Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Want an iPhone? Beware the iHandcuffs
Posted by Jeremy Charette in "ARTICLE" @ 08:00 AM
"STEVE JOBS, Apple’s showman nonpareil, provided the first public glimpse of the iPhone last week — gorgeous, feature-laden and pricey. While following the master magician’s gestures, it was easy to overlook a most disappointing aspect: like its slimmer iPod siblings, the iPhone’s music-playing function will be limited by factory-installed “crippleware.” If “crippleware” seems an unduly harsh description, it balances the euphemistic names that the industry uses for copy protection. Apple officially calls its own standard “FairPlay,” but fair it is not."
Nice to finally see mainstream media talking about the evils of DRM. As the author points out, at least Microsoft is willing to license it's DRM scheme, whereas Apple is operating in essentially a closed-loop system. I'm an advocate for Apple's hardware and software, and their online store, but even I can't endorse their DRM platform. I won't buy a song from iTunes unless it's absolutely unavailable anywhere else. I still buy my music on CDs and rip it to my computer and portable media players. I shudder to think what will happen someday when a competitor comes along and grabs significant market share from Apple. The outcry from consumers locked into the iPlatform will be deafening.
Nice to finally see mainstream media talking about the evils of DRM. As the author points out, at least Microsoft is willing to license it's DRM scheme, whereas Apple is operating in essentially a closed-loop system. I'm an advocate for Apple's hardware and software, and their online store, but even I can't endorse their DRM platform. I won't buy a song from iTunes unless it's absolutely unavailable anywhere else. I still buy my music on CDs and rip it to my computer and portable media players. I shudder to think what will happen someday when a competitor comes along and grabs significant market share from Apple. The outcry from consumers locked into the iPlatform will be deafening.
