Itunes

Since iTunes was launched in January 2001, it has been one of the most used applications to download music, television shows, applications, audio-books, and many other forms of digital media from the internet. It was launched as a closed systems digital store, to supply music to the Apple iPod. unfortunately for Apple(and the music industry in general.) many people found ways around this and downloaded free music via file sharing programs. The iTunes application has been highly successful regardless, and is one of the most convenient ways to access digital media, with millions upon millions of files available.

iTunes was first introduced on January 9, 2001 by Apple Inc. at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco. It was based on a programmed named SoundJam MP distributed by a company named Casady and Greene. Apple purchased this platform in 2000 and added a few key components. Out of this iTunes was born. up to now there have been 13 versions of iTunes released over the last decade, each one bringing new features to the application. The original iTunes was designed specifically for the MAC OS 9.1 operating system, but that ended with the third edition. Later additions would contain new features such as the Itunes store, smart playlists, a ratings system, and the new "home share" feature which allows enables automatic updating of purchased albums.

iTunes has developed much since it first came out. I remember when I first purchased an iPod several years ago. It came with a disk that contained the iTunes application. this was version 4 where the iTunes store was first introduced. I remember it being so crude, compared to the new version that I was able to download when I purchased my newest iPod. In fact a disk version of iTunes was not even neccessary as now the iTunes application can be downloaded from the companies website. It is also significantly more difficult to put non copyrighted music onto an iPod. With my old 4 gigabyte nano it was simple to bypass the Itunes application and put uncopyrighted music directly onto an iPod. Now you have to go to far greater lengths to accomplish this feat.

Apple's Reign

Last week we had discussion in class and spent most of the time talking about Apple. We touched on their relevance and how they stacked up to Microsoft. I think Apple is a really great company, and even though they may not generate more revenue than Microsoft they are still a force to be reckoned with.

In my opinion, Apple knows exactly who their consumer market is and they know the right procedures to keep they happy. They put out newer, better versions of their same products a few times a year. This is great because it makes the techies buy something new every few months and the people that hear about how great Apple is to get they're first great Apple product and rub it in the face of their friends. The commercials comparing Mac to PC's are genius in my opinion. They really sell themselves as a brand and captivate their audiences.

On less of an advertising standpoint, I think Apple's presentation of products is great. They really believe in that clean look for their products. Their stores are even technologically advanced yet very clean and simple. They know what this generation wants; clean, sleek products with functionality and great quality. Microsoft's products are not as cutting edge as Apple's which I think is one big reason generation X is taking such a big interest in Apple.

Apple vs. Microsoft

On Tuesday's class, we got into a pretty lengthy discussion about the Ipod's stranglehold on the mp3 player market as well as Apple's growing grasp on the consumer market. Being an avid Apple product user/die hard fan, I had a lot of bias in this discussion. Upon further reflection, I had some extra insight on the "who can take and keep control of the market" debate and these are some of the thoughts I was having.

To me there are basically two markets: Business and consumer. Now, these two markets are quite unequal in size since businesses obtain computers and associated products in bulk and use them every day. The consumer market is also quite large, but since it breaks down to individual people buying individual products, there aren't as many items being sold in quantity. Since businesses rely so heavily on information systems and IT these days, it would be quite time-consuming and expensive to completely ditch the systems they've been using for years and years for a newer, different system. I like to think of it as if America decided to use the metric system. Of course it would make a lot more sense on the whole considering every other part of the world uses it, it would be a huge hassle and very impractical because we are so used to it. For this reason, I believe Microsoft will continue to keep their grip tight on the business market and since it is quite larger than the consumer market, continue to stay on top.

Apple on the other hand has definitely made their presence known for the individual, which is exactly what their business model must be focusing on. There is a lot of money to be made from the consumer, and what Apple does best is they keep innovating and creating wonderful computers and peripherals that are so user-friendly that it is a no-brainer for somebody to purchase. As long as Apple continues to stay on the cutting edge of technology and continue to make more and more accessible user interfaces without sacrificing quality and durability, I don't think Microsoft would be able to touch Apple with a ten foot pole.

Both of these companies can co-exist in the computing business as long as they realize what their individual strengths are as a company and strike that with full force.

Apple Domination ?

