French Plan to Open iTunes?

[(L)]

People don't have a right to download music but they do have a right to purchase music that isn't confined to a single platform.

What's this nonsense? People have the right to purchase what? Since when are there rights involving purchases? What sort of government are you familiar with? That's one of the civil liberties?

Apple has a right to sell music confined to AAC compatible devices. Live with it, or buy music from elsewhere. If it isn't available elsewhere, buy a CD. No big deal. Don't tell others how to run their businesses when it's not a matter of endangering the public. This is simply a matter of you declaring some eternal truth about human rights involving you getting what you want. Good luck with that, if you succeed the world will be a worse place.

Of course Apple allows a person to burn music to a cd and then reimport it to any platform they desire. But, it's complicated and quality suffers as a result.

So you want them to provide in a pefect and effortless manner, exactly what you wish for. Oh OK, I'm sure they'd love to run their business tailored to your wishes.

It's always been a matter of time until Apple was forced to open up the iPod to other music suppliers and iTunes to other devices.

Know this, Ugg. You and I dying is a "matter of time." Forcing businesses to sell certain products a certain way is called dictatorship, it's immoral, and it's a "matter of crime." Besides, the iPod IS open to other music suppliers, like CD labels and anyone that sells mp3 audio or any other compatible format. iTMS is open only to AAC compatible devices, but again, that's Apple's business, not yours. Note that mp3 music stores are not compatible with my Portable CD Player unless I burn the music to CD's. They are not at all compatible with my radio. Or telephone. Or washing machine. They also don't claim to be, and that's why I don't buy music from them expecting to listen to it playing in my microwave. No, I rather think that anybody with half a brain, assuming he wants to play the music and be able to listen to it, would buy the music from a source compatible with the device he wants to play it on. It really isn't that hard to do, you know.

They are close to having a monopoly on music downloads and monopolies are bad for business.

No, no, NO. iTMS is not a monopoly - it has 80+% market share, but people can always go elsewhere for music downloads, even iPod owners, so long as it is in another compatible format like mp3 (which is for the most part, a better encoding system than AAC anyway). Monopolies are bad for business, you say, but what is actually hurting business in today's world is that nobody else has assembled as great an online music store and are not being competitive enough, not that they have no hope of competing. (Let me reiterate - what if somebody could provide a similar service that people may favor, and sell mp3 tracks which are compatible with iPods...might they not decrease the market share of iTMS? What if something much better comes along?) iTMS being great is a bit different from having no competition - they have competition, which unfortunately is not very strong. Stronger competition would be better for the economy, but weakening the best competitor just sets the bar low. When you come to see that, you will understand why the standard of living gets better neither from monopolies nor from stagnation and limits on human success, but rather from businesses largely left to compete with each other fairly and having competent people running those businesses.

Capitalism run amok helps nobody whereas a limited socialistic approach can help everyone.

"Capitalism run amok" is when corporate leaders start doing destructive things like dumping waste in the river, not when Apple is successful far beyond its competition. Obviously, by definition "run amok" is bad. A limited socialistic approach run amok is millions dead, millions more impoverished, and the stagnation of economy, history, intellect, art, etc. What do you think taxes are? Taxes are a limited socialistic approach, a way of funding societally beneficial necessities like education and law enforcement, though in recent times a lot of it is wrongfully spent on bridges that lead nowhere or overseas in wars that are not strictly-speaking necessary. In capitalist America, for example, the income that is your property is the capitalist bit of individual private property. Your taxes are a degree of socialism in that suddenly the private property is public (or semi-public) property. The system works OK, and doesn't run amok.

On the other hand, when governments start trying to force companies to produce and provide what the governments think the people want, that's socialism running amok. The whole idea is that people will capitalize on what other people will pay for - iTMS France was already doing that. If France cripples the iTMS and causes Apple to lose money, they will be capitalizing less on what ever so slightly more people will purchase, much less if they start losing record labels, which is possible if the record labels see potential of losing money, which they will if there is more potential of insecurity and such or it becomes necessary to provide more for the same price or less. So yes, they're in for it as long as it remains robust and profitable, but this sort of profit speed bump may be rather discouraging, not to mention philosophically insulting. I certainly wouldn't sell my products to those that think they can control what I sell and how I sell it - I'd rather find a good, healthy market.

What you need is a good course in economics.

