iTunes goes DRM Free!!!
 

Just now, at MacWorld 2009, Apple announced that iTunes is allowing 8,000,000 songs to go 100% DRM free right now (as in today, January 6 2009), and the rest (an additional 2,000,000 songs) are going DRM free by the end of this quarter. This means substantial freedom with the #1 music source, and I suspect it will mean that Apple will, despite the economy, have a very good year.

Expect this to dominate tech news for a few weeks.

Edit: And if you have an iPhone 3G, you can now buy from the iTunes store via the 3G network.

I still won't buy music from iTunes, but at least now it'll just be because of the low quality, not the DRM.

I'm sorry to say but this isn't really news. We knew it was coming and to be quite frank, it should have come a long time ago. It's about damn time :)

What did you think of the rest of the keynote address? I was pretty meh on everything else. I saw nothing there that I wanted.

Trust them to announce is just after I spent the gift cards I got for Christmas.

Wonder if they'll come up with a way to let people re-DL stuff they bought with DRM?

The 17" MBP is impressive. The 8 hour battery will undoubtedly cause a commotion since you can't remove it. I'm frustrated at the obvious lack of a Mac mini update. I was looking forward to seeing what they had to offer. Maybe it will come out in the coming months.

Daniel, I think (thought not sure) it will unlock your stuff for you. I think. I'll let you know when I get home.

Why does Mac continue to do stuff like that (unremovable battery) when they are continually panned for it?

Because people keep buying.

This time it's a bet. 8 hours of wifi on a 17" led laptop is a damn good deal, especially considering that this battery is designed to be a great deal more reliable than your average laptop battery. They hope once people see that they don't need a second battery it won't be an issue. And it's not unremovable per se. I've been inside the 15" MBP and I could change things that aren't supposed to be changed without too much difficulty. I changed the ram and I could have done work on the mobo even.

And let's not forget that the brand new 17" MBP has a matte screen option, which is a bow to consumer division over the glossy screen. So they're not inflexible.

My question is what happens after the 1000 recharge cycles and the battery stops holding a charge? Will we have to pay a 'genius' to replace the battery at high cost? Will I be able to just buy a battery and take it apart myself to replace the battery (I've also been inside a MBP 15.5" and its really not difficult).

I think the matte option should be the default and you should have to pay the extra $50 for the glossy finish, but that's just personal opinion.

They will impress me if they do that.

They said something like "if you need to change it, we have a program", which is cryptic. I suspect it may cost a bit, but really I'm sure the battery with such new tech will be expensive anyway. I'm sure we'll see something on Engadget or Gizmodo soon about pricing. If the labor is expensive and it's outside of the AppleCare warranty, I'm sure changing it yourself would become a better option.
Believe it or not I agree. I bought myself a 22" widescreen lcd that has a matte finish and I can't imagine how frustrating it would be to have glossy. BTW, Mac minis are awesome. Mine works nearly as fast as a new iMac. Once I'm done fiddling with it (upgrading the hard drive and disc burner), I'm sure it will be fine for the next 3-4 years.

yeah I love the matte finish on my MBP. I know someone with a regular MB that has glossy and its terrible. The contrast is cool but if there is an ounce of sunlight, its impossible to see.

$0.30 per song to upgrade to DRM-free. For me, this isn't an issue, but if I wanted to upgrade all of my music from iTunes, it would be like $270ish. Not spectacular, but at least we have the option.

If you're interested, go to the iTunes store in the iTunes application, and click "Upgrade My Library" under "Quick Links".
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How else are you going to be able to look at your reflection in the screen to see how cool you are using a Mac? :suave:

Netcraft confirms it, DRM is dying.
Not a day too soon.

I would never buy an expensive laptop where I can't replace the battery. Most batteries are rated for only a year and it is expected that batteries will start fading after that year. Does this mean apple users are going to have to buy a new laptop every year?

Also they are moving to DRM free but they won't let you upgrade your music without a 30% surcharge (bullshit). Do yourself a favor and buy from Amazon instead of Itunes. Let apple know you don't like their bullshit monopolistic tactics.

well to be fair, they did say the batteries are rated for 3 times as long as a normal laptop battery.

Not at all. I realize that not having a battery that just slips right out can be daunting to some people, but it's hardly difficult to remove a few screws and unplug the battery. On top of that, you can take it in to an Apple Store and have them replace it for $179. On top of that, this battery includes newer technology than other laptops which could mean it has a much longer life. According to Apple, the battery can take 1000 charges. Hmm... 8 hours x 1000 charges = 8000 hours. So you can run it for nearly an entire year, night and day, 7 days a week on one battery. That's silly, of course, because your average person only uses the computer a few hours a day and during most of them it's plugged in to a wall.

Sweet. Not that DRM mattered for me. I just burned my library to a virtual cd that automatically converted to MP3, and had all MP3s when I was done.

Shhhh... oh wait, it doesn't matter anymore.

Which demonstrates why DRM has always been an exercise in futility. The media is completely useless if you can't decode it! It's like keeping a secret from yourself. You really need some multiple personalities or something before it starts making any sense... Nevertheless I refused to buy anything with it on principle. So no major-label music for me until Amazon opened, not that I was missing much.

When the hell are they going to add Bluetooth to the iPhone and iPod touch?

Mac Rumors says that Mac is offering a "take back and recycling program" on the batteries. I'm not totally sure what that means.

They have a bluetooth headsets for the iPhone:
Five Best iPhone Bluetooth headsets

And a keyboard. And other things. You're right about the iTouch, though, it should have bluetooth.

but are they a2dp (aka stereo bluetooth)?

I asked google, and he told me this:
Iphone Stereo Bluetooth: iPhone Gets Stereo Bluetooth A2DP Adapter

Not an elegant solution, but you get the option.

It should be noted that Bluetooth A2DP does not shorten battery life. I have a sony bluetooth adapter, and it does not kill the battery the way it does when WiFi is enabled.

The only thing stopping the iphone from having ad2p is driver support. It has been 2 years and it isn't out for it yet? Android has it in the cupcake branch which should become the main branch later this month and it has only been out a little over 2 months now....

Steve Jobs predicted this in 2007. :) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Knowl...uesman_DRM.mp3

Or search for it in iTunes. Steve Jobs @ Wharton

That Bluetooth thing looks interesting, but is bigger than my usb adapter one.