As far as hardware goes, I love my iPod as a media player. But I loathe the company that manufactures it.
One thing that, in the past, really pissed me off about Apple and their iPods is that they 1.) could not play music files encoded with WMA, which is the preferred encoding for Windows Media Player (and for Zunes, for that matter); and 2.) most music bought from the iTunes store is encoded in the inexcusably lowly bit rate of 128 (what the fuck, Apple... ?!); and, worst of all, 3.) all music bought from the iTunes store is shackled with DRM, which not only prevents you from sharing your bought music files with your friends, but also prevents you from freely transferring your bought music, back and forth, between the computers and media players used in your household and at your workplace.
Now I see that Apple is doing away with all that...
Quote:
If you've been wanting a Zune but couldn't let go of your existing iTunes collection your happy day has come. At the Macworld conference Apple announced iTunes is going DRM-Free, and old files can be "cleansed" of the horrible DRM (Digital Rights Management) shackles. To quote Apple.com "You don’t have to buy the song or album again. Just pay the 30¢ per song upgrade price." What's the upgrade? The bitrate is increased from 128 Kbps to 256 Kbps and the file becomes compatible with non-iPod players such as Zune, Sansa, and Archos.
What brought about this change of heart? iTunes was suffering from competition from the likes of Amazon.com and Zune Marketplace which both offer DRM-Free tracks and higher bitrates. Plus Apple gets to cash in now on the upgrade price. In the long term this is good news for Zune. It opens a new market segment of music lovers who were previously locked into iPod hardware. It also suggests that Zune could move towards becoming 100% DRM-Free in the future.
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Zune MP3 Player
However, note the
$0.30 per song upgrade price! Yes, that's right: Apple is going to charge you again for
each and every song you bought from the iTunes store, if you want to have those songs upgraded to a higher bit rate and freed of DRM.