Now I realize you weren't talking to me, Mr prominent socialist by name of Ugg, but you show no signs of understanding the first thing when it comes to economics and human society, not if you call business success "capitalism run amok." If I've misunderstood you, you could be dead-on about slight socialism being beneficial, as is proven in capitalist economies. However, France putting an artificial limit on success and arbitrating the sale of products equates to an artificial tampering with natural economics that were running fine and smoothly, not "amok."

 

[(L)]

so true...

so destructively false...

 

[(L)]

i wrote too much...

 

[mheidt]

to L:

True

But I comply to most of it.
You should have skipped the Sony bashing though.
Just got SonyEricsson and never saw a better mobile....
And most of your points comply to Apple as well. Only that Apple's tools are much better

But you're right. Demand and supply will solve it...
I only have Apple at home incl. two iPods. But I would never ever buy at iTMS or use .Mac.
Those are evil in means of freedom.
And I would never ever buy Sony Camcorders because of their proprietary media-formats. But only, because they are more expensive.
The products themselves are quite good so that they find their buyers.

Back to the law. That law will never pass, but I like the guts to open the discussion about DRM again.
You need to see the law in contrast to the EU-Law which is bad as well.
But this seems to be unkown in the UK as well when I read those french-hating posts.

 

[iPie]

What's this nonsense? People have the right to purchase what? Since when are there rights involving purchases? What sort of government are you familiar with? That's one of the civil liberties?

Yes, I heard that somewhere: the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of whatever purchase makes you happy.

I guess that is has been a while since you operated a business in the US or elsewhere: consumers have plenty of rights involving purchases; and firms have many responsibilities and obligations - everywhere.

What sort of government are YOU familiar with?

BTW: I agree with mheidt, I own an iPod and would never buy from iTMS

 

[rebhaf]

Forcing businesses to sell certain products a certain way is called dictatorship, it's immoral, and it's a "matter of crime."

If I may chime in this debate... I agree with most of your point of view, but things aren't so black and white. Governments do have to have some type of hand in how businesses operate (and not only when it's a matter of public danger"). For example, nobody is forcing consumers to use Windows, yet Microsoft is always going to court and shelling out hundreds of millions in anti-trust suits because of the way they sell and package their products. It's simple anti-monopoly measures. I'm not so sure I agree with all these measures, but they're a reality in most developed countries. I, personally, don't think Apple is running a monopoly with iTunes Music Store (no one NEEDS to buy music downloads), but I would love to see all legally purchased music standardized. For selfish reasons, of course.

 

[(L)]

If I may chime in this debate... I agree with most of your point of view, but things aren't so black and white. Governments do have to have some type of hand in how businesses operate (and not only when it's a matter of public danger"). For example, nobody is forcing consumers to use Windows, yet Microsoft is always going to court and shelling out hundreds of millions in anti-trust suits because of the way they sell and package their products. It's simple anti-monopoly measures. I'm not so sure I agree with all these measures, but they're a reality in most developed countries. I, personally, don't think Apple is running a monopoly with iTunes Music Store (no one NEEDS to buy music downloads), but I would love to see all legally purchased music standardized. For selfish reasons, of course.

That's what I mean...iTMS does not need to be fiddled with. In MS's case, for example, I don't see how it should be so bad for WMP to be bundled with Windows. My WMP back when I used Windows simply quit on me with "INTERNAL PROGRAM ERROR." Never worked again. That's already a good reason to buy other software (of course, I bought a Mac ultimately). Many Macs come bundled with iLife...that's even more limiting since iLife is good enough for most people. So sure, such suits are a reality, but should they be? I guess that's the question of the day. As for iTMS, I actually don't think it's based on necessity that you measure a monopoly, but iTMS is not a monopoly if you consider all those other companies involved, that are simply not doing as well. It's not like iTMS has access to all the web space or all the record labels or is getting away with charging astronomical prices they could charge if they were a monopoly.

Really, does it make such a huge difference to the public whether you buy Windows with WMP or just Windows? AAC files or some sort of standardized file (which I do think we may eventually see, esp something like a secured mp3 file, maybe)? Nobody's dying over either, and although I'd admit that since many people have a real need of computers, the Windows with WMP thing is close to cashing in on that need in a destructive manner. But not iTMS, not when competition is in equal reach.

 

[(L)]

Yes, I heard that somewhere: the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of whatever purchase makes you happy.

I guess that is has been a while since you operated a business in the US or elsewhere: consumers have plenty of rights involving purchases; and firms have many responsibilities and obligations - everywhere.

What sort of government are YOU familiar with?

