Want an iPhone? Beware the iHandcuffs

The New York Times ^ | January 14, 2007 | Randall Stross

[Spktyr]

I would think the example of Philips and the DCC format would be a better example of what Apple is (thankfully) not doing, as Sony made a boatload of money off the CD.

[MrsEmmaPeel]

I guess I'm old fashioned. I like buying my CDs. I buy them, rip them, put them in my iTunes Library, download the music to my iPod, store the actual CD on my music shelves. Never yet bought anything from the Apple store.

[Spktyr]

The people whinging about Apple's DRM are the same people whinging about the record companies' pricing on CDs, in general. It's quite amusing.

[conservative in nyc]

Microsoft licensed their Plays4Sure DRM.... but they didn't license the Zune's DRM!

Then Microsoft will be the next to be sued for that (if they haven't been already). Again, Microsoft might ultimately win. By not licensing their copy protection software, Microsoft and Apple are arguably using DRM to essentially lock existing non-tech oriented consumers into buying their own future products.

[Swordmaker]

actually the issue is not one of product but deception. . . It is akin to the car dealer who tried to modify the auto warranty by placing some papers in the glove box. The consumer did not see them until after they had long left the lot and it was too late. The courts have held to types of adhesion contracts to be invalid. . . Anyways as more and more info comes out about the Iphone Criple, it appears it was more show than go. It lacks the most recent hardware, the before mentioned crippleware, and the pending suit with Cisco.

What a load of Bullpucky.

There is no requirement to use iTunes. You can load your own MP3s onto the iPod if you wish. You can rip the tracks off of your own legally owned CD collection. I saw a third party piece of hardware at Macworld last week that allows you to rip your collection of LPs to MP3 format and play them on your iPod.

[Spktyr]

Actually, it's the RIAA and their members that are requiring DRM for online sales. If Apple (or MS) gets sued over the DRM, they get to say (legally) that they are just merchants and that the RIAA required it as part of the license (which it is).

The thing is, the reason that a lot of people want Apple to open up the Fairplay system is so that they can get their piece of the iPod/iTMS pie. Nobody (except hardware vendors) wants the MS DRM that much because they hold so much less of the market and MS has stabbed their "partners" in the back repeatedly, and whose most recent stabbing was with the Zune.

[Spktyr]

And there's plenty of Linux guys who have written programs to load and control an iPod, since there is no iTunes for Linux. Never mind ephod on Windows....

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Has anyone here ever used the Russian music services, allofmp3.com for example?

I have been using allofmp3.com for over a year and use it a lot. An I love it.

Great site. I hope they don't get shut down since the loophole they were utilizing was closed in September 2006.

[Tanniker Smith]

True, but their attitude toward Betamax (and VHS, for that matter) caused them a bit of grief. And it led to salespeople pushing VHS format because they made a better commission of it.

It was years before Sony started making blank VHS tapes, and even more years before the made VHS machines.

Granted, I was p*ssed at SONY for buying out record companies and then declaring that they wouldn't make any more LPs.

[Spktyr]

You do know that while Sony didn't win the format wars, they did win financially, right?

Sony has several patents that are required for any VHS deck - so Sony gets a cut off every VHS deck ever sold. Sure, it's not as much as if they'd owned the VCR market, but they're still laughing all the way to the bank.

[dayglored]

> If DRM is your make or break isssue, you by CD's. How difficult is that?

You got it.

> ...but.... then I have to spend more on the album than if I get it online!!!! And I overpay the record companies!!!!

Heh. I don't buy many new CDs because most of what I want is on eMusic.com and similar legal non-DRM download sites.

But the other day I wanted a copy of Carrie Underwood's new track "Before He Cheats". Couldn't find it on the download sites except with DRM, so I went to BestBuy and bought the CD ("Some Hearts"). Discovered that the young lady is quite a good singer on the other tracks too, and now I can have MP3's of every track on the release.

Plus the CD comes with a mighty fine poster-sized close-up print-resolution photo of her which I can stare at while listening to her. And that doesn't come with any of the downloads, of course. That alone makes up for the difference in price.

