Windows Vista and Apple Itunes

Apple: iTunes Users Should Wait on Vista (2/9/2007)

Apple Inc. is urging some iPod and iTunes users to hold off on upgrading computers to Windows Vista, warning that the iTunes music software may not work well with the new operating system from rival Microsoft Corp.

Apple said iTunes may work with many Vista computers, but the company knows of some compatibility problems and recommends that users wait until it resolves the issues with an iTunes update in the next few weeks, the company said in a statement provided Friday by spokesman Derick Mains. The iTunes software is key to synching music on computers with iPod portable players.

Microsoft launched Vista, its first major overhaul of Windows in five years, on Tuesday.

Though Microsoft and Apple are partners in some cases _ iTunes works with Windows PCs and Microsoft Office has a version for Macs _ the two are also entrenched rivals. With Vista's launch, Apple ramped up its ad campaign attacks against Windows.

According to a notice posted on Apple's Web site, compatibility problems include the inability to play music or video purchased from the online iTunes store, difficulties synchronizing contacts and calendars and possible failures of iPods plugged into a Vista computer. Apple also outlined precautionary steps users could take to try to minimize any problems should they upgrade to Vista now.

Adam Anderson, a spokesman for Microsoft's Windows division, said the company did not believe iTunes users "should stop using Vista for these reasons."

The company said it is working with a long list of partners, including Apple, to make sure their software is compatible with Vista. When the new operating system launched, Microsoft claimed more than 5,000 hardware and software products were already Vista-compatible.

The company has a dedicated team working with Apple on getting iTunes running smoothly on Vista, and it will keep at it "until they have the program running to the quality level they're shooting for," Anderson said.

Apple has sold more than 90 million iPods since the product was launched in October 2001.

Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 coming this June

Apple's Itunes is clearly the leader in the field of mp3 downloads, indexing and cd ripping. With the advent of Microsoft's Windows Media Player 11, it will be interesting to see if Microsoft can provide some real competition against Itunes.

We personally doubt it.

Incoming reports suggest that Microsoft would be launching the much-awaited upgrade to the Windows Media Player application much before Windows Vista comes out in the market. The launch of Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP operating system is scheduled to come out this June.

Microsoft claims that this upgrade would bring better synching capabilities with the oh-so-popular digital music players available in the market (apart from Apple iPod of course). In addition, the user interface is totally updated to make it easier for the user to scroll through long libraries of music.

Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 would also integrate the URGE digital music store tightly into the interface. Microsoft and MTV have developed this service in collaboration to take on market leaders Apple iTunes.

As expected, the XP version of this updated version will not offer all the bells and whistles expected from the version scheduled to be shipped with Windows Vista. It would be interesting to see how this updated version helps Microsoft maintain their dominating position in the music application market. However, challenging Apple iTunes would require a lot more efforts on their part.

Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 coming this June

Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 Vista Version (Source: News.com)

Article Source: http://www.techwhack.com