Why Bill Gates is a Better Businessman than Steve Jobs
Gates understands the concept of first-mover advantage and wouldn't be either so naive or arrogant to believe that a music-buying service would be "the thing" to get people to switch from Windows to Mac. Apple is finally introducing its iTunes for Windows online music store, months after it introduced the iTunes for Mac one. However in the interim, several competitors to iTunes have already gotten into the Windows market. This was thoroughly predictable, and there was nothing about Apple's technology that makes a fairly pricey technology switch worth it for the vast majority of consumers. Since the iPod for Windows works with MusicMatch, and MusicMatch will support any mp3 file purchased, Jobs doesn't even have that hook to fall back on.
Apple has great technology. Better technology than Microsoft. They package it beautifully. They just don't know how to market it. Fortunately iTunes won't make or break anyone, but it is another lost revenue opportunity.
Comments
Absolutely right! And this would make a good CotC submission...
Posted by: Jay Solo | October 14, 2003 05:33 PM
Spot on, Lesley. I often wondered what would have happened if Apple had released versions of its operating systems to run on the Wintel-based machines - on one hand, it may have ruined their computer market, but on the other hand, Microsoft has already proven that the big money isn't in the boxes, it's in the software. I happen to like Macs better, and would have continued to buy them, so I would have hated it if successful competition by Apple for the Intel (etc.) chip machines had resulted in the death of the Mac. A labrynthine business conundrum if I ever saw one.
Posted by: Rob Ward | October 20, 2003 01:47 PM
True, they're late, but they made up for it very well, I think.
Posted by: Adam | October 20, 2003 08:27 PM
" Since the iPod for Windows works with MusicMatch, and MusicMatch will support any mp3 file purchased, Jobs doesn’t even have that hook to fall back on."
What "purchased" mp3s do you mean? All of the iTunes Music Store competitors I'm familiar with are using DRM'd (Digital Rights Managed) versions of Windows Media format files.
iTunes (the player) for Windows and the iPod manage everyones ripped and/or pirated mp3s just as well as MusicMatch and the AAC files sold in the iTunes Music Store... so what pricey technology switch is Apple asking of its customers?
The real choice consumers have is between Microsoft's proprietary Windows Media format and Apple's MPEG-4 open standard. Any other spin here is FUD.
Posted by: Andy | October 21, 2003 10:36 AM
Most mp3 players support WMA. Only iTunes supports AAC, and all the music you download from the iTunes Music Store is AAC. Furthermore, unless there's a plug-in I can't find, you can only download the purchased music to iPods, not to any other portable, which seriously limits the market share.
The pricey technology switch I was referring to was from Wintel to Mac. When Jobs introduced iTunes Music Store only to the Mac market first, there was a lot of speculation that he did it to try to convert people from Wintel to Mac. That was not going to happen. No music-buying service, even if it is an open standard, is worth going from a relatively cheap PC to a more expensive Mac.
Posted by: Lesley | October 21, 2003 08:22 PM