What is Digg?115 Comments
- lava, on 10/12/2007, -25/+300Sounds to me like they were *****.
- knupso, on 10/12/2007, -17/+149If Sony or MS did something like this, it would be called evil. Apple does this and, it's called smart.
Apple makes some great products, but they are just as evil as any other corporation. - squidi, on 10/12/2007, -19/+111If its true, sounds like apple are just the devious greedy corporation i always thought they were. No different from microsoft.
- spyda45, on 10/12/2007, -11/+93I don't know if you should call this being smart. I know that if some company came and bought out something that I liked and relied upon and turned it into everything else, I would be pissed. Sounds like a good way to piss off your customers.
- addicted44, on 10/12/2007, -11/+70Actually, having grown up in India's biggest English speaking city (Bombay), no English radio station was making any money. Pretty much all of them started converting to local language programming, because although many speak English, not much local music is written in English. So most of the homebrewn music that cater to Indian tastes, are written in local languages.
It is uneconomical to run an English language radio station in India, is what I am trying to say, so they probably did not change just to screw people over. - chocobomog, on 10/12/2007, -13/+60 So they buy the only english-speaking radio station and change it to an all Hindi-speaking station, then place iPod advertisements in newspapers to persuade consumers going through english-music withdrawals to buy an mp3 player (and the consumer never realized it was Apple who changed the radio station in the first place).
Smart indeed. - dizzybastard, on 10/12/2007, -7/+42http://www.duggmirror.com/apple/This_is_how_smart_Apple_really_is/
- wphj, on 10/12/2007, -2/+29The author doesn't offer any proof to back this up...
TODAY APPLE BOUGHT MICROSOFT AND MADE WINDOWS ONLY IN HINDI, SO NOW EVERYONE HAS TO BUY MACS.
I can say whatever I want, it doesn't make it true... - shreevatsa, on 10/12/2007, -4/+29I'm from India. The article simply cannot be true, for at least the following 2 reasons. (Skip one when it gets too long ;-)
1. All music stations eventually stop playing English on their own; Apple or no Apple.
I've been following India's very first radio station: It started with playing mainly English music, including heavy metal, etc. Then, it introduced Hindi music, and the English music gradually mellowed down to pop. Next, the English was banished to the night time, and it was only Hindi during the day. Eventually, they introduced music in the regional language (Kannada, in Bangalore), and English vanished entirely. And similar things have happened with other radio stations, in other cities.
There are simply very few people who listen to English music; advertisers (which are what run a station, after all) have a wider audience among the local crowd, and that means a local language. (You only get to hear English on the govt.-run radio stations; they play all sorts of music and don't have to care as much about the revenue.)
2. If no English music on radio, people simply won't buy iPods.
There is TV, of course (MTV and the like).
Anyone who might buy an iPod usually also has a computer, and there is always *cough* downloading.
And even when it comes to portable music players, there are hundreds of cheap imitation iPod-like players available on the market; which work well enough. No one is going to buy an expensive (by Indian standards) iPod when they can get an equivalent device for one-sixth the price. In fact, many of my friends *have* bought these cheap players; they work fine, and they are satisfied.
The fact is that Apple is not really selling iPods in great numbers in India; Apple even closed down their India store recently. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+27Man that is one smarmy ass atricle. It seems to be a little short on evidence. And long on contradictions.
"A place where iPods are not for the common man, or even the middle class man." I assume this means they can't afford iPods.
"Since we could not rely on the radio, we HAD to buy iPods" Okay so they CAN afford iPods.
huh? - CasaMan, on 10/12/2007, -8/+31"it is not confirmed that they purchased the entire thing, but it is known that they had something to do with it going all-Hindi, it could have been a large pay off instead"
Marked inaccurate.. - addicted44, on 10/12/2007, -6/+25Btw, his basis that Apple purchased the radio station in question, is absolute hearsay (or even influenced the change), and there is no basis behind that. Its just some nonsense he came up with, so his blog would get dugged.
