Apple Jan. 27 launch event... what will it be?

[doctorcoug]

I hope this is a go.

I don't rip music, or download illegally. The only problem I will have with it is the "what if" factor. What if there is a glitch on their end...do I lose my music forever?

We are getting ready to start swapping out some computers at the house this next year...and iTunes was the biggest headache I have when it comes to the switch.

This would be awesome.

And it solves the problem of family and home and kid at college. Just authorize the iPods that can use the cloud file.

Rhapsody is your answer

[Commando]

What a letdown. The big announcement is the ability to purchase online some music that everyone already owns...but this time with DRM restrictions. Hooray.

Apple lied to me. My life is exactly the same as it was yesterday.

Only I'm a disappointed instead of curious now.

[TripletDaddy]

Apple lied to me. My life is exactly the same as it was yesterday.

Only I'm a disappointed instead of curious now.

I'm loving life. I immediately purchased around $50 worth of Beatles music that I already had on my computer. I look forward to being able to use these new downloads in a very restricted and limited manner. Great day to be alive.

[The_Tick]

Whoopie.

I would be more excited if Tool were to place their music catalog on iTunes instead of this crap.

Sweet. 200 more songs added that I have no interest in.

How about remote storage?

And doctorcoug...I have no idea what Rhapsody is, but if it doesn't play on my iPod then it is no good to me.

[MartyFunkhouser]

Mpfunk, I thought you disliked the beatles?

I later learned how the Beatles were a huge influence on John Coltrane and realized that I had no choice but to be a fan.

How I missed the Beatles influences in this is beyond me
[YOUTUBE]tgrQhBTDfhk[/YOUTUBE]

[LiveCoug]

Serious question: Why would anyone ever buy music from Itunes? It is usually more expensive than MP3 download sites (amazon for example) and have DRM restrictions. Why not buy from amazon and import to Itunes (if you must use that abomination)? That way you can listen to it on your ipod AND still have the MP3 file all at a cheaper price. I don't get it....

[Jeff Lebowski]

Serious question: Why would anyone every buy music from Itunes? It is usually more expensive than MP3 download sites (amazon for example) and have DRM restrictions. Why not buy from amazon and import to Itunes (if you must use that abomination)? That way you can listen to it on your ipod AND still have the MP3 file all at a cheaper price. I don't get it....

An excellent question.

[Commando]

Serious question: Why would anyone ever buy music from Itunes? It is usually more expensive than MP3 download sites (amazon for example) and have DRM restrictions. Why not buy from amazon and import to Itunes (if you must use that abomination)? That way you can listen to it on your ipod AND still have the MP3 file all at a cheaper price. I don't get it....

The interface makes the dry anal rape a little more comfortable.

[Jeff Lebowski]

The interface makes the dry anal rape a little more comfortable.

The interface while purchasing?

[Uncle Ted]

Serious question: Why would anyone ever buy music from Itunes? It is usually more expensive than MP3 download sites (amazon for example) and have DRM restrictions. Why not buy from amazon and import to Itunes (if you must use that abomination)? That way you can listen to it on your ipod AND still have the MP3 file all at a cheaper price. I don't get it....

Ask the 90% of people that buy online music. I think the answer is this 90% is lazy and doesn't take the time to learn about sites like the russian web sites that sell music for pennies per megabyte or $0.05/song and Rhapsody.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Ask the 90% of people that buy online music. I think the answer is this 90% is lazy and doesn't take the time to learn about sites like the russian web sites that sell music for pennies per megabyte or $0.05/song and Rhapsody.

90%!?!?

SU was right. The masses are asses.

[LiveCoug]

90%!?!?

SU was right. The masses are asses.

It makes absolutely no sense.

[Uncle Ted]

It is being released on Friday...

No, not iOS 4.2 but The Economist app for iPhone and iPad.

[Clark Addison]

Serious question: Why would anyone ever buy music from Itunes? It is usually more expensive than MP3 download sites (amazon for example) and have DRM restrictions. Why not buy from amazon and import to Itunes (if you must use that abomination)? That way you can listen to it on your ipod AND still have the MP3 file all at a cheaper price. I don't get it....

Ask the 90% of people that buy online music. I think the answer is this 90% is lazy and doesn't take the time to learn about sites like the russian web sites that sell music for pennies per megabyte or $0.05/song and Rhapsody.

90%!?!?

SU was right. The masses are asses.

It makes absolutely no sense.

OK, I will cop to being an idiot, ass or whatever else I am being called here.

I buy a good deal of my music from iTunes. To address a few of the points here:

• I have not noticed any real price difference. The vast majority of stuff I buy on iTunes is $0.99. The vast majority of stuff on Amazon.com is $0.99. Sure, I can get some bargains on Amazon, and I do, but for most things, there is no price penalty for buying through iTunes, unless you are buying a lot of Katy Perry or Taylor Swift, which I am not. So where can I get these huge savings promised me? The answer is possibly Rhapsody, but I like owning my music, not subscription services.
• Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think iTunes has had DRM in well over a year. Even when they did, it was pretty easy to get around it. You can buy from iTunes and have a DRM-free MP3, just like you can at Amazon.
• As for Uncle Ted's suggestion, do you really think the only reason not to buy from Russian sites is laziness? I am well aware of those sites, and even bought from them a bit when I first got my iPod a few years ago. Then I looked into them and decided I was not comfortable buying from them. I like to buy my music legally, which I know many will think is a quaint, silly, and old-fashioned notion, and these sites are, at best, a legal gray area. The fact that all of them already had the Beatles before this week tells you something about their business practices. Even if you justify it legally, these sites provide no real compensation to the artists, so I don't like them morally.

Where am I wrong here?

As to the point that brought this up, I agree that adding the Beatles to iTunes is not earth-shattering, but I was happy about it. I am not a huge Beatles fan. I have four albums that I have ripped from CDs (Abbey Road, Revolver, Rubber Soul, Sgt. Peppers). There were about 20 other songs that I would have liked to have, scattered across the remaining 10 or so albums. Despite some of the misinformation that has been posted, there was no place to get Beatles music electronically before this week. They are not on Amazon, they are not on Rhapsody. I didn't want to pay $100 to get these 20 songs, nor did I want to fund the Russian mafia. So this week I picked them up for $25 (OK, here are some songs that I paid more than $0.99 for). Seems like a fairly rational decision to me, but I'm sure you can tell me how absurd it was.

[Uncle Ted]

FYI, if you don't care to exploit the legal russian music loophole here is a nice summary of other places to buy on-line music:



To tell you the truth I still buy a lot of music from iTunes because how easy it is and/or want something quick. For domestic sources on-line music prices are all about the same. I don't recall if all the music on iTunes is now DRM-free but it is pretty easy to remove the DRM anyway.