If you like music, you might like this brand-new essay from the Master of Macintosh himself.
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic/
Interestingly enough, the publication date -- yesterday, February 6 -- was also the date I first used my new iPod Shuffle!
The iPod was a generous gift from Deadron, and it's quite a clever little contraption. I like it plenty. You may, therefore, regard this previous post as obsolete:
http://members.byond.com/ Gughunter?command=view_post&post=3707
I get it now!
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Jobs is bluffing because he knows that the record companies will never call his bluff.
"The third alternative is to abolish DRMs entirely. . . . This is clearly the best alternative for consumers, and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat."
BS. BS, BS, BS. He knows full well that the record companies would never allow this situation, so he cleverly takes the opportunity to come across as the good guy. Nobody's going to call this monstrous bluff, and thus it has the Apple fanboys singing his praises like never before.
I think the most clever bluff here is when he talks about licensing FairPlay so that non-iPod devices could use it. Of course Apple will never do this because the lock-in between iTunes Music Store and the iPod is a huge part of their business model. Nothing wrong with that -- it's a complete package, all or nothing, take it or leave it. But a lot of people complain, so Jobs again deflects the blame to the record companies so that he comes out apparently looking squeaky-clean:
"However, a key provision of our agreements with the music companies is that if our DRM system is compromised and their music becomes playable on unauthorized devices, we have only a small number of weeks to fix the problem or they can withdraw their entire music catalog from our iTunes store."
This is his central argument against licensing FairPlay. Yet, how does Microsoft manage to license PlaysForSure to dozens if not hundreds of other companies? They are dealing with the same record companies, after all.
It's nothing but another smokescreen from Reality-Distortion Master Steve Jobs. The real reason Apple won't license FairPlay is that it would encourage sales of non-iPod players. I'd have gained a lot more respect for Mr. Jobs if he'd simply told the truth. There's nothing wrong with a company wanting to make money -- that's the point of its existence! Lying about it makes me cry.
There's no question that the record labels want and require DRM. Therefore they do shoulder much of the blame. But Apple shares it equally, as they have a strong vested interest in maintaining the current system. Coming out and boldly lying about it is nothing but a brilliantly executed PR stunt. I have to say it's worked -- gauging the reaction across the internet the past day or so, I see more people than ever singing the praises of Apple and Jobs. The Reality Distortion Field is stronger than ever.
Well played, Apple. Well played.