As the Mac marks its 20th year, the iPod may define the company’s new era of an open strategy.
Apple’s New Core: iPod
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
I think the iPod will greatly be part of Apple’s move to broaden their sales. I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple released other media devices in the future, but I believe that the Macintosh line will be one of their core focuses.
I’m an Apple user as well as a Linux user. I own an iPod. What open strategy is this referring to? I really started thinking about this yesterday and had some discussions on some Apple websites. We were discussing Apple’s refusal to include Ogg Vorbis support in iTunes and the iPod. I mentioned that Apple only uses open source when it benefits them. Someone else mentioned they contributed code back to KHTML when they included it in Safari. Darwin is open source. But who really uses it? This got me thinking. What else have they contributed code back to? I can’t think of anything.
I was planning to get a Dual G5 in the next couple of months. But now I’m reconsidering. I’ve already spent over $100 on the iTunes Music store. Now I feel like I’m locked in. Sure I can convert my songs to another format. But thats a real pain.
Sony has long used the power of a respected brand to charge higher prices. But the electronics giant suffered a severe market backlash and is in the midst of a corporate upheaval to regain financial health.
Sony started coming out with some average products that still had a high price because they said “Sony”. That’s what causes backlash.
Apple is a business, not an open source advocacy organization. Why would they do something like include Ogg Vorbis support on their player? I am a shareholder. I don’t want them wasting money including support for a file format on their player which will never earn them money (no DRM, only used by a tiny geek niche who generally don’t even buy Apple products) and for which there are acceptable alternatives (MP3, AAC).
I’ve already spent over $100 on the iTunes Music store. Now I feel like I’m locked in. Sure I can convert my songs to another format. But thats a real pain.
Just curious, what is your purpose for wanting to convert to some other format?
Also, “locked-in”, what other options exist for you that will prevent you from being “locked-in” to SOMEONE?
You mentioned you can convert the song into a different format. Since I be in Canada I don’t have access to the encoded AAC files sold in the iTMS… is is possible to convert these files to AIFF? Since I can’t try it myself I don’t want to ‘suppose’ anything?
Jb
What’s needed isn’t additional lossy codec support (i.e. Ogg Vorbis) but, rather, support of a lossless codec like FLAC (ideal because of wide acceptance and fast decompression).
It would be great if FLAC were supported on both the iTunes/iPod as a native codec (like MPEG4, WAV, AIFF, MP3).
At the very least, it would good to see iTunes:
a.) playback FLAC;
b.) transcode from FLAC to M4A (which could then playback on the iPod) including copying all tag data;
c.) synchronize tag data between FLAC and M4A versions of a song (so that ratings, etc. would be passed back to the FLAC master).
Right now, I have to use foobar2000 to play my FLAC files and use foobar and the Nero codecs to transcode (Apple’s mpeg4 codec is better, though). And then I have to manually load the files afterwards in iTunes.
The only iTunes plugins I see are visualization plugins. I can’t even find information on how to create a plugin on Windows.
I would like to see plugins for iTunes (a la foobar2000, Winamp, or Palm Desktop) that support missing functionality in iTunes. Apple should help by publishing an SDK to permit third parties to do this.
For example, in iTunes, the library (and thus the iPod) is a static list associated with only one directory. I would like a plugin that:
a.) permits the library to span multiple directories/hard drives;
b.) automatically adds new files in those listed directories/drives to the library (and, optionally, to the iPod);
c.) automatically removes deleted files from the library (and iPod);
d.) automatically removes duplicate files;
e.) automatically updates the library when a file has been updated (either with new metadata (tagged outside of iTunes) or is a complete replacement with the same name–I record morning news on my computer to take with me on my iPod).
f.) optionally automatically deletes files and removes from library any song with a low rating (i.e. any 1 star songs).
DJ Jedi Jeff:
I don’t want them wasting money including support for a file format on their player which will never earn them money (no DRM, only used by a tiny geek niche who generally don’t even buy Apple products) and for which there are acceptable alternatives (MP3, AAC).
