Self-Righteous Stands
/This is the problem with these self-righteous stands. Time ends all promises, eventually. And the result is extreme hypocrisy even though you’re just doing what your rivals are doing.
Nailed it.
Quality Domination
/Over time, I believe we'll see a move towards a few Android devices dominating the market — things will start to look more like the iOS ecosystem which favors quality and experience over a large number of choices.
I don't disagree with Siegler often. But this is one of those times. There's a huge market for crappy computers in the Windows space. Almost 20 years since Windows 95 took the world by storm. As much as people want a good computer, they want a cheap computer more. Only when there is a clear and compelling reason to pay more will anyone do so. And software updates aren't it. Most folks I know (who have iPhones or Androids) don't update their OS, or even know that there is a new version. I believe cheap, crappy Android hardware will continue to exist right alongside great Android hardware.
Overstating the Facts
/M.G. Siegler on the news that Apple TV outsold Xbox 360 last quarter:
When — yes, when — Apple adds apps to this thing, wonder what will happen? If they added them tomorrow, the Apple TV would instantly be the number one gaming console. Think about that for a second.
Ummm... this is comparing a decade-old console to a 3-month-old set-top box. I highly doubt Apple TV outsells a newly released Xbox console. IF that happens I'll be impressed.
Siegler on the Nexus 7
/MG Siegler on the Google Nexus 7 tablet:
I’m about to do something I don’t do often — something I always said I’d do if the product deserved it. Something some people seem to think I’m incapable of: praise a Google product — an Android-based Google product, no less.
Solid review. This is one of a rare breed of balanced reviews of a tech product that is 1) made by Apple or 2) competes with a product made by Apple. This gives me great hope for the viability of an iPad Mini now that I can clearly see the use-case for a well-made smaller tablet.
Again with the iPad Mini?
/Killian Bell reports on the new crop of iPad Mini rumors:
iPad mini will feature a 7.85-inch IGZO display from Sharp, and will start at just $249.
With that kind of price tag, the iPad mini is in a perfect position to fend off any threat from the recently released Google Nexus 7, or the upcoming Kindle Fire 2. Sure, it’s $50 more expensive than its $199 competitors, but you can bet you’ll get a lot more bang for your buck.
I'm holding my breath.
Well, when you're wrong, you're wrong. M.G. Seigler:
As for Steve Jobs implying Apple could never do a smaller tablet because users would have to whittle down their fingers to use it — welcome to Steve Jobs and Apple. Jobs saying that was just as good of an indication that Apple may eventually move into the space. And now it sure looks like they’re getting ready to.
There is just too much buzz coming from too many sources to be based on pure speculation at this point. I still feel like Jobs was right about a 7-inch tablet being a "tweener" but I'll surely be playing with one when (if) it comes out.
More Thoughts on Piracy
/Firstly, I don't think most people want to steal anything. So MG Siegler makes the argument that people are backed into a corner with little recourse but to pirate.
I’m going to be pirating season 2 of “Game of Thrones.”
I’m going to be forced to scour the shady underbelly of the Web to find the show. The upside (from what I hear) is that I’ll likely be able to get it before it even airs. And it will probably be in better quality than any legal download and/or broadcast. And it will be delivered to me fast. And, of course, it will be free.
Again, I’d gladly pay for it. But I have no way to do so, outside of forking over an obscene amount of money on a monthly basis to a cable company, and/or waiting a year. I’m just not willing to do that. My hand is being forced.
No, it's not. You can wait. It isn't that HBO isn't making this available, it's that they aren't making it available for a long time. Having said that, I understand completely. I live in Canada so I can't watch anything online, Netflix sucks out loud, and we have to pay a premium for American content. For example, you paid $38.99 in HD? I've gotta pay $43.99.
Even though our dollar is worth (ever so slightly) more than the US Dollar for over a year now:
In response to this tech writer Dan Moren jumped on Twitter with this:
Shit: Since I either have to pay $27 to buy this hardcover or wait 3 weeks to get it from the library, I have *no choice* but to steal it.
Which lead to this:
@dmoren - $27 for the exact book you want is far different from $25/episode.
Which lead to this:
@ConradMacIntyre I'm not sure what your argument is here. That it's okay to not pay for things because they're expensive?
Then this:
@dmoren - When they're unreasonably expensive? You and I might decide to just wait, but I suspect most people would steal.
This:
@ConradMacIntyre But who decides what is "unreasonably" expensive? Plenty of people still pay for that content at current prices.
And finally, this:
@dmoren - It's about being right vs being pragmatic.
The Oatmeal chirped in on this very topic a little while back:
To which Andy Ihnatko said:
The single least-attractive attribute of many of the people who download content illegally is their smug sense of entitlement.
…
The world does not OWE you Season 1 of “Game Of Thrones” in the form you want it at the moment you want it at the price you want to pay for it. If it’s not available under 100% your terms, you have the free-and-clear option of not having it.
Marco Arment's article (which I referenced in my tweet above, and it totally worth a read) on the topic concludes with the same references to the Oatmeal and Andy Ihnatko and these paragraphs.
Andy’s right. But it’s not going to solve the problem.
Relying solely on yelling about what’s right isn’t a pragmatic approach for the media industry to take. And it’s not working. It’s unrealistic and naïve to expect everyone to do the “right” thing when the alternative is so much easier, faster, cheaper, and better for so many of them.
The pragmatic approach is to address the demand.
Exactly. And I'll go on the record right now. I have pirated all 6 seasons of The Wonder Years. There is literally *no* way to purchase this content. The same is true of many classic shows like Perfect Strangers, Night Court, and, until recently, The Fugitive. Would I like to buy The Wonder Years? Of course I would… but I have no such option.