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French Plan to Open iTunes?
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When I first read this story I thought it was a positive move. Openeness is never a bad thing. Why shouldn't everybody be able to play itunes music on their PSP, or nomad? If they made microsoft sell a WMPless windows why should apple playfair? Then I realized that this is France so something must be wrong.
First of all Apple doesn't force customers into buying iPods, have you received any threatening emails from Ari or Steve? me neither. Apple doesn't even force you to use the iTunes music store, you can simply buy your music from Real Rapsody or Best Buy and import it to iTunes to load on your iPod.
Secondly this is France, come on! I suprised they haven't had another revolution over this.
Thirdly music/movies from the iTunes music store are protected because of the RIAA and MPAA not because of apple. The reason for the protection is to stop pirating, not to allow apple to have a monopoly.
Fourthly the french government made up a french word to replace "eMail" because they didn't want to sully their beautiful language with english.
And finally Sebastien Loeb.
We send R. Kelly over there and have him piss on them.
First of all Apple doesn't force customers into buying iPods, have you received any threatening emails from Ari or Steve? me neither. Apple doesn't even force you to use the iTunes music store, you can simply buy your music from Real Rapsody or Best Buy and import it to iTunes to load on your iPod.
Secondly this is France, come on! I suprised they haven't had another revolution over this.
Thirdly music/movies from the iTunes music store are protected because of the RIAA and MPAA not because of apple. The reason for the protection is to stop pirating, not to allow apple to have a monopoly.
Fourthly the french government made up a french word to replace "eMail" because they didn't want to sully their beautiful language with english.
And finally Sebastien Loeb.
We send R. Kelly over there and have him piss on them.
mdriftmeyer said:
No I won't. You totally miss understand my point by a mile.
I'm not talking about iTunes specifically.
My point is, no music store, no music format should be restricted to a specific music player.
There is absolutely no difference ( unless you are closed minded, like the majority of users on here ) between digital music and a CD. Just different medium. You would not expect to a DVD not to work in your DVD player purely because you don't own a, say, Sony DVD Player.
This analogy is applies also to digital music - ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE!!!
millypede said:
Spoken like a true little british person. Racist. I would expect no less!
millypede said:
I'm with you on the bad idea thing. If the industry that filters out all the crap music is brought to it's knees again by legitimised piracy we'll just end up with more...
'Crazy Frog'
Irony & tragedy in one neat, pointless little package - how French!
McD
Stella said:
Blu Rey (Sony) vs HD DVD (Toshiba). Proprietary file formats are and should not be illegal. It is up to the vendors to relive VHS/Beta every 5 years. we should just make everything illegal, if you want to make something legal you will have to take you case to the supreme court.
KEL9000 said:
And you can bet one of the following will occur -
* one will die out
* they will have another go at merging standards
* dual players
In another 5 years ( I hope, less ) that we'll be looking back and wondering why the digital format dictated the music player.
Good Idea... but I don't think it will work. Piracy will become more rampant (how do they get the makers of the illegal software if they live in another country?) as well as the fact that corporations wouldn't trust the people to be good enough on their own and so would just not sell their wares there.
I like the idea, as it would mean better compatibility with audio formats, and we may see good out of it (reading WMA) but I don't think we will see much in the ways of "Good for the average Joe (or French equivalent of said name)"
I like the idea, as it would mean better compatibility with audio formats, and we may see good out of it (reading WMA) but I don't think we will see much in the ways of "Good for the average Joe (or French equivalent of said name)"
This is counter-productive
France alone is not big enough a market to actually force Apple and other online music stores to force their hand and open up their copy-protection schemes to all music players and software programs. Most likely, Apple's iTMS will just close shop in France rather than deal with the hassle of making their store work with, say, Creative's Zen players.
This will also create a situation in which France encourages software engineers to strip DRM from music downloads to make them compatible with all MP3 players. They will get legal cover because the hackers can always claim they're interested only in making iTMS downloads work on a Walkman or Napster's music on an iPod, even if most people want DRM stripped to make it much easier to pirate. And as we all know, once a good hack is found, it'll spread all over the globe in an instant, potentially damaging download markets in other countries.
Subscription services can potentially be screwed over by this. And of course, all the major record labels can just say "we're not doing business with online music stores in France due to the unfriendly business environment" and just pull off all their offerings.
Perhaps if the entire EU joined France in pushing wider compatibility, this could work. (Ignoring all of Europe's much harder than ignoring France alone.) But France acting alone will have negative consequences.
