The PalmPre versus Apple iTunes Sync Fight is Confusing

According to today’s news, the PalmPre is once again able to sync directly with Apple’s iTunes.

This will last exactly as long as it takes for Apple to figure out how disable the feature and then PalmPre users will be temporarily blocked once again.

Now, I can see why Apple might have a lot of hate for the PalmPre.  It was developed almost completely by ex-Apple folk and was released in an attempt to be a direct competitor to the iPhone, though most critics agree it loses in any sort of head-to-head battle.

What I don’t understand is why Apple thinks blocking the PalmPre’s ability to sync to iTunes is a wise move. Sure, it takes away a capacity many people like in their media players but it also opens the door wide to competitors looking to give folks a reason to try something other than iTunes as a media manager.  People will only look for an alternative if they can’t get access to the original, popular and rather well made iTunes software.

Not only that, but this discourages PalmPre owners from purchasing any music via iTunes.  This is a direct loss of potential revenue and again offers a great opportunity for competitors to step in and offer an alternative.

Considering how much effort is going into blocking the PalmPre from syncing with iTunes, Apple clearly has  their reasons.  I just can’t seem to fathom those reasons.

13-Year Old Reviews 1st Gen Sony Walkman. Hilarity Ensues.

This is just about the most fun thing I have read in a while.  BBC Magazine had a 13-year-olp boy give up his iPod  in exchange for a 1st generation Sony Walkman. Yes, the one that used cassette tapes.

Here are just a few gems from his report on the experience:

It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape. That was not the only naive mistake that I made; I mistook the metal/normal switch on the Walkman for a genre-specific equaliser, but later I discovered that it was in fact used to switch between two different types of cassette.

Genius!

He had told me it was big, but I hadn’t realised he meant THAT big. It was the size of a small book.

Totally true!  Read his whole review here.

Attn: RIAA! Quick, Sue ListenToYouTube.

It must be so tough being a RIAA lawyer. Every morning you have wake up and face the fact that 100 new sites just popped up hoping to make music more fun and accessible and it is your job to sue them out of existence as quickly as possible.

Today, RIAA is going to have to decide how many hours ListenToYouTube.com is allowed to live:

ListenToYouTube is a simple web-based application for pulling the audio out of a YouTube video and converting it to MP3. The service is free and simple: you plug in the URL for the video, it grabs the audio, you download the MP3. LINK

Considering how easy it is to find nearly every song ever made on YouTube it is only a short step from there to creating your own entirely illegal collection of ripped music.

Poor RIAA.  Some many people to sue and so little time to do it.