A Pilgrim’s Digression

It seems a bit premature to reach that conclusion, since the iPod has not yet been attacked by its first virus. Yet the Merrill Lynch analyst in the article linked to in the blog entry title believes Apple could become as dominant in music as Microsoft is in software. Clearly Apple holds a strong position in the realm of digital music. The question will be whether or not they can hold onto it in a field rapidly succumbing to overcrowding. Personally, I do not believe Steve Jobs is going to allow Apple to fall into the same traps that relegated the Macintosh into a niche market. In the same article referenced above:

The deal involves Apple creating an iTunes mobile music player for the world’s No. 2 cell-phone maker, which Motorola will adopt as the music application for mass-market music phones that are expected in the first half of 2005.

This means that for the first time, Apple has licensed software it has developed, in this case its “fair play” DRM, for use in a device other than the iPod. That is significant, and it is not being reported. The equivalent would be Apple licensing the Mac OS to IBM in 1986 for use on the IBM PC. If only …

Song currently playing on my iPod: “Behind Blue Eyes,” the Limp Bizkit cover of the equally great (greater?) The Who version.

I have to buy anew iPod soon. I am still using the original 5 GB model first released in 2001. The battery has held up well. I keep charging and recharging it, and every day I think, “It’s gotta conk out sometime!” But it doesn’t. I still get about two days erattic use out of a charge. A totally dead battery would be a great reason to buy one of the new models.