iTunes for Windows... and AOL?

Wow. Expansion is good. But AOL? :)

This is great news for apple cos that will end up being a lot of money. I thought they would be paying more than 65c but when i think about it, i dont really knowor have any idea, so good for apple. Maybe they can increase Jonathon Ives salary...

now i'm not a greedy little fanboy that dosen't want apple to expand to increase profit and and market share, and i would love to see apple just take a huge bite out of the 97% of said marketshare that windows controls. however, when i switched from PC to mac, it was because of all of those little "i" applications... iTunes, iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto, etc... if apple starts peddling these programs over to the windows world, i think it would really kill, or seriously disable, the whole idea of a "switcher". i mean, now i know how much more seamless macs are than PC... but to someone that is on a PC and dosen't want to switch over to a new OS, if they could stay on windows and get all of the apple i-apps that everyone covets... why would they switch? i think this deal, which would undoubtedly bring in huge profits short term could really damage the user base over the long term. any thoughts?

If Apple stays true to innovative products and ideas, getting a larger marketshare (advertising) through AOL will only serve to boost their status.

This music revolution should get the idea of owning an iPod and a Mac at least in the heads of a lot more people. Whether they plunge is yet to be seen.

I say go for it--at least the store portion of iTunes, maybe not the whole player.

iPod to show Apple hardware design to PC users wasn't a bad thing. A software app to show Apple's software skills wouldn't be either.

Put iTunes on Windows and let people think--"if Apple can do this right when nobody else can, I'm thinking OS X is worth a look too."

This adds legitimacy to Apple and name-recognition among the MANY people to whom Apple isn't even on their radar. They think they must buy Microsoft because there is no "real" alternative. Start showing them what Apple can do.

And let PC makers bundle the iTunes store with their boxes--great even if you DON'T have an iPod. You can still burn CDs. (And an incentive to then get an iPod too.) Likewise, let PC users download it without buying anything, just like Mac people can.

Plus, to be successful, the store part (at least) HAS to be for everyone.

Not to mention--big song revenue for Apple, and iPod sales through the roof.

Anyway, it's still Mac-FIRST even if not Mac-only. Still an incentive to buy a Mac right now. And maybe for many months to come.

I'm sure it was probably the same article that was mentioned on friday, but the Wall Street Journal Europe Weekend edition had a ful page article on the music service. They talked about AOL also, but more in terms of competition for apple. According to them, AOL already has plans to unveil a music service by the end of the year, so lets hope they are not too far along in development.

Also if you noticed on the iPod update page, it states that a windows iPod AAC software update will be released by early May so Apple is definitely planning on branching this music service out to the windows world. In fact I'm sure they probably already have all the software written, it's just a matter of showing the music companies that this is a successful business model before they will allow them to open the service up to that many more users. And i think it will be successful, they already have 99cents of my money :D

Hey JayKay, where are you in Ireland? I'm in Dublin at Trinity.

Originally posted by mxpiazza
i switched from PC to mac, it was because of all of those little "i" applications... iTunes, iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto, etc... if apple starts peddling these programs over to the windows world, i think it would really kill, or seriously disable, the whole idea of a "switcher". i mean, now i know how much more seamless macs are than PC... but to someone that is on a PC and dosen't want to switch over to a new OS, if they could stay on windows and get all of the apple i-apps that everyone covets... why would they switch?

I think apple is using iTunes as a gateway drug. Before you know it you're doing "X"

:D

Sounds like big money.

Has anyonenoticed that the iPod in the Fortune article is BLACK?!? Where can I get one of those, or are they jusy trying to show a night shot with the black light and buttons lit up?

Well anyway, I really hope that a deal with AOL is struck, having apple software on PCs can only be a good thing. Apple needs exposure, once PC users notice apple and their excellent products they will make the switch.

Originally posted by ariza910
[B]Has anyonenoticed that the iPod in the Fortune article is BLACK?!? Where can I get one of those, or are they jusy trying to show a night shot with the black light and buttons lit up?
/B]

yeah - I think it's just a dark shot - but wasn't labeled very well

arn