WWDC 2015 Keynote

This is my first post here. I'm not new to Apple, my first computer was the Apple //c. First Mac was the 512K. Been using Apple's for longer then most of the people I work with have been alive.

After watching the keynote in it's entirety I have a few comments and questions.

As far as the latest update to Mac OS X I have to say I agree with a lot of people. El Capitan is kind of a goofy name for an operating system. The features they're adding are kinda lackluster which I'm sure they know and that's why the last few updates have been free. I remember having to pay to go from System 8 to System 8.5, didn't complain much at the time as I was willing to help Apple make money to keep the balance sheets in the black.

My opinion on iOS 9 is about the same. Kinda lackluster. The new features are cool and all, but, nothing ground breaking.

I think the biggest announcement today was Swift going Open Source. Apple states they're going to make compilers for iOS and Mac OS X and Linux. This is a good thing, it will encourage more people to develop using this IDE. As to how the Linux compiler will work, that's still up in the air. We'll have to wait and see what the Linux developers can add to this category.

As far as Apple Music. The jury is still out on this one. I have a ton of questions. Just a couple are: Will this replace iTunes? Is there still going to be an Apple Music Store where I can buy tracks? Can I turn off the streaming features and just use the software as a jukebox. According to Apple you can't add music to your library without a subscription. I've never been big on the subscription model (although I do it for Adobe) and really like the idea of downloading something and having it physically in my library. If this goes away and music on the Apple platform becomes subscription only then I'm pretty much going to think that Apple has ruined music for me. I'll not be going back to Windows (which I did for 7 years), but, I think if they drop their current distribution method then I think Amazon will start selling much more music.

I can't comment on the Watch OS yet as I don't get my watch until tomorrow. But, I'll be taking it through the paces you can be assured.

I'm no Apple hater, no Windows hater, I just prefer Mac for my personal use.

Thanks for reading (in the case you made it to the end :Blushing: )

Hey Scott. Glad to see you here. Seems like a vaguely remember you from the MacOSG days. lol

I'm also curious about the changes to music delivery. I'm not normally a big fan of the subscription music model either but the pricing is at least competitive. If I understood him correctly my wife and I could finally have different music setups for streaming without wrecking the library.

I'm curious about the new release of iTunes. I've said for a while that they need to streamline things a bit but I don't think the new version is going to address that.

KCMac said:

have a ton of questions. Just a couple are: Will this replace iTunes?

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No. This is the music app on iOS. This has nothing to do with iTunes in the Mac. There's never been an iTunes for iOS: the various functions it performs on Macs are handled by several apps on iOS instead of just one.

Is there still going to be an Apple Music Store where I can buy tracks?

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Yes. Nothing changes there. On iOS, it is now and will continue to be handled by the iTunes Store app.

Can I turn off the streaming features and just use the software as a jukebox.

Click to expand...

There's nothing to "turn off" -- that's how the Music app works by default. You can use the Music app without subscribing to anything. It will function as it does now. IF YOU WANT, you can listen to Beats 1 (no subscription required), and you can use the social artist interaction pages (also free).

To be clear, the only thing that costs money is if you want to STREAM music from the multi-million-songiTunes Music Collection (this is nothing to do with your own music). That costs $10 a month.

[EDIT] Found a chart that makes this clearer, here you go:

According to Apple you can't add music to your library without a subscription.

Click to expand...

No, this isn't true. You can't stream music on demand from the iTunes collection without a subscription, or store songs from that stream. You can still buy songs from the iTunes store, and your own music is completely unaffected by any of this.

Hope that helps!

Perhaps they are alluding to 'iTunes in the Cloud' which allows you to add content to your iCloud based library? Which is still a separate thing from adding media to your local computer, although that is the gateway to 'iTunes in the Cloud' along with iTunes purchases.

There is no "alluding" to anything that I can see. It's a an addon music subscription service that permits you to not only stream, but download and add songs to your music library that you do not own. Don't really see what is so hard about that. These subscription services have been around for years. I was a subscriber to Rhapsody's service well over 10 years ago.

I began collecting vinyl in the mid '60s. By the time CDs came out, with somewhere between 7-8,000 LPs, I was easily hitting the $70,000 mark invested in that vinyl collection and was still purchasing 2-5 albums a week. From that perspective, personally, I think these music services are the best thing since the ability to record for the serious music lover.

Someone wants to collect music over their lifetime and start at 15 or 20 years old when most don't have much cash, for $10 they get pretty much all the music they want - right now. No waiting until you can afford that album from your favorite artist, the ability to listen to an entire album without purchasing it and then finding out the album sucks and there really is only one song that's worth spit (and at that price, no reason to steal it either in this digital age we are in). Over the course of 60 years, they'll spend $7,200 - not the $70,000 I spent in 20 years. Even at $25/mth x 60 years is still only $18,000 over a lifetime for access to practically all the music you can listen to.. Still waaaaayyyyy cheaper than the $70k I laid out back in the day for what? Let's see, average of 12 tracks per LP, times let's say 7,500 is 90,000 tracks I had for that investment. Versus a million tracks - right now - for $10 and for somewhere between $7- $18k over an entire lifetime. It sounds like a bargain to me.

Good point Tom. I have a number of tracks in my iTunes library where I have one or two track from an album. In some cases I've gone back later and used the complete my album feature to finish it out. Some albums I haven't completed and probably won't. That usually sets off an itch in my brain that would make Sheldon Cooper proud though.