If you went to Apple.com last week, then you might have seen an article written by Steve Jobs about DRM and the music industry called Thoughts on Music. In the article Job talks about the history of DRM (digital rights management) and how companies, including Apple, who sell music online have to change in order to survive.

In case you haven’t read the article yet, the bottom line is Jobs doesn’t like digital rights management and thinks it has been ineffective at stopping music piracy. The root of his argument is how music companies failed to come together and create an audio CD format with built in copy-protection.

Here’s a quote from the article:

“Though the big four music companies require that all their music sold online be protected with DRMs, these same music companies continue to sell billions of CDs a year which contain completely unprotected music. That’s right! No DRM system was ever developed for the CD, so all the music distributed on CDs can be easily uploaded to the Internet, then (illegally) downloaded and played on any computer or player.”

In contrast, the movie industry was able to set aside their differences and DVDs were invented with copy-protection built in. So since the music industry can’t get their act together, what should happen now?

If Steve Jobs has his way, DRM would be abolished entirely:

“Imagine a world where every online store sells DRM-free music encoded in open licensable formats. In such a world, any player can play music purchased from any store, and any store can sell music which is playable on all players. This is clearly the best alternative for consumers, and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat. If the big four music companies would license Apple their music without the requirement that it be protected with a DRM, we would switch to selling only DRM-free music on our iTunes store. Every iPod ever made will play this DRM-free music.”

So why would Jobs write this letter and why now? Recently there’s been a lot of pressure coming from Europe, including consumer groups in Germany and France. The Europeans claim that Apple’s iTunes Store violates consumer laws because iTunes songs can only be played on iPods. Since the iPod has about 80% of the portable media player market, the Europeans believe that Apple is stifling competition.

The other option would be for Apple to license their DRM technology, called FairPlay, to other companies. Licensing FairPlay could end up making Apple a lot more money in the long run, but Jobs doesn’t want Apple’s secrets behind the FairPlay technology leaked, copied or modified by hackers. He’d rather just do away with DRM altogether. That would be the easiest solution for everyone… especially the consumer.

I give Jobs a lot of credit. Who knows, years from now people may look back at this article as the Emancipation Proclamation for digital music.

BeSocial: digg story | flickr | methodshop

I was,, irked today.  Here is the image that did it.

Now I’m not mad because someone put together the thought that,, “If I put weights on and play with the Wii I’ll get a better workout.”  Nor was I angry at the fact that they bothered to get their branding correct, (though I’m sure at no point they contacted Nintendo or any of it’s business partners).

This “friend” or “acquaintance”  of the inventor has noted that you can email him, and he’ll put you in touch with the inventor.  Also he notes that the eyelet on the weight is for looping the Wii controller to.

That’s great, umm, those eyelets have been on that particular style of weight pack for nigh on 40 years now.  So the “innovations” shown are,, painting it white,, and putting the Wii logo on it.  Now if you just want to sell something, that’s fine with me.  However, when you make a point to indicate that you indeed are an “inventor,” that is where my irking begins.

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You’re probably not going to be excited or interested when I say that this gadget is an iPod speaker system, after all, there’s hundreds of those, all of which are nearly identical. Now, this one won’t toast a bagel, improve your vision, or even dance to your music, but it will wirelessly send your tunes to 4 different speakers. Come on, admit it, you’re a little interested now.
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If U.S. State Sen. Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn) has his way, a new proposal would make it illegal to walk, jog or bike across the street in New York while using your iPod. Kruger wants to slap pedestrians with $100 fines for using electronic gadgets, like the iPod, while crossing the street. Last year, Australian Police issued a similar law that banned cyclists from using their iPods after a series of fatal accidents.

“This electronic gadgetry is reaching the point where it’s becoming not only endemic but it’s creating an atmosphere where we have a major public safety crisis at hand,” said Kruger in a telephone interview with Reuters. Two men were killed in his Kruger’s borough recently while listening to their iPods - one of which involved a 23-year-old who was killed in traffic while bystanders screamed “Watch out!” Kruger has named this safety issue iPod Oblivion, but the bill goes beyond just iPods. The bill seeks to ban all popular electric devices such as cell phones, Sony PSPs, Blackberries, etc.

“If you’re so involved in your electronic device that you can’t see or hear a car coming, this is indicative of a larger problem that requires some sort of enforcement beyond the application of common sense,” Kruger said.

