Via Flex-mx.com.
Although the music store project was put on hold, and from the sound of things, for another 2 years (until 2% becomes something around 11%+ as far as online sales vs. traditional CD’s based on the history lesson of retail vs. online sales), the awesome point I take away from this is that Flash was chosen as the technology vehicle to create the front-end of an online music store, a competitor to Apple’s iTunes.
That’s powerful.
That decision alone sets a precedent in garnering trust & confidence in using Flash to develop powerful applications. Considering the project was started early 2003, and looking around at all the Flash developer jobs, one can see this as merely one positive ripple.
Sounds to me like it was the right decision to put the project on hold, but a shame we couldn’t also have a proof of Flash technology taking large companies’ visions and using them as a competitor against Apple, Sony, Microsoft, etc. That’s still just awesome.
Additionally, considering the investments of 2002, a horrible year for me business wise, it still sounds like many of the big guys are still looking for the pioneers to do what they do best; get the arrows in their backs so the big boys can better plan their strategies. There is so much opportunity out there…
Yeah, we’ll probably never even get a HINT or SCREENSHOT of that app if it’s on ice… it would blow whatever “edge” they think they would have. It’s a shame, but you’re right on the money about them going with Flash… I was thinking the same thing when I read the article this morning. :-)
Well looking at the “big boys” involved it probably would have never made it even if they did move forward. A bunch of companies trying to cooperate on something like that? Sounds like a glut of meetings and wasted time. It would be a mess even with one of those companies. Apple is one company as well, but I suspect they have a vastly different culture.