I listened to the Gillmor Gang Monday night and heard Adam Curry talk about his conversations with Steve Jobs about podcasting. Striking is how much Apple seems to get it. Podcasting fits into the DIY decade of self-expression, which increasingly seems to be the theme of Apple's product ecosystem.
Now it looks as if Microsoft is getting into the podcasting game. I see (via Steve Rubel and the Seattle PI) that Microsoft is putting together a podcasting team. Scoble made the hint on his blog.
Curry said that Microsoft was quick to give him a call after the reports of Jobs doing a demo of iTunes podcatching capabilities at last week's Wall Street Journal's "D: All Things Digital" conference.
According to the PI, Curry said:
"It was like 15 minutes after it showed up in the Wall Street Journal when Microsoft called, saying, 'Hey, how do we get in this?' I don't know a lot about Microsoft. I do see they're a lot hungrier company than they used to be. But every single time you talk to them about anything that's new, or in this case iPodder functionality inside Windows Media Player, the almost standard answer is, 'Yeah we're going to have a lot of that in Longhorn.' That to me means there is this huge steamboat that is very difficult to steer left or right, and it's just harder to get stuff done at Microsoft."
That was the main point I gleaned from what Curry and the other guests said on the Gillmor Gang. It's not that the work can't be done. It's just that people need to make decisions to get the work done.
In the end, the ultimate difference may be who embraces the DIY culture most. And so far, Apple seems to be winning the race to embrace. Microsoft is talking a lot about Longhorn. But it is still a top-down, horns locked operating system. Let's be clear that Apple does not have an open environment. And in defense of Microsoft, the company has taken to the open nature of blogging. But if you look at the product lines of the two companies, the differences are clear. The iPod and iTunes products are like magic swords, giving people the semblance of freedom to cut through the controls, obstructions and emptiness of sterotypical, top-down media. Their embrace of podcasting is just another magic weapon they are creating for those who seek strength in the freedom to express and absorb themselves with digital technology. Microsoft provides DIY tools, too. But their real strength is in the corporations, where their operating system dominates the enterprise.
Somehow, Apple has turned the iPod and iTunes ino mythic weapons that people see as hip. And in the process, they have aligned themselves with DIY youth culture, who live in the remix world.
No doubt, there are shades of grey. But I leave with a few questions:
Is the future of podcasting really not about the DIY culture that Apple embraces? Is it broader? And if so, how will Microsoft achieve the zeitgeist that Apple so increasingly seems to possess?
Please, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Alex Williams
Matt May
Nicole Simon
Roland Tanglao
1. Peter Kay on June 1, 2005 09:30 PM writes...
It was inevitable. Podcatching is such a lightweight application that integrating it into iTunes and Windows Media Player is a natural. They both already do the downloading, ripping, and synchronization functions, what's the big deal in adding some simple XML consumption (junction, what's your) functions?
This is fantastic news for podcasters everywhere. Within about 6 months, we're all going to have a listener base in the many, many millions.
Permalink to Comment2. Steve Stern on June 2, 2005 11:37 AM writes...
There is a good description of the steps MS is taking to implement Podcasting into longhorn at;
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/5915/
Permalink to Comment3. PXLated on June 2, 2005 01:53 PM writes...
Wait until Apple releases a stripped down version of GarageBand just for creating podCasts...Apple has all the tech they need right now to be the podCasting king from creation to catching.
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Longhorn...isn't that vaporware at the moment?
4. Tom Barta on June 2, 2005 04:05 PM writes...
"Let's be clear that Apple does not have an open environment"
Neither is MSFT. I'd argue that APPL is relatively MORE open. The OS is partially open-sourced, after all. MSFT's reaction to Open source is to try to defame and kill it. Apple is open where it works, and closed where more control is needed. MSFT is as closed as humanly possible.
Permalink to Comment5. John on June 2, 2005 07:12 PM writes...
In the world of words and numbers, MS took Apple's MacWrite/Paint/Draw/Filemaker (DIY tools for the individual) and built Word, then Excel, then PowerPoint, then Access, all with an eye to the corporate world - while Apple relied on others.
But now we are in the world of audio and video. All of iLife exemplifies Apple's DIY culture. Podcast creation tools (extension of Garageband) for the DIYer would be a natural for Apple.
But unlike with words and numbers, Apple has built professional tools in audio and video for businesses and can extend those to allow businesses to make "professional" podcasts. MS makes nothing comparable to the iLife or Pro apps, but if they want to attack it in the corporate world, they could start from the server end - allowing businesses to easily manage the podcasts (which is just another set of data), etc.
Permalink to Comment6. Alex Rowland on June 3, 2005 02:12 AM writes...
Apple is more open than Microsoft? How so? Jobs is Mr. Closed in just about everything he does. Apple produces the hardware (and most of the software). Apple uses their own proprietary DRM. Apple doesn't integrate with other MP3 players. iTunes is a closed distribution mechanism from start to finish.
There are many DIY applications that run on the Windows OS, most of which MS did not author. How does providing iLife make Apple a bastion of opennness. They still want you to only produce the content on their devices, deliver it via their network, to be ultimately consumed on their device.
Apple's adherence to closed production, distribution, and consumption is what got them crushed in the 80s. They're essentially following the same path today, they just managed to solidify a leadership position in music distribution before MSFT could do so. But compared to Apple, I would say MSFT is more open (which isn't saying a whole helluva a lot for MSFT's openness.)
Permalink to Comment7. debt consolidation on December 27, 2005 09:49 AM writes...
debt consolidation
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