First off let me say that I’ve been an Apple Macintosh user for a very long time (almost 20 years now) and I despaired of Apple’s future in the 1990s. We were a hair’s breath away from losing everything that the Mac stood for in those bad old days and probably Steve Jobs return was quite possibly the only thing that could have kept the company going. He made the hard decisions that many still lament. Killing the Newton and not allowing for further OS licensing that killed the clone market. I never used a Newton so didn’t care about that, but I was a huge fan of the Mac OS clones and I wonder what Mac life might have been like if Apple had just dropped their hardware and went strictly to a software model? Some say that would have been the final nail in the coffin for Apple and they may have been right, but we’ll never know. In hindsight, Steve Jobs has made very few missteps in returning Apple to profitability and success, but that also doesn’t mean I agree with everything he’s done or said. His recent “Open Letter†to the RIAA for example.
I don’t think Steve Jobs wrote it because he hates DRM, he wrote it to try to put the blame for DRM where it most likely belongs, the RIAA. Apple is in a bit of trouble with the Norwegians because of a perceived “lock-down” of songs purchased on iTunes. I won’t bother to go into all the ways you can get past this lock down, probably everyone here has heard them before whether or not you believe them to be true or viable.
The three main methods of DRM for audio (FairPlay from Apple and Plays4Sure and the Zune Marketplace DRM from Microsoft) basically work the same way. Lock your content onto either a device or service so the next time you’re in the market for a DAP, you’ll buy one from the same source. By only targeting iTunes, I believe the Norwegians have made a mistake. Having the majority (60-80% depending on whose numbers you believe) share doesn’t equal a monopoly. If Apple had taken this majority share and actually done anything illegal (restraint of trade or preventing other manufacturers from opening music stores or creating new devices), then fire away and beat them down. But they haven’t. They made a player, they made software that works with that player, and sold content that works with the player and the software. That’s it. Every other maker can (and some have) do the exact same thing.
Look, this isn’t like the platform wars where you look for a computer that’s like the same thing you use every day at work. This is an entertainment device. There are plenty of choices (as compared to 2 or 3 for an OS) for players and content. Frankly, I have no problem with the Norwegians going after locked down players as long as they go after them all. Taking down just Apple and iTunes simply means you replace one Colossus with another. What would be the point?
DRM sucks. I would buy a lot more content online without it and I doubt I’m alone. Steve Jobs has said that he would like all the DRM removed and would sell it if he could. OK, Steve, unless your agreement with the other content providers prohibit this (I’ve asked several times if this is true and have gotten no reply), sell the content from providers that don’t require it without DRM. And while we’re at it, how about selling those Disney movies (you know, from that company that you’re the biggest stockholder in?) without DRM? Then I’ll take you at your word.
Action speaks louder than words Steve. At every poker game there’s a time to show your cards…what do you got?
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