Apple Still A Big Fan Of DRM Outside Of Music
from the let-me-count-the-ways.. dept
A Skeptical Cynic among our readers points us to a post over on the EFF's blog about how Apple is still a huge supporter of DRM, despite getting the record labels to dump DRM from music files. This isn't a huge surprise. In the past we noted that even after Steve Jobs came out against DRM on music files, he was clearly still for it on things like video files -- even suggesting business models based on DRM. As the EFF points out, it goes well beyond that, however:- Apple uses DRM to lock iPhones to AT&T and Apple's iTunes App Store;
- Apple uses DRM to prevent recent iPods from syncing with software other than iTunes (Apple claims it violates the DMCA to reverse engineer the hashing mechanism);
- Apple claims that it uses DRM to prevent OS X from loading on generic Intel machines;
- Apple's new Macbooks feature DRM-laden video ports that only output certain content to "approved" displays;.
- Apple requires iPod accessory vendors to use a licensed "authentication chip" in order to make accessories to access certain features on newer iPods and iPhones;
- The iTunes Store will still lock down movies and TV programs with FairPlay DRM;
- Audiobook files purchased through the iTunes Store will still be crippled by Audible's DRM restrictions.
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iTunes
Can't say that I've ever bought anything from Apples iTunes Store...
...but still, with all the smart playlist stuff and auto synchronization stuff, it's nice to be able to easily and handily rotate your 600gb worth of media onto your 120gb iPod with a sensible series of algorithms...
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iTunes
The whole iPod and iTunes thing is like buying a DVD player from manufacurer A and then being told you can only buy your movies from manufacurer A's store.
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Re: iTunes
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Re: Re: iTunes
I will give you that the ipod is very well designed from an aesthetics point of view. Beyond that i call it trendy crap. the only way I'd ever use one is if I was out of choices and even then I'd crack the shit out of it.
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Because it's unnecessarily complex task that does nothing but detract from the experience of an integrated enviromnet. How does "drag and drop" handle podcast management? Smart playlists?
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Re:
most people make their own playlists and its easy to organise your files anyway just like on your pc or mac.
If you do want a program like iTunes to organise your collection, then thats fine too, but my point is you should have the choice and not be forced to use it.
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How many 'average' people do not want to micro-manage their music collections? 95% of them. With 4% of the remainder syncing their OGG collection with some obscure linux based media player.
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Re:
what's there to micromanage? you grab some files and drop them in a folder. it's literally no different that copying files to a thumb drive.
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DRM is antitrust
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its about choice
Now, my employer's choice to only use Word doc files does affect my choice in which software I use.
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Re: its about choice
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Contrast that with digital movies through iTunes. I would happily pay £4-5 for a digital movie, DRM free. No more than that because the digital files don't have the DVD extras, but that's a reasonable price to me, especially if there's DRM stopping me from using the file on all my devices.
For example, I had a look at iTunes (UK) a few days ago. The animated movie Batman: Gotham Knight was £10.99. To contrast, a few months ago I bought a DVD boxset containing Gotham Knight (with lots of extras) AND Batman Begins (2 disc special editions) for £9.99! So, a file containing the movie and nothing else that stops me from playing it on 4/5 of the equipment I own, or a 3 disc set with lots of extra features as well as 2 full movies...? What kind of choice is that? Of course I'm going to ignore iTunes!
If only these people would run these numbers. Offering an inferior product for more money is never going to help. What's sad is that the freedom and pricing of iTunes were the major things that helped it take off, apart from the ease of use of course (99c for a track compared to several dollars for a CD single? Sold!). They need to find a way to offer people the same with movies. Even competitive pricing would help people swallow the DRM, but charging more than a DVD? Ridiculous.
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Re:
I bought a WD TV HD Media Player last month that plays video from a USB harddrive, but it won't play protected files. I have a couple of 720p files that I'd downloaded a while back, and they look really good on my plasma set (hi-def picture and DD/DTS sound,) so I figured I'd see what was available to buy. I've Googled every keyword I can think of, but lo and behold, I can't find ANYPLACE that sells DRM-free video.
I keep reading that the future of entertainment software is supposed to be online downloads. I'm willing to pay a fair price to get a consistent quality product and to keep things legal, but if I can't find anyone willing to sell me something I can use it seems as if my only recourse is Bit Torrents.
Any retailers want to step up and make a few bucks?
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Guess what?
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File this under the "Duh!" category.
To complain about them is... rather... um, never mind.
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What DRM?
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Apple DRM
Apple doesn't make movies; it isn't up Apple whether movies have DRM.
The iPhone App Store isn't about DRM. My understanding is that they have not rejected any free apps.
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Re: Apple DRM
They have definitely embraced DRM. There's no question about it. Its just a matter of how the Apple crowd tries to justify it.
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free ipod music download
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Justifiy it? It's the business model. Don't want fast, easy one click downloads from a centralised secure site? Don't buy an iPhone. Go back to the inconsistent garbage and unsupported hacks that were the hallmark of the WinMo or Palm days. Or settle for almost no apps on Rim phones or Symbian.
You can all rant and rave and whine and bitch about Apple all you want. But the iPhone is a massive hit and the App Store will have more applications and more downloads of said applications than any other mobile platform or PDA. And why? Because after the laundry lists of features and imagined "flexibility" that geek types are always carping about, the simple fact of the matter is that Apple has developed a platform and an integrated support system that provides a user experience that is second to none. And the imagined harm of Apple's integration is just that: imagined.
Apple scored a huge victory for users by getting the labels to ditch DRM. But what, exactly, is the point is throwing their phone wide open to whatever shit anyone wants to put on it? None. Some home brew nerds need to develop crappy apps for the iPhone isn't beat by Apples need to make the iPhone one of the most dependable platforms on the planet.
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Re:
Now that Apple has gone DRM-free on music, movies/video have a DRM that is enforced upon not only Apple but any service that downloads or streams movies/videos. A prime example is Netflix requiring the lasted version of Flash on Windows and Silverlight on Macs.
People want to whine and bitch about Apple being unfair but they are not the primary villain in the DRM game. Don't point your fingers at Apple for playing by the rules, take a look at who owns the intellectual property.
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Freedom is dead, long live freedom
Apple created a system that helps many people manage their music, videos, contacts, calendars, phones, ipods. The system has rules that help define how that management works. Don't like the rules? Don't buy the system!
I don't like DRM either . . . glad to see it gone from the music sphere. I don't like it in the video sphere either. So I don't buy DRM'd video material. It's pretty trivial to stay away from / work around it and it doesn't cramp my viewing of video on my iPhone either.
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DRM Sucks
That said, I have an iRiver Clix. It's an awesome little thing which is completely open, supports MSC, MTP, ogg vorbis, DivX, Xvid, etc. Plus it has an AMOLED screen which is far nicer than the iPod's. Its obsolete now, but I highly recommend iRiver to others.
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