WSJ: Apple's $85M purchase of Lala paves way for iTunes cloud

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 34
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Maury Markowitz View Post


    I think they're buying LaLa in order to move the iTunes Store out of the iTunes application, and offer a platform-independant web-based front end. Suddenly Linux becomes a useful platform for media, which I think plays to Apple's advantage.



    Good observation. The era of MS-Windows everywhere is quickly coming to a close. There's Linux, as you noted, Chrome OS, Android, etc. Rather than have to create monolithic applications for all these OS's Apple can just develop for the web.



    HTML 5 is going to make it easier and easier to make cloud-based apps that look and feel like desktop apps. In a few years the number of portable/mobile web-savvy devices is going to far exceed the number of traditional PCs. Apple may just be getting ready for this new world.
  • Reply 22 of 34
    So what is the name of the app? Searched for 'Lala" on itunes and the iPhone and got nothing on the app.



    Appreciate the help!
  • Reply 23 of 34
    elrothelroth Posts: 1,201member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by monstrosity View Post


    Thats nonsense, it's a simple culture shift, infact the cloud way of listening to music simplifies things for your average drone to comprehend.



    Not quite. 65% of music sold is still on CDs. This will be an extra, not a total shift.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mrmamboatl View Post


    Apple would never move to a completely cloud-based system, simply because you can't count on an always-on connection...like on a plane, on a boat, when out hiking, when overseas, etc.



    Plus, AT&T is already having data connectivity issues; they wouldn't want to go exclusively to that for music streaming. (Even if Apple switches to another carrier, they still wouldn't want all users to be streaming all music.)



    I have the LaLa iPhone app and it works well for the most part, although it dropped out several times when driving thru Louisiana and Mississippi recently. I wouldn't want to rely on it for all my music needs.



    Finally, the streamed music is compressed more than the already-compressed source file, and there's a definite fidelity loss. This will not impress audiophiles, some of whom want a nearly uncompressed audio file on their iPods.



    Exactly.
  • Reply 24 of 34
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pazimzadeh View Post


    That sounds about right. My guess is that Apple will allow people to fully stream songs that they already bought, instead of only allowing a 30 second preview. Additionally they might release some new site where people can access their "virtual library" which contains the same media as on their computers, but can be accessed from anywhere. How exciting is that?



    It will only contain purchased music.

    It will also solve the problem of backing up iTunes purchases and migration to a new iPod or iPhone.
  • Reply 25 of 34
    What is the name of the Lala app? Is it on itunes now?
  • Reply 26 of 34
    rob55rob55 Posts: 1,291member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tundraboy View Post


    ...My prediction is that Apple is aiming for the ability to run/serve/manage all aspects of iPhone owners' lives through Mobile Me. That means communication, music, credit card purchases, medical records, personal documents, library access, work, school, etc...



    Hey, wouldn't it be funny if Apple became the very thing they claimed not to be in their "1984" commercial.
  • Reply 27 of 34
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rob55 View Post


    Hey, wouldn't it be funny if Apple became the very thing they claimed not to be in their "1984" commercial.



    The whole point of a revolution, a "New Order", is to replace the old one. With something better of course.



    The dangers are obvious, as we know. Illustrated beautifully by George Orwell in Animal Farm.
  • Reply 28 of 34
    rob55rob55 Posts: 1,291member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post


    The whole point of a revolution, a "New Order", is to replace the old one. With something better of course.



    The dangers are obvious, as we know. Illustrated beautifully by George Orwell in Animal Farm.



    For me, I like my music right where it is, sitting on the hard drive in my iMac. I personally don't find moving it to a cloud revolutionary.
  • Reply 29 of 34
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by monstrosity View Post


    Thats nonsense, it's a simple culture shift, infact the cloud way of listening to music simplifies things for your average drone to comprehend.



    too bad the geniuses haven't figured out a way to let the cloud penetrate the NYC subway in this high tech town here. gotta love the 32GB storage in my iphone for those times as well as the ones when there are a million people around me hogging up the cell towers in the middle of the day and slacker/pandora cut out on me
  • Reply 30 of 34
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Apple are going to open iTunes.com in 2010, an online version of iTunes while the rewrite Bloatunes.app
  • Reply 31 of 34
    cmf2cmf2 Posts: 1,427member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rob55 View Post


    For me, I like my music right where it is, sitting on the hard drive in my iMac. I personally don't find moving it to a cloud revolutionary.



    Hard drive and cloud...
  • Reply 32 of 34
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cmf2 View Post


    Hard drive and cloud...



    The ideal combination. iDisk on steroids, thank you.
  • Reply 33 of 34
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tundraboy View Post


    And them some. My prediction is that Apple is aiming for the ability to run/serve/manage all aspects of iPhone owners' lives through Mobile Me. That means communication, music, credit card purchases, medical records, personal documents, library access, work, school, etc. Literally, your life on an iPhone.



    So iLife eh?
  • Reply 34 of 34
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tundraboy View Post


    And them some. My prediction is that Apple is aiming for the ability to run/serve/manage all aspects of iPhone owners' lives through Mobile Me. That means communication, music, credit card purchases, medical records, personal documents, library access, work, school, etc. Literally, your life on an iPhone.



    Yes, some of these the iPhone can already do through dedicated apps or Safari, but that's still too cumbersome and Apple is all about streamlining, and simplifying the whole process so that for most people (i.e. non-techies) iPhone becomes the easy, obvious choice.



    The human-device interface is where Apple outclasses everyone. Everyone. And by lightyears. Android, and WebOS, and WinMo 7, and everyone else won't even know what hit them when iCloud is fully deployed. No one will have Apple's ease of use and no one will have an ecosystem that is as vast and comprehensive.



    Hang on to your AAPL. You're going to be scaling Mt. Everest with it.



    Personally, there is nothing wrong with the iTunes model. It is reliable, robust, it works and it is a natural feeder to the App Store model.



    As such, I can think of one reason for Apple to iterate iTunes; simply as a feature to drive adoption of MobileMe.



    In other words, if you want the best of experience as Apple designed it, use the native apps for iTunes, iPhoto and Mail.



    If you want access anywhere, untethered from your iPhone, iPod Touch or Mac, access via MobileMe.



    Apple is not a company that bolts stuff on just because there is some proof of demand. They build stuff that fits their strategic view of a 1+1=3.



    As a sweetener to MobileMe, a streaming, Web-based option makes sense.



    The subscription view (i.e., Apple offering a subscription based streaming service) COULD make sense, but that is orthogonal to the question of whether a web-based, streaming approach is right for Apple and iTunes.



    Lala is the tail, and not the dog in this story, IMHO.
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