Not having read the article, I'm going to guess the headline is misleading. If not, I'd better get rowing.

I hate that. I got a $15 iTunes gift certificate for a friend. Come to find out her player won't play iTunes.

BS. How many times have we heard this. So and so is shutting down iTunes!1!!!1. Yeah, they are still in business, selling more tunes then ever. If you dont like iTunes dont use it.

It's logic following the French legislation. Apple behaves very much like Microsoft with iTunes and antitrust commissions are not happy with it. We consumers say "thanks".

/to the longboats!

w00t. from tfa:

Previously Apple has called the French legislation "state-sponsored piracy".

So fair use is state sponsored piracy, eh apple? think different, think removal of consumer rights. think sucking apple's white plastic wang. buy, buy now, buy more, be happy.

Cue the Viking Kittens...

You don't have to have an iPod to play music from iTunes, provided you have a CD burner. You can burn the music to a CD and then import it into anything you want. Granted, this is kinda wasteful of CDs, but it works.

foo monkey
I hate that. I got a $15 iTunes gift certificate for a friend. Come to find out her player won't play iTunes.

Here's an entirely legal way around her problem:

1. Buy $15 worth of music on iTunes Music Store
2. Burn to CD from iTunes
3. Rip from CD into whatever program/format you want
4. Play on the non-iPod player

And plus you now have a CD as a backup of that music.

Okay, I just RTFA. Here's what I don't get. Apple owns the Ipod and Itunes, why can't they have songs that will only play on their own devices? Itunes isn't the only online music store out there so what's wrong with them specializing in only music for their player? If I created my own player, called it the 'Janitor-Player' then I'm going to also create 'Janitor-Tunes' to sell songs to play only on the 'Janitor-Players'

why the hero tag? submitter hates apple? market economies? consumer choice?

Doesn't Microsoft do the same thing? They have a music download service and those songs won't play on iPods.

Airbus-Driver: You don't have to have an iPod to play music from iTunes, provided you have a CD burner. You can burn the music to a CD and then import it into anything you want. Granted, this is kinda wasteful of CDs, but it works.

It also degrades the quality of the audio because you have to re-encode it when you rip. I doubt iTunes sells files with enough bits to spare for that to work well.

TurboCrip:

1. Buy $15 worth of music on iTunes Music Store
2. Burn to CD from iTunes
3. Rip from CD into whatever program/format you want

At which point you have music files that have gone through the wringer of lossy compression twice, thereby sounding like utter shiat.

This is no solution.

Great Janitor

So GM should make gas stations that sell gas that only works in GM cars?

So Dell should sell programs that only work on Dell computers?

So Staples should sell pens that only work on paper bought from Staples?

Come on.

Coprophagy: Doesn't Microsoft do the same thing? They have a music download service and those songs won't play on iPods.

Only because Apple choses not to license WMA like just about every other player manufacturer. IFAIK Apple refuses to license FairPlay at all, which leaves no opportunity for a legal alternative to the iPod if you want to use iTunes.

The only reason that the music labels aren't attacking apple with as much force as they can is BECAUSE they keep the music they sell full of DRM's. Music's pretected so you have to verify your computer to play the songs, you can only play them on iTunes-ready devices, and they can keep the labels at bay.

If you have another player, buy music from another webservice; or, get this, they have REAL stores in malls and other places with music that work on any device!

If you don't like it, don't use it. Apple need to get paid, son.

HERO - yeah, because God forbid anyone should be successful.

Don't own an iPod, use another music service - that simple.

I can see Apples point in this - if the French had their way, any company that even thought about making a music player could go to Apple and demand it's decryption codes for AAC - it would have taken about a week and a half before that hit the net. (and anyone who thinks "That'd be great!" - go back to the kids table).

Spontaneous Defenstration

So GM should make gas stations that sell gas that only works in GM cars?

So Dell should sell programs that only work on Dell computers?

So Staples should sell pens that only work on paper bought from Staples?

Come on.


I never said that they should, I said that they should be allowed too. If you don't like it, don't buy their products.

Spontaneous Defenstration

they could if they chose to.

As a norwegian typing this from Oslo, all I can say is thank god the scandinavian countries still a little bit of --- wait for it ---- COMMON SENSE.

It is ridiculous that I cannot use what I have purchased the way I would like. Further, Apple's argument its DRM actually curbs piracy is absolute bullshiat. It seems many consumers have for far too long stood passively by whilst the media industries collude together to fundamentally change what should be a no brainer - I bought the song, movie, etc., and therefore can play it, save it, back it up as I see fit.

Good for Norway!!

