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doug Petrosky

Member since: Jul 25th, 2005

doug Petrosky's Latest Comments

Blog Activity
Blog# of Comments
TUAW.com10 Comments
Engadget4 Comments
Download Squad1 Comment
Engadget HD1 Comment
BloggingStocks2 Comments
Switched1 Comment

Recent Comments:

Don't hold your breath for an Apple video streaming service (TUAW.com)

Apr 12th 2011 7:54PM Ok, so this is hard core speculation but your dismissal is a bit uninspired.

Through out you seem to think Apple is far less capable than the likes of netflix, Hulu, and others to negotiate terms with TV and movie studios. I'm not sure where this comes from, because they do have the leverage of hundreds of millions of credit cards, hundreds of millions of devices and existing, proven delivery systems.

Is there some reason why Apple couldn't make a deal similar to what Netflix has done? If it is a matter of fronting money, they have it in spades. If it is a critical mass of consumers they have that as well.

Apple wants compelling content available for their devices and will do what ever it takes to get it. IMHO

Rumor: TiVo stock climbs on talk of deal with Apple for new Apple TV (TUAW.com)

Jul 26th 2010 8:40PM Does nobody understand Apple? I see it all the time when people talk about AppleTV and how they don't DVR because it would eat into profits. HELLO!!!! Apple makes money selling hardware, not TV shows or even Apps! Making more content available for iPhones, iPods, and iPads, makes those devices more valuable. Why do you think Apple approved both TiVo and Hulu applications?

The problem is that Apple sees broadcast video as nearing end of life and sees online download and streaming as the future. So making a DVR is more than a bit iffy but it would immediately give another huge content stream for all of the iDevices as well as getting more AppleTV units out in the wild.

One big problem is how compensation would work. Apple doesn't do subscription and TiVo is built off recurring revenue. So could a per unit licensing fee be agreed on?

It is very interesting, but all seems a bit unlikely.

Unibody MacBook dips to $728 educational pricing (Engadget)

Jan 1st 2010 4:40AM @(Unverified)
I have no idea which timeline you are talking about but the 13.3" bests the base model in RAM 4 vs 2, Hard drive 320 vs 250 and is even a bit smaller and lighter and has a list price of $919 vs the mac book $899 which was discounted to $729 for this article.

Even at Apple's over priced additions to this unit we are only talking about $135 to match the two specs you mention. On the flip side you give up almost a 2:1 cpu clock speed advantage, a faster graphics chip a faster system bus and did we mention no optical drive?

This leaves out any value you place on the iLife suite of applications Apple provides or any comparisons between OS X and which ever version of Windows ships on the Acer. It ignores any perceived or real benefit Apple's service gives.

Unibody MacBook dips to $728 educational pricing (Engadget)

Jan 1st 2010 2:41AM @CommentsTroll
Well the case is gloss but the bottom of the computer is made of rubber and does not scratch or show finger prints easily at all, so try a better argument.

Apple Quietly Admits Macs Get Viruses (Switched)

Sep 2nd 2009 2:04AM The only threat, so far, that mac users have seen, are a couple trojan attacks and then only for people stupid enough to install them. Apple adds software to make even those a non starter and you equate it to admitting defeat?

The ads don't say Macs CAN'T have problems they say that they DON'T have problems with viruses and malware. THIS IS A TRUE STATEMENT! Apple is making sure it stays true.

One month with Apple TV (TUAW.com)

Feb 2nd 2009 5:11PM People who don't get appletv forget two things.

1. Comercials are how most tv is paid for.
2. Most people already pay another near $1,000 per year for tv.

Now there are still holes in the iTunes lineup but it is getting closer each day to having enough content. Whit season passes and discounted iTunes guift cards you can purchase 25-30 new full seasons of content. Playable on 5 systems and an unlimited number of appletv's and iPods. Forever!

As for streaming. The quality suffers because bandwidth is expensive and networks are limited. Don't get me wrong. Some combination of huhu and appletv works for now but ultamately download is a better solution.