—–
Actually Ogg is used in many best-selling games probably sitting on your computer right now (search for *.ogg on your HD). It makes some people money, plus Apple avoid having to pay any royalties/licensing costs implementing Ogg solutions in their player. It would be quite cheap for them, I think. Yes it’s not that popular with the general population, but it’s early days yet.
Personally I see compressed music formats as a total casual thing; nothing to be taken seriously nor bought as “original” music. What excites me are quality lossless formats. I still love and prefer CDs. One day there will be more than enough storage/bandwidth. That’s when the best quality possible will be – once again – within easy reach of Average Joe.
All the new formats are merely a space/bandwidth/convenience compromise, which is sort of depressing. Instead of pushing sound forward, we are trying to sqeeze it onto the smallest space, but not losslessly…
When/if they make a cool portable player/recorder with lossless recording and playback ability with plenty of space, non HD-based & for reasonable cost, I’m there.
Sure I can convert my songs to another format. But thats a real pain.
how is it a pain? converting between formats in itunes is so simple.
iTunes plugins are only visual because it’s not iTunes playing the music. it’s QuickTime. Look into QuickTime plugins to extend iTunes capabilities.
Also I think the iPod is just one of many devices to come from Apple in the next few years, all centering around the Mac and being ported to Windows only when their is a profit to be made.
As far as Apple being open source, they have done quite a bit. Not all open source projects focus on Linux, you know. Have you seen the huge impact Rendezvouse has had on networking/printing? Have you noticed how all media creation apps are based on QuickTime? Have you noticed how Apple has repeatedly been the first commercial company pushing open source projects, especially the ones they have contributed to, such as wireless networking. When you think about open source, don’t just think Linux, because it’s not the be all end all of open source, in fact it’s a pretty small part of a much bigger picture.
“The IPOD looks nice but its too expensive. You can get MUCH cheaper options from other companies.”
Ya, those cheaper products give you less too… (or more if you consider the fact that many are much heavier or larger)
The iPod is very competitively priced against proeducts with similar characteristics.
“When willl APPLE learn that customers want the least expensive product.”
The least expensive product with regard to MP3 players right now is the worst of them. Apple sells its iPods at prices that are very competitive throughout the industry when features are matched… (not unlike their computers)
“I run linux on a PC I was paid to build (rebates totaled more than cost of computer), I drive a 15 year old YUGO and I live in a cardboard box on the bridge I just bought (for $2 and a bottle of MAD DOG 20/20) in a NYC borough. I make $100k a year, but I dont want expensive, I want CHEAP GOODS! CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP! APPLES AND MACINTRASHES SUCK AZZZ!”
Lol
Quote >Apple only uses open source when it benefits them.
So, Apple’s supposed to use open source when it will harm them? Doesn’t sound like much of a business plan….
Quote >Someone else mentioned they contributed code back to KHTML when they included it in Safari. Darwin is open source. But who really uses it? This got me thinking. What else have they contributed code back to? I can’t think of anything.
Apple’s contributing to a variety of open source projects in addition to KHTML. The primary ones are probably GCC on PowerPC and X11 on Darwin/Quartz, but they’ve almost certainly uncovered lots of bugs in a variety of software they’ve incorporated into their OS, and i’d be shocked if they didn’t send the bugfix up to the maintainers.
And as for Darwin as a whole, just because not a lot of people are using it as an OS, doesn’t mean they can’t learn something by looking over its source – Darwin handles some things (like kernel loadable modules) in an interesting and useful manner. Open source isn’t only valuable when you personally can see clear benefits from it.
Quote > I can’t think of anything.
Is it too much to ask that people do research before posting criticisms, rather than just thinking about it for a bit?
JT
If you have a Mac, you can check out Doug’s Applescripts. There are tons of great scripts there that do all sorts of things with file management, tunes management, etc. for iTunes:
http://www.malcolmadams.com/itunes/
If you use a peecee, well, then I don’t know what to tell you. The scriptability of all the Mac iApps is one thing I love about OS X.
I mentioned that Apple only uses open source when it benefits them. Someone else mentioned they contributed code back to KHTML when they included it in Safari. Darwin is open source. But who really uses it? This got me thinking. What else have they contributed code back to? I can’t think of anything.