- primal, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18Though I'm not a big fan of Apple, I'm not exactly putting much trust in this article, since there is no evidence aside from what the author has written. Marked as inaccurate.
If apple did do this, it's not smart, it is evil. But I have a feeling this is more a conspiracy theory than the truth. - vudicarus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17I'm suspect of the accuracy as well. Read first comment under the story.
- ejm508, on 10/12/2007, -14/+27Usually I reserve "evil" for people like Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Josef Stalin, etc., not companies that try to make money
- ArcticCelt, on 10/12/2007, -14/+26That's maybe smart but it's much more evil in my opinion. They destroy a cultural and social existing service so they can have the monopole on selling an alternative solution (that only replace the music need part). It's similar to the episode of the Simpsons when Mr. Burns "Construct a movable disk that would permanently block out the sun in Springfield, thus ensuring the residents constant use of electricity to earn massive profits for his nuclear power plant". Why do Apple and Google are revered when they do that kind of *****?
- teamparadox, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14This has to be the biggest load of ***** ive ever read.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+15If this is true, that's truly a terrible thing for a company to do. Quite evil actually.
- inkswamp, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10I want some evidence too. I'm simply stunned by how many people posting here appear to accept this story uncritically when it has been posted to an unproven blog source that cites no evidence to support its claims. Not only is this out of character for Apple, but it's a great way to make the locals (if not the entire nation, should word get out) hate your company. And how does that help sales? This would be a public relations disaster of epic proportions.
And if everyone is too poor to buy mp3 players and have to rely on the radio stations in the first place, how do they magically find the cash to buy one after the station disappears? Something doesn't add up. My BS detector is registering a 10 on this one.
I'm marking it inaccurate because the author offers not a shred of evidence to support what appears to be a fairly outlandish claim. - JorgeGT, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10*White* iHelicopters.
- isdereks, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Agreed. Without hard evidence this is nothing more than hearsay.
- TheKlaw, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Now THAT would be smart.
- shieldss, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11Black Helicopters.
- spinomatic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Really - not smart, rather, predatory.
- mandarin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Smart-ass is more like it.
- LiquidPenguin, on 10/12/2007, -9/+16@lava
I was thinking the same thing myself. What I don't get is the overall tone of the article snippet seems to imply that people are OK with this. I mean, essentially what happened (according to the article) is that Apple changed the station from English to Hindi and these people willingly lubed up their cornholes and let Apple plow them.
If people discovered that in the U.S. would they be in an uproar? I don't know, they're generally pretty complacent. But if it happened to me, I'd buy a competitor just to spite Apple.
My gut tells me we're not reading the whole story. - klang, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5another unconfirmed rumour from an insignificant source. An oppinion at best. Fun story though ..
- diggtard, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4In India it is against the law for foreign entities to own a significant stake in any media company. Such laws are common in many countries, including the US, and are particularly strong in India.
Marked as inaccurate. Bloggings of a conspiracy theorist not a worthy digg read. - lbytesxk, on 10/12/2007, -12/+16Apple evliness is smart whereas MS evilness is evil
- Plugh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Want to understand how listeners feel about the station? Try this ...
http://youthcurry.blogspot.com/2006/04/mirchification-of-go-925-fm.html - magicRob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4That link explains how BBC Worldwide Holdings are investing so the station can be taken nationwide and hence the move away from English content...
This story is rubbish and needs to be buried. - Kebie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Hey guys lets digg another crappy blog news article with no great sources or anything.
- ogre2112, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I see no evidence either.
http://www.radioone.in/mumbai/aboutus.htm
Their website shows all local ownership as far as I can tell. Who knows. - rotomd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3If anyone can find any proof that apple had anything to do with that radio station, please post it.. But I would say this is probably innacurate.
If apple actuallied pulled this move off, you'd think they'd be smart enought to offer an iTunes Music Store for India. - kingace, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4One anti-apple link doesn't make up for the 100 ridiculously biased, useless, pieces of "news" (in the loosest form of the word) we get weekly.
- griz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Someone want to give some proof of the Apple buyout of this station other than what appears to be a bloggers speculation?
