I suspect that in a few years, people will identify Apple’s rebuff of Real Networks as the beginning of the end for its dominance in online music. It’s sad that Apple still has not learned that closed platforms always lose to open ones, even if the closed platform is better.
Jobs was quoted in today’s WSJ saying, in response to Rob Glaser’s offer,
The iPod already works with the No. 1 music service in the world, and the iTunes Music Store works with the No. 1 digital-music player in the world. The No. 2s are so far behind already. Why would we want to work with No. 2?
Nice, Steve. Start a fight with one of the only other industry leaders who’s been a steadfast opponent of Microsoft’s monopoly. That sort of arrogance is exactly what sent Apple into a tailspin two decades ago.
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