iTunes U

As a college student, communications major, and someone who has slept through a few classes in my day, I was interested to learn that Texas Tech and Apple Inc. recently announced an agreement to create an interactive Web site for both students and faculty at the University. This website, called iTunes U, is right up the alley of todays college-aged generation that revolves communication around web-based forums that share files, information, and social networks. This is evident in the emnse popularity of sites like MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, etc. iTunes U will allow students at Texas Tech to have easy acess to student-generated content, such as videos, podcasts, class notes, and athletic videos. iTunes U will be available for use on both computers and iPods.

This partnership between Apple and Texas Tech says alot about Apple's trustworthy reputation. "Apple was named (on April 20) as the most trusted brand among the members of generation Y," said Texas Tech President Jon Whitmore. "Beginning last year, it became apparent that Texas Tech needed to enter into a conversation with Apple about how we could merge our brands and help our students." A technological advancement like iTunes U shows how much communications has advanced in recent years, and could be the next big thing on campuses across the nation. iTunes U has been experimented at the University of California, Berkeley, Duke and Michigan Dental School. The Web sites are now available for any university to create when they can come to an agreement with Apple Inc.

To check out iTunes U go to: http://itunes.ttu.edu

Warning!

Apple iTunes users might not want to rush to upgrade to Windows Vista. According to recent reports, the new Vista operating system has some compatibility issues with iTunes that could prevent iTunes from working correctly. According to a document that Apple has posted on its Web site, none of the software that it has made available for the Windows environment has been updated for Vista compatibility. Apple says that there are serious compatibility issues between iTunes, its iPod digital music player, and Windows Vista. Apple is warning iTunes and iPod customers to hold off upgrading their PCs to Microsoft’s new operating system until it issues a comprehensive downloadable solution to this problem. If you are considering downloading Vista and are concerned about your PC, check out this website of pros, cons, and lots of other information about Windows Vista.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,127629-page,1-c,vistalonghorn/article.html?CMP=KNC-SEM&HBX_PK=pcw_01-UPGRADE-VISTA&HBX_OU=50&tk=pcw_01-UPGRADE-VISTA&gclid=CJuLvLGE6YsCFRPdPgodVmIkUw

Apple vs. Windows Vista Cont'd

Apparently Windows Vista mimics many features of Apple's Tiger system. With the first Vista beta, Microsoft seems to have taken many ideas from Mac OS X with its look and features, right down to some of the terminology that the system uses. Even some of Vista's icons are strikingly similar to those in Apple’s Tiger. Although Steve Jobs (Apple’s CEO) has been known to criticize Microsoft for being a copycat of Apple’s OS X systems, the announcement of ten new features for the Leopard seem to be strikingly familiar to Windows users. For a sneak peak of the Leopard, check out this link: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/06/06/23/apples_leopard_has_its_eye_on_redmond.html

Apple vs. Windows Vista

Apple has new competition on the market with the recent launch of Microsoft’s Windows vista. The development of this new software was completed on November 8, 2006, and on January 30, 2007 it was released worldwide to the general public. The release of Windows Vista is the most recent of Microsoft’s developments, over five years after the introduction of Windows XP, making it the longest time span between two releases of Microsoft Windows. According to Microsoft online, (http://www.microsoft.com/) Vista, which also goes by the code name “Longhorn,” is aimed at increasing the level of communication between machines, making it easier to share files and digital media between computers and devices. Microsoft's primary objective with Windows Vista has been to improve the state of security in the Windows operating system, which has received a lot of criticism for Windows XP.
If all of these things prove true about Windows Vista, it could have a negative affect on Apple’s recent popularity. If you watch television, it is easy to see that Vista is being very well advertised and promoted for personal and business computer use. It will be interesting to see Apple's reaction to its new competitor.

Investor Relations

The investor relations section of Apple.com offers stock information, earning releases, Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and company governance information. The company’s annual report is more of an economical piece than an effective marketing strategy. Apple simply posts different downloadable files of its annual SEC 10-K filings as a means of compliance. The company does not take the opportunity to release information about its annual report in language more likely to be understood by the public, and does not take this opportunity to tell the company’s story. Investor relations, like any sector of public relations in a company, should use its annual report not only as company compliance, but as a means of reaching investors with more marketing and story telling.

After searching the web for a letter to Apple shareholders from CEO Steve Jobs, it became evident that there were none to be found, and Apple needs to improve their investor relations concerning the stock market. I did, however, find a press release with the headline that read: “In a rare open letter from CEO Steve Jobs on Tuesday, Apple urged record companies to abandon digital rights management technologies.” The fact that this type of letter is so “rare” explains why I had a hard time finding one to shareholders.

After reading this rare letter to Apple customers concerning requests to “open” the digital rights management (DRM) system that Apple’s iTunes music store uses to protect its music against theft, it was clear to me that it was a definite PR driven letter that was likely written by a PR professional working for Apple. The letter definitely drove home the message that Apple does not own or control any music itself, and that the company licenses the rights to distribute music from four primary music companies: Universal, Sony BMG, Warner and EMI. The letter was well composed in the way that it clarified Apple’s negotiation history with these companies, and that went on to say “With this background, let’s now explore three different alternatives for the future.” The letter did this in a way that made clear to readers that Apple has addressed these DRM concerns and where they stand as a company. The letter, which you can check out at http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic/ was very informative.

I read many news releases and news stories concerning Apple’s earnings. The news releases were rather wordy, and used a lot of technical language that made them a little difficult to follow. The news stories that I read were a little easier to understand, but many were submitted online by people who owned stock in Apple and again, they used a lot of technical language. The basic message that I got from all of the news releases was that Apple’s earnings are expected to increase at about 42% this fiscal year ending in September, and 17% in fiscal 2008. The rest of it was a lot of “strong buys” and “holds” and “consensus ratings” that were over my head; not very reader friendly.

More Apple investment information can be found at http://www.apple.com/investor/