Question for Apple computer and iPod owners...

[Senor Hound]

I understand Apple makes a quality product. I've owned one and I liked it. But since iTunes online has been around, I'm not so sure.

I read in a book that Apple is one of the pioneers of "anti-piracy" protection programming. Every song downloaded off of iTunes carries code with it that allows you to only download it to one computer (so if you have a desktop and a laptop, tough), and your iPod. If you want to burn it to CD to listen in your car, tough. If you want to have it on two computers, tough. If you want it to be a ring tone on your phone, tough. This personally upsets me. I will never buy a song off of iTunes for this reason, and it really left a bad taste in my mouth about Apple in general.

So my question to you Apple fans is this: Does it upset you that the same company that gives you these great computers (and they are great) doesn't even trust you with a song? I'd like to know if this upsets people, or if they really don't care. Or maybe it upsets you, but not enough to do anything about it. Which ever it may be, I'd love to hear your opinion on the issue.

 

[lostprophet]

I only have an iPod and the protection on music bothers me not one little bit

 

[Slaphead]

It's not that apple doesn't trust you with a song, it's the record companies and the RIAA that want DRM embedded into each track. I believe that you can buy unprotected versions of a song but you have to pay more.

Personally I don't buy music from apple or any other online source. Call me old fashioned but I prefer to have something tangible in my hands like a CD or LP.

 

[rufus5150]

I've never had a problem burning any downloaded song from ITMS to disc. Most folks I know burn them to a disc then re-import them as MP3's if they want to rid themselves of the DRM. It takes about 10 minutes for an entire CD's worth.

And you can authorize up to 5 machines to play your DRM'd stuff downloaded from iTunes. Once a year or so you can de-authorize all of them and add 5 new ones. As long as you have access to those machines, you can de-authorize them at any time one at a time.

According to Wikipedia:

• Users can make a maximum of seven CD copies of any particular playlist containing songs purchased from the iTunes Store.
• Users can access their purchased songs on a maximum of five computers.
• Songs can only be played on a computer with iTunes or an iPod; other MP3 devices do not support FairPlay encoded tracks.

More recently they've started adding the 'plus' songs which are sometimes more expensive and have no DRM.

Hell, I had a catastrophic failure of both my main and backup hard drives and lost every song I've downloaded from ITMS (around 2500 or so tracks). One email and they places 2483 of them back in my download queue for free (the remainder had at some point become 'album only' or removed from ITMS).

I've never encountered anyone who was put out terribly much by ITMS and their DRM 'rules' except the people who are offended by any DRM in general. Their rules are really lax and extremely easy to circumvent. The other folk that I've encountered that dislike it are the ones who pay for unlimited subscription services, but that has little to do with the DRM and more to do with how much they're paying for what they listen to.

The ability to download every 1-hit-wonder song from the 80's without forking over the bazillions it would cost if I had to find them on compilations or the original albums alone makes any DRM the ITMS wants to throw at me a complete non-issue.

So, uh, whatever book you read is pretty much dead wrong if you're representing it correctly (well, except for the 'pioneers in DRM' -- yeah, they're one of the first widespread online download place with DRM technology, as far as I'm concerned, if you're going to have DRM, they did it the right way).

Being outraged about the ITMS and its DRM is kinda a waste of energy IMNSHO. If you're outraged, go to amazon and buy a cd.

 

[lockwood81]

I understand Apple makes a quality product. I've owned one and I liked it. But since iTunes online has been around, I'm not so sure.

I read in a book that Apple is one of the pioneers of "anti-piracy" protection programming. Every song downloaded off of iTunes carries code with it that allows you to only download it to one computer (so if you have a desktop and a laptop, tough), and your iPod. If you want to burn it to CD to listen in your car, tough. If you want to have it on two computers, tough. If you want it to be a ring tone on your phone, tough. This personally upsets me. I will never buy a song off of iTunes for this reason, and it really left a bad taste in my mouth about Apple in general.

So my question to you Apple fans is this: Does it upset you that the same company that gives you these great computers (and they are great) doesn't even trust you with a song? I'd like to know if this upsets people, or if they really don't care. Or maybe it upsets you, but not enough to do anything about it. Which ever it may be, I'd love to hear your opinion on the issue.

Which is why I don't own an "iPod"...

 

[Rhys]

DRM is a load of crap anyway. Burn to a CD and it's stripped. There are DRM stripping programs too.

