iTunes user sues Apple over iPod: A user of Apple's iTunes music service is suing the firm saying it is unfair he can only use an iPod to play songs. He says Apple is breaking anti-competition laws in refusing to let other music players work with the site
Actually a lawsuit I am quite in favour of. I think that Apple needs to now open up both AAC and Fairplay, so that any device can play them. This is the only way for Apple to now succeed. iTunes, IMS and the iPod have done well in their own rights, but it sounds very Job-esque that Apple is now trying to keep the format and everything closed and solely Apple.
Microsoft has the money to sit and wait out Apple, and if if WMA becomes a dominant format over AAC, then Apple, IMS and the iPod is shafted like the MAC was back in the day, before the iMac started its resurrection. I really think Apple is doing a good job, even if they are being forced largely to be the record companies bitch boy.
If this lawsuit forces Apple to open up the formats, it might (only might) give Microsoft and WMA a bit of a run for its money. But if they don't, eventually the mark will swing, and it will be a shame to see one of the big innovators loose out, because of stubbornness.
I'm also slightly curious as to what the guy suing Apple gets out of it. I presume he is hoping for Apple to buy him out to drop the case, but if Apple looses or concedes, then they just license their format, and he gets nothing. I don't see what he has to gain, and I cannot believe he is doing it for any holistic reasons.
1. Gordon
I agree with what you are saying and it beggars belief that Apple would make the same mistakes they have in the past… but… they made those mistakes once.. so who knows. What I still find funny is the whole DRM thing that Apple have. Buy the tunes, burn a CD then.. wait for it, this is genius, put it back in the PC and rip it… et voila, DRM-free MP3s. What IS the point? (yes yes, they have to be seen to be doing something. Record labels, yadda yadda).
And yeah what WILL that guy get out of it, and can we just presume that it’s another shining example of the “sue you” state that is America?? (he said, generalising wildly).
Hell maybe he just wants some Apple goodies. I know I do.
2. Adrian
The problem with burning DRM content to CD and re-ripping it, is that you further degrade the quality, so you do remove the DRM protection, you also loose audio quality.
It’s like photocopying a print. You’re going from one step away from the original to two steps.
That method only works if you purchase a losslessly encoded DRM protected audio file, and it is for this reason that none of the music stores are selling losslessly encoded music.
3. Destructor
Maybe he wants to just play his downloaded songs on some other player?
4. heppy
actually, you CAN buy losslessly encoded music at a very cheap rate indeed.
It’s at allofmp3.com
They’re based in Russia where national copyright laws are somewhat nonexistent but international trading laws mean that by using the site you’re purchasing the music in russia but importing it into your own country…perfectly legal.
It’s also incredibly cheap and you can choose your preference of format, ogg, aac, wma etc etc at various bitrates.
5. g.
AAC is an open standard by the mpeg group, not apple. And for private users, who wish to excercise their fair use rights, there’s always hymn.
6. Adrian
Yet no other devices except the iPod play AAC.