Although delivered a month late, Apple has finally shipped the complete cloud integrated version of iTunes. This includes iTunes Match, a much awaited feature allowing both online streaming of music and “upgrading†library content from the iTunes Store. Here’s how to upgrade your old low bit rate MP3 files with high quality 256 bit AAC replacements from Apple’s server.
DRM
Walled Gardens, Gilded Cages, and Right to Repair
Things are getting awfully complicated, aren’t they? The custom parallel CPUs, proprietary communications networks, and encrypted data ports require extensive training, special tools, and a computerized reference library to comprehend, much less debug. And the manufacturers, who derive much of their money and differentiation from warranties and authorized repair centers, are loathe to see independent shops get a piece of the action.
Amazon MP3 Friday 5
I know this will sound like an ad, but please don’t take it that way. I love