Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 29 September 2008 22:50
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 2
What a load of crock – Norway wants Apple to make iTunes compatible
with any music player, and while they say there’s been “no progress
since February”, clearly those pesky Norwegian consumer authorities
don’t know the truth, and have nothing better to do! What’s the story?
Here we go again... Norway is still trying to force Apple what to do with its software. I remember writing an article about this
before , a couple of years ago, and railing that I wished Blu-ray discs would work in DVD players, wishing I could use Schick blades in Gilette razors, and wishing that my old tapes would work on my mp3 player.
Heck, why not force Nintendo to make sure its games work on Sony PS3s or Xbox 360s? Or force Microsoft to allow Linux software to run without problems?
But no... fiddly, anti-competitive “consumer ombudsmen” often think they know best.
In this case is Norway’s consumer ombudsman Erik Thon, clearly trying to be a thorn in Apple’s side, and desperately trying to be relevant, who is kicking up a musical fuss.
In an
article at The Guardian we learn that this man has said some silly things.
The Guardian quotes him as saying: “It's a consumer's right to transfer and play digital content bought and downloaded from the internet to the music device he himself chooses to use.
“iTunes makes this impossible or at least difficult, and hence, they act in breach of Norwegian law."
"iTunes has now had two years to meet our demands regarding interoperability. No progress has been reported by iTunes since our meeting in February."
Hmm... so... the emergence of DRM-free AAC tracks on iTunes has meant nothing, Mr Thon? Tracks that you can transfer to other AAC capable devices (of which there are many)?
What about Nokia and BlackBerry devices which can also connect to iTunes? Please read on to page 2.
