Breakin’
July 15th, 2009, 4:41pm by MikeWell, the inevitable has finally happened — with iTunes 8.2.1, Apple has done what everyone knew they eventually would and made it so that the Pre can no longer sync seamlessly with iTunes. Anyone who’s surprised was fooling themselves.
My taken on the whole thing — despite the Pre fanboys’ insistence that this proves that Apple is afraid of the Pre (I’m sure they’re not), all that’s happened is that Pre is now on equal footing with every other non-Apple device out there — it’s easy to sync with iTunes, but you need 3rd party software. Apple hasn’t supported seamless iTunes syncing with other devices, and they have no obligation to do so. It’s their thing — they can do what they want. Other companies offer software to sync their devices with iTunes (like RIM, for example). If Palm had gone that route and Apple broke it — whole different story.
For that matter, you don’t have to use iTunes at all, there are plenty of good alternatives, and nobody’s stopping you, including Palm (and there are already good reviews of doubletwist on Pre). I guess Apple has decided that they don’t need the probably very few iTMS purchases from Pre owners.
On the other hand, I think that what Palm did, while innovative, was undoubtedly wrong, and they knew it. The fact that they warned, before Pre was released, that sync was possible with a very specific version of iTunes (iTunes 8.1.1 – see footnote 2 here) to me indicates that they knew that Apple could, and would, disable that ability.
Palm is really hoping for a public backlash, but I don’t understand how Palm is going to sell this to consumers. What’s their argument? I think it goes something like this: Don’t buy an iPhone, because it locks you into Apple and their strongarmed ways of doing things. Come to Palm, where we’ll let you do what you want, as long as it doesn’t require us writing any software to help you use your phone together with your computer the way you have been? If iTunes sycing is the most important thing to a phone buyer, they’ll buy an iPhone, end of story.
My prediction is that this will SERIOUSLY backfire for Palm. Are they going to continue marketing Media Sync as a feature? And then, when dissatisfied customers come back to the store, they’ll respond, “Oh, it works with the old version of iTunes, just like we said on the box.” Do they seriously think that’s going to turn people against Apple?
The only offshoots of this, as far as I can see:
-
doubletwist will get some new users. Great for them, I think that what they’re doing is generally good.
-
The hacker community will reenable iTunes syncing. That’s also great. I totally support hackers doing their thing, but I don’t support companies hacking other companies’ products in ways that they originators don’t support. Same as with Tivo — hacking was great, and was supported by Tivo, as long as you didn’t mess with their revenue stream by stealing service. If another company allowed you to plug in a device that would allow you to steal Tivo, that’s clearly wrong.
-
Pre users won’t update iTunes. I hope that’s true — it puts the burden on Apple to make something so great that people will want to upgrade. Apple has had little pressure to innovate with iTunes since it’s so dominant.
Palm may very well have a strong lawsuit in their pocket, hoping to hit Apple on syncing PDAs or something. Other than the off chance that they win a protracted legal battle, I can’t figure how this situation is going to help Palm in the least. And if that’s how they’re planning on saving Palm, I think that’s pretty petty.
July 15th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Like I’ve said, this won’t affect me, personally, but I’m not sure I agree with this particular comment: “On the other hand, I think that what Palm did, while innovative, was undoubtedly wrong, and they knew it.”
I’m not sure why it was wrong. Do you mean legally? I do know this– Palm made Pre iTunes compatible out of the box, and Apple went out of their way to break it. RIMM does something similar with a software conduit. Why is that any different? Wouldn’t it be similarly justified for Apple to break compatibility with BB’s software?
For that matter, why doesn’t Apple also make Pre unable to mount as a USB drive in MacOS? Once it’s a drive on your computer, it’s actually trivial to drag the contents of an iTunes playlist into the Pre. They could also modify iPhoto so it won’t import pictures taken from the Pre. Re-write Apple.com so it only loads correctly in Safari. At some point, it becomes anti-competitive behavior. I’m not sure defending iTunes from non-Apple devices is a morally justifiable right.
July 15th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Losing iTunes syncing would be tough for me, since I’m locked into the Apple world. That being said, I’m not a huge fan — I don’t auto-sync anything (just drag and drop in iTunes, which if I had a Pre, wouldn’t require iTunes), and since 2005, I’ve used an AppleScript to sync podcasts because I hate the way iTunes implements it. (But the script still requires iTunes since iPods and iPhones aren’t Mass Storage devices). If I had a Pre that didn’t work with iTunes, I wouldn’t need or necessarily miss the integration, and I’d probably still use iTunes for desktop media management simply because I’m lazy.
But I do think that Palm was wrong: “Palm made Pre iTunes compatible out of the box, and Apple went out of their way to break it.” Palm deliberately reverse engineered (with or without inside Apple engineering information) something that Apple had put in place to discourage companies from giving the seamless experience that Apple uses to market iPods. I find it hard to believe that every other company out there that sells audio players and phones didn’t think to do this before — they either couldn’t do it (i.e., didn’t have the required information that working at Apple would provide), or they knew that they shouldn’t for some reason, be it legal or otherwise.
