BREAKTHROUGH!!!

[quote]Originally posted by nx7oe:
<strong>I have just completed a driver that lets the iPod work with Windows Media Player in XP. It works even better than with iTunes!!! Forget Xplay, this is really good stuff ¿Should I release it????</strong><hr></blockquote>

no, you should stop playing on dad's computer and go wash your hands before supper.

What you should do first is invent a worm that will bounce around to every Windows machine in the world, and wipes out every instance of the hideous, clunky, unreliable WMP software. Thank you very much.

And this is in Future Hardware because...?

SHUT UP.

Do it! Apple could sell a LOT of iPods if it worked with WMP. Big big bucks for Apple, and a small shareware fee for you!

And if you did not write it and this is not true, go away.

what Noah said...

i think it's a great feat that you've accomplished. but, honestly, i don't think it should be released. cupertino has some very good reasons for making iPods exclusive to macs. Particularly their entire (atleast foreseeable) future as a company focuses around the "digitial hub"strategy. with a mac as the center of the digital hub, they are making money off pmac and imac sales. with those ripped out and a wintel stuck in, they lose mega bucks where it really matters. honestly, i dont think if u release the driver it'll have a huge effect on p/iMac sales (or even iPod sales, since Apple won't be touting pc compatibility on the box ), but the idea of going around Apple just to stab them in the back is atrocious.

besides, what person who is intelligent enough to realize the elegance and significance of an iPod would own a computer running winblows?

long live the revolution :eek:

[quote]Originally posted by nx7oe:
<strong>¿Should I release it????</strong><hr></blockquote>


Naaaah ... where's your showmanship? Create a buzz first.

I'm sure the folks at Spymac would be willing to pay GOOD money for a "video" demonstration -wink wink.

At least then we can find out just HOW good of a bullshiter you are.

If you don't release it, someone else will. Seriously, release it. If PC users go out and buy the iPod and see just how great it is, they may be more inclined to buy Apple hardware the next time around. Forget all this backstabbing BS. Apple knew others would write software just like you did. That's why they didn't waste their own money trying to do so. That's just good business. Several other companies have confirmed that they're working on it. If you've beaten them to the punch, you could have a nice little revenue generator (shareware) on your hands.

To all those who criticize him for betraying Apple, get a fricken life and a clue.

[ 02-07-2002: Message edited by: Arty50 ]</p>

To heck with all these naysayers. You worked hard on the software, and even though I prefer a mac, a lot of people have windows who would rather have a mac but can't (due to work requirements or whatever). They can at least enjoy a small taste of Apple glory with the iPod. And another company has already produced software to make it work. If you can do it better, more power to you. Not all PC users are 18 foot tall child-killing, devil worshippers (50% tops). Do it, make it shareware and ask people who are interested to pay you via paypal. You might make quite a bit of money. Good luck.

I vote that if you really have such a thing, you could definitely interest a lot of people in it and should release it. Apple can still advertise the iPod as a "Mac only" product since there's no official solution to hook up the iPod to Windows.

[quote]Originally posted by Arty50:
<strong>Forget all this backstabbing BS. Apple knew others would write software just like you did. That's why they didn't waste their own money trying to do so. That's just good business.

To all those who criticize him for betraying Apple, get a fricken life and a clue.
</strong><hr></blockquote>

Nicely said. Third-party compatibility tools for iPod are the best of both worlds for Apple: they can rack up iPod unit sales and get none of the headaches if the software doesn't work right. I don't suppose they would sell many of them -- I think few people would drop $400 on a piece of hardware that isn't officially supported on their system -- but a sale is a sale.

Release your software. Send out a press release. Help Apple sell iPods, and make a nice piece of change for yourself!

I personally think Apple expects and wants a third-party to connect iPod to Windows. They don't want to develop it themselves, because then the experience would be just as nice on Windows, and no one would switch. They want Windows users to jump through a few hoops like buying a firewire card and purchasing a less polished third-party app. That way, people would be exposed to how cool Apple products are, but know the experience would be better on a Mac.

[ 02-07-2002: Message edited by: Brian J. ]</p>

[quote]Originally posted by Brian J.:
<strong>They don't want to develop it themselves, because then the experience would be just as nice on Windows, and no one would switch.</strong><hr></blockquote>

I don't think so. Have you ever used QuickTime for Windows? It is terrible, even on my 1533Mhz Athlon. It does not support the right click, also it slows down when you hold a menu open....just like a true Mac Seriously though, I think they make it that way on purpose, to get back at the PC world for all the terrible ports of apps for the Mac.

