Anti-Apple DRM sentiment rising | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com
Brad King who writes about emerging technology and culture for MIT's Technology Review is speaking out against Apple's digital restrictions [sic] management (DRM) strategyI got my anti-DRM bona fides too, guys, but let's call Brad's article (any article, really, that singles out Apple for their approach to DRM) for what it is: Apple-baiting for pageviews.
What's unfortunate about King's original post is that he had to start off by apologizing because he knew his opinion wouldn't be very popular with the Apple crowd. What's even more unfortunate is that due to the comments he received, he apparently had to update his entry with an even more fleshed out defense of his position. It's proof to me that a lot of people are so star-struck by Apple's offerings (or Jobs, or Bono) that they're willing to do more than just turn a blind eye to the havoc being wrought on consumers. In a merger of forces with the dark side, they're willing to defend it too. How sad.
Last I checked, the iPod played MP3 files, and AAC-encoded, non-DRMed files just fine. Last I checked, there was nothing about iTunes or Mac OS X that prevented you from downloading or ripping said files. Hell, you can even buy them from eMusic if you'd like. In addition to all these restriction-free choices, you also have the choice of buying tracks from the iTunes Music Store, encumbred with Big Content-approved DRM. Convenient, to be sure, but restrictive nevertheless. Did Jobs make a deal with the devil? Perhaps, but he took the only option open to him. Big Content has yet to show that they'll play ball without DRM on the table.
Has Apple, then, sold out its customers? That's a mighty big leap. Apple's added a Big Content-friendly option to their lineup of music and video services. Perhaps they've thrown a short lifeline to Big Content, allowing them to believe that DRM-encumbered product has a long future, but they certainly haven't foreclosed on anybody else's shiny new non-DRM business model.
