Johnny Come Lately

Posting at this ungodly hour because I cannot get to sleep, due to stomach trouble which has plagued me two nights on the run. Apple finally gets ready to join an already crowded market in Europe for online music. Napster launched well in advance and the rumours are that the record companies held Apple up to allow the competition to catch up. They know all about monopolies like the RIAA and only want one that works for them. How else can they support a mismanaged and ill-ran business successfully?

The invitation-only launch event for iTunes Music Service in the UK is scheduled to take place at Old Billingsgate Market in London, England on June 15, 2004 at 11:00AM. Offering plenty of material for invited wags to comment on the fishy deals that went on to bring the service to Europe, or that Apple's launch had all the excitement of a dead fish, the pricing stuck in the throat like bones in a breakfast kipper etc...

Steve has already let the cat out of the bag by admitting that iTMS Europe was going to be launched at D All Things Digitial conference run by Dow Jones Conferences and chaired by Walter Mossberg. He launched the Airport Express product there and said that Apple would be launching an easier way to use your iPod in the car before the end of the year.

He scotched rumors of a PDA, smartphone or communicator device.