Wanna use your iPod with Microsoft’s Vista? May want to think again...

[N8]

Apple warns iPod users against Vista
By Martin Beckford
Last Updated: 10:44am GMT 06/02/2007

IPods could be damaged by Microsoft’s new computer operating system, the company behind the popular digital music players has warned.

Apple, the long-standing rival of Bill Gates’s Microsoft, is urging users not to upgrade their PCs to the Vista system until it comes up with a compatible version of the software that runs iPods.

Microsoft launched its long-awaited Vista operating system in a blaze of publicity last week and claimed that more than 5,000 hardware and software products would work with it.

advertisementBut Apple, which has sold 90 million iPods since 2001, says many users of the iconic portable music players have had problems when connecting them to PCs using Vista.

It claims some have found that songs bought on its iTunes Store will not play on the new system, and that other Vista users have even seen their iPods corrupted when they try to unplug them. The contacts and calendar functions on iPods are also said to be affected.

A statement on Apple’s website reads: “iTunes Store purchases may not play when upgrading to Windows Vista from Windows 2000 or XP.

“Ejecting an iPod from the Windows System Tray using the Safely Remove Hardware feature may corrupt your iPod.”

Microsoft has already released a software update for Vista users so they can play their iTunes Store songs.

But Apple is still warning PC users not to use Vista until it can release a completely new version of the iTunes software.

Apple’s website states: “Apple recommends that customers wait to upgrade Windows until after the next release of iTunes which will be available in the next few weeks.”

Microsoft said it has a dedicated team working on problems with Vista and iTunes, and insisted users should not stop using the new operating system.

[binary visions]

:rolleyes:

Nice, Apple has had how long now to come up with a compatible version of iTunes for Vista, and they failed to do so by the release date?

[Westy]

:rolleyes:

Nice, Apple has had how long now to come up with a compatible version of iTunes for Vista, and they failed to do so by the release date?


I can't help but to think they have a version and are just sitting on it to create bad publicity for Microsoft.

[stinkyboy]

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a344/stinkyboy/Garbage/070201_BillGates_wide.jpg

[binary visions]

I can't help but to think they have a version and are just sitting on it to create bad publicity for Microsoft.

I have to agree.

Microsoft has pulled similar stunts, of course, being late releasing software for Macs, not putting in all the features that were released for PC, etc... but it's still lame.

[Slugman]

Or this could have been intentional by Microsoft to steer people to their 'Zune'...

[binary visions]

Or this could have been intentional by Microsoft to steer people to their 'Zune'...

Microsoft isn't going to rewrite an operating system, the most fundamental piece of software on a computer system, to break compatibility with one program on the vague possibility that it might give them a handful of Zune sales, risking the bad publicity it would bring AND counting on Apple developers to react slowly.

[Slugman]

I disagree... Microsoft is not above adding a couple well placed lines of code to stir things up (not that I know anything about writing an OS).

[binary visions]

I disagree... Microsoft is not above adding a couple well placed lines of code to stir things up (not that I know anything about writing an OS).

Well, I do know something about writing code, and there's simply no way I buy that. Nothing is out of the realm of possibility, of course, but a "couple well placed lines of code" wouldn't do the trick (it's not like you say IF itunes.exe THEN cause error) and anything else could break more than iTunes.

Add to that the fact that it wouldn't exactly jack up Zune sales, it would generate negative publicity, and Apple's programmers had plenty of time to react to it, and there's just no way.

[H8R]

I think I'm sticking with XP until Vista SP1 is released. Maybe SP2.

[syadasti]

I think I'm sticking with XP until Vista SP1 is released. Maybe SP2.

If you are buying business PCs you have about 2 years left until you'll be forced to buy PCs with Vista factory installs. I got an email from my Dell rep saying the consumer line will be phasing out XP very soon but the business lines will be sold with XP install option for 10 more months :hmm:

So you have the following bumps to test for - IE7 (use WSUS to stall), SP3 (this summer I think, again WSUS is your friend), and Vista...