BTW: I agree with mheidt, I own an iPod and would never buy from iTMS

You misunderstand. You have the right to pursue happiness, and there are certain rights involved in legal purchases (such as not being conned and such). What I was arguing against was the notion that people have the right to be able to purchase this proposed product from iTMS. People are free to purchase what's on the market...not to force Apple to put something on the market. There is no right that says you must be provided for by Apple or any other specific company (except perhaps some government "companies"). Apple is not responsible in providing what the public wants, though in many cases it will do that just to be profitable. Apple's legal responsibility is to sell what they say they sell, not to sell what Joe Shmo told them to sell. That's all I'm saying. There are a number of rights involved in purchases, but we're not talking about problems with people buying AAC files, but demands for something Apple doesn't currently sell of its own will.

I see my own diction threw you off, I'm sorry. But I meant rights "involving purchases" as in the right to demand that what you purchased be turned into something you didn't. Like...it's hard to think of a similar example, or even a good one...maybe like buying toilet paper and demanding that it morph into tissue every time you need to blow your nose, for your own convenience, when you know full well that you bought toilet paper. That's not one of the rights involving purchases.

 

[macnulty]

Governments should not decide on standardized music format, very bad idea.

Consumers do not have the right to purchase whatever they want when they want. Think of restrictions on alcohol.

Apple is a business and iPod - iTunes is their product as is the seamless integration of the two, don't like it don't buy it. There are other players and services to choose.

There really isn't a benefit to Apple to opening their music product, ROI on iTunes isn't that great and opening it would diminish future iPod sales.

 

[AnimeUnrivaled]

Why is everybody reading way too much into this?

I don't see how (according to what is written,) it would force Apple to do anything.

It would make it legal for the purchaser to convert a protected file into an unprotected file; but it doesn't state that APPLE has to enable this. It just means that HYMN becomes legal in France. Apple doesn't have to provide this capability, nor do they have to add support for other mp3 players into iTunes.

Finally, it doesn't force them to remove DRM from their Music Store-purchased songs, it merely makes it legal for a consumer to remove the DRM.

EXACTLY.

This in no way says anything about forcing apple to do anything. Apple can continue to have DRM on its store as much as it wants. It doesn't change anything. When the hymn project gets up to date, things will be exactly as they were before, with hymn users removing the DRM from their iTunes tracks, and listening to the music elsewhere. The only thing that gets changed is the fact that the idiocy of the DMCA no longer applies. That is to say, using hymn to take away the DRM is no longer illegal.

This does not take the freedom of the company away by forcing it to alter its product. This does take away artificial limits on users' rights to do what they wish with ther purchased content. THAT'S ALL.

also:

Not gonna happen with current EU laws. Cracking anticopy measures is as illegal as the DCMA says is, coming down from general EU directive (i.e. european law). It is not up to France not to comply with it.

While I will not claim to understand how the EU's drip-down policies work, I believe that, sadly, elmimmo is right and that this doesn't really have a chance of doing what needs to be done.

 

[Mechcozmo]

Excellent excellent point. It is hipocritical to open up media formats but not software ones. There's really no way around it. With the intel transition, both macs and pc's now use essentially the same hardware, so the hardware/software tie-in arguement no longer holds water.

Yeah... but the software is what makes a Win32 binary different from an OS X binary... all those DLLs that WINE fakes? That's what is needed. Make a universal operating system if you want no hardware or software tie-ins. But otherwise, good luck on making people write IDENTICAL code for every single application. And what about the applications without OS X equivalents? Spyware uses DLLs that aren't in OS X or in WINE for that matter.

 

[happyjaxx]

Nominees of The French Government Awards are:

As Best Law Writer: Vivendi Universal
As Best Second Role: Warner
As Best Scenario: Renaud Donnedieu de Vabre de Vivendi

Law Makers are Big Bosses and Music Majors nowadays... at least here

hundreds of thousands are in the streets since a few days (because of new dangerous Job Contracts) but nobody will listen, so they won't listen a few nerds who just wanna listen music as they want.

BTW: the DADVSI law has been voted yesterday evening... since I use JHymn to listen my music I buy legally on my Lifedrive("FairRights" after all), If cops catch me, I'll have to pay 750€...
And I can't DeCSS DVD's... and/or use VLC to play protected DVD's neither... on my Linux computers for example...

Thanks France... really... thanks...

 

[whooleytoo]

Well, well! The French bill has been passed in the National Assembly, and thus is likely to be made law. The next few weeks should be interesting for Apple & iTunes.


Linkey poo..

 

[Stella]

LOL. your reply is humerous.

