lala - Gizmodo

posts about #lala more →
Is Apple Taking the Internet Seriously Now?
Apple Stole Lala From Google, and Things Are Just Getting Ugly
How Lala and the Web Will Make iTunes Even More Powerful
What Lala Means for the Streaming Future of iTunes
Remainders - The Good, Bad and Ugly Stories We Didn't Post (and Why)
Apple Is Now in the Streaming Music Business
Apple In 'Advanced' Acquisition Talks With Lala
An Early Video Peek at LaLa's Übercheap Music App
Google Music Search Turns Your Results Pages Into Personal Radios
Lala iPhone App And Its 10-Cent Songs Might Be Reality By Year End

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deciBels
12/14/09

In reply to Is Apple Taking the Internet Seriously Now?
You can't consider them to be taking internet seriously until Flash is supported on the iPhone.
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blash
12/14/09

In reply to Is Apple Taking the Internet Seriously Now?
So long as all my old songs are grandfathered into the system... there's a good amount of stuff I've lost completely and being able to redownload stuff I've paid for at one point or another would get me to start buying from iTunes again.
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S-Express
12/13/09

In reply to Is Apple Taking the Internet Seriously Now?
Is Apple taking the internet seriously now?

WTF?

Let's start with iTunes - without the web and the iTunes store, the whole ecosystem would never have grown at the rate it has.

Then let's look at the web being used for sign-up for the original iPhone - allowing people to take the iPhone home and register in their own tiem.

Then the App store - the store that changed the face of mobile computing..

Then let's look at OS and firmware updates, for the iPhone for example. The phone you bought months/years ago is now transformed, for free, by an automated download when you sync.

Oh, and let's not forget the cloud - you know, MobileMe - auto sync of desktop yo laptop to iPhone, automated back-up storage, web hosting for i-apps....

I think Apple got the whole Web thing down a while ago - they just did it so well, no one noticed...
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airmanchairman
12/14/09

@S-Express: Word, man, word.
The entire Apple Mac/PC/iPod/iPhone/(desktop & Mobile) Safari/iTunes/Mobile Me eco-system is the best seamless implementation of Cloud Computing by a single vendor out there in the, uh, Cloud...
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NorwoodIsMyHero promoted this comment Edited by airmanchairman at 12/14/09 5:28 AM airmanchairman was starred airmanchairman was unstarred

NorwoodIsMyHero
12/14/09

@airmanchairman: Uh. I'm not a big fan of the "cloud" but I think maybe you're misinterpreting what the word means.

I think the idea is that you aren't tied to any one piece of hardware, which Apple's eco-system does. I could be wrong there but I think thats the idea.
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airmanchairman
12/14/09

@NorwoodIsMyHero: sadly, Cloud computing is offered by different vendors (Amazon's EC2 is an example) and you may have the right idea and ideal, but not the reality.
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Edited by airmanchairman at 12/14/09 9:23 AM airmanchairman was starred airmanchairman was unstarred

NorwoodIsMyHero
12/14/09

@airmanchairman: I know that's not the reality. What I'm saying is that when these "digital yuppies" think of the cloud, they aren't thinking of the Apple eco-system. They are thinking of something with even less constraints. I don't think any of them would say its really happened yet though. many are probably hoping that with the advent of the Tablet that Google and even Apple will make it a reality.

Personally I could care less. II don't need the cloud right now and like the speed of having stuff locally.
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barrygeorge001001
12/13/09

In reply to Is Apple Taking the Internet Seriously Now?
it would help if Apple would at least make Flash work on the iPhone. I love my iPhone and alot of apple methedology but taking the internet seriously involves ALL of the internet.
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Kaiser-Machead
12/13/09

@barrygeorge001001: I'll only welcome flash support if an ad-blocker is also added on, because the "real" internet is full of lots of superfluous crap that I'd rather not have in the way.
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voxmatt
12/13/09

In reply to Is Apple Taking the Internet Seriously Now?
Apple tends to wait on markets until they've matured into revenue producing vehicles. If there's no money, there's no Apple.

Which is indicative both of why they've held off on "the cloud" so far and why it's almost a certainty that they'll enter in a big way at some point. As much hype as there is surrounding netbooks, Google apps, and client-server software in general, most of it still sucks in very real ways. For example, I've tried to use Google docs seriously, but please...

And Steve Jobs remembers the Rockr—Apple is very wary to enter a market until the technology's there to do it right.

With LaLa specifically, take all of the above and then throw in the paranoid mess that most entertainment execs are about their IP (and Apple's growing hegemony), and, well, I'm not holding my breath on a cloud based music service anytime soon... not that I don't REALLY want it.

Finally, Matt (the author) is absolutely kidding himself if he thinks we're ever going to see LaLa's 10¢ rate. My bet would be on (whenever Apple enters the arena) augmenting the existing downloads with the ability to stream online. Or (I think this is less likely) a sort of streaming ZunePass.
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Kaiser-Machead promoted this comment Edited by voxmatt at 12/13/09 7:49 PM voxmatt was starred voxmatt was unstarred

Curves
12/13/09

In reply to Is Apple Taking the Internet Seriously Now?
I am looking forward to the twist that Apple might give us with Inet. They make an impact on any market they touch, and there is no end of innovation to be had, as we have seen in the explosion in technology over a relatively short span of time. I also firmly believe that if Apple didnt think there was money to be made, they wouldnt do it. They are, after all, a bottom line too.
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Manly_McBeeferton
12/13/09

In reply to Is Apple Taking the Internet Seriously Now?
Am I the only one who thinks LaLa is kind of silly? Why would you want to buy digital music, (okay, the cheaper price IS tantalizing, but who is really going to re-buy all/most their music in a digital form?) especially if you're someone who isn't connected to hi-speed internet 24/7.

