Apparently somebody forgot to mention to this guy that the iPod isn't popular because the iTMS is so awesome, the iTMS is so popular because everybody is already buying iPods. They could care less what online music service they use--the iTMS happens to be easy and have a good model, but it's the iPod that's selling it.

Therefore, telling people that the iPod sucks and you shouldn't buy one because it doesn't work with their music service is like telling people that Toyota cars suck and you shouldn't buy them because they don't run on methanol.

Nobody cares, because they're not buying the player to go with the music service, it's the other way 'round. Apple sells as many iPods in a week as these guys had total subscriptions at last count.

Oh, and does anybody else think it was hilarious that these guys managed to increase their website traffic by 30% with their Superbowl ad, while Apple's went up 170% on *Pepsi's* ads?

it's stupid to buy an iPod.

I'm stupid

I'm stupid too, thanks for letting me know and the other million plus people.

'About 80 percent of Microsoft employees who have a portable music player have an iPod,'

-- or in this case "Stupid".

I could see it right now a great new Apple ad.
Awesome marketing, thanks to a guy who has poor people skills. CEO Gorog, sounds like a monster from a horror movie.

Microsoft often does battle through proxies - SCO?

I can vouch for the fact that people don't buy iPods based on what music store they can access. The iPod is a hit here in Oz and we don't even have the iTMS yet!

And yes, every ad that takes aim at the iPod only serves to reinforce its dominance.

Smoolie, you know nothing about computers, so do a little research before you post. MP3 is not open source or even royalty free like PDF or uncompressed TIFF. Developers have to pay for a license and the deisgners of the format have it patented. There is an open format called Ogg Vorbis and is actually superior in many ways to MP3s, except it has less industry support. http://www.mediachance.com/mp3/

Smoolie, you know nothing about computers, so do a little research before you post. MP3 is not open source or even royalty free like PDF or uncompressed TIFF. Developers have to pay for a license and the deisgners of the format have it patented. There is an open format called Ogg Vorbis and is actually superior in many ways to MP3s, except it has less industry support. http://www.mediachance.com/mp3/

Send them an email. Be sure to thank them for calling you stupid...

businessdevelopment@napster.com

(Disclaimer; I don't recommend using Hymn, Follow the Fair Play rules. This is purely an educational/hypothetical post)

Ok, so Hymn came out, and it kinda lets people take the music they bought on itms and remove the rights management. It ends up doing basically the same thing as burning a cd and then re-ripping it. Ok, so it's not /right/ but it's not going to kill ITMS. People still have to buy the music.

Imagine a similar thing for this napster service: Download unlimited music, then run your hack, and now you have your unlimited music without the need to keep subscribing. So, are you going to? Thought so.

Interesting how a similar program for two different stores could have such different effects. It'll be interesting to see what happens. (Maybe Real Networks will hack it.)

Ok, let me see if I understand correctly:

A person who has an iPod is stupid.

What is a person who gets rid of his or hers iPod 'and gets a Dell DJ because the Napster-to-go does not? Clever? All cool, hip, and music-interested people already have iPods. Does "Bill & Napsters" really think they will ever move over to a subscription service and rent the music they already own? And at the same time get rid of the iPod and by a fugly nerd-player?

Don't think so. I'd rather stay stupid.

"Business 2.0 has ranked RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser's struggle with Apple over iTunes seventh among 'the 101 dumbest moments in business'"
http://www.macnn.com/articles/05/02/10/dumbest.moments.in.biz./

Looks like Business 2.0 ought to expand their list to "102 dumbest moments in business" and include Gorog's stupid comment.

So if buying a iPod is stupid. What about any other of the 30 or so digital music players that do not suport the Napster To-Go? Are those people stupid too?

I own 300 CD's. Am I stupid for not throwing those out and then "renting" the same music from a company that may not be around this time next year?

Here's Apple's quick response.

Naptser: "*It is necessary to maintain a Napster subscription in order to continue access to songs downloaded through the Napster service."

Apple: You own your downloaded music.

Apple has already tried the "your stupid, now buy our product" strategy. It was a TV commercial called Lemmings. And how did that go over? Well, let's just say it doesn't top any lists of the greatest commercials of all time.

Question: I got an iPod for Christmas. Does that mean I'm stupid, or just the person who bought it for me?

how much money do they have to throw away, anyway? for a cool million or two, i could think of all kinds of interesting ways to call ipod users stupid. hey napster, have your machine call my machine, we'll do lunch!

"your" should be "you're"

I'm used to getting my daily dose of stupidity from Bush but this guy takes the cake.

So, 10 million plus iPod owners are stupid, eh? Sure whatever you say, I'll just go sell my iPod on eBay right now and buy some suckass MP3 player so I can rent my music from Napster!

So, the people who created the absolute worst, ugliest Super Bowl ad ever, thinks iPod users are stupid.

Uh-huh.

hack the f*** out of Napster's site?

I agree with many of the people here, the fact that they are saying that buying an iPod is stupid is well, just plain stupid. Considering how many people have iPods out there, you are calling a whole lot of people stupid.