Digital music is no different than CDs and be treated no differently. Its a different meduim only - something that some peope can't get around their heads. As I said, you wouldn't expect a CD not to play in your CD player just because its not Sony, for example. Digital music should be no different. Digital music should be universally playable on all devices.

Once again, in a few years time there will be a universal DRM standard and we will laugh at the current state of affairs we have today.

Regional coding on a DVD is a waste of time, its easy to pick up a DVD player that is changable to region free.



I have DVDs from the UK.. I'm not buying the same ones again in Canada - some aren't even available.

In short, your sta
tement is morally wrong. In length:

You are making a moral judgment on what "should" be based on your opinion and perspective. Fact is, if company A wanted to sell a proprietary music format only compatible with their music player, it's perfectly moral for A to do so. Customer X may very well want to be able to find some music file and put it on his music player - if in doing so he finds that his own music player (not from company A) won't play the music provided from company A, he can go get the music elsewhere, or be a whiner that complains - "I want everybody to provide for me what I want the way I want it."

If you own a nomad or a rio or a sony or other third-rate music player (I speak with bias here due to experience), just because iTMS doesn't sell you music compatible with your device doesn't mean you can force Apple to provide what you want to buy. Rather, take a moment and wonder why you bought that music player and why you don't look to other music stores. Fact is, if there were real and major competitors to iTunes, especially, say, a competitor from the company that made your music player, you'd quit your socialist whining because you'd have an alternative.

So what you're essentially saying is this - "I want Apple to sell me music I can play on my non-Apple device, because I said so." Can't you see that is so juvenile and extremely anti-capitalist? You are essentially trying to dictate exactly how and to whom Apple sells its music. Consider this - Apple makes money by selling iPods and music from iTMS, almost hand in hand, but it is not a monopoly (there are all those other Windows affiliated music sites, if you must resort to such) and it's perfectly legal and moral for them to sell music in a (semi)proprietary format. If Apple only wants to sell music to iPod owners (which is a bit off the mark anyway), they have a right to choose to do so. It is immoral to force people to provide what you want solely on the basis that you want it - if it makes them money, maybe they'll look into it some day...but it's not for you to point a gun to Steve Jobs and force him to provide what you want.

Theoretically, on a 1 to 1 basis, it may make sense for Apple to bend over backwards to comply with your insolent demand - but you should have to pay for the downtime of the music store, the work of the people involved, cost, and a premium to balance the iPod purchase you never made...and you end up paying $376,000 for a 6-track album you could have bought in a store and stuffed into your third-rate media player to begin with. Do you get my point? Apple is not forcing you to want music from the iTMS...if you want it to play on your music player, you could get the music from a variety of providers and you don't need iTunes. If you want it from iTMS, buy an iPod. If you are the kind of person that believes that wanting something and not being able to pay for it justifies expropriation or theft, go ahead and pirate music since you're no better than a mugger or thief.



You demonstrate much immaturity of thought here. Taking the "this whole forum is against me because everyone else is stupid" approach only induces comic laughter towards somebody who is rather arrogant for knowing so little, not pity for a misunderstood minority voice.

Digital music and CD's have plenty of differences, although they are in some ways even more similar than you cared to realize. Like...um, a CD contains digital music. That's right, CDs = digital music. What's this BS about different media?

Want to talk about DVD's? Ever hear of region coding? What about Blu-ray vs HD DVD? Ever try buying a DVD from a foreign country and play it in your ordinary DVD player? Think of the region-free DVD player (of which there are many) as a Creative Nomad that decided to support AAC and came with software to transfer music on your HDD on your computer in AAC form to your Creative Nomad. If you bought a region-limited DVD player, you can't demand the industry to abandon region coding, regardless of whether or not you could go out and buy a region-free player. In the case of the DVD, there is a workaround.

In the case of music files, there are almost no devices factory-built to play every music file type, so you're stuck. So? This is a simple problem of supply and demand. You say you expect all music files to be able to play on your device (hey, you could just buy the CD you know), which is only compatible with some of them. Why don't you write to the manufacurer of your music player and complain? iPod users represent a huge demand for music compatible with the iPod, and Apple supplies it, together with other companies. Supply and demand working perfectly. Compared to that, your demand, the minority demand for iTMS to be compatible with third-party devices at (most likely) a loss to Apple, is insignificant; a waste of time and money. Just because the iTMS is good doesn't make it the only - go elsewhere and enjoy the incompetence of the competition. No monopoly, just one company doing considerably better than the rest combined.