DontMakeMeComeBackThere: I can see Apples point in this - if the French had their way, any company that even thought about making a music player could go to Apple and demand it's decryption codes for AAC - it would have taken about a week and a half before that hit the net. (and anyone who thinks "That'd be great!" - go back to the kids table).

Well, consider that Micrsoft does license WMA technology, which is DRM protected and their solution is still secure (once they patched a hole or two). FairPlay is no less vulnerable now than it would be if Apple would license it.

This is stupid. This toolbag gets greenlit for using a hero tag because they don't like paying for work that others did? Fark that. (Admits, didn't RTFA)

Suck it up losers. iTunes is better than any of the other download services. Never had a problem with the files, or with the player. Songs only cost 99 cents, for Christ sake! And albums cost damn near $10 less than if you bought a CD in a store!

Agreed, if you don't like iTunes, don't use it. And if you're stupid enough to assume that all music files and players are the same, then you're too stupid to use a computer anyway, so shut the fark up and move along.

And if other companies think iTunes has an unfair advantage, don't try to shut it down, how about paying iTunes for franchise rights to their code? I'm guessing Jobs has turned down requests like that otherwise we'd see iTunes compatible players in the market already.

"It's not particularly healthy for any one company to have such a dominant share," said Peter Jamieson, BPI's chairman. "We would advocate that Apple opts for interoperability."

Am I the only one that found this a little ironic? I mean, isn't BPI the UK version of RIAA?

File Deletion is Murder

himmyt:
Suck it up losers. iTunes is better than any of the other download services. Never had a problem with the files, or with the player. Songs only cost 99 cents, for Christ sake! And albums cost damn near $10 less than if you bought a CD in a store!

Yep. And if I didn't have to buy an iPod to enjoy it, I might actually buy my music there.
Weird how Apple wants to keep customers away like that...

im failing to see the problem here. my roommate owns an ipod. i decided against that and purchased a new phone (t-mobile sda) that runs Windows Moblie 5 and comes with media player. Also picked up a memory card. I can put on whatever mp3s, movies, etc that i want and listen/watch with no problem. I dont like the ipod therefore i dont use it. Why cant everyone else do the same?

AAC is an open standard. Its the successor to MP3. Its a much more advanced codec. At the same bit rate (ie file size) it gives you roughly twice the sound quality.

The only thing Apple does is put their DRM around the file. The DRM is called FairPlay. It has the best terms in the industry. You can put the files on an infinite number of iPods, 5 computers and burn the same CD playlist 10 times. Most of the other companies have some smaller set of features for the consumer.

As I understand it, players other than iPod can not play iTunes songs because of the DRM. I doubt Apple really wants to put DRM on their songs sold from iTunes. It complicates matters. But if they take it off, the record companies will yank their content and they'll probably get the hell sued out of them by the RIAA... unless it turns out that the RIAA only has the ball to pick on individuals who can not easily defend themselves...

So now if they dont' remove the DRM, Norway and Sweden will declare war? Oh well, you can't please everybody.

Anyway, iTunes DRM is easy enough to circumvent as described above. If you're too lazy to bother, then don't use iTunes.

ppl paying for music makes me lol

I got this cool gift card from Best Buy, I own a Mac and nothing at best buy is geared towards Mac, they wouldn't give me the money so I could go to Fry's and I am stuck with this gift card.

/it's a $100,000,000 gift card from Nigeria.

So companies should not be allowed to sell services that are only functional on thier products... my ass, the market will ultimately straighten this out. No legislation required.

foo monkey:I hate that. I got a $15 iTunes gift certificate for a friend. Come to find out her player won't play iTunes.

I agree with this.
I bought my mom a television, and IT DIDN'T FIT IN HER ENTERTAINMENT CENTER!!!! Ridiculous. I mean, its a freaking ENTERTAINMENT CENTER, it's supposed to hold televisions, and it didn't hold the one I bought her. What, do they expect me to measure the thing to see what will fit in there? Do they expect me to do research!?!

I'm writing my congressman and DEMAND that EVERY television fit EVERY entertainment center. Who's with me??

Oh, and last week I went to Home Depot to buy a lightbulb. Well you wouldn't believe....

iTunes filetype = .ai4, correct?

I get around this stuff by never buying music. I wait until a friend of mine finds something good then I steal his CD. Then I convince him it is ok to buy pirated music b/c he already bought the CD, and it isn't his fault someone stole the CD.

meh, Longboats.

Fast Fire Ships own Longboats anyday. Or Turtle Ships.