You can buy WinXP SP2b Professional OEM with a free upgrade to Vista professional on Amazon for $145 with free shipping until 3/15 BTW...

[SkaredShtles]

I think I'm sticking with XP until Vista SP1 is released. Maybe SP2.
I'll wait until XP is EOL'd. :D

[syadasti]

I'll wait until XP is EOL'd. :D

2010 I think

[narlus]

our company is still on NT (well, win2K)...

[SkaredShtles]

2010 I think
$hit! So soon? :p

[syadasti]

our company is still on NT (well, win2K)...

We got rid of our last NT4 machine in 2006.

Win2K and WinXP are both based on the NT kernel.

2K=NT5 XP=NT5.1

[syadasti]

$hit! So soon? :p

I was confusing OS...

Windows 2000 systems with SP4 deployed will be 'up to date' from a life–cycle policy perspective until the end of life (EOL) date of Windows 2000. The EOL date will be no sooner than January 1, 2010.

General Availability Date-Mainstream Support Retired-Extended Support Retired
Windows 2000 Professional Edition
3/31/2000 6/30/2005 7/13/2010

Windows XP
Direct OEM and Retail License Availability (end date)
12 Months Following Windows Vista General Availability

System Builder License Availability (end date)
24 Months Following Windows Vista General Availability

General Availability Date-Mainstream Support Retired-Extended Support Retired
Windows XP Professional
12/31/2001 4/14/2009 4/8/2014

[binary visions]

I think I'm sticking with XP until Vista SP1 is released. Maybe SP2.

I'm in no hurry to upgrade but in 2-3 months the vast majority of incompatibilities will have been discovered. At that point, either companies will have released patches or upgrades to fix compatibilities, or not and you can see if the "nots" are on your critical list.

I don't usually rush out to upgrade anyway. I always do an install of the betas or release candidates on a secondary drive to see what's going on and to familiarize myself with it enough that I can support it, but I don't migrate my primary OS until I feel like there's an important feature I'm missing out on.

[SkaredShtles]

I was confusing OS...

:monkeydance: :monkeydance: :monkeydance:

[syadasti]

I'm in no hurry to upgrade but in 2-3 months the vast majority of incompatibilities will have been discovered. At that point, either companies will have released patches or upgrades to fix compatibilities, or not and you can see if the "nots" are on your critical list.

That's a little bit optimistic for any major software release from any company let alone Microsoft. For mainstream users (small business/consumer) using modern off the shelf software and hardware that might be the case, but even some off the shelf solutions for XP or 2K might be SOL for a while...

[Dartman]

Hehehe..I just installed SP2 for XP on Sunday. I'm in no rush to run out and buy Vista.

Mike

[Ciaran]

Hmmm...

I've been running Vista with an ipod nano AND a creative zen attached since x-mas. Using itunes AND Winamp. No problems... no issues. I usually eject the players from either application since I would likely have one or both open anyway. Frankly I don't see why one would be ejecting from the sys tray icon anyway, even though it seems to work on my system.

Funny, I must be the only person in the universe who never has issues with Windows.

And Vista rocks. :thumb:

[maxyedor]

Funny, I must be the only person in the universe who never has issues with Windows.:

Mabye, the last Windows machine I had ran ME, that was without a doubt the single worst peice of software ever written.:plthumbsdown: Since I threw that hunk of crap away, I've been OSX, I've used XP a little bit and it does seem to be relativly error free, but the way it works doesn't seem as well laid out as OSX, for me anyway.

[Ciaran]

Mabye, the last Windows machine I had ran ME, that was without a doubt the single worst peice of software ever written.:plthumbsdown: Since I threw that hunk of crap away, I've been OSX, I've used XP a little bit and it does seem to be relativly error free, but the way it works doesn't seem as well laid out as OSX, for me anyway.

Win ME was quite possibly the worst OS in the universe! Hell, even I couldn't get it to run well.