Opinion Apple of my ear By Scott T. Hards	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
私の大好きな「アップル」 筆者にとってアップル製品は必須アイテム。 携帯音楽プレーヤーのiPodと、膨大な数の曲を管理するiTunesのおかげで、筆者の音楽ライフは完全に変わった。

If I got the chance to meet him, I'd like to give Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs a big hug of appreciation. Not only do I love their computers, but their iPod and iTunes have completely changed my musical life.

I'm a big music lover. At last count, I had about 550 CDs in my collection. During my 2 1/2; hours in a car each weekday, I never turn the music off. I'm listening to ZZ Top as I write this essay. Music is a part of me.

Apple's iPod is ― with apologies to Sony ― the ultimate "Walkman." Allowing you to carry thousands of songs with you (my iPod currently has 4,100 tracks stored), you can listen to anything you want, whenever you want. I used to pick out a few CDs to take with me on business trips to play on a portable CD player. But thanks to Apple, I no longer have to make any decisions about what to bring. And with my iPod on "shuffle play," I hear long-lost songs that I'd probably never listen to if I had to pick my own CDs each time.

The first iPod, holding only 5 was introduced in November 2001. Now there are several models, from the tiny, 22-gram gum-pack-sized iPod Shuffle to the 60 GB iPod, which even lets you store and carry photos as well as music. And in early September Apple unveiled the iPod nano. It has a full-color display and can carry up to 1,000 songs in a package that's just 6.9 millimeters thick and weighs a mere 42 grams. Wow!

With attractive products like this, it's not surprising that the iPod has a commanding 80 percent share of the market for portable digital music players. In fact, Rio, the company that made the first such player back in 1998, recently announced they are quitting the business due to severe competition from Apple.

But Apple's success isn't solely due to great players; they also run the world's largest online music shop, the iTunes Music Store. Recently opened in Japan, too, you can now easily download (legally!) any of millions of songs and albums to enjoy on your computer or iPod for about ¥150 a song.

Sony isn't taking this sitting down. They have an online music service and portable digital players, too. But their market share is barely 1/4 that of Apple's. Critics complain their store is hard to use, and their players less attractive than the iPod. Ironically, it appears Sony will begin selling their music through the Japan iTunes Music Store later this year.

I love Apple's Macintosh computers for all the same reasons that they've been so successful with iPod and iTunes: They're elegant, powerful and easy-to-use. No doubt many readers of this essay already have an Apple iPod, but are still using Windows. If you like what you see in iPod and iTunes, and you're tired of dodging viruses, putting up with system crashes, and wrestling with hardware drivers and compatibility problems, why not give the Macintosh a try? There's a good reason why they are currently the world's fastest-growing computer company.

Shukan ST: Sept. 23, 2005

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