[Sunnyflorida]

"So if I buy my music from the iTunes store, I'd have to burn a bunch of CDs in order for the music to play on a non-Apple player? How many people are going to be willing to take the time and energy to do that?"

Non-slugs.

[Spktyr]

Easy.

If you have .wav files on the computer, just install iTunes. Then drag the song files onto the iTunes icon. iTunes will convert them to AAC (default setting, not DRMed) and store them in the Library. Once you connect the iPod, it'll automatically sync and copy the Library contents over. Once you have them copied into iTunes, you can toss the old huge WAV files away and get a lot of your disk space back.

If you wish to do it the other way, you can store them on the CD in any format your computer can recognize (straight Audio CD is probably best since that's essentially what WAV is). And iTunes will seamlessly import it back into the computer in an iPod ready format. In fact, if you burn them to CD, then run iTunes and stick the CD back in, iTunes will ask you if you want to import the music off the CD.

[Stoat]

Allow me to recommend the eMusic service.

Do I understand correctly that in order to even get to the point of being allowed to scan their catalog to determine whether or not they even have any music that I'm interested in, I have to establish an account (with credit card information?) as well as download their special download manager software?

Just curious.  It seems strange to me that they require people to do all of this and only then be allowed to determine whether they have any merchandise that a person is even interested in buying.

[Sunnyflorida]

"The iPhone spells disaster for a lot of smartphone companies and trouble for MS, so they're going to try to kill it in the press before it ever reaches market - because when it does, they're screwed."

Until MSFT makes a lame crippled clone, "honey, I'll call you right back after I reload the virus software and re-IPL my WinPhone."

[conservative in nyc]

Actually, it's the RIAA and their members that are requiring DRM for online sales. If Apple (or MS) gets sued over the DRM, they get to say (legally) that they are just merchants and that the RIAA required it as part of the license (which it is).

No court is going to enforce or pay much attention to an illegal contract. "The RIAA made me do it" wouldn't be a defense to murder, and shouldn't hold much water otherwise. Besides, I doubt the RIAA mandates that Apple use Fairplay and only Fairplay, as opposed to whatever standard Microsoft, Microsoft's Zune or anyone else uses. And if the RIAA does, then they will probably be sued too.

The thing is, the reason that a lot of people want Apple to open up the Fairplay system is so that they can get their piece of the iPod/iTMS pie.

They sure do - which is why I originally asked if this was like Lexmark. Lexmark tried to make its printers only work with its toner cartridges by adding "protection" to the product. They thought they'd sell printers for cheap up front but make a killing on replacement cartridges. Someone broke the "protection" and started selling generic toner cartridges. Lexmark sued. Lexmark lost.

What would or should happen if someone broke Apple's Fairplay and started selling songs in iTMS format? Perhaps the RIAA wouldn't let them do so in the first place.

In any event, the case isn't totally frivolous as some have claimed - the court didn't dismiss it at its first chance to do so.

[SamAdams76]

AAC at 160 bitrate and MP3 at 192 bitrate are my minimum standards for burning from .WAV.

If it is classical music, then I go to MP3 at 320 bitrate.

What I do a lot is download streams off the web (such as from radio stations) and I use Audacity to rip them to MP3 format from .WAV format. I downloaded 10 hours of Christmas music off the WBCN radio station in Boston last Christmas. The MP3s came out awesome.

[Lancey Howard]

The argument is that I bought this Toshiba VCR that Toshiba only allows to play Toshiba-made video tapes from the Toshiba store. Plus, Toshiba refuses to allow other players to play those Toshiba-made video tapes, so when I go out to buy my next VCR, it's going to have to be a Toshiba VCR or my tape library is useless.

If Toshiba made it clear to purchasers that that was exactly what they were purchasing, then there is no case.

Did Apple mislead purchasers in some way?
If not, then the lawsuit is indeed frivolous.

[Petronski]

Your entire post is a deceptive, misspelled load of FUD.