The whole majority at 46% did throw me off a bit too..... if it was 51%.... then I guess it wouldn't matter how many choices, the majority comment would hold some value... unless you had a lot of dummies who "didn't know" or "unsure".... I don't think that kind of option should be in surveys.... if they don't know, don't count them... no opinion dummies.. lol :)

Real put out its own iPod like device and just shut the h*** up...

NEWS SONY MAD AT MICROSOFT BECUASE XBOX GAMES DO NOT PLAY ON PLAYSTATION...


ps. 54% said they could care less

All Apple will do is continue to market the iPod/ITMS as the superior products they are compared to any offerings from Real or Napster. I work for the UI design team at Roxio/Napster and they use ITMS as the basis for all of their upcoming designs and features.

Apple will just inform the public that Real "hacked" there way in to the iPod and that they will disable any support for Harmony-based music files. Who gets hurt in this scenario? Real's customers. Real could potentially have a class action lawsuit against them for misleading their customers into believing their files are 100% compatible w/the iPod. Apple could potentially benefit from this by pulling customers away from Real.

Nice of you to bring a number abuse of your own...

46% CAN be a majority. h*** any percentage can be, as long as it's more than any other out of the total. So your statement that "...a 46 percent majority agreed...." is moronic is totally moronic itself.

This is what you call, in politics, a push-poll: it's not intended to gather information, but to make the "voter" think something is true that isn't. It's like the tactic run against McCain in South Carolina: people would call, and ask your opinion about "John McCain having a black baby," making the voter think one thing, when what was true was, he and his wife adopted a child from Bangladesh.

Though a less spectacular example, this is a push poll too -- probably paid for by Real.

People have to think of it like this - if Schick made razor blades that worked with Gillette razors - Gillette would be pissed and have every right to sue. Gillette just like Apple have every right to protect their products and their hard work if they don't want to 'share' then that's 'their' choice.

Companies (read: Real or Schick) can't complain that their competitors are doing a better job (building marketing and selling) and instead of trying to build a better product just ride on their coat tails by 'hacking' their way in and saying it's freedom of choice for the customer.

Apple seems to be doing just fine thank you very much. The iPod does indeed play unprotected MP3, AAC, AIFF and WAV files and also allows anyone to rip their own physical CDs, so *nobody* is restricted to only being able to play "proprietary iTunes files" from the iTMS. Apple shouldn't change a thing because their current strategy is obviously working. Only FUD ridden articles like this one from "Media Daily News" suggest anything otherwise.

I'm just furious that Macnn won't let me have their admin passwords so that I can post my stories on their site. I mean, who do they think they are? The consumers are the losers.

Once again, MacNN is the Fox News of Apple. Publishing a push poll is the lowest form of journalism. Is this site so lazy that they just publish anything? Or are they deliberate in their effort to spread FUD? Shame on MacNN for giving a voice to such obvious lies.

I'm getting fed up with so-called journalists who just read Real's press releases and not doing any sort of actual research on their articles.

Once any research is done on Real's absurd claims, the so-called journlists will maybe...maybe...learn to stop taking press releases at their word.

The best article I've seen regarding the whole Real/Apple thing that does a great job of clearing the air is:

http://daringfireball.net/2004/08/2004_wont_be_like_1984

I agree Real, I want freedom of choice, that's why I own an iPod and use iTunes Music Store. The iPod supports CDs, MP3s and yes, Apple's DRM. iTMS supports Macs and Windows.

Now imagine the scene...Williams Wallace (Mel) is riding his horse up and down the frontline of his warriors waving an iPod. "Freedom! Freedom!" Of course, the iPod is full of bagpipe music.

Ah...yeah...so...back to topic. :)

How many care about the 46%?
I do?
I don't?
What is a percentage?

The article says that 8% of people knew that there was a catch to what the ipod could play...as was pointed out, a flawed statement. Immediately thereafter they say that when notified...so the same 8%?...that 46% of those think apple should open up the ipod to other drm (or at least share fairplay). Does that mean of the entire group, that less than 4% actually had this opinion?

for those of you who believe 46% CAN be a majority:

NO. IT. CAN. NOT.

a MAJORITY is GREATER THAN HALF, i.e., half the votes plus one - in this case the "majority" received less than half of the votes, so the term the author should have used in this case, as has been mentioned already, is PLURALITY. This is the term used to describe the winning option when there are more than two possible choices and none of them receives more than half of the votes plus one. (which WOULD HAVE BEEN a majority.)

