Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Top Stories
Thoughts On Music
Much of the concern over DRM systems has arisen in European countries. Perhaps those unhappy with the current situation should redirect their energies towards persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free... Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly.
News
Jobs' Comments Not Good Enough For Norwegian Group
Just because three major online music retailers bind their music stores to specific portable players doesn't make it acceptable, a Norwegian consumer group leading the charge against Apple's DRM policy said.
Apple To Set Up Shop In Downtown Sydney
Apple is finalising plans to build its first official retail stores in Australia, with at least one set for Sydney.
Norway Responds To Jobs' Open DRM Letter
"We're happy to see Steve Jobs take on the responsibility that follows from Apple's role as one of the leading companies in the digital sphere and comment on the complaint issued by the Norwegian Consumer Council."
Apple's Jobs Calls For DRM-Free World
Many record companies executives are unlikely to be thrilled by the letter, Gartner analyst Mike McGuire said. However, there's also the possibility that others within the record industry who have been calling for a change could seize upon the letter as evidence that the current system is broken.
Apple Sets The Date For WWDC
Apple on Tuesday set the date for its annual Worldwide Developers Conference. The 2007 conference will be held in San Francisco, Calif. between June 11-15, 2007.
Opinion
Steve Jobs And The Digital Rights Bugaboo
He's right, the music industry is strangling itself.
Steve's Misleading Statistics
There may be 90 million iPods sold, but not all of them are currently in use. Furthermore, it's the number of iTunes Store customers and average sales per customer that's relevant, and Apple has never disclosed these figures.
The 10 Worst Things About Apple
Arrogant, litigious, lunatic...
Imaging A World Without DRM
Even in a DRM-less world, brand loyalty and quality of service is going to keep iTunes popular. Apple seems to have no fear of competing with other online music stores.
Steve Jobs And DRM
Steve Jobs' essay is exactly what I wanted to hear from Apple. My one question to Steve would be, why doe she not sell DRM-free songs on iTunes today from smaller labels or artists who do not wish to protect their works?
Review
The World Is Your... Desktop
EarthDesk puts a map of the world on your Dekstop — a live map that's updated as frequently as you like.
Sidetrack
Steve Jobs To Universal: Not Gonna Pay You Money Per Pod
The way I read it, Steve Jobs' now famous blog post is not simply targetted at European countries, but also targetted to Universal. It's a preemptive strike before negotiations on license renewal, and the message is clear: Apple is willing to stop selling DRM-protected music by Universal. iPod customers can easily get Universal music from CDs or from other music stores because DRM-free is the future. The loss of Universal music from iTunes is not a big deal. (What is left unsaid, of couse, is that many iPod customers can continue to pirate Universal music.)
Basically, Apple still have the upper-hand.
P.S. I don't see this as Apple's call to music labels to sell DRM-free music online. I see this as Apple's early warning to music lables that they will be forced to start selling DRM-free music online.
