Beware the Worm in Your Apple

Apple announced a two days ago that they had discovered a virus within their latest batch of iPods. Apparently during the testing phase, the virus was downloaded onto the iPods and will remain dormant until an unsuspecting user attempts to download music to the player. In that case, the user will just as unsuspectingly upload the virus to his home system. Apple immediately took actions to remedy the situation and informed customers via their website and the iTunes website. Of course, they also threw in a bit of jibe at Microsoft and Windows as well. According to the statement, "As you might imagine, we are upset at Windows for not being more hardy against such viruses, and even more upset with ourselves for not catching it."

As you might imagine, this has stirred up some ill will between the two companies. It's no secret of the long-standing rivalry between the two competing companies. For years, Microsoft has retained the edge simply because their Window platform has been at the forefront of PC operating systems. Although Apple probably has a much more stable platform, it's unusual designs and very closed architecture have made for a safe product but not a very accessible one. I have had limited experience with Apple having used Macs in high school during shop and such to work on architectural designs. My brother uses one quite extensively for his film editting work. They have made inroads as far as such specializations go, but outside the industry, Macs aren't all that common.

The iPod line of products was a major breakthrough for Apple. They finally came up with a product that appealed to a lot of people and was simple enough to use. Granted, there have been other MP3 players before and after the iPod hit the scene but none of them has come close to rivaling the iPod in terms of sales. Apple had a choice when they rolled out the iPod. They could have chosen to make the iPod compatible only with Apple products or they could have made it work with both Apple and Windows. Seeing as how Windows is the dominant operating system on the market, they decided to go the dual route. This has likely boosted sales higher than ever before.

Sure they could have made the iPod an Apple exclusive product but what would the logic of that have been? If you choose to focus on a close market that way, you have to make sure that the market exists in numbers that justify the exclusion of other operating systems. In this case, Apple has not saturated the market as much as Windows has so it only makes sense for them to try and make strange bedfellows. Like it or not, the majority of people out there are not tech savvy. In the early days of CD-ROM drives we had people think they were built in cup holders. We have people who open virus files intentionally because they, "wanted to see what a worm looks like." Needless to say, by the time you explain it to them it's too late to do anything to prevent the worm from spreading.

Apple made it easy for users of both Macs and Windows to use the iPod. The operation of it could not be simpler and as a result, Apple has managed to turn itself around big time. They continue to saturate the market with the iPod. The next time you go into any gym, check out the number of iPods that you see, you'll be surprised. They definitely have an edge on the market but they can't risk alienating the Windows market. It still is the dominant operating system and if Apple continues to have problems, they will be out on a limb when Microsoft rolls out their own rival MP3 player. Undoubtedly it will have the same functionality as an iPod but probably even more. In spite of being such a non-tech-savy crowd, the majority of us out there are always on the lookout for the latest gadget. Windows worm or not, don't bite the hand that is helping feed you, even if you are an Apple.