[CUBE] itunes 4-Where to now?

[Sean Terrill]

Quoth Joost van de Griek (joost at jvdg.net) at 5/1/03 5:58:

> On 2003-05-01 09:30, Sean Terrill wrote:
> 
>> Quoth SnowWhite (jj4 at sympatico.ca) at 4/30/03 11:58:
>> 
>>> I think music stores are in deep trouble now.  They will need to fill niches
>>> that on-line does not cover. But that begs the question-Is server storage
>>> and
>>> bandwidth cheaper than a physical location and is it able to cover the
>>> niches
>>> more effectively. I think Apple definately has an advantage with server
>>> space.
>> 
>> Possible, but I doubt it. The technology to deliver online books has been
>> around for a decade but book stores are still doing just fine, because there
>> are people who prefer the old medium.
> 
> But books != music. There are distinct reasons why, with books, some (most)
> people prefer the old medium; you hold it in your hands to use it. With
> music, the medium is irrelevant; as long as the music is coming from the
> speakers, who cares what the medium is?

But there are advantages to CDs as well. Some people enjoy having the liner
notes/lyrics/whatever that come with the CD. A CD is inherently portable
(not everyone has an MP3 player) and a very common standard (almost
everyone, even if they don't have a PC, can play CDs; a computer or other
MP3 player is harder to find and a AAC player even harder). No compressed
format will ever truly have CD quality either, so hardcore audiophiles will
probably continue to buy CDs until the technology catches up to their
expectations. My point in all this is that the medium still makes a huge
difference in how you listen to music.

Sean Terrill
a10t2 at mac.com
http://a10t2.cjb.net
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