[quote]Originally posted by FotNS:
<strong>

I don't think so. Have you ever used QuickTime for Windows? It is terrible, even on my 1533Mhz Athlon. It does not support the right click, also it slows down when you hold a menu open....just like a true Mac Seriously though, I think they make it that way on purpose, to get back at the PC world for all the terrible ports of apps for the Mac. </strong><hr></blockquote>

I doubt that. I use Quicktime on Windows and OS X. It's bad on both, but that's not intentional. Multimedia playback's real-time, hardware-dependent nature makes it really hard to do well. Plus, don't forget that Apple pioneered multimedia on Windows, and has <a href="http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,16058,00.html" target="_blank">fought hard</a> to keep Microsoft from sabotaging Quicktime on Windows.

If you are serious and think you might want to sell it as shareware, talk to Ambrosia. Im sure if its good enough, then they might at least take a look.

[quote] I have just completed a driver that lets the iPod work with Windows Media Player in XP. It works even better than with iTunes!!! Forget Xplay, this is really good stuff ¿Should I release it????
<hr></blockquote>

Dude, why did you waste your time writing software for WINDOWS?? :confused: :confused: :confused:

Well, now that you've written it, you might as well release it. I suggest you do the following:

1. Make it shareware, and charge a ridiculous fee so that windows users get shafted the way Mac users normally do with software prices. I'd say $49.95 is a good price...if a Windows user can pay $400 for an iPod, then they shouldn't mind an extra 50 bucks...they should've bought a Mac in the first place.

2. Don't cut corners on the registration system, be sure that it is secure. Check out this link to see what I'm talking about:

<a href="http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/Ambrosia_Times/AT_Library.html" target="_blank">http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/Ambrosia_Times/AT_Library.html</a>

Because you don't want those stinkin' Windows users to pirate your hard work, and at $49.95 they will be working very hard at it. (ok, 50 bucks is a bit much, perhaps $25 is more reasonable?). You should spend as much time on creating a secure, crack-proof registration as you did writing the software, because you deserve good money for your work, and because Windows users don't deserve anything for free.

3. Make the software fully functional for 30 days before it needs to be registered, that way the users get hooked on it. Then, when the registration expires, the software becomes totally useless, not crippled like some shareware. Force them to buy it

4. When you make the registration part of the software, I suggest the follow "trick" to make sure people pay for it...if they try to enter a pirated registration number, or if they somehow try to "crack" your software, then let them think the program is working at first. Then, the next time they plug in their iPod, have the program totally wipe the iPod's HD, and when it's completed the wipe, display a message, "Please pay the registration fee for continued usage of this product. You're iPod has been wiped clean and will function properly again after you pay the registration fee. Thank you for trying out my product". LOL.

5. Make sure the registration number is specific to their hardware, so they can only use it on ONE computer. And if they reformat their drive (a common event for windows users), they will have to contact you for a new registration number, just like with Micro$oft's registration policy. If they buy a new computer, they must contact you for a new registration number. Basically, you should make it a total pain in the ass....only answer their emails on certain days of the week, for example, tell them that "tech support" will give them a new registration number after confirming that they've paid for the product, but that "tech support" is only open on Tuesdays from 8am to 11am. If they complain, give them a faulty registration number so the software will wipe their iPod's HD...then apologize and tell them your Windows XP crashed and you lost a bunch of registration data, you cannot confirm that they ever paid, but you'll give them a new registration number for free nevertheless because you're such a nice guy.


So, what I'm saying is, don't make it easy for the windows users. Make it difficult and expensive, so they have incentive to buy a Mac.

And it might not be a bad idea to pull a Micro$oft stunt with your drivers. Do something like they do to their Mac software: make the drivers so that they work flawlessly at first, but have them degrade over time, so that after 6-9 months or so, they repeatedly crash, corrupt MP3s when transferring to the iPod, and other nasty stuff. The only way to fix them is to reinstall, and of course to reinstall they will have to contact you for a new registration number! LOL!

One more thing: have your software send information packets over the internet back to your server from time to time. That way it will spook anyone who looks into the software too close, and they will be skeptical of using the iPod with their Wintels. If they ask you about it, tell them it's sending bug report data so you can improve your product. If they complain again, give them a faulty registration number so their HD gets wiped!

"backstabbing" Apple? <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />

I guess Apple really don't want to sell more iPods - that's why all of the companies developing Windows and Linux drivers for the iPod have heard from Apple's lawyers, isn't it?

I think some of you missed what i was saying. Apple is a large company with plenty of 'grammers and is fully capable of making a win32 ([xyz] linux, os/2, amiga, [place other OS here]) driver for the iPod. they didn't though. they didn't neglect it so 3rd parties could make shareware fees off it. they did it so the mac would be the center of your digitial lifestyle; ~ you gotta have a mac to have an iPod. i don't think they are taking legal action against any 3rd party who is doing this kind of work, but they probabyl dont want it. its not exactly illegal to make a driver. it seems to me that more harm is done than good tho. if all their [future] digital products (~ the iPod) work on pcs, then their bread and butter will be the cheaper little things, and not the expensive big ones (P/iMacs).

macro. !micro.

Moving to General Discussion.