 

[cycocelica]

Good. I hope this law passes and Apple stays in France. And if they leave, I hope they get hurt by it. Don't get me wrong, I love Apple but like it has been stated by Stella, you should be able to play any digital music on any device without having to do any other steps.

 

[Stella]

Good. I hope this law passes and Apple stays in France. And if they leave, I hope they get hurt by it. Don't get me wrong, I love Apple but like it has been stated by Stella, you should be able to play any digital music on any device without having to do any other steps.

AS the BBC article says, hopefully the EU will take another look at the iTMS / DRM situation and act on it. The EU have already made the music industry come up with a unified EU licensing for online stores. Hopefully, you people in Europe will benefit from more intervention - a unified DRM standard. That would be just great. Music Stores will have to compete upon quality ( that includes, the whole package - such as iPod / iTunes ) , rather than music player / store control.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4828296.stm

 

[ftaok]

LOL. your reply is humerous.

Digital music is no different than CDs and be treated no differently. Its a different meduim only - something that some peope can't get around their heads. As I said, you wouldn't expect a CD not to play in your CD player just because its not Sony, for example. Digital music should be no different. Digital music should be universally playable on all devices.

Once again, in a few years time there will be a universal DRM standard and we will laugh at the current state of affairs we have today.

Regional coding on a DVD is a waste of time, its easy to pick up a DVD player that is changable to region free.

I have DVDs from the UK.. I'm not buying the same ones again in Canada - some aren't even available.

Stella,

I can understand and respect your CD to CD player analogy, but I still disagree that digital music is the same and should be playable on all devices. For non-iPod owners, there is nothing stopping them from buying digital music for sources other than iTunes. If you have a Sandisk player, buy your music from a WMA store. If you have an iPod, buy it from iTunes. If you have both, burn a disk and re-import (no one will tell on you).

The way I see it being reported now is that Apple (and others) will be required to open up their DRM schemes. This has the potential of opening pandora's box. Will France attack Microsoft into opening up their Office file formats so that other applications can work seamlessly with Office files? Will the movie studios have to disable their Region coding on DVDs? All I can see is that companies will pull out of France alltogether rather than dealing with the politcial nonsense.

ft

 

[Stella]

I really don't understand why you think Digital music should be treated separately. I'm trying to understand, but alas, I can't.

Why should people be restricted to a certain music store due to the music player owned? Burning / re-ripping is time consuming and leads to poorer quality music. Why should anyone have to go through this?

The music on the "WMA store" ( insert favourite store here! ) may not be available on iTMS, and vice versa. Music Stores should be just like any other store - I can pick where I buy my music from with no restriction.

I don't like regioning on DVDs, but it is very easy to get around - you can buy a DVD player that will play everything ( with cracking ). The 'have to buy another' probably won't work with everyone. In an ideal world there would be no regions - its an opportunity to charge more in certain parts of the world.

Stella,

I can understand and respect your CD to CD player analogy, but I still disagree that digital music is the same and should be playable on all devices. For non-iPod owners, there is nothing stopping them from buying digital music for sources other than iTunes. If you have a Sandisk player, buy your music from a WMA store. If you have an iPod, buy it from iTunes. If you have both, burn a disk and re-import (no one will tell on you).

The way I see it being reported now is that Apple (and others) will be required to open up their DRM schemes. This has the potential of opening pandora's box. Will France attack Microsoft into opening up their Office file formats so that other applications can work seamlessly with Office files? Will the movie studios have to disable their Region coding on DVDs? All I can see is that companies will pull out of France alltogether rather than dealing with the politcial nonsense.

ft

 

[clayj]

Unfortunetly, Apple will probably withdraw from France. We need this law in the US to force Apple to accept it. Fat chance with the RIAA around...

If the French government does this, Apple should absolutely withdraw the iTunes Music Store from France. These other companies are clearly using the government to force a market leader to share what it's worked so hard for, and I think it's BS.

Of course, the same thing happened here with a little company called Microsoft... and I hated it then, too. The naiveté of Apple fans is slowly being washed away as they learn what it's like to have a near-monopoly on a particular market.

 

[whooleytoo]

Of course, the same thing happened here with a little company called Microsoft... and I hated it then, too. The naiveté of Apple fans is slowly being washed away as they learn what it's like to have a near-monopoly on a particular market.

Yes, having a monopoly is great. For Apple. (or Microsoft or..)

It's bad for competition, which is bad news for the consumer. That's why I'm very much in favour of this French bill, and hope this is just the start.