Janus is the God of Doorways and portals -- The god with two faces so he could watch you coming and going. Nice symbolism, eh? I'm also waiting for the trademark lawsuit -- isn't the name of Sun's Linux/Solaris compatibility tool named Janus? IIRC, there's also a RAD toolkit named Janus. Maybe they're the same.

Good ol' Chris Gowrong is at it again. Go ahead and tell the millions of iPod owners how stupid they are and how stupid owning an iPod is. We're all going to drop our iPods like hot rocks and buy one of your couple of oh-so-s***-not compatible players so we can pay $15 a month to you forever so we can keep listening to music.

Chris Gowrong is nothing more than a f***: he makes a bit of rude noise, stinks up the place for a little while and then dissipates into thin air forever.

"The article notes correctly that the iPod is the only player compatible with iTunes (without hacks) -- not that the iPod can only play protected AAC. Ever try using music purchased through iTunes to fill up a Dell DJ?"

That's completely untrue. I have 3 different MP3 players that are compatible with iTunes. Note MP3. Not AAC. There were a scattering of panasonic AAC players around, but I never grabbed one. W/ my iPod I'm happy, now I'm just going to buy a shuffle for the small size flash player and the battery adapter to keep jamming all the time. All you have to do is sing a hymn to play your AAC's unprotected. Napster is junk. The new Mp3.com may have something, except that the interface needs to go before the lawsuit comes in and major labels aren't going to play without DRM. Apple's DRM is hardly restrictive and easily circumvented at full quality. Besides, the iPod is hot because it's the best player hands down. Why not have your music compatible with the majority share of players and Mac and Windows instead of a few winjunk DRM players. Why is it that MS has terrible security for everything but their DRM? Although half of that is cracked already (lit). iTunes is a great app on both platforms, compatible hack free with many players and almost all mass storage ones w/ no tweaking. ITMS works fine. It isn't even internationalized (it's localized) and that would be a big step that's going to be even harder to follow. Someone opened up a creative store (that's all that's in the window) 3 stores away from the Apple store where I live. Bets on how long that stays open? I'd go with possitive suggestions for improving the iPod and ITMS, but calling it stupid to buy one is pitiful baiting and ineffective to boot.

Hmm. Yeah, Gorog does sound like a monster, but like, Grendel's goofy cousin or something.

Well, this is strange.

I sold my iPod on eBay before x-mas, and now it sucks. I haven't bought my new one, and dammit, I just want to be stupid like everyone else right now. I am calling Apple Store tomorrow, first thing.

I thought exactly the same thing when I read this. It's just like Apple's Lemmings ad from years ago. I guess it won't be long before we have to start refering to them as "beleaguered music service, Napster"

I think any new competitor to iTunes is going to have to be subscription based to even have a chance to compete. I don't think we'll see any more per song purchase sites crop up. With all the iTMS purchases out there, no company can ask people to buy these songs again. The subsription service says "we'll GIVE you all your iTMS muisc" I'm surpriseed Napster isn't pushing that. That might get some people but I guess Napster is too "stupid" to point that out.

On another note: You are going to always at least need and intenet connection in order to use iTMS songs on new computers in the future. The first time you play a purchased song on a new computer it "calls" Apple to see if you are authorized to play it. It will be interesting to see how this works out in ten years.

....of Napster? For the same reason there are no Mac versions of the other services: They're "stupid". :-)) Don't forget, iTMS was the #1 paid download service even before there was a Windows version. I think too many of these companies underestimate how much money the Mac community spends on music downloads, and are doing themselves a disservice by not making Mac versions of their software.

Bhuot. I didn't say that mp3 was open source, I said it was open standard. OK. maybe that was a bit clumsy: I guess I should have said it is a standard. After all, every piece of music hardware being successfully marketed today has to be capable of playing mp3's. That was my point.

And Bhuot, next time before you get so self righteous that you feel the need to insult someone that you don't even know, take a deep breath and smell your own s***.

No it is Napsters first short at getting on the stupidest things to do in 2005 list;-)

Here in Denmark people are switching to the iTunes music player because it is the best way to organize their music. and we do not even have access to the store yet. Alot of people are buying iPods yes, but the fact that people uses it to organize their music tell something about the quality of the software. You love the software your music is stored in your iTunes library you want to take your music with you. Solution buy a iPod. Lot of us has done that.

"think any new competitor to iTunes is going to have to be subscription based to even have a chance to compete. I don't think we'll see any more per song purchase sites crop up. With all the iTMS purchases out there, no company can ask people to buy these songs again. The subsription service says "we'll GIVE you all your iTMS muisc" I'm surpriseed Napster isn't pushing that. That might get some people but I guess Napster is too "stupid" to point that out."

I disagree. I think that a lot of people are confusing the iPod with ITMS and ITMS with iTunes. Fact is that most people are buying an iPod because of the hardware itself AND the fact that it interfaces so well with the iTunes software that is free on both Mac and Windows platforms. It simply is the best interface out there bar none. In fact the others aren't even remotely close.