Is an iPod crosswalk ban a little too Big Brother? Many people online aren’t taking the news of this bill too seriously. “I understand that they’re working on another bill in New York.” commented Digg.com user packernirvana. “A $200 penalty for those caught walking and chewing gum.” Maybe everyone just needs to exercise a little common sense when using their iPod. How hard is it to lower the volume and look both ways before you cross the street? Didn’t we all learn how to properly cross the street before we could tie our own shoelaces?

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Thinking about upgrading to Microsoft’s new operating system Vista? If you own an iPod, you might want to hold off on Vista… at least for now. Last week, Apple posted a warning on their website stating that customers using Windows Vista may experience compatibility issues with iTunes.

According to Apple, the latest version of iTunes (7.0.2) may work with Windows Vista on many typical PCs, but don’t be surprised if it doesn’t work and messes up your iPod in the process. Apple advices Windows users to wait and not install Vista until after the next release of iTunes. A new version of iTunes should be released sometime this or next month. If you’ve already upgraded to Vista and are having problems with iTunes, you might want to check out a utility called iTunes Repair Tool for Vista.

Apple has already identified several Vista compatibility issues with iTunes 7.0.2 and earlier. Here are some of the most common problems:

• iTunes Store purchases may not play when upgrading to Windows Vista from Windows 2000 or XP

• Cover Flow animation may be slower than expected
• Contacts and calendars will not sync with iPod
• iPod models with the “Enable Disk Use” option turned off may be unable to update or restore iPod software, and make changes to iPod settings
• iPod models configured to Auto Sync and have the “Enable Disk Use” option turned off may require being ejected and reconnected to resync
• Ejecting an iPod from the Windows System Tray using the “Safely Remove Hardware” feature may corrupt your iPod. To always safely eject an iPod, choose Eject iPod from the Controls menu within iTunes

If you really can’t wait to install Vista, Apple suggests you consider the following precautions:

• Users should deauthorize all iTunes Store accounts, enable Disk Use on all iPod models, uninstall iTunes and perform a clean install of Windows Vista (Highly recommended but not required).

• They should then proceed to reinstall the latest version of iTunes, open iTunes and choose Authorize Computer from the Store menu in iTunes.
• A customer who has upgraded to Windows Vista and is still experiencing issues playing iTunes Store purchases should download the iTunes Repair Tool from Apple.com

Adam Anderson, a spokesperson for Microsoft’s Windows division, said the company did not believe iTunes users “should stop using Vista for these reasons.” He also said that Microsoft has a dedicated team working with Apple on getting iTunes running smoothly on Vista, and it will keep at it “until they have the program running to the quality level they’re shooting for… We are also committed to ensuring that all partners, including Apple, receive all the resources they need to ensure that their applications work with Windows Vista,” he said.

Apple has sold more than 90 million iPods since the product was first announced in October 2001.

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How do you know you are a true geek? Well, when someone bakes you a gadget themed birthday cake, you might as well admit your chosen place in life. In a weird coincidence (or was there a gadget cake bake off recently) I found both an iPhone and Mac Mini cake on Digg’s front page this past weekend.

A flickr user named icruise was surprised with this iPhone cake for their birthday. It looks like a sweet cake with a multitouch interface you can lick. Can you hear me now? No? Must be all the frosting in your ear.

The other photo is from 123macmini.com. Miles, the birthday boy, got this Mac Mini cake from his loving mom for his 15th birthday. Hopefully not too many people at his high school saw this online. He might get the frosting kicked out him after school. Just don’t try to eat the disc. It looks like Miles’ mom used an actual CD and covered it with frosting. Good luck trying to upgrade the RAM.

If you want to look for more Apple themed birthday cakes, try searching flickr for icake. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a black MacBook tray of brownies for my next birthday. You won’t find any Zune cakes on flickr for some reason. Poor Bill.

BeSocial: digg (iphone) | digg (mini) | flickr | methodshop

I always thought stethoscopes were pretty boring, I never realised you could get digital ones that you could use in connection with you iPod.

The ds32a is a diagnostic electronic stethoscope with unsurpassed natural sound quality. User-friendly design and 50X Amplification provides the power to adjust for faint heart sounds, obese patients, or noisy environments. Outstanding performance and ease-of-use for every clinician, with uncompromising features for advanced users. From BP to ED to ICU, from heart and lung exams to iPod recording, the ds32a does it all.

Further info over at Thinklabs, found courtesy of Hitesh Shah, thanks.

We covered the Aquapac waterproof MP3 case last year, it’s a great way to protect your player whilst out near water. Aquaoac have now released another product which enables you listen to your favourite tunes whilst swimming, with the 100% Waterproof Headphones. Read the rest of this entry »