(coughthankscomcastcough)

I travel out of town often to pick up my nephew and when I leave the city and embark on the 1.7 hours of boring driving I need some music to listen to, and the only device with respectable speed is my iPhone, but once I leave the city I lose my 3G and only have Edge. Hell, occasionally I even lose Edge. What am I supposed to use for music? A CD?! What is this, the 90s?

I can see how it would be nice for at-home/work use, though. However, I am finicky about digital downloads. What if their servers are down or they get hit with a nuclear bomb? Or what if Apple just decided to boot my "account" for whatever reason/deny me access of my music?

I think the internet is still too fragile to start introducing a completely digital age where everything is streamed on the internet, especially when it comes to something like music. Because I need my music, and if I can't get to it when I want it, it would blow. :(

Oh, and what's the point if we already have the technology to steam music/files/etc. from home/work to work/home?

This isn't meant to be a rant, I am actually curious...
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blazedshaggy
12/13/09

@Manly_McBeeferton: You don't have to re-buy your entire music collection if switching to LaLa. Their music uploader scans your collection and sends all music that you have to the "cloud". If you already own music they offer, they will let you listen to it for free. If their servers don't have music that's in your collection, it will upload that music for your listening pleasure. The LaLa model is the perfect way to transition your music library from local storage listening to cloud streaming.
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Manly_McBeeferton
12/13/09

@OMFG! Horny Manatees!: Oooooh. That's a very smart move on their part. Didn't know about that.
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ipodrulz
12/13/09

In reply to Is Apple Taking the Internet Seriously Now?
Don't forget that massive data centre Apple recently bought.
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Stndsh0
12/13/09

@ipodrulz: I recently spoke to one of the contractors who helped construct it, and he was almost scared with the amount of processing power that someone could fit in there.
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PN - gooapplesoft
12/13/09

In reply to Is Apple Taking the Internet Seriously Now?
This is a waste of time googles already mastered the internet, microsoft has mastered software on a worldwide stage... just merge with google and Microsoft and get it over with already... Hip Hip Hooray for googapplesoft!
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rimplestultskin, macberry fanboy
12/13/09

@PN - gooapplesoft: you say that like a joke, but i think that the reality is one of them is going to buy microsoft sooner or later. zune and xbox are awesome, and if properly salvaged and put to better use, could make a big difference, and apple and google are becoming more of a pair of behemoths every day, and are buying out smaller companies to both prove and expand their strength. not to mention that whoever can fix half of windows' recurring flaws will make billions.
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frigg
12/13/09

@PN - gooapplesoft: that would sound better as "gooplesoft"
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PN - gooapplesoft
12/13/09

@frigg: how dare you? are you suggesting i cut my avatars apple in half?
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Edited by PN - gooapplesoft at 12/13/09 8:39 PM PN - gooapplesoft was starred

PN - gooapplesoft
12/13/09

@rimplestultskin, macberry fanboy: I had a jokey attitude in my comment but "one of them is going to buy microsoft sooner or later"? haha

Microsoft value/market cap: 265.04B
Apple value/market cap: 175.34B
Google value/market cap: 187.35B

i doubt any of them will be buying Microsoft any time soon.
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jrblackman006
12/13/09

In reply to Is Apple Taking the Internet Seriously Now?
I don't know. I just don't see this internet thing lasting.
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Nathan Obbards
12/13/09

@jrblackman006: It's just some passing fad. Ignore it and it might go away.
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Thee Sea
12/13/09

In reply to Is Apple Taking the Internet Seriously Now?
I hear they have the internet on computers now.
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PN - gooapplesoft
12/13/09

@Thee Sea: well you heard wrong...now continue back into your cave.
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spannu
12/13/09

In reply to Is Apple Taking the Internet Seriously Now?
"in the future, you'll probably mark the iPhone as when the internet really started to matter"

Who is this statement directed towards? The iPhone is cool, but the internet became important back in the 90s. Even with bugs, limited bandwidth, and the higher level of expertise needed just to connect, that's when it became useful for regular consumers.

Even though computers and the internet are becoming more tightly integrated into many people's lives, the whole "Web 2.0" thing is still just a nonsensical term for an iterative improvement to the original structure.

When Apple designed their first computer, that was revolutionary. If they can do that with another one of their devices, that'd be great, but the iPhone is really just another terminal device.
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flpwch
12/13/09

@spannu: I think you are misunderstanding the quote. I think it is really directed to when the internet started to matter to Apple. The iPhone might mark Apple's shift to the internet and to the mobile market, away from the singular desktop box.
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PN - gooapplesoft
12/13/09

@flpwch: word.
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spannu
12/13/09

@flpwch: Yeah, it could mean that, especially given the headline, although the context of the Ballmer quote and previous Apple services made me unsure. After re-reading it you're probably right.
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OW-Holmes:Bringer of Fear
12/13/09

In reply to Is Apple Taking the Internet Seriously Now?
Internet, eh?
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Ethan Turkeltaub
12/13/09

In reply to Is Apple Taking the Internet Seriously Now?
I don't think that Apple will go with the cloud, but with their own servers. More control that way.
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Kaiser-Machead promoted this comment John Herrman approved this comment Ethan Turkeltaub was starred Ethan Turkeltaub was unstarred

Kaiser-Machead
12/13/09

@Ethan Turkeltaub: Either way, it would still be the "cloud" from the user's perspective.
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The5thElephant
12/11/09

In reply to Apple Stole Lala From Google, and Things Are Just Getting Ugly
Whatever happened to the whole AT&T, Apple, Google Voice thing?
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