France alone is not big enough a market to actually force Apple and other online music stores to force their hand and open up their copy-protection schemes to all music players and software programs. Most likely, Apple's iTMS will just close shop in France rather than deal with the hassle of making their store work with, say, Creative's Zen players.
This will also create a situation in which France encourages software engineers to strip DRM from music downloads to make them compatible with all MP3 players. They will get legal cover because the hackers can always claim they're interested only in making iTMS downloads work on a Walkman or Napster's music on an iPod, even if most people want DRM stripped to make it much easier to pirate. And as we all know, once a good hack is found, it'll spread all over the globe in an instant, potentially damaging download markets in other countries.
Subscription services can potentially be screwed over by this. And of course, all the major record labels can just say "we're not doing business with online music stores in France due to the unfriendly business environment" and just pull off all their offerings.
Perhaps if the entire EU joined France in pushing wider compatibility, this could work. (Ignoring all of Europe's much harder than ignoring France alone.) But France acting alone will have negative consequences.
millypede said:
Don't be so harsh. They make good looking women, too, last I looked.
EDIT: Not that they "manufacture" women or anything like that...I mean, I'm not trying to objectify wonderful human beings...oh, never mind.
My god theres a lot of nationalist/racist rubbish being posted here today.
5 years ago there would have been no argument if Sony released CD's that would only work on their walkmans. It would have been met with a chorus of condemnation.
Apple and Microsofts battle for proprietary rights to the music industry is just ridiculous. Why am i going to pay for 128kbps music that i can't even play at my friends place?
5 years ago there would have been no argument if Sony released CD's that would only work on their walkmans. It would have been met with a chorus of condemnation.
Apple and Microsofts battle for proprietary rights to the music industry is just ridiculous. Why am i going to pay for 128kbps music that i can't even play at my friends place?
aa... said:
Because a) plugging your iPod into your friend's speakers/stereo/computer isn't that difficult, and b) you don't have to lug around a fat book of CDs full of filler tracks to pad one-hit wonders.
i'll still use the iPod but if French law say they need to open it, it won't effect Apple UK USA or any other place unless they pass a law
Bonjour ma leetle Mac lervers...
Three years for illegally allowing downloads and 17 months for manslaughter? It's hard to take piracy seriously when measured on the scale of things. Maybe the next world power won't be India or China - it'll be the music industry.
Oh, and re the first line of my post: how long for hate crimes?
Three years for illegally allowing downloads and 17 months for manslaughter? It's hard to take piracy seriously when measured on the scale of things. Maybe the next world power won't be India or China - it'll be the music industry.
Oh, and re the first line of my post: how long for hate crimes?
Before people start jumping the gun on the consequences of this whole thing, how about we get an idea of what the likeliness is that this bill will even pass?
i mean, its fun proclaiming the end to be near and all, but it gets a little old after a while...
i mean they havent even voted yet and people are already talking about Apple taking a drastic step to protect their interests...i know watching things play out isnt as fun as speculating, but i think i will sit back and watch on this one.
i mean, its fun proclaiming the end to be near and all, but it gets a little old after a while...
i mean they havent even voted yet and people are already talking about Apple taking a drastic step to protect their interests...i know watching things play out isnt as fun as speculating, but i think i will sit back and watch on this one.
Goliath said:
Lets forget how the saved USA in the Revoltionary War. The French made an invest ment in USA and it payed off since then!
zap2 said:
yeah and it's been hell ever since.
1. the french revolution
2. wwI
3. wwII
4. veitnam
all of which is besides the point. that apple should not have to target all hardware all the time.
I guess sony will have support XBOX360 games for the PS3 and Microsoft has to make Windows run on apple hardware. This actually sounds like a good start. thanks france!
some speculate that Apple could shut down the French iTunes store to limit the free distribution of the unprotected songs.
because even if its legal its still evil
because even if its legal its still evil
The French are great at engineering things - to death. What they propose has good intentions presumably, but if it ends in usual French style, there will be a simple three lever hydraulically controlled laser powered MP3 player attachment device for un DRMing populaire musique française. The worlds remaining 99.999999999999999% of popular DRM music will simply be incinerated in an underground nuclear power plant.
And according to an indepth documentary I once saw, the reason for the apparent dislike/hatred between English and French is that the two races are so alike! Oh well.
And according to an indepth documentary I once saw, the reason for the apparent dislike/hatred between English and French is that the two races are so alike! Oh well.