Re: Apple Computer changes its name

[pausch@saaf.se (Paul Schlyter)]

In article <1168555986.166322.39130@p59g2000hsd.googlegroups.com>,
 <bieling@terra.es> wrote:

> Paul Schlyter ha escrito:
> 
>> If so, why does the iTunes software easily allow you to *import* any
>> mp3 file into the iPod?
> 
> Do you see another way of getting your (purchased) music into it ?

Sure: forcing your customers to buy nothing but DRM "protected" music
for your iPod.


>> The "protection"
>> offered by iPod+Itunes is actually quite easy to circumvent: Itunes
>> already imports any mp3 file to your iPod.  Exporting mp3 files from
>> your iPod is a little more tricky: it involves navigating among hidden
>> subdirectories and figuring out which mp3 file is which among all
>> those obfuscated file names.  The easies way is probably to just copy
>> all those files onto your harddisk and then run a utility on all of
>> them which renames the files to some suitable content in their ID3
>> tags (which remain there intact).  So it's not really a protection,
>> it's a hassle.
> 
> A hassle (purposedly designed) to discourage freely copying and giving
> away the music.

Wouldn't it have been better if it had prevented rather than just
discouraging it?  Discouragement should be done through law, not
through technology.

>> Perhaps protected music files bought at the Itunes store is harder
>> to export from the iPod?  But I would _never_ buy music in such
>> digital formats.  What happens when your iPod stops working?
> 
> Nothing at all, the music remains in your iTunes music Library (on the
> computer).

But what if I wanted to play my music on some other brand of portable
music player (Creative, Iriver, Sandisk, whatever) ?   Then my music
library becomes inaccessible.   Suppose you decided to switch e.g.
your Sony CD player to a Philips CD player for whatever reason, and
then you found out that your entire CD collection was unplayable on
the Philips CD player - it could be played only on a Sony CD player.
What would you think about that?

>> Assuming that your customers are thieves is not a good business model.
> 
> Welcome to the real life. Copy protection, software activation keys,
> etc.

That's an annoying part of real life -- fortunately, it doesn't exist
everywhere.
 
> If you didn't pay me, you are not my customer.
> And If you get what I sell without paying me, you are stealing me.

True - but if I do pay you, I expect to be allowed to decide for
myself what kind of player I want to play the music I paid for on!
And I also expect to be able to change my decision later.  If you
impose restrictions on me in this respect, then I will not become
your customer.

Yes, there is a legal way to not pay for the music: to decide you
don't want to listen to that music.


> iTunes works seamlessly until you attempt to copy your music, for
> example, to a friend's iPod.

....or until you want to switch to a player of some other brand
than Apple.... again, I don't want to be locked in on players of
only one brand...

-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Schlyter,  Grev Turegatan 40,  SE-114 38 Stockholm,  SWEDEN
e-mail:  pausch at stockholm dot bostream dot se
WWW:     http://stjarnhimlen.se/