Gawker: valleywag, steve

Is Europe a country? Don't ask Apple

Tim Faulkner — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:29:56 EST

Is Europe a country? The question puzzled gameshow contestant Kellie Pickler. And now even the European Commission seems confused. Apple has appeased the pangovernmental body by offering Britons the same price for iTunes downloads as the Continentals. But the original complaint remains unaddressed: Why can't Europeans shop at any national iTunes store, since the region is ostensibly one open market?

Jonathan Todd, the commission's antitrust spokesman, states:

Contrary to what we had been led to believe, the fact that the same content is not available in all EU countries is not the result of restricted business practices between Apple and the record companies, but of the restricting copyright legislation.

So it's the government's fault after all. Glad we cleared that up! The European Commission is eager to make companies do its bidding, but getting fractious nation-states to update their laws appears to be beyond its ken.

Some will view Apple's statement that it "will reconsider its continuing relationship in the UK with any record label that does not lower its wholesale prices in the U.K. to the pan-European level within six months," as bullying. But this is the reality: If anyone has the clout to force changes in the music industry and its regulatory regime, it's not the European Commission. It's Steve Jobs, savior of iPod users everywhere.

What do Mark Zuckerberg's bodyguards look like?

Owen Thomas — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:38:16 EST

Now that we've heard that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has his own bodyguards, just like his pal Steve Ballmer, we're dying for some photos. If you've seen any bulky, black-suited guys with earpieces hanging out on University Avenue in Palo Alto, kindly snap a picture and send it in. But be warned: If they're not at least half as badass as this dude, we're going to be disappointed.

Woz likes Fake Steve Jobs better than real one

Megan McCarthy — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:43:29 EDT

At yesterday's book signing at Keplers in Menlo Park, Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak penned this inscription on the pages of Dan Lyons's Steve Jobs parody novel, Options: "I like this Steve J. better than the real one." Was he kidding? Maybe. But many a truth is said in jest.

NBC sought cut from iPod sales

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:35:42 EDT

You'll recall NBC's noisy departure from Apple's iTunes store in August. First we heard the problem was that NBC had asked Apple to raise per-episode prices to $2.99. Then, we heard Apple advocated cutting prices to 99 cents a show, arguing that volume would make up for lost profits. Now, NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker reveals he misplayed the negotiations even more than we could have imagined. He asked for a piece of Apple's iPod hardware sales.

"Apple sold millions of dollars worth of hardware off the back of our content and made a lot of money," Zucker is reported to have told The New Yorker's Ken Auletta at a benefit for Syracuse University. "They did not want to share in what they were making off the hardware or allow us to adjust pricing."

Certainly Zucker knew he was going to kill negotiations when he came up with that one. It's likely he meant to, considering Zucker also said NBC only saw $15 million in revenue in last year on iTunes. NBC also probably felt it had Hulu, its online-video joint venture, to fall back on.

But still, asking Steve Jobs for a piece of his precious iPod sales? How do you think Jobs responded to that?