Apple had a break through when they came out with the iPod. They dominated the scene of mp3 players and music downloading. I remember when the iPod came out my brother told me I didn't want one becuase you couldn't even put music from your CDs onto the mp3 and you could only buy the music you wanted on it off of iTunes. I don't know if that was ever true, but Apple did have the only copy protection software that is compatable to to iPod.

I have an iPod now and I love it. Before I had an iPod I had a Creative Zen. It was huge, mainly thick and I used windows media player to download the music. The Zen lasted about a year before it decided to die for no reason, and my sister had the exact same one and it did the same thing.

With the iPod the iTunes is convient because you can look up music and download it on spot, then hook up your iPod and it will sync the new songs automatically. In the book it compared the iTunes store to online music stores like Rhapsody and Napster. With the Rhapsody you pay a monthly fee to download all the music you want. The downside to it is that the music stays on your computer, so you can't burn them to a CD. That could be a downside to people if they want music in their cars and like to play CDs.

One of Apple's iPod competetors is the Zune by Microsoft. I know people who have these and they love them. They are simple and small like the iPod. Now it's up to the customers to pick which product they like better. That is the way a company will get ahead, by the appeal to the market. Each product out now seems reliable, but it's about teh company behind it. Both Apple and Microsoft know what they're doing, but for now Apple is ahead of the game with the MP3 products.

Touch Screens and the Death of Buttons

You see it everywhere. You see it in everything. You are probably using one as I am typing this blog. Touch screens are slowly, but surely killing the old ways of button operation. From Ipods to thermostats, the touch screen is the preferred input system for more and more devices emerging in the market. What I would like to accomplish with this post is to go over the benefits of touch screen technology as well as acknowledge some problems.

There are many obvious benefits to having a device with a touch screen (besides feeling like you are using a really cool alien device.) Navigating menus, zooming in and out of web pages using multi-touch, tapping icons to open applications, and just opening so many more doors for simple and effective UI's are definitely benefits to using touch screens. This allows companies to come up with many simple, creative ways for you to operate your device since the whole entire screen can be touched to perform tasks. This makes gaming on devices interesting, it makes swapping through programs fast and effective.

Although there are many benefits to implementing touch screen technology, there are also some problems that will have to be addressed before I completely give up on using buttons. Personally, my main problem is using a touch screen for typing. Cell phones keep getting smaller and smaller and are able to do more and more like text, post things on facebook, write e-mails, play games, and so much more. But, when a phone becomes smaller, so do the buttons. I don't know how many times I have mistyped words on my phone because of how close the letters are to each other and how small they are on the phone. Also, since there are no physical boundaries for each letter, I often find myself hitting things I didn't mean to hit. There is definitely a lot of polish that needs to go into touch screen technology before I am completely sold.

iPad

iPad


IdeaPad U1 Hybrid

Last week, Apple Inc announced iPad. Apple believes iPad will be the best way to experience the web,email, photos and videos. Hands down!
When I was searching about iPad online, I found the other interesting PC product. That's Lenovo's IdeaPad U1 Hybrid, which Lenovo showed off it in January.
I haven't used either of them. For most people, I think they will prefer iPad to IdeaPad. After Lenovo mergered IBM's PC products, I'm looking forward to the new IdeaPad .

My first blog post

Hi, I’m Anna and I’m a sophomore at Eastern majoring in marketing. I’m taking this class because I’m required to, but I’m glad I’m learning about something completely new. This is my first time writing a blog so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

This week we focused on the history of information systems. I was interested in the history of Apple because I have a Macbook and an iPod so I know the most about them. The personal computer “Apple I” was developed in 1976 and then soon after followed by the “Apple II” and “Apple II plus.” I had never heard of Steve Jobs before class on Monday and it seems like he is brilliant. He founded Pixar and Apple, which are two hugely successful companies. Then in 1984, Apple worked with Xerox to form the Mac computer. I never knew the two companies worked together; actually, I didn’t know Xerox had anything to do with developing graphic user interface.

I researched Apple’s accomplishments and I found one particularly interesting article. A radiologist opened a private practice but needed to serve hospitals that were not commuting distance. He had to find the best way to do this and he turned to a Mac laptop. The laptop convinced him to use Mac products regularly because he found them efficient. Now it is predicted that Mac-based systems could reduce healthcare costs. I definitely think Apple has revolutionized information systems in the past five years, and I want to learn more about the company. I also hope that by the end of the semester I’m comfortable using computer jargon because right now I know next to nothing about computers.