Since the iTunes
Music Store was launched, over 3 million songs have been
sold. This is especially amazing, since the service has only been
available to Mac users in the U.S. running OS X.
We know that a version of iTunes for Windows will be out
sometime this year.
What will this mean for Apple?
First of all, Apple is no longer just a hardware and OS maker,
as it basically was in the mid 90s. This is a given - since the
introduction of AppleWorks, iMovie, iTunes, and the rest,
Apple seems to keep coming out with more and more software.
Up until now, this software has been for the Mac. This summer,
however, iTunes for Windows will be released, giving Windows users
access to the iTunes Music Store and better integration with the
Windows version of the iPod.
This carries many benefits for Windows users, as well as giving
them a taste of some of the great software available for the Mac
(which I am sure Apple hopes will compel them to buy a Mac as their
next computer).
Releasing a Windows version of iTunes can only help Apple. In
addition to multiplying the number of songs sold, it will finally
give Windows a quality MP3 jukebox. I've been using WinAmp on my
Windows PC, which is fine, but it doesn't let you sort your MP3s by
name, artist, or title, and the controls are smaller and more
complicated than in iTunes.
Since Apple is starting to make roads into the Windows PC
market, should it perhaps start porting other software over to
Windows? (AppleWorks has been available to Windows users for
years.)
If Apple decides to, I would expect iMovie to be next, in order
to compete with Microsoft's lackluster Windows Movie Maker, which
is bundled with Windows Me and XP. While iMovie has been around for
several years on the Mac, I believe it would benefit Apple to
release a Windows version.
Perhaps if Apple were to "dumb it down" a little bit, it would
create more of an incentive for the Windows video editor to buy a
Mac to edit home movies - or Apple could make the Mac version more
substantial by giving it extra features.
I would also like to see iCal accessible over the
Internet on any type of computer. While I don't use iCal
personally, for those who do use it, it is nice to be able to be
able to see and alter your appointments or plans from anywhere, on
a Mac or PC (you can share them using .mac, but I can't find
anything about editing them over the Internet).
Perhaps Apple's Windows software will serve to simplify the
Windows OS a little bit, since much of the software coming out for
Windows seem to be overly complicated or poorly designed.
Who ever thought we'd be looking to Apple to make the Windows
experience better.