Would you expect Apple to use open source when it doesn’t benefit them? The open source definition and initiative was started as a way to promote the use of open source in organizations and businesses, on the basis of its technical merits. Apple probably uses open source when they believe it gives them a competitive advantage. They don’t use it because of philosophical beliefs.
That being said you can expect to contribute back in any software they use that has a license that requires them to. The core operating system stuff such as Open Directory and CDSA is also open source. They’ve also open sourced some stuff done by them from scratch such as the Quicktime streaming server.
I believe that much more important than promoting open source is promoting open standards and that’s something the company assumed to be 100% committed to.
As to being locked-in to with the DRM used in the iTunes Music Store, you won’t find any other store that can compete with iTunes that doesn’t have proprietary DRM. Unfortunately it’s a necessary evil to get the music in the stores.
“The IPOD looks nice but its too expensive. You can get MUCH cheaper options from other companies. When willl APPLE learn that customers want the least expensive product”
Many people don’t understand the fact that the iPod has become a fashion statement. I live in NYC and fashion is obviously a big thing here. The people I see most often with an iPod is fashion conscious people or baby boomers who atill believe in the whole Apple movement thing. File formats and price don’t come into play for many people because they are more concerned about making a fashion statement.
Why isn’t this posted at NMCX?
“a.) permits the library to span multiple directories/hard drives; ”
iTunes does allow this. Just keap adding whatever you want to the library.
“Actually Ogg is used in many best-selling games probably sitting on your computer right now (search for *.ogg on your HD). It makes some people money, plus Apple avoid having to pay any royalties/licensing costs implementing Ogg solutions in their player. It would be quite cheap for them, I think. Yes it’s not that popular with the general population, but it’s early days yet. ”
Who cares if it is used in games, that has nothing to do with if apple should have support in itune/pod. The poster was right, ogg is a niche thing for a small market, no sense in supporting it. Apple doesn’t care about royalities for AAC, it cost them next to nothing and when you not giving things away for free thats no a issue, they give itunes away for free and may have a small loss but make it up in iTMS sales and ipod sales.
Ogg just has no reason for mass adoption, being free doesn’t mean much. And since apple needs DRM for the iTMS its not going to happen there. If apple is going to add something they would make a deal with MS for WMA, but that is unlikely since then hurt iTMS sales. If the lack of ogg support is a problem, then convert them to MP3 or AAC. The solution is simple, you just chose not to use it.
ipods are not competitivly priced, they are the top end of the price range and provide less features
Compared with which products?
iriver hp-120 is ipod killer 20gb for 300US. same size as ipod
work out of the box on windows and linux no need for any driver function as an external hard drive.
wat more you want?
ipod is expensive and i hate the short battery life issue
I personally think Apple has more time to devote to other things such as the iPod, instead of worry about Motorola, and gigaflots, now that they have IBM’s 970.
“river hp-120 is ipod killer 20gb for 300US. same size as ipod
work out of the box on windows and linux no need for any driver function as an external hard drive.
wat more you want?
ipod is expensive and i hate the short battery life issue
”
APPLE is making a mp3 player for HP, because hp is quoted saying, “Apples iPod was the best mp3 player on the market”. So stick that in your iriver pipe!
But who really uses it? This got me thinking. What else have they contributed code back to? I can’t think of anything.
Apple has provided source back to the FreeBSD core, they have provided tons of source back to the GCC project, they have provided source fixes to the OpenSSH and OpenSSL projects, etc.
“Apple has no software period!”
Lol.
http://www.apple.com/software/
HUGE list of their own software. Not many companies have that many titles under their belt.
APPLE is making a mp3 player for HP, because hp is quoted saying, “Apples iPod was the best mp3 player on the market”. So stick that in your iriver pipe!
No kidding, biggest news in this arena in weeks. At least cite the Dell junk rather than the company that has just OEMed their digital music player FROM Apple.