From The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.  2000.:

majority
NOUN: 1. The greater number or part; a number more than half of the total. ...

plurality
NOUN: ... 4a. In a contest of more than two choices, the number of votes cast for the winning choice if this number is not more than one half of the total votes cast.

learn English, b!tches. i hate uninformed morons who insist they're right. although i suppose if the vast MAJORITY of the news media can't get it right for something like a presidential election, (which last saw a true majority in 1988), how can one expect the general rifraff to understand it...

/spewing of vitriol

heheh if I was home I would have looked up the exact defs to post here, but this isn't my machine, and I didn't want to get caught doing that at work :) instead I can freely write here. :) I do about the majority term, but not the other.. but I do know better than to say majority if less than 50%... that's common knowledge I thought.. :)

Here is what I sent the editor of that web site:

Did anybody make it apparent to the people that took this poll that you can easily download music from any service, put it into iTunes and have it on you iPod.

Does anybody ask Microsoft to make Powerpoint be compatible with other presentation software? No. But it can convert it (sometimes).

That is basically what it's all about anyway. People need to know how to convert their files.

If Apple makes it so everything can download directly into the iPod you are opening up a whole bunch of problems. What if somebody makes a virus to delete the music there? What if some hack programmer just writes bad code and causes the iPod to malfunction? No thanks, I'll let Apple have control of the hardware and the software!

Download whatever you want. Then drag it into iTunes. Then sync!

IS IT SO HARD?

Duane Deal

"however, users can convert purchased music from other stores"

Doesn't this break the DMCA somehow, in the same way Apple was trying to use it to shut down PlayFair?

Oh, right, it's only wrong if it harms Apple...

There's no DMCA problem with converting music bought from other sources *unless* the pruchase agreement from the other source specifically prohibits doing so.

Sounds like a majority to me:
"majority
NOUN:6 Obsolete. The fact or state of being greater; superiority"

Sounds like the greater number of people.... It may be the "obsolete" definition, but it still can be valid.

the first definition you provide proves you're also an idiot (besides being rude): it's a two part definition, meaning either one is true; the first part reads: "The greater number or part "

So yes, 46% CAN be a majority; perhaps *YOU* should learn to read asshat!

I am guessing that by the term "or part" is just a different meaning of the term "greater number".. if it was a three way option wouldn't it be described as "greatest number or part"? by them using the term "greater" I believe it's assumed that there is only two possible parts.. either greater, or lesser of two choices. aka majority or minority. we need someone with a PhD in english or statistics to help this debate ;)

This is from "The Columbia Guide to Standard American English."

http://www.bartleby.com/68/56/3756.html

The Columbia Guide definition is perfect.

The writer would have been better off using a term such as "lion's share," which simply means largest portion.

As a high school English teacher with a degree in English, I can tell you that when referring to voting or polling, majority commonly means "more than half" and plurality commonly means "the most preferred" when the percentage of preference is less than half (which would imply more than two choices). Can you construe other meanings from the dictionary definitions? Possibly. Is a majority also a plurality? Yes. Is a plurality also a majority? I would say it is not. The commonly accepted and agreed upon meanings and usages for these words are as I've stated above.

As a high school journalism teacher, I would assume that AP Style agrees with this, but my Style Guide is at school and I can't check it right now.

There are two ways to look at this and both have their pros/cons. Long term computer users (especially Mac users) are used to proprietary environments, applications and systems - and under this the iPod/Music Store tie fits perfectly. Normal music purchasers aren't - they expect what they're used to (CDs bought in a Virgin Megastore to play in a CD player bought from Asda, Currys or Amazon) to apply with this 'ere modern iPod thing.

Personally, I'm with the second group - the iPod is great now but I don't want to limit my future choice of products based upon the music I buy - but then I'm more an eMusic/192kbps VBR MP3-type person anyway, so you wouldn't catch me buying from the Music Store anyway.

How is Real's 'Freedom' campaign site a .org..?? It's funded by Real to promote a Real product...
What happened to the comments as others have noted..?
What happened to the Q&A with 'Rock on Rob' that was supposed to have happened last week..?

And how much longer will Real be allowed to continue with the false advertising that their songs are higher quality because the bit rate is higher..?? No mention of the fact that Real and Apple use different formats for their songs, so comparing bit rates is not a like for like comparison.

We all know questions can be worded to increase the chances of getting the response you want. I wonder who paid Insight Express to conduct their study...?
I went to their web site to find the full report since the story says it was released yesterday. It's not there. So I contacted the guy who's quoted in the story. I just got a reply from him that, "MediaPost released some preliminary data - when I have a study, I will send you some information."
Funny how a MediaPost/Insight Express joint study would be reported by one partner before the other thought it was ready, but I'll take his word for now...