 

[Unimaxium]

I read in a book that Apple is one of the pioneers of "anti-piracy" protection programming. Every song downloaded off of iTunes carries code with it that allows you to only download it to one computer (so if you have a desktop and a laptop, tough), and your iPod. If you want to burn it to CD to listen in your car, tough. If you want to have it on two computers, tough. If you want it to be a ring tone on your phone, tough.

None of these things is quite true. You can put iTunes songs on multiple computers, and you can burn them to CD. There are some limitations; for example, you can only authorize 5 computers at a time to play your songs, and there's some limit to the number of times you can burn a specific playlist containing DRM'ed music.

That said, DRM does suck. I hate it because it prevents me from playing my music under Linux. But Apple doesn't like it either. Steve Jobs wrote an open letter last year denouncing DRM and explaining the possible alternatives to their current way of selling music. They protect their songs because they are under a contract with the recording companies that says they have to. They don't like DRM, but they had to do it in order to create what was one of the first online music stores. Since then, Apple has introduced DRM-free songs to their store. Any record label can sell their songs without DRM; it's just that most record labels still require encryption because the mistakenly think that it prevents piracy.

But until the Big Four record companies decide to cave and allow Apple to sell their music without encryption, I'd recommend buying from the new Amazon.com music store whenever possible. They sell their music in 256kbps MP3 format, which means no DRM. It's sometimes even cheaper, too.

 

[Hertz van Rental]

The problem with music downloaded from the iTunes store is that it is protected by DRM (Digital Rights Management). The idea is that it protects copyright and allows you to use the music because you have purchased a 'key' but you can't share it with others.
DRM has been around for a while and isn't an Apple innovation. Windows Media Player has had it since version 10 and WMV files with DRM can't be played on a Mac because Microsoft did not produce a DRM version for Mac.
Be that as it may, there are various ways around it - the easiest is using programs that allow you to use your iPod with different computers without having to synch them.
Another way is to get a device like this:

http://mishare.com/

It doesn't get around DRM but that is only a problem if you use ITunes stores. There are a number of other alternatives where you can purchase and download music without that problem. A lot of music publishers have moved away from the iTunes store now it is no longer the only game in town.
None of this is a problem if you get your music from CDs

*edit* some of my post is redundant seeing as Uni beat me to it

 

[Rhys]

Do you know you cannot take screen shots of videos played with Windows?

 

[royalWITHcheese2]

As of right now, I'll never buy an apple product. The only reason I have an Ipod is because I got it for free. But just like the other posters, I have my songs on several computers, and I burn cd's all the time with the songs I've bought. One thing that really got my upset was when I bought a cd on Itunes, and tried to put it on my Ipod, that I could only use so many computers to load songs on to it, which I thought was total BS, I don't know why it matters where I load it from as long as it was bought from the same user name...

 

[Jeff Canes]

can I have your photos for free, if itunes sold your photos you would be signing a differemt tune

 

[Uglulyx Takes Photos Too]

It's not that apple doesn't trust you with a song, it's the record companies and the RIAA that want DRM embedded into each track. I believe that you can buy unprotected versions of a song but you have to pay more.

Personally I don't buy music from apple or any other online source. Call me old fashioned but I prefer to have something tangible in my hands like a CD or LP.

Yes but now it is no longer legal to rip CD's to your computer. But as far as how cares goes, I don't. Personally I find copyright laws to be another way capitalism is destroying the earth. Everyone is out to make a buck no matter how unmoral it is. BTW Copyright laws and All Rights Reserved technically are restricting your rights (no matter if you have them are not, it's the fact that they are intending to take them away) therefore should not even be considered valid.

/end rant

 

[Rhys]

It seems to me that companies should recognise that copying will happen no matter what they do to try to stop it and just stop bothering. Instead of spending time and effort on that, produce newer, better products.

 

[clarinetJWD]

Do you know you cannot take screen shots of videos played with Windows?

Yes you can.

Next.

Edit: oh, right, the real reason I was posting. I refuse to pay for downloading music unless it meets 2 conditions: 1) No DRM. Under fair use, I should be able to do whatever I want with my purchased files. DRM makes it seem like I'm renting it. 2) Lossless format. Not mp3, not AAC, not wmv, or even ogg. Apple Lossless, FLAC, Wav, Aiff. lossless.

 

[MarcusM]

Do you know you cannot take screen shots of videos played with Windows?

I was curious so I tried this and had no problem:

There seems to be a lot of misinformation in this thread...