[MacDV] Re: Cheap trick

[Michael Winter]

On Oct 31, 2003, at 8:25 PM, Gerhard Kuhn wrote:

> I like Apple a lot but it is a cash grab and short sighted at that, 
> the licensing can be handled the same way they handle mpeg2 in QT (QT 
> requires a $19.99 plug in to play the Mpeg2 format) with a plug in 
> that you would have to purchase in order to use a external burner.

Maybe, maybe not. There are a lot of factors involved. I just don't see 
any way for Apple to win. They sell licenses, they get slammed for 
going on a cash grab. They don't sell licenses, its because they're 
going on a cash grab. Personally I don't know the details involved in 
the licensing, do you?

How much would each license cost Apple?

How much would they have to sell it for just to cover costs and how 
many would they sell at that price?

Would all the parties involved be willing to enter a license agreement 
like that at any cost?

If Apple is going to allow this for some 3rd party drives, do they have 
to support them all? On a related note, how much more will it cost 
Apple in support costs since they will now have to support drives that 
they didn't sell. Even if it is the same drive mechanism, people will 
stick them in cheap external enclosures with all kinds of Firewire and 
USB bridges and then blame/call Apple if iDVD burns a coaster.

Then there's the regular discussions about Apple putting 3rd party 
software companies out of business because the software they bundle is 
too good. Had Apple done as you suggest, what effect would that have 
had on sales of Roxio's Toast 6? Do we then see Roxio leave the Mac 
market?

In the end, does doing this do more harm or good to Apple as a company?

Until someone can actually answer these questions and give an informed 
analysis, saying Apple is "going on a cash grab and short sighted" 
seems inappropriate to me.

Sorry if my writing seems a little harsh today, but I'm still 
recovering from the sheer number of people who were convinced Apple was 
"screwing their customers" because of 3rd hand information that Apple 
was dropping support for versions of OS X prior to Panther.

-Mike