 

[ftaok]

I really don't understand why you think Digital music should be treated separately. I'm trying to understand, but alas, I can't.

Why should people be restricted to a certain music store due to the music player owned? Burning / re-ripping is time consuming and leads to poorer quality music. Why should anyone have to go through this?

The music on the "WMA store" ( insert favourite store here! ) may not be available on iTMS, and vice versa. Music Stores should be just like any other store - I can pick where I buy my music from with no restriction.

I don't like regioning on DVDs, but it is very easy to get around - you can buy a DVD player that will play everything ( with cracking ). The 'have to buy another' probably won't work with everyone. In an ideal world there would be no regions - its an opportunity to charge more in certain parts of the world.

Stella,

My position on this is that digital music should be treated separately only in the scope that governments should not determine what companies do with their own DRM. Do I like DRM? Of course not, but it doesn't really affect my situation. If the law were to allow for bypassing of the DRM (a la Hymn), then that would be OK to me.

The issue here is that consumers are given a choice to buy or not to buy. No one is forcing the DRM onto anyone. If one chooses to buy an iPod and music from the iTMS, then so be it. No one forced it on him.

As for music being available on one store over another. Of course iTMS will have selection gaps with another WMA store. That goes without saying. If your store of choice doesn't have the selection, then buy it on a CD. No one has a right (in my mind anyway) to an endless selection of music. I mean, where does it end? Will France force the Beatles to open their catalog of music to the online stores?

Anyways, that is my viewpoint. Hopefully, it will help you understand where I'm coming from.

Oh, with regards to the DVD thing. I hate region coding as much as the next guy (although I do understand why they incoporate it). You solution of buying a region free player is slightly flawed. Suppose I have a nice HD-upconverting DVD player connected to my HDTV. If I want to watch a movie from Europe, I'm going to have to buy a region-free player (that probably doesn't upconvert, doesn't connect to my HDTV) that will have inferior quality to my primary DVD player. Kinda sounds like the loss of quality with the burn/rip method.

ft

 

[Stella]

I understand your point more, thanks.

Stella,

My position on this is that digital music should be treated separately only in the scope that governments should not determine what companies do with their own DRM. Do I like DRM? Of course not, but it doesn't really affect my situation. If the law were to allow for bypassing of the DRM (a la Hymn), then that would be OK to me.

The issue here is that consumers are given a choice to buy or not to buy. No one is forcing the DRM onto anyone. If one chooses to buy an iPod and music from the iTMS, then so be it. No one forced it on him.

As for music being available on one store over another. Of course iTMS will have selection gaps with another WMA store. That goes without saying. If your store of choice doesn't have the selection, then buy it on a CD. No one has a right (in my mind anyway) to an endless selection of music. I mean, where does it end? Will France force the Beatles to open their catalog of music to the online stores?

Anyways, that is my viewpoint. Hopefully, it will help you understand where I'm coming from.

Oh, with regards to the DVD thing. I hate region coding as much as the next guy (although I do understand why they incoporate it). You solution of buying a region free player is slightly flawed. Suppose I have a nice HD-upconverting DVD player connected to my HDTV. If I want to watch a movie from Europe, I'm going to have to buy a region-free player (that probably doesn't upconvert, doesn't connect to my HDTV) that will have inferior quality to my primary DVD player. Kinda sounds like the loss of quality with the burn/rip method.

ft

 

[Stella]

Apple withdraws, and other online music stores take advantage - the others will still be bound under this law to share their DRM ( Sony, microsoft ).

This isn't specifically targetted to just Apple, its all companies.

All online music stores will have to be withdrawn for the French law to be rendered pointless.

If the French government does this, Apple should absolutely withdraw the iTunes Music Store from France. These other companies are clearly using the government to force a market leader to share what it's worked so hard for, and I think it's BS.

Of course, the same thing happened here with a little company called Microsoft... and I hated it then, too. The naiveté of Apple fans is slowly being washed away as they learn what it's like to have a near-monopoly on a particular market.

 

[jermsmingy]

Apple wins with this law!

Apple should drop the iTunes Music Store in France if this law passes. All the other companies will stay and be forced to allow their music to be converted into a format that works with the iPod. Since we all know apple makes more money from the iPod than the Store. (The store makes a profit, but Apple has never specified how much). Apple will still sell iPods and the other music stores will be selling music that works with the ipod.

 

[MacNut]

The law will fail and heres why, Apple doesn't want to open iTunes and Microsoft doesn't want to give more fire to the iPod, everyone will pull out of France rather then open up the rights and the only people that will lose are the French.