Look, Apple is actually fairly competitive with their iPod. It is important to understand what I man when I say this though. For those who are referred to (affectionately, of course) as “spec whores”, probably not. But MOST people don’t but MOST products on only TWO specs (say price and GB). There are other factors that come into play. This is just as true with iPod as with many other products (cars, clothes, stereo equipment, food, homes, etc.) STYLE (for example) matters MUCH. At some point Apple MAY benefit from the same reason many people currently buy Wintel stuff…low risk/security…at SOME point, buying an iPod might be the SAFER choice than buying another product. This is a “spec” that some buyers will also use. It’s not just price and GB.
“Look, Apple is actually fairly competitive with their iPod.”
Fairly? The iPod is the leading mp3 player in the market. It occupies 1,3,5 in the top 5 and the other positions are occupied by small 128MB Flash players. The Dell device, the iRiver device are no where to be seen.
We understand that there are other specs to consider, but what you are failing to grasp is that people are choosing the iPod despite what you think kills it.
So, alll your “fairly”s and “may”s are a ridiculous joke. The iPod is killing the market and nothing comes close. Until somethign changes in the market stats, YOUR preferences are only that. And the MARKET still prefers and is handedly choosing the iPod over anything that competition can offer. no matter what the specs or price may be.
anyone know when the ipod is going to support more file formats than mp3, like say ogg?
Why is it that people must feel that the iPod needs to succumb and be the “perfect” player? Supporting all the kazillions of formats, etc. etc.!
It plays wav/mp3/etc. , and it does a VERY fine job at it, along with looking (easily!) the BEST in the market.
You touch one, and you can feel the quality.
Plus, the battery life isn’t THAT atrocious. Do you currently own one? I don’t, but my cousin does, and I’ve used it plenty, and find the batter life is nothing to blab on about.
Fairly? The iPod is the leading mp3 player in the market. It occupies 1,3,5 in the top 5 and the other positions are occupied by small 128MB Flash players. The Dell device, the iRiver device are no where to be seen.
I think you mis-understood me. I think that Apple is competing WELL. I was countering a point that suggested that the iPod was not competitively priced/featured.
What the hell is this about Ogg Vorbis? I don’t have any ogg files on my hard drive on any game I have and I certainly wouldn’t use it for music. Why do people keep bugging the forums wanting Apple to support a format virtually nobody uses.
The iPod does cost a little, yes, but with Apple products they are worth every penny you pay for them. My Powerbook G4 I got, was a little expensive, but has far exceeded my expectations and has outperformed every PC labtop I have ever had.
“ipod is expensive and i hate the short battery life issue
” *SIGH* I thought we were past the ignorant people not knowing anything about the battery issue. THERE IS NO BATTERY ISSUE!!! I know people who bought the 1st Generation iPods years ago and they are still working well with the same battery in them, besides it’s the same type of battery thats used in many consumer products as well as practically all labtops.
As for people thinking Apple only cares about Open Source when it suits them is totally ignorant. Have you looked into what they contribute to? Or have you not looked any further than maybe those 1 or 2 webpages on Apples website that tell briefly what they work on? Please do your research first!
Why do people keep bugging the forums wanting Apple to support a format virtually nobody uses.
This bothers me every time somebody asks it. First of all, many people use Ogg Vorbis. Maybe you don’t, but there are a sizable amount (by sizealbe, I mean a few percentage points of Apple’s market). The reason that people want Apple to adapt to their trivial desires is that it really doesn’t take much effort to integrate Ogg into the firmware and then distribute it, seeing as it’s a free format. For a few megabytes–if that–and a few thousand dollars in programmers’ time, they could sell many more iPods to many more people, and satisfy a sizeable amount of current owners.
if steve doesn’t like it, don’t hope for it. this is Apple’s way
What the hell is this about Ogg Vorbis? I don’t have any ogg files on my hard drive on any game I have and I certainly wouldn’t use it for music.
—–
Download CDex from cdex.n3.net. It comes with both mp3 and ogg encoders built in. Tell me whether you think mp3 or ogg sounds better at the same bitrate. In other words, you can make your files smaller for the same sound quality with Ogg.
I dunno which games you are playing, but heaps (of best-sellers) I’ve played in the past year or so have moved to ogg to avoid mp3 licensing costs and probably store more audio per CD, too. Nero, Winamp and many other apps support Ogg natively too. Portable hardware playing is pretty rare right now, but if Apple implemented something like that, it would differentiate their player nicely and at minimal cost.
