iTunes mini-store mini-hullabaloo
If you don’t like the iTunes mini-store in iTunes 6.0.2, turn it off. Geez! I’m as much against DRM as anyone, but I really can’t stand the irrational fear-mongering that some douchebags seem to kick up on a daily basis. If a company wants to invent a way to transparently market to me more effectively — like Google is going with gMail, by the way — then hey, go for it. I like the fact that Amazon etc. is using thousands of dollars of high-priced equipment to suggest that if I like Thelonious Monk, I might like T.J. Kirk. In fact, I want those systems to get better. And finally: I have good taste in music. I bet you do too. Wouldn’t it be better if our voices were heard by marketing companies, rather than the tasteless dopes who enjoy the musical processed cheese product from the stars of American Idol?
Apple certainly should have announced the feature (and they certainly shouldn’t have it on by default), but if you turn off the mini-store, Apple does the right thing and transmits no data on the artists you like. Crisis averted. Sheesh.
~jeff