ITMS is more of an add on service. Some people will want to buy music there but I seriously doubt that there are that many people who are shelling out big bucks to download all their music from ITMS or any other pay service. Most people already have CD's and the first thing they do when they install iTunes is to rip them and start their library (and you don't even need an iPod for that). ITMS is useful for that one time download when you may hear a song you like and don't want to go out and buy the whole CD. And, lets be honest here: most people are still downloading their music via Limewire, Kazaa, etc, or else borrowing a friend/relatives CD and ripping it. This is why Napster and other subscription based services will not succeed.

i want to own my music not rent it.

I get a good chunk of my music from the public library.

I remember when Napster was used to piss off musicians who felt violated when their songs were downloaded for free... And guess who was responsible for that!

N A P S T E R!!!!

Metallica hates Napster, they were the reason why all this went into high gear straight into h***. But then Apple came with the iPod and made everything better. Now the pirate, the crook is looking for sympathy?

Get real... Who are they kidding? I mean they are NAPSTER! The root of all evil (In the music business). Apple saved a lot of good talents who otherwise didn't want their music on the net.

Lame... I hate Napster....

There's clearly no debate here. Just a consensus that Napster is doomed but doesn't know it yet. I think this whole $15 unlimited subscription and the superbowl ad promoting are a last ditch attempt. I'd like to start a pool as to when Napster officially bites the dust. Any recommendations as to where that can be done online?

Napster thinks I'm stupid for buying an iPod?

Mr. Napster f*** who called me stupid, please die along with your garbage company.

There at least they have a reason to call me stupid.

I sent this off to them. I expect that they'll ignore it, but...

Gentlemen:

Congratulations on your new marketing campaign.

Just a few comments:

1 all those people who have bought iPods may have negative responses to being called stupid.

2 I just had a look at your site. Hmmm. Windows only. And, in fact, for the Napster to go service, WinXP and Windows Media Player 10 only. No Linux. And definitely no Macs. And a _requirement_ that users use exploit-infested MSIE! What, no Firefox support? None visible, anyway. Hmmm. Firefox _seems_ to be able to access the site, but I'm sure not gonna actually spend any money there if there's a chance that some MSIE-centric Active X or whatever thingie will block access to a critical item. I guess that stupid ol' me won't be signing up... And I suspect that I'm not alone.

P.S... great Superbowl ad, guys. Hint: I filled up my first iPod before there _was_ a iTunes Music Store, just using music I already owned. You've perhaps heard of CDs? Us stupid people have. And, gee, if the iTMS drops off the face of the Earth at noon, EST, today, every one of those songs will still play. I wonder what would happen if I were to discontinue my 'subscription' to Napster, assuming, that is, that Napster actually supported my chosen browser on my chosen platform, which it doesn't? Gee. Only a stupid person would think about such a thing...

Bye, now.

Oqun's right. Most of us filled our iPods with CDs we already owned. There was no need for an iTMS at any time. It's nice to have access to a single here and there, and get a free song when you chug a soft drink (ie:Pepsi promo), but really we are coming from a CD only reality.

Napster's service enslaves you. What they often don't mention is that access to subscription based content is TIMED and you MUST sync your music player with the Napster service every now and then to continue proving to DRM solution that you're allowed to keep playing the content. That's lame. Can you imagine going on a trip for a month and having your portable music player suddenly stop playing music because it needs a "reminder" that you're allowed to play its content?

s**** that. More on this here:

http://daringfireball.net/2005/02/subscription_small_print

"Ever try using music purchased through iTunes to fill up a Dell DJ?"
Considering my first paragraph, this doesn't count, and indirectly points to Napster's argument of "it takes $10,000 to fill an iPod". Even if you did buy 10-500 iTMS songs, there's nothing stopping you from burning audio CDs with your purchases and re-repping them in any audio format you want, for *any* player. If that seems a daunting task, then be strategic and burn CDs as you acquire content to fill them, and not once you've amassed an inventory.

iPod rocks and sells because it does. I LOVE the fact that to do a volume change, I can just stick my hand in my pocket and do a quick finger slide. It's just so...s***. Its micro/macro movement based interface is perfect for accessibility concerns. You can have a motor control disability and still be able to use the wheel's interface. It's genius and human. You can change the volume and navigate the interface with toes or your nose.

This reminds me of the dorky alien in Plan 9 From Outer Space:

"You have stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!"

I guess Napster is the dorky alien now.

Apple's stock is at an all-time high. I guess investors didn't get the memo!

... is taking his cues from Bill o'Riley, that falafel eating freak.

SHUT UP. STUPID. YOUR STUPID. SHUT UP. 10,000$. SHUT UP. STUPID.

I guess their version of aggressive campaign is to start fight with people and piss them off.

I didn't go to Marketing school but that seems like a bad idea.

The current incarnation of Napster is hardly the same company that got in trouble with the likes of Metallica and other sell out "musicians" for providing easy, free mp3 downloads. Same name, same logo, everything else is different. This is pretty much common knowledge. The original Napster was not the bunch of criminals you make them out to be. The criminals are the music companies. The current Napster is just a struggling company trying to get involved in a really tough market and failing miserably. They won't be around much longer. Move along, nothing to see here.