iTunes...Should I be scared?
Jan 14, 2006 | 12:43 pm
#31
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: San Rafael, CA
Programs: Life SPG Plat, 7X NH DIA
Posts: 2,840
FWIW I ended up buying Anapod. I use Windows Media 10 to manage my library and Anapod to move music to and from the device. I bought it straight away because I read comments that activating the trial version was challenging to some. I paid $30 for the universal version which should allow my wife to activate her Nano and Mini onder the same Household license as well.
It took me less than 5 min after download to get my first test song onto the Nano, however it is not exactly the best documented software. I had never used an Ipod or mp3 or Win Media to manage any media files before.
It seems as if Anapod would work to manage my mp3s much the same way that WM 10 does however I like the WM gui better. There are some features in Anapod such as downsampling that may prove useful in the future, however right now it is simply a $30 solution to get my music on and off my Ipod without EVER installing the iTunes software.
A main drawback for some may be that Anapod will function only when connected to the internet due to required authentication, however this doesn't seem like a big deal to me because:
1) My music only lives on my Ipod and external HDD at home. No need to load tunes when there is no internet connection.
2) I am a load it and for get it type guy. I do not change the music on my Ipod all the time.
Cheers,
Scho
It took me less than 5 min after download to get my first test song onto the Nano, however it is not exactly the best documented software. I had never used an Ipod or mp3 or Win Media to manage any media files before.
It seems as if Anapod would work to manage my mp3s much the same way that WM 10 does however I like the WM gui better. There are some features in Anapod such as downsampling that may prove useful in the future, however right now it is simply a $30 solution to get my music on and off my Ipod without EVER installing the iTunes software.
A main drawback for some may be that Anapod will function only when connected to the internet due to required authentication, however this doesn't seem like a big deal to me because:
1) My music only lives on my Ipod and external HDD at home. No need to load tunes when there is no internet connection.
2) I am a load it and for get it type guy. I do not change the music on my Ipod all the time.
Cheers,
Scho
Jan 14, 2006 | 3:23 pm
#32
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: WOH (G)lobotimized, SPG Tarnished Gold
Posts: 498
Originally Posted by murphy
There's a lot more than 1 - 2 million songs per day listened to on iTunes.
If all Amazon's transactions are purchases, and Itunes is supposedly tracking songs listened to by itunes users, I'd say swise is correct that the amount of data Apple would need to store is greater.
Of course, that's a false argument, since Amazon stores much more than purchases. Amazon also stores every item you look at on their website, as well as stuff customers review or rank. They do this, at least in part, for the same reason Apple is collecting this data. To generate recommendations and sell you more stuff.
While I would not refer to this volume of data as peanuts, it's certainly possible to store it all. You could even do it with pretty Apple machines, since Oracle is now available on OSX.
The whole DRM record industry argument made by Somewhere Over the Atlantic is, in my opinion, silly. A list of IP addresses that listened to non-DRM music isn't particularly useful. The more interesting data would be "people who listen to x also listen to y". That data's more useful to retailers (like Apple), then to record companies, though.
If all Amazon's transactions are purchases, and Itunes is supposedly tracking songs listened to by itunes users, I'd say swise is correct that the amount of data Apple would need to store is greater.
Of course, that's a false argument, since Amazon stores much more than purchases. Amazon also stores every item you look at on their website, as well as stuff customers review or rank. They do this, at least in part, for the same reason Apple is collecting this data. To generate recommendations and sell you more stuff.
While I would not refer to this volume of data as peanuts, it's certainly possible to store it all. You could even do it with pretty Apple machines, since Oracle is now available on OSX.
The whole DRM record industry argument made by Somewhere Over the Atlantic is, in my opinion, silly. A list of IP addresses that listened to non-DRM music isn't particularly useful. The more interesting data would be "people who listen to x also listen to y". That data's more useful to retailers (like Apple), then to record companies, though.
Jan 14, 2006 | 5:08 pm
#34
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Austin TX
Programs: Mr Swise: AAdvantage LifetimePlt/3MM, HH Dmnd, SPG Plt
Posts: 1,451
Originally Posted by ScottC
Kidding right?
On peak days Amazon ships between 1 and 2 MILLION packages. Plus Amazon processes a heck of a lot more data than the ITMS does. Really; storing this much information nowadays is peanuts. The "snooping" is done together with Akamai, who can easilly deal with the couple of million customers the store has.
Amazon is in a totally different league than the ITMS.
On peak days Amazon ships between 1 and 2 MILLION packages. Plus Amazon processes a heck of a lot more data than the ITMS does. Really; storing this much information nowadays is peanuts. The "snooping" is done together with Akamai, who can easilly deal with the couple of million customers the store has.
Amazon is in a totally different league than the ITMS.
Some days you just have to get out the baling wire and duct tape and your spiritual tome of choice. It's like in Das Boot, when they have to dive deeper than their submarine is rated to go to get away from the other sub, and they're all real quiet and looking sideways at each other, knowing that at any moment the rivets may pop out, sending them all to the bottom of the sea to be humansushi for the giant squids.
Jan 14, 2006 | 5:29 pm
#35
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, AA Executive Platinum
Posts: 2,093
Originally Posted by Somewhere Over the Atlantic
Isn't useful to whom? Anyone with their eyes half open over the last 10 years should have seen that, if data is collected on individuals and persisted, it is subject to eventual abuse, often despite the benign intent of the original collectors. Think of ISP's subject to giving up file-sharing details on their customers when confronted with subpoenas from the RIAA. That, too, was a list of IP addresses...
Of course, Apple claims they're not keeping the data anyway. If they're lying, they're almost certainly guilty of breaking the EU data privacy laws, as well as possibly the US ones.
Jan 18, 2006 | 9:24 am
#36
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, AA Executive Platinum
Posts: 2,093
Apple has now changed the behavior of the ministore. It asks your permission before turning on, shows you how to turn it off, and says they are not storing the data.