| Wednesday, September 12, 2007 |
09:20 - I was afraid of this
http://daringfireball.net/2007/09/weird_rude_buggy
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So much for the simplicity and intuitiveness of the iTunes model of media ownership and enjoyment, hailed by legions since its inception. Now we're reduced to bitterly fuming about the weird bugs, stupid UI decisions, and bewildering legal labyrinth surrounding cell phone ringtones.
I don't know what's more depressing to me: that Apple couldn't make this feature work any better, or that so many people are so obsessed with ringtones that the labels feel they can get away with smacking Apple around with them to the point where this artificially crippled, disclaimer-riddled garbage is what they have to end up foisting on users.
In a perfect world (well, one that's perfect aside from the existence of cell phones, I guess), you could make any damn MP3 or AAC file you wanted into a ringtone. It's such a ridiculous thing to charge money for: you can't listen to it, it's bad quality, and you can't even control when you hear it. It's like paying $10 for a movie ticket, but you don't go into the theater right away; instead, at random times throughout the day, someone will tap you on the shoulder, stick a scratchy old 10-inch black-and-white TV in your face, and show you the first 15 seconds of the movie, and then run away. Boy, that's money well spent.
But then, I'm the kind of person who thinks it's hysterically stupid that all voice-mail features don't work like Apple's "Visual Voicemail". Messages appear in a list, and you can select them at random to listen to, rather than sequentially like on a tape? Wooooo. Why is this something to be proud of? This is freaking e-mail. We've had e-mail for thirty years now. How can this possibly be a differentiating feature? I feel dirty just thinking about a supposedly "modern" Apple technology that's forced to tout something like this as an "advancement".
This is precisely what I dreaded about seeing Apple wade into this cesspool with the iPhone in the first place.
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Brian Tiemann
1. Sigivald - 10:33 Wed 9/12/2007 ( email )
If it was up to Apple and Steve, I reckon you could automatically and without cost make any part of any song a ringtone, or any arbitrary audio file, with no hassle at all.
The legalese and ridiculous restrictions all scream "stupid contract forced on Apple by music companies used to ridiculous fees from traditional carriers who charge $2.99 for a damn ringtone".