[IP] More on Apple "monopoly"

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Ole Jacobsen <ole@cisco.com>
Date: May 23, 2006 12:43:47 PM EDT
To: Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>
Subject: More on Apple "monopoly"
Reply-To: Ole Jacobsen <ole@cisco.com>


Dave,

Perhaps a clarification is in order:

I am not "defending" Apple. I am just pointing out that most of the  
press
articles *imply* that you can only get music onto your iPod by  
purchasing
it from Apple. This is simply not correct. In fact, the iPod existed for
at least 2 years before there was any music to be had from Apple. The  
iPod
"revolution" did not happen because of the Apple Music Store. The  
tagline
used to be "RIP, Mix, Burn" remember?

So Apple went ahead and struck deals with the 4 major labels, something
any savvy business entity could have done. And presumably fearing  
illegal
copying, Apple added a proprietary DRM scheme. This sounds like a smart
business decision to me.

Ironically, Sony who should have taken the lead in this area given their
history and record label, completely missed the boat.

Of course, over time, as a consumer, I would hope that the industry  
could
come up with a COMMON DRM scheme, perhaps Apple will be dragged kicking
and screaming into such. Yes, consumer choice is a good thing, and I  
agree
that Apple should help, but it's relatively speaking early days yet.

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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