Apple's Hypocritical Move to Block Competitors From Accessing iTunes

Farhad Monjoo, writing for Slate, argues that Apple should allow any mp3 player to sync with iTunes, and I agree. Palm’s decision to make its Pre pretend to be an iPod was interesting but strange. iTunes should sync with any player that plugs into it, but since all the music Apple sells (and any music you load in from a CD) is copy-protection-free, Palm could have written its own sync software that reads anything in the iTunes Media folder. People could keep using iTunes to play music and use another utility to sync their Pre.

Palm Splits in Two

Palm, the maker of handheld PDAs, just announcede that they will be splitting into two companies. One, PalmOne, will be solely a hardware company while the other, PalmSource, will make software. In some of the worst writing I’ve ever read, C|Net’s Ina Fried says: “Where the biblical King Solomon only threatened to divide a disputed baby in two, Palm has undertaken to actually split its venerable brand in two.” But what can you expect from a company that thought news.com.com was clever?