- fightingirish, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Whether this makes Apple look smart or sinister - it's simply not true. Although India has a relatively open economy, like its neighbors (Pakistan and Bangladesh), they have strict controls on foreign ownership of local media outlets. This is why US Media organizations (like MTV) have their South Asian operations based in Singapore where they either retransmite (via satellite) or syndicate their programming to locally owned outlets.
It's not possible for Apple to buy out or own a portion of a radio station just to increase iPod sales. In a country where there is a thriving CD market (both legal and illegal) the closing of an English radio station would result more in a boost in CD and CD player sales than MP3 players (iPod or not).
How accurate could you expect a blog to be with the slogan "Judgement day has arrived"? - shockingbird, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Same here. These kinds of articles are getting pretty old. Cheers to those not taking these stories at face value.
- pharcide, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3wasn't it GM who bought out many of the railroads back in the first part of the 1900's that forced everyone to buy a car?
- dignon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Inaccurate. "Radio One" in Mumbai is operated by (surprise) the BBC, a simple Google search would have revealed that. Sorry children, no evil Apple conspiracy here (surprise again).
- ynggrsshppr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3So Apple gives a free ride for anyone who wants to enter the Mumbai audio player market? They paid the money, all I have to do is advertise if I want to get in on the action.
On a unrelated note I've noticed more blog posts up on digg recently. Much, much more. This is a disturbing trend, in a world full of unreliable information have we come to look towards blogs as a source for the latest news? Some of it is made up, and some of it is eaten and regurgitated by someone else. Neither seems particularly attractive. - cntp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Wow - Is there anything that apple can do that won't be praised by you fanboys?? Give me a break....
- sariduvar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Interesting if true."
But I doubt it is. I just can't see this happening. I mean, you go out and buy a radio station in some town in India to boost iPod sales? Come on. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2If it is an experiment as you say then it failed miserably because the comments are primarily "I think this is fake." And not "I think this is fake apple would never..." but "I think this is fake, there is no substance." We arent fools and we aren't knee-jerk anything. But thanks for the condescending warning.
- rmazel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This article is a little light on the details to make an opinion, so I wouldn't be so quick to say that Apple is Evil/ Not Evil based on this. The truth is probably somewhere in between but you should rely on facts other than this story.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+8Yeah...can you IMAGINE what the response here would be if Microsoft tried to get an early foothold for Zune in India by using this tactic?
It sure a ***** would not be "This is how smart Microsoft is" or "Simply beautiful"
This is the kind of article that should make even the most pathetic fanboy think twice about his blind following of a company.
P.S. The article is stupid for anotehr reason. Outside the fanboys, Apple is NOT widely considered one of the smartest companies around or whatever the ***** it said. They are considered no smarter than the average company. One that got lucky with the iPod, but really is not special with anything else.
Time to come back to reality fanboys. Seriously.
Addicted..you have to be ***** JOKING! IF they didn't do this to screw people over...then why did they do it at all! Since when is Apple in the radio station OWNING BUSINESS! There was NO reason for them to buy an Indian radio station at all. - Ahnteis, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2What comments? Oh, before the server exploded. No way to do it now though.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2inkswamp...over half the stories posted on Digg (epecially the pro-Apple, Firefox or antiBush, etc) are from blogs that offer ZERO evidecne. What is your point?
- RandomGuySteve, on 10/12/2007, -8/+9"Usually I reserve "evil" for people like Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Josef Stalin, etc., not companies that try to make money."
Wow, you understate quite a bit. What are you, british? "Tis only a flesh wound!"
Seriously though, Apple is EVIL. Just like every other damn company. That's not why you should or shouldn't like them. Corporate responsibility is so far down on anyone's give a ***** list that it's nothing more than a joke. Nintendo? Ruthless company. Google? "Do no evil" is a sham. Just ask China.
Apple is cool because apple products are cool. Steve jobs isn't cool, nor is apple the great savior. - Soulhuntre, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Welcome to Digg. You must be new here.
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