Now, wrong legally — I don’t know about that. But I think they’re being hypocrites for acting surprised that Apple would be so bold as to change iTunes to make their hack not work again.
As for your examples:
I feel certain that Palm has a backup plan here, which could range from an app to link iTunes to Pre via the library’s XML file (which is how RIM does it), or maybe just a huge lawsuit. I think it would be much more to their advantage to team up with Amazon and recreate the desktop/phone iTunes/iTMS ecosystem. They could even leave Macs out in the cold if they wanted.
This must be the longest comment in history.
July 16th, 2009 at 2:20 am
From what I understand, RIMM’s media sync is just as seemless, once you install the conduit. I don’t see the distinction; it seems to me that the exact same arguments could justify them breaking that as well as Doubletwist. Anyway, whatever their rationale, Apple just put out a version of iTunes that’s even less useful to me than the version they released before. Maybe they don’t care whether non-iPhone users bother with iTunes. No skin off my back either. But they are seriously deluded if they think that this makes me any more likely to buy an iPhone.
July 16th, 2009 at 9:40 am
If I were a Pre user, the solution for me would be Missing Sync for Pre, which not only allows you to sync your iTunes music, but also your contacts, calendar, photos, docs, and more between the Mac (or PC) and the Pre. It’ll even work over wifi, which seems like a no-brainer that Apple won’t implement for iPhone. I loved Missing Sync with my Treo 650, but unfortunately, the version for iPhone “is designed as a companion to iTunes” and is useless to me.
I’d love to dispense with iTunes for syncing contacts, calendars, and photos — it makes no sense to use a music program for that.
Given the choice, I’d probably trade iTunes integration for Mass Storage — so I’m not sure why Palm people are complaining.
July 16th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Just waiting for the follow-up post, “Breakin’ 2 – Electric Boogaloo”. 🙂
July 16th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
That was the idea behind the title — I was already planning ahead for the cat-and-mouse game 😉
July 16th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Sailing Media Sync is another option, http://www.salling.com/ , though it doesn’t look like it does contacts or calendar but that is less of an issue with the Pre, I suppose.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Well, for now I’ll stick with iTunes 8.whateverworks. Kelvin & I were involved in a conversation with some trolls on the Yahoo! Finance Palm message board mocking Pre owners for losing iTunes sync capability. I asked what improvements iTunes has made in the last 3-5 years and they came up with… genius playlists. That was it. Oh, they threw out increased selection in the store and some other backend stuff, but ultimately, those Apple Fanboys (and they definitely were Apple fanboys) couldn’t name one compelling upgrade. So other than the fact that Apple at some point may break compatibility, there’s been very little reason to upgrade.
Of course, iTunes was years ahead of its time, but I’m sure the rest of the world has caught up. I think Amazon would be well-suited to lead a consortium of developers to create an open, accessible desktop client. Doubletwist, TiVo and Palm would be obvious partners. I think having software that could work with multiple stores would have some benefits in contrast to the current set-up.
Was Palm “wrong” to make the Pre work with iTunes? I don’t think so, and further I don’t even understand the context of the claim. There’s really no moral right here, devices masquerade as one another all the time. The classic case is probably that of inkjet replacement cartridges. The makers of those products were soon by HP and others for violating the DMCA, which was intended to prohibit decryption of DRM of copyrighted material. In that case, the printer makers claimed that they were accessing copyrighted code in the cartridge, which served literally no purpose other than providing legal cover to sue in case inkjet clones came along. In that case, the replacement makers won.
Were they “wrong” to sell those cartridges? No, and it turns out it wasn’t illegal either. The way I look at it is this: I bought an Apple Computer that included iTunes– I paid for it. It’s my music that I paid for. If someone else can tap into that, and let me load my paid-for songs via my paid-for software, that sounds just about “right” for me. Apple doesn’t have to like it, and they don’t have to support it, but when they go out of their way to block it, it makes their products less valuable to me.
Now, I’m not going to move to a PC for a lot of reasons, but the truth is that if I used Lightroom instead of Aperture, I would consider it. Eventually iTunes syncing will break on my Pre, at which point I’ll use one of the many other options available. While the Pre isn’t breaking sales records (yet), in the long run this could hurt Apple by encouraging million of users to abandon iTunes in favor of other solutions.
So I’m just rambling now, I know. I think Palm was smart to include the capability out of the box, and they’ll be smart to speak as softly as possible while trying to re-enable syncing and promoting other solutions. Palm doesn’t need to act like a victim– they’ll get better press if they just put their heads down and improve their product and gently chide Apple for being scared of little ‘ole Palm. Right or wrong has nothing to do it– it’s purely subjective. Reverse engineering (I’m 99.9% positive that Palm did this via clean-room reverse engineering to avoid legal troubles, although knowing that they could do it no doubt played into their thinking. That’s how Compaq invented the PC clone market.) has a long & storied tradition, and is ultimately essential to innovation. Palm may have been sneaky, but that’s business.