Just because you don’t use it doesn’t mean there isn’t a market out there for it.
“Download CDex from cdex.n3.net. It comes with both mp3 and ogg encoders built in. Tell me whether you think mp3 or ogg sounds better at the same bitrate. In other words, you can make your files smaller for the same sound quality with Ogg.
I dunno which games you are playing, but heaps (of best-sellers) I’ve played in the past year or so have moved to ogg to avoid mp3 licensing costs and probably store more audio per CD, too. Nero, Winamp and many other apps support Ogg natively too. Portable hardware playing is pretty rare right now, but if Apple implemented something like that, it would differentiate their player nicely and at minimal cost.”
Ogg sounds better than Mp3, but not any better than AAC.
There are no lisencing fees for distribution and playback of Mp3s. There is a lisence on the developer for writing software that encodes Mp3 (really for MPEG 1 encoding).
http://qtcomponents.sourceforge.net/ <-possibly usefule length
Not really important, but Vorbis.com meantions things about lisencing fees for distribution Mp3s, of which there are none, and talks about zip being a lossless compression format, which is isn’t.
that project has not been updated in 2 years.
I think that qt being plugable with a free sdk makes it great, but the iPod should take plugins as well.
“There are no lisencing fees for distribution and playback of Mp3s.”
Thats funny, read the licensing webpage
Quotes:Do I need a license to distribute mp3/mp3PRO encoded content?
Yes. A license is needed for commercial (i.e., revenue-generating) use of mp3/mp3PRO in broadcast systems (terrestrial, satellite, cable and/or other distribution channels), streaming applications (via Internet, intranets and/or other networks), other content distribution systems (pay-audio or audio-on-demand applications and the like) or for use of mp3/mp3PRO on physical media (compact discs, digital versatile discs, semiconductor chips, hard drives, memory cards and the like).
However, no license is needed for private, non-commercial activities (e.g., home-entertainment, receiving broadcasts and creating a personal music library), not generating revenue or other consideration of any kind or for entities with an annual gross revenue less than US$ 100 000.00.
I want to support mp3/mp3PRO in my products. Do I need a license?
Yes. As for practically any important technology (and particularly for publicly established standards), you should know that patent rights for mp3 exist. Both Fraunhofer IIS and Thomson have done important work to develop mp3 audio compression (before and after it became part of the ISO/IEC MPEG standards). This work has resulted in many inventions and several patents, covering the mp3 standard. Although others may also hold patents, Fraunhofer IIS and Thomson have an important portfolio of patents related to mp3.
Patent licenses under the combined patent portfolio of Fraunhofer IIS and Thomson are granted by Thomson exclusively.
In case your business does not involve the manufacture of relevant products, but importation or purchase of such products from a third party manufacturer, you are advised to check whether the manufacturer is duly licensed by us, as the trade in unlicensed products may expose your company to liability for patent infringement. Accordingly, you are advised to obtain licensed products only.
I have my own/third party mp3 software. Do I need a license?
Yes. Use of our patents is not related to a specific implementation of encoders and decoders, which means that a license under our patents is needed
Do I need a license to use mp3/mp3PRO in games?
Yes. Games using mp3/mp3PRO encoded content are licensed on a per-title basis.
However, no license fees are due if less than 5 000 copies of a particular game title are distributed.
You need a licensing to
a) Make any mp3 decoder
b) You intend to make any mp3 encoder
c) if you intend to use an mp3 for commercial use (ie: you sell mp3’s)
d) Enconding MP3’s you also need a valid license to do so.
Because your device already has the patents it does not mean you did not pay for it already, mp3 is not free.
Most people don’t care about the format because they don’t have the talent to become content creators, it’s called ignorance. If a certain format becomes dominant and proprietary, the “indian giving” owner of the patents can back-stab the users for royalties and fees. The artist needs freedom from patent holders on encoder technology. Once WMA or some other closed format becomes dominant, the access to or cost of encoders could become prohibitive.
http://www.xiph.org/about.html