Archive for the 'Apple' category

Cheap Downloads and Rankled Bureaucrats

Oct 05 2006 Published by under Apple, Craziness, Crime, Government, Marketing, Music, Pop Culture, Stuff That Sucks, Technology, The Internet

With all the problems facing the US today, and Russia wishing to join the World Trade Organization, clearly the most pressing issue before our government is the illegal download site AllOfMP3.com. That’s the word from ArsTechnica today. They’ve got a good write-up on the comments and complaints by our Trade Representative on the subject.

It strikes me as odd that the music industry hasn’t figured something out, yet. If AllOfMP3.com is offering songs for download (granted illegally); charging based on the length of the song (longer songs cost a few pennies more); and is currently the number one music download site in the world; why haven’t they realized how many more units they could move by charging less?

The music industry is so greedy that they set an arbitrary price of $1 per song, which makes downloads just about as expensive as the CDs that they been price-gouging on for years (despite the fact that unlike CDs, music downloads have zero distribution cost, zero packaging cost, and zero mark-up for record store middle men).

AllOfMP3.com, at 15 to 20 cents per song is kicking the shit out of Apple who is charging 99 cents. If you really want to put them out of business, work out an arrangement with iTunes and cut your price.

You will, based on AllOfMP3′s traffic and sales, move an assload more units, at no additional cost, and not have to worry about others.

The problem is marketing people.

Marketing people like to figure out the maximum amount that someone might possibly be expected to pay, so they can maximize profit. It’s not a function of costs and a “reasonable” profit. It’s a question of how much are your costs, and how much more can you possibly sell for. Unlike most other industries, however, the music industry has an effective monopoly.

The record (quaint little old pieces of vinyl that you may be too young to remember) companies have been in collusion on CD prices, and now are in collusion on Mp3 prices. It may be one of the few remaining industries where the government still turns a blind eye to predatory anti-consumer behavior. Why? Simply because the entertainment lobby throws around a lot of money and the geeks in Congress want to appear cool by having their pictures taken with celebs.

Honestly, AllOfMP3.com should be teaching the music industry the way to run their business. Instead, the greedy bastards in the music industry will continue to use their lapdogs in the federal government to do their bidding to guarantee obscene profits.

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iPod Vs. PeaPod

Sep 28 2006 Published by under Apple, Bloggers, Gadgets, Technology

There has been a lot of chatter on the tech blogs about Apple’s decision to begin suing everyone who uses a variation of the word “pod” in their product name – alleging this may confuse consumers who will think the products are produced by Apple.

At the heart of the chatter is a lawsuit filed by Apple against a start-up company called Podcast Ready that allows you to control subscriptions to podcasts and sync them with mp3 players (not just iPods). My guess is that’s the problem. Apple doesn’t want any competition for the mp3 player market (especially since their sales are falling) .

The talk on the vines about the lawsuit has made me think about the other products I use or have explored using that contain the word pod.

PeaPod by Giant – This grocery delivery service from Giant Supermarkets is definitely in danger of consumer confusion. When I think of buying groceries, I usually buy apples, and Apple makes the iPod, so clearly PeaPod is a delivery service that works with my iPod, right? WTF will I do if they change the name to something less vegetable friendly?

PODS: Portable On Demand Storage - Mrs. Quip and I looked at PODS when I was moving from DC to Albuquerque a few years ago. This is another company ripe for a lawsuit. If anything says customer confusion better than the strange meeting ground of moving services and electronic music, I don’t know what it would be. Quick, Steve! Sue!

A Pea In The Pod Maternity – This one should be pretty self evident. Shops that sell maternity clothes are definitely in trouble Since about half of the US population born in the 70s was conceived to Led Zepplin’s Kashmir, and you listen to music on an iPod, it’s easy to see how you would get fuqing, its possible outcome (kidlings) and the iPod confused. Apple needs to take action fast on this one, too.

I could go on, but you get the point. This is one of the dumber lawsuits I’ve ever seen, and really should send a message to all those “Apple-is-Cool-and-Nonconfromist-but-Microsoft-is-an-Evil-and-Vile-Corporate-Vampire”. The fact is, Apple is just as soulless and loathsome as any other company.

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Wanted

Jun 16 2006 Published by under Apple, Technology

TechnologyNewsApple, Inc. is seeking 200,000 socially impaired Chinese (visitors are not allowed) to work 15 hour days for $50 per month while living in cramped dimly lit dorms that smell vaguely of cabbage. Ok, so I made up the part about cabbage and perhaps the dim lighting, but the rest of that want ad may be true according to an article in a British paper.

Between Apple employing 200,000 abused Chinese to make your iPod and Yahoo turning the rest over to the government, it looks like The Silicon Age may not be a bright spot in the history of China. If our technology companies keep this up, they could do a better job of eradicating the Chinese than even Mao was able under the Great Leap Forward.

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