July 16th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Well, good, we’ve all weighed in! The Board is back! I’m glad we could all step out of our 140-character zones for a few minutes.
I think we can declare this topic closed for now. It’s been fun to think about, and in the end, it seems like none of us really care too much about it anyway, which makes it more fun. It’ll be interesting to see how it all pans out, I just hope it doesn’t bring the companies into some drawn out B.S. legal battle that’s no good for anybody.
July 16th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Speaking of drawn-out legal battles… I’ve got an old post to update. Later tonight.
July 23rd, 2009 at 8:00 pm
WebOS update 1.1 just installed. Apparently, it fixes some issue with Media Sync not working with the latest iTunes.
July 23rd, 2009 at 8:00 pm
It’s on like Donkey Kong! iTunes syncing works again. From the Palm Blog:
July 23rd, 2009 at 8:05 pm
WebOS update 1.1 just installed. Apparently, it fixes some issue with Media Sync not working with the latest iTunes :). I actually can’t believe Palm is picking a fight over this, but the stage is definitely set for the sequel.
iTunes 7.6 is consistently failing to find album art for me, an issue that seems to be fixed in the newer builds I’ve tested on my work PC (you know, my test machine). So I guess I’m now cleared to upgrade for reals.
July 24th, 2009 at 2:08 am
Oh my, this is getting juicy! Palm says that it was Apple who abused the USB Vendor ID number [with their update].
ìPalm believes that openness and interoperability offer better experiences for users by allowing them the freedom to use the content they own without interference across devices and services, so on behalf of consumers, we have notified the USB Implementers Forum of what we believe is improper use of the Vendor ID number by another member.î
July 24th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
… and Gizmodo points out that Palm is likely wrong on this “infringement” by Apple:
I fear that this crap is only beginning. The Apple blogs are saying that regardless of who’s right, the real losers in this battle are Pre users who use iTunes, who can’t be sure from one day to the next whether they have the functionality they were sold by Palm.
July 24th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
As a Pre user, I have to say that I enjoy the spectacle!
July 24th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Yeah, Palm is pretty clearly in violation of that rule. No idea what is their rationale behind pointing the finger at Apple, even if they think 2 wrongs make a right.
Sounds like that USB group only has the power to recind the “USB certified” logo anyway. No biggie.
The larger issue is if this goes to court. There’s probably a case to be made that it’s unfair to tie the world’s largest music vendor to a single hardware device (although that case was stronger when iTunes had DRM).
July 24th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Oh, I enjoy the spectacle, I just think it’s a huge waste of time and money. Doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable — it’s not my time or money, and I have no stake in the outcome, as long as Apple isn’t bankrupted.
If Palm were found in violation of the USB group’s rules, is it possible that they might not be able to use the term “USB” in describing how the Pre connects? That would be comical.
And my personal opinion is that this is about iTunes (the app), not iTunes (the music store). I don’t think there’s any real case for an iTMS monopoly claim, since there are many vendors with exactly the same product for offer (well, the music within the file — nobody sells AACs, I guess). Isn’t Amazon’s MP3 store actually bundled on the Pre? Is there any difference in what the two stores sell, other than it’s usually cheaper at Amazon?
And you can still use the iTMS on any computer and put the songs on your Pre — the argument is only about how you get the songs onto your Pre.
July 29th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
I never really formulated a cohesive response to your comment, Mike. You might be right that iTMS would not be considered a monopoly solely on the basis of its market share. It’s clearly *dominant* in music sales, and especially so in the digital space. And even if you could make the monopoly claim, an illegal tying claim would also be fairly tenuous. Certainly unless the courts tell them otherwise, it’s fair game for Apple to disallow any device from syncing with the iTunes library, whether via UBS spoofing (like the Pre) or any 3rd party software (like BB’s or Doubletwist or Missing Sync software). I don’t think either party wants to see this escalate to the courts.
Anyway, the reason I was resurrecting this post was that I was reading up on some of the features in the recently rolled out WebOS 1.1, and here’s one that was unheralded, but ultimately welcome:
“Removes the On Device Demo from retail display units”
Thank god for small favors. What were they thinking?
August 18th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Just for the heck of it, I tried out Salling Media Sync. It presents a dialog box that looks suspiciously like the iPod management windows in iTunes, with tabs for Music, Playlists, and Photos. Within each tab, you can choose to autosync all or individual playlists, including iTunes Smartplaylists. Once you set it up, everything is transferred to the Pre, complete with album art, and as a nice bonus, the files are organized in folders by artist/album, rather than being obscured in the iPod’s annoying file format. Now in the free version, a “sync” involves copying all files from the PC to the Pre, rather than only the new files, making it pretty useless for podcasts, so the $22 registration fee is pretty much obligatory.
All in all, a decent option, if Palm’s direct sync method should prove to be untenable. I do find it interesting that Apple doesn’t have a problem with utilities like this, since they are obviously making money ripping off iTunes look and feel and functionality. I feel like at least, Apple might have a trademark case against Salling. And even if they didn’t have a legal case, they could certainly encode the iTunes database so apps like these can’t access it as easily.