Venezuela and Colombia to end row. The Colombian and Venezuelan leaders are to meet to try to resolve a diplomatic dispute between the two nations. [BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]

6:09:00 PM  What do you think? ( Thoughts) Who linked? []   

Napster's 'rental' music service takes on iTunes. The company is putting $30 million in marketing behind a new Microsoft-backed portable subscription service.

That's where Napster's marketing campaign comes in. Dubbed "Do the math," the advertisements will note that filling up an iPod would take about $10,000 using Apple's iTunes store. By contrast, filling up a comparably sized rival player using Napster To Go will cost just $15 a month, the ad will say.
[CNET News.com]

If you really do the math you will see this is nonsense: first, the iTMS allows you to do more with the music, like burning an Audio CD; second iTMS music do not expire; third, you only pay 10000$ if you buy each and every song separately (not in albums) at iTMS. Finally, Napster only works with Windows...

I have made these points before, but I feel nobody understand (or reads?) them. The CD burning may seem quaint, but it isn't. Is the only way to play music in normal audio players. Not only you can make a CD of your favorite music to that girl you want to date (is that legal?), but you can make a CD to use in a rental in case your iTrip or similar solution doesn't work in the area you are visiting. Also, burning to an audio CD is the best way to back up your music, not only you are backing it up (making a copy) you are protecting against a sudden Napster vanishing act.

The point about Napster not working with Macs (or Linux) clearly comes from the fact that I use a Mac, but it shouldn't be dismissed so easily. Everybody points out that Macs have a about 2% of market share, but this number is irrelevant. First, because market segmentation tells you that business PC are not massively use to buy digital music and Macs make a large percentage of home computers. Second, market share numbers (the percentage of computers sold in a period) is irrelevant, what matters is installed base (the percentage of computers in use currently). Macs have about 5% os the installed base and probably have 20-25% of the Home computers installed base (in the US) ignoring this market is simply foolish. I'll readily admit that I pull this number out of my ass, but nobody seems to calculate it. If you are selling software for the home (eg., digital music, digital (non professional) photography, etc) you need to get this number... Please, send it along.

10:34:26 AM  What do you think? ( Thoughts) Who linked? []