Ask Engadget HD: Is the Apple TV worth it? (Engadget HD)

Jan 22nd 2009 12:42AM Are you serious? You are talking about spending less than $1000 where we are talking about a $200 AppleTV box. Although AppleTV can stand alone, that is not what it is for. AppleTV is an extension of your computer and the iTunes Store. For people who have video capable iPods and use iTunes for music videos and Podcasts. For people who want to see their photos and home movies on their home TV with near ZERO effort. AppleTV ROCKS!!!

As for the person who questions the ability to share with friends, you are absolutely wrong! TV shows and movies are sold with fairplay protection which means they can be played on 5 different PC's and an unlimited number of iPods/iPhones/AppleTV's. So I can purchase a TV season and legally and easily share it with my brother, father and a couple friends with no additional cost.

Apple could cause a huge departure from Cable and Satellite TV companies if they wanted to make plugins for hulu, NBC, ABC and CBS. The same could happen if they simply add more lower cost content.

That is how I see it.

Is dealing with Apple always so difficult? (BloggingStocks)

Dec 1st 2008 2:33PM Wow!

You mean to tell me that a third party online financing system went down on black friday? Appaling!!!

And then you got disconnected on a voice response system?

And after those traumatic problems, you were lucky enough to trick some Apple employee into letting get a black friday deal on the following monday?

I can see how all these hoops would anger even the most level headed. Also, the idea that someone should wait in line before being helped with a problem? What's up with that? They should understand this is not just a problem but "your problem" and drop everything (which it sounds like they did, but that didn't stop you from bitching about it).

So for those keeping score.

1) Apple honored a one day special price 2 days later.
2) Has a phone system that you can get disconnected from and uses a less than perfect financing system (did you get your financing by the way?).
3) Apple offers an appointment system for FREE tech support (unlike the charged for phone support of many tech companies).
4) Apple allowed you to jump ahead in line on that appointment system for something you deemed urgent.

Boy those Mac faithful will put up with just about anything.

Apple should offer option of .Mac as separate services (TUAW.com)

Oct 23rd 2006 1:14PM Ok, first. Only an idiot pays $99/year for .mac. It has been available from Amazon for ever at $79 and I just purchased a family pack upgrade a month ago for $120. Both the users and Apple need to realize this and just change the renewal price to reflect this reality and 30% of the people will stop their complaining.
About 2 years into .mac Apple increased storage by a factor of 4. I'd guess that a similar upgrade is in the works for early next year and another 40% of the people will stop their whining.
All that is left is for apple to start giving more member benefits like they did in the early days (special discounts on iLife/iWork or plugins for iMovie, iDVD and Garageband as well as special deals from shareware developers) and although some of that last 30% will still complain, it won't really matter because they will still pay their annual dues.
Really the only recommendation I have for the .Mac team (besides what I said above) is that the family pack should be more flexible. Using a new $80/year pricing with family at $160. You could instead say that any .mac user can add any number of 1/4 sized accounts (ok limit it at say 20) for an additional $20/year. Lets face it. Your, mom, grandmother, and Aunt Sue don't need large amounts of storage but would benefit from being able to share contacts, calendars, photos, etc.

Apple's Achilles' Heel? (BloggingStocks)

Jun 5th 2006 3:03AM Well Douglas really said it all but just in case he said too much, lets sum up and simplify.

1) Neither Aperture or Lightroom have anything to do with photoshop.
2) Both programs are of a new and unique nature.
3) Apple has not yet needed to license FairPlay (although they have to Motorola) because the dominate the market and are showing no signs of weakening yet. This dominance has allowed them to go head to head with the labels (which is good for all of us)
4) Something few people think about when thinking that Apple should support WMA is the cost. Microsoft does not give away WMA for free. To add WMA support to the iPod means adding it to iTunes (and probably Quicktime). Which means Apple does not pay for 40 Million licenses, They pay for 800 million licenses.

BTW: The authors friend should take a look at the current version of Aperture. Apple has done a great job of updating this program quickly and Light Room had better stay on it's toes if it wants to compete.