Airbus-Driver

"You don't have to have an iPod to play music from iTunes, provided you have a CD burner. You can burn the music to a CD and then import it into anything you want. Granted, this is kinda wasteful of CDs, but it works."
-----------------

The point is if I'm paying to own that song/album, I want to be able to use it how I see fit legally. Having to constantly burn a CD so I can use it on something other than my PC is insane. I liked iTunes, liked the selection, didn't like how much trouble it was to convert it.

Fish in a barrel:

Every computer company that has sold rights to reproduce its software and hardware blows. You always get cheap copies that suck worse than the original. Look at all the PC companies out there. Sure, you can get 10 different versions of a PC in any Wal-Mart, but most PCs suck balls. Still, everyone assumes that there's no difference between Compaq, Gateway and HP--"and they're all so great because they're cheap!"

No, the only thing they have in common is that they run windows and they all suck. Big deal if the Op systems, software, etc. is compatible? With any of those companies you still have problems out the wazoo. Why? Because the original inventors allowed the components (soft and hard) to be made by cheap, lazy bastards who care more about product QUANTITY instead of QUALITY.

So good for Apple for refusing to let pirates and cheats from using their products and cheapening them.

I gotta say that anyone who buys an iPod and fills it with crappy compressed DRM-infected files from the iTMS deserves what they get.

$10 for an album full of AAC-encoded DRM'd files is crap. Pay an extra $4 for the vastly superior sounding CD and use it how you want.

There are plenty of other (and better-sounding) portable audio players on the market. If you really want to, you can buy those white headphones for them that announce to the world, "I take wieners up my butt". You don't have to buy an iPod unless the ridicule of your fellow sheep is going to make you cry yourself to sleep every night.

CDRs are dirt cheep. Your probably want to have a backup of that album you just paid $10 for anyway.

Convenient, no. Impossible, certainly not. If Apple was filing suit against people who figured this out, then they should be shut down. But they aren't, so who cares.

Oh, and last week I went to Home Depot to buy a lightbulb. Well you wouldn't believe....


You're lucky it was only a lightbulb. I bought an Xbox 360, then I paid for a game to play on my Xbox 360. Well, as it turns out, the game I bought was for a Gamecube, and since the package was already opened I can't return it.

What a bunch of bastards! gamecube games should work on Xbox 360s!

Yes, 8-tracks, cassettes, and albums were crap

Albums play the cleanest music there is. Music snobs still buy em for that reason.

himmyt:
Every computer company that has sold rights to reproduce its software and hardware blows. You always get cheap copies that suck worse than the original.

Otherwise known as "choice".

A MONONOPOLY by definition is an entity controlling all aspects of a market. Apple's iTunes + iPod is not a monopoly because there are alternatives for the consumer.

Nobody forced you to buy an iPod, and it certainly is not the only game in town.

I think the moral here is the general public is NOT being forced to use the iTunes store. You can still buy your CD's and rip them to load music on your iPod.

I actually APPRECIATE the fact that the iPod works seamlessly with iTunes. If Apple had to support tons of other formats and connection schemes, it would allow some fly-by-night company muck up my iPod.

Finally, any moron should understand that when they BOUGHT an Apple iPod it would work exclusively with the Apple iTunes store. There is NO CLAIM by Apple on the packaging that the iPod will work with COMPETING online stores. To expect them to open their system to competitors when they are not a monopoly is simply unreasonable.

They are successful because the work, and work well.

Again, if you don't like that, buy a DIFFERENT music player-- and enjoy your downloading experience on WALMART MUSIC.

FunkyBlue

The point is if I'm paying to own that song/album, I want to be able to use it how I see fit legally. Having to constantly burn a CD so I can use it on something other than my PC is insane.

Constantly? How much music would you buy? As mentioned above, there would be no music on iTunes (thanks to the RIAA) if there was no DRM. It's a trade off. They offer DRM music, you easily get around it with APPLE'S OWN FREE SOFTWARE.

Jeeze what do you want it on, a silver platter?

You know what? Those Vikings are right. In addition to music being able to be played on all music players, I should be able to play my X-Box games on my PS2 and vice versa.

After all, I can rent a VHS tape that will play on any VHS player so why not for games too. Yeah, all digital content should be universal and the attraction of a particular player should be based on it's quality, lifespan, support and other features.

Why not eh? Isn't that a logical step based on this case?
Or is this all because we're used to music in particular being treated differently than modern digital content?

If you really want to, you can buy those white headphones for them that announce to the world, "I take wieners up my butt". You don't have to buy an iPod unless the ridicule of your fellow sheep is going to make you cry yourself to sleep every night.

I bet you think the guy who stands at concerts with a megaphone shouting, "You listen to bad music" is really cool, too.

goddammit this d-cell battery won't work in my Sony laptop, I'm suing sony and duracell !!!!