Real Kato Blog: Apple Watch: Recent News

Pixar-Disney, Apple DVRs, and the silly iPod lawsuit.

The Pixar-Disney merger is old news by now, but I never did get around to commenting on it, so I'm gonna do it now.

First, note the prediction I made back in January, before the merger was announced:

8. Apple will announce a major partnership with Disney, or some other media company.

While this hasn't quite happened yet, I think the merger is an important step in that process. Pixar, Disney, and Apple represent a triumvirate of complementary strengths, in content creation, distribution/merchandising, and technology, respectively. And now that Steve Jobs is in a position to unify those strengths into a single product strategy, I think it's only a matter of time before something comes out of it.

One thing I don't expect: I don't expect Jobs to take over Disney as the CEO. He's far too busy with Apple to handle something like that. But you can expect that Disney CEO Robert Iger will pay very close attention to what Steve has to say.

Lots of folks seem to be disappointed that Apple did not announce any kind of DVR functionality at last month's Macworld Expo. I've been thinking about that a bit, and here's the thing: Apple is not the kind of company to simply produce a me-too device. It won't make another TiVo, because TiVo already makes the best-in-class product, and they're getting their lunch eaten by cheaper competitors. No, if you see some kind of DVR-like machine from Apple, you can fully expect it to have some sort of innovation that sets it apart. It won't be WebTV, it won't be just a combination TiVo and jukebox, and it won't be a PC with DVR functions glommed onto it. Think different, as Apple used to say.

Or, of course, Apple could simply buy out TiVo (as I also predicted might happen) and improve upon the product... they've got $8 billion in the bank to play with, and TiVo could be bought for pocket change right now.

There's a lawsuit against Apple outstanding, from a man complaining that the iPod is responsible for potential hearing loss (and that Apple is negligent in not providing protections against excessive headphone volume).

Now, maybe Crouching Hamster can comment on this better, but this sure smacks of a frivolous lawsuit. Are rock musicians liable for hearing loss? Concert venue owners? Television and stereo manufacturers? Boeing and Airbus? Jackhammer manufacturers? Fire alarm manufacturers? People who shout?

There's got to be some protection against product liability in the case that a consumer deliberately uses a product in a way that is knowingly harmful. Right?

Permalink 1 Comment

Posted by Ken in: techwatch

Comments

Comment #1 from MonoCerdo (Guest)
2006 Feb 7 - 11:05 am : #

Regarding the iPod law suit: There's also a clear disclaimer in the iPod user guide stating that use of the device at high volumes may result in permanent hearing loss. This seems frivolous to me, indeed.

Then again, that lady did win a multi-million dollar suit against McDonald's for spilling coffee on herself.

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