Defective by Deisgn written 5 years ago

As if it’s not bad enough that music arrives on your computer in a huge variety of formats, making it difficult to do what you want with it, companies out there (namely Apple) are restricting what you can do with it even further.

Music downloaded from iTunes will only play on an iPod, similarly, music downloaded from MSN Music, will not play on an ipod.

You can see my efforts at trying to cope with the many different music formats. This utility, ofcourse, cannot overcome DRM enforced on music.

The Free Software Group, have decided they don’t like this, and have staged several protests against DRM on music tracks. France and Norway are set to force apple to make their songs play on other players, and Norway has set a deadline for apple to reverse its policy.

Personally I see DRM as a way of holding back any digital advancements for at least the next 5 years. There’s already a myriad of formats out there, that are already un-portable between systems. Being locked-in to a specific company won’t help anything.

Companies like AllofMp3 have shown that customers are willing to pay for music, at a price they’re comfortable with, and in a format that makes sense to them. The WTO is ofcourse ensuring that AllofMp3’s days are numbered.

So for me, I’m just sat here waiting for all the squabbling to stop, before committing to anything. I’m sure some company out there is willing to relieve me of ?250 for a portable music device that will play everything I own…?

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