No. 1 Story
ACCC clears Optus to scrap HFC network and use NBN instead
The ACCC has cleared, provisionally, the proposed deal between Optus and NBN Co under which Optus is to be paid around $800m to shut down its HFC network and transfer customers onto the NBN. read moreMicrosoft versus FairUse4WM test case for DRM
Stan Beer
Thursday, 28 September 2006 07:37
Page 2 of 2
If a user has downloaded a few hundred iTunes tracks at a cost of hundreds of dollars and decides that he wants to swap his ageing iPod for an iRiver, a Creative Zen or a Sandisk Sansa, Apple and the law as it stands says he can't. To be sure, there are ways around this but they're not legal.
The DRM laws have become so ridiculously slanted against the consumer that Microsoft is incredibly now going to introduce a second DRM for its upcoming Zune player, which will not be compatible with its own PlaysForSure.
It is quite understandable that companies like Apple and Microsoft want to create and protect their markets. Apple in particular has done a lot to foster the growth of legal digital downloads. Most would agree that iTunes is a great service and the iPod is a great portable player.
However, the notion that iPod's sales and market domination depend entirely on the iTunes connection is probably invalid. Most iPod owners have hundreds if not thousands of tracks on their players. Yet sales statistics tell us that on average, each of the 60 million plus iPods in the marketplace has only 20 tracks purchased through iTunes.
iTunes probably aids iPod sales more through promotion than DRM lock-in.
Governments in Europe, led by France and the Scandinavian countries have now begun to dig in their heels and say enough is enough. They have targeted Apple and Microsoft is likely to be next. Limiting consumer choice is not what free enterprise is supposed to be about and that is exactly what DRM attempts to do.
As for the Microsoft lawsuit against the FairUse4WM developers, the best thing the case could do is highlight the DRM issue in the public arena and motivate lawmakers to rethink current laws and make FairUse4WM redundant.
You think you have a disaster recovery plan?
Think again. Most businesses only have PART of a DR plan - and this spells business disaster in the event of an IT disaster.
Download The Seven Sins of Disaster Recovery White Paper now and find out how you can prevent this happening to you.
