they do, and then tell me that I am in an ivory tower and am out of touch. Oh and please fix up your formatting as you are currently attributing things to me that I didn't say, and things that I did say are attributed to you.

Steve

chriswiggins

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#406165 18-Nov-2010 08:44

First of all I too was very disappointed by the announcement. But, hey, it was important to Steve so it happened

steve98:
I do need to set you straight on a couple of things though. First - activating iDevices. All iDevices require activation via iTunes the first time. Here is an unboxing pic from iPhonewzealand which shows the iPad asking to be connected via USB to iTunes. Until this is done, the iPad is nothing but a pretty, illuminated image of a USB chord pointing at an iTunes logo.

exportgoldman: I know of customers which have never plugged their device into a computer, but is it not common.

Well, I hope that they are enjoying their pretty picture.

Have you been to an Apple Store in the States? The guy I got my iPad from took it out of the box and plugged it into an iMac in the store to quick activate it for me so I could use it on the train home to San Francisco. LOTS of people NEVER plug their iPad back into their computer.

Just sayin'

freitasm

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#406168 18-Nov-2010 08:52

jtbthatsme: For some who say a lot of consumers wouldn't know how to rip a CD that's rubbish insert cd into pc and you would generally get a lot of autoplay options popping up. On my pc it offers me 2 o3 (or maybe 3 or 4) different programs to do this for me. So if by would not know how to rip a cd you mean don't know how to 1) Insert CD into computer and 2) click the convert to ....(fill in the one of many options for this here). It's not exactly hard.

Sorry, but the world is not black and white folks. It's black, white, shades of gray and colourful.

Some people use PCs but only know how to start it and click the icons to open the programs they use. They don't even know the options in the programs they use.

Some people will know everything.

Some people will know how to rip a CD. Some people don't even know they can do it. Some people still don't know they can play a CD on their PC. It's a miracle for them seeing it happening.

CDs are ripped and go into a place people don't know - many can't distinguish between RAM (temporary)and HDD (permanent) storage. Some ask if they have too many photos in their PC, that's why their email program is so slow.

No, a PC is still a mystery - and by PC I mean Personal Computer, be it running Windows, Mac or anything else. Some people don't care and some people don't know.

gehenna

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#406175 18-Nov-2010 09:13

steve98:
I think you misunderstand the regular consumer.

I don't misunderstand anything. You're not considering the millions of iDevice users that have been gifted those devices, or had them set up by tech-savvy people such as I have done for my mother with her iPad, and my father-in-law with his iPhone. Neither needs to use iTunes on the desktop because it's been activated previously. They do all their ITMS and App Store purchases on the device itself.

steve98: Seriously?

Oh yes, I'm quite serious. And I guarantee you he's not the only one.

steve98: he's not the type of consumer that gives that much of a damn about it

Quite incorrect. Whether you find it patronising or not, it is still a fact, though i'm not sure why you take offense at my father-in-laws lack of knowledge in these areas. Given his propensity for Beatles fanaticism it was one of the first bands he searched for on ITMS.

steve98:
Again, I have to ask you are you honestly, seriously telling me that the average, everyday consumer that you are describing....

No I am not telling you that. What I am saying is that there are going to be some general consumers out there who find this to be a memorable occasion. Thats a given, as much as there will be others who don't find it memorable or even relevant at all.

oxnsox

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#406188 18-Nov-2010 09:27

Freitasm is absolutely right... PC for all people do exactly what they want of them, nothing more, nothing less.

Folk will buy music by which ever format suits them a the time.... sure I may have a vinyl copy of a record, or even a CD, but if something happens during my day today that makes me think of a track from one of them am I going to wait till I get home or simply download what I want; hey it's only a few dollars right... instant gratification (the apple way).

Fortunately the worlds full of people who all skin their cats different ways... or not at all. To presume there's only a couple of levels of pc user knowledge and ability shows you really need to get out more and see things from the other side of the glass window

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dclegg

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#406199 18-Nov-2010 09:47

freitasm:
Sorry, but the world is not black and white folks. It's black, white, shades of gray and colourful.

You just pretty much summed up my wife with your following comments :-)

While she is proficient in many areas (and getting better all the time), a lot of how the PC works (in this case an iMac) is a complete mystery to her, and she doesn't care one bit. She has both myself and our 12 y/o daughter to call on for tech support when required.

drquack32

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#406230 18-Nov-2010 11:39

freitasm:
ALTRON: Beatles on itunes. So what.

I thought the announcement was supposed to be epic?

This is an epic announcement though. The Beatles licence holder was holding (no pun intended) the release of their titles into electronic media. It took Apple years of talking to get to this point.

The Beatles are still one of the top selling bands in the world. This deal marks the last barrier to fall before the entire industry adopts electronic delivery as the new official medium.

From here we will see changes in the way copyright laws are written, the cost of online distribution of music, infrastructure, ISP capacity planning, etc. Everything changes now.

Thats a very bold prediction. I respectfully do not agree.

I think that once a major music company or a major TV station decide they are going to go down this path, then the revolution will begin. The Beatles are a major band but not a major medium.

gehenna

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#406242 18-Nov-2010 12:14

drquack32:
I think that once a major music company or a major TV station decide they are going to go down this path, then the revolution will begin. The Beatles are a major band but not a major medium.

iTunes already has the support of 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros, Paramount, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Lionsgate, and New Line Cinema - to name a few.

There's also Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI, and more than 2000 independent labels, all providing DRM free music.

I'd class those as major music and TV companies.

jtbthatsme

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#406517 19-Nov-2010 00:49

Gehanna you are quite correct in what you say about those companies already being available on ITUNES however did you think that possibly (and yes I may be going out on a limb here but) Drquack may have been using just a hint of sarcasm there.

Like i said before this is not a epic thing for most people it's simply a ho hum moment or a that's nice moment but for Apple to say it's EPIC is not for most actually true.

Again yes the Beatles were and still are one of the greatest bands of all time but really I think as far as Apple are concerned yes it's a epic moment as they managed to finally get the Beatles music on their store but for most of their consumers it's not epic at all.

Mauricio I like your new pic and glad to see some support of RED NOSE DAY but I agree that PC knowledge of the how and why of computers are different for all. I do think that proportinately (is that a real word hehe) more PC owners would know how they can rip a cd to put onto their mp3 players whether it be a Apple product or another alternative.

On another point when someone has claimed a lot of people may have never plugged their IDevice into a computer at all is not really true either as even if they were given the Idevice as a gift or not i think number wise most would have had their product on a pc at some stage whether by themselves or with help for a friend. Think about the simple maths as great as the sales of the Iphone, Ipod Touch and the Ipad are i would assume that sales of Ipods outnumber them all. Now sure you may have bought someone a ipod for a gift and maybe put on a few albums on there for them, but do you really think the owner of the product is going to simply not connect it to a pc to add to their music collection???

Sooner or later it would be conected to go online (or into their own mp3 collection) and add more songs either that or the person would ultimately have someone do it for them or simply stop using it after a while.

You simply can't say that something is EPIC and deliver a yes that's great for Apple to overcome the frustration of having the worlds most (per albums sold) successful band of all time not in their store to purchase. It is not EPIC for a lot more people than it would be for the few that truly think it is.

It is also not right to say that a lot of people (without defining what they class as a lot) do not know how to do a basic function on there pc's. Keep in mind here that there is over 4 Billion people on earth so for maybe 10 - 20 million people who think yay Beatles on Itunes is epic may sound like a lot but reality in comparison to those who do not feel it is or even care is totally ridiculous.

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