[IP] The so-called Apple music monopoly

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Ole Jacobsen <ole@cisco.com>
Date: May 22, 2006 8:26:25 PM EDT
To: Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>
Subject: The so-called Apple music monopoly
Reply-To: Ole Jacobsen <ole@cisco.com>


A lot has been written about how you can "only" buy music for the iPod
from Apple's iTunes Music Store, see for example:

http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/22/technology/business2_launchpad0522/ 
index.htm

This, and most stories of its kind, completely misses the fact that you
can put ANY MP3 file from ANY source on your iPod, and it also misses  
the
fact that you can convert any CD to MP3 using the iTunes (player, not
Music Store) software.

It is true that Apple has special DRM attached to the files you do buy
from their music store (they use a non-MP3 encoding also), but nobody is
forcing you to spend money in this way. It is also true that you need
iTunes in order to copy the music from your computer to the iPod
(third-party hacks nothwithstanding). But iTunes is a free download  
which
runs on both the Mac and the PC.

The net is full of (legally) free MP3 files, MP3 files for a fee  
(such as
audio books from audible.com), and of course there are millions of  
CDs to
buy that can be converted and put on your iPod.

Why does the press insist on propagating this myth?

Ole


Ole J. Jacobsen
Editor and Publisher,  The Internet Protocol Journal
Cisco Systems
Tel: +1 408-527-8972   GSM: +1 415-370-4628
E-mail: ole@cisco.com  URL: http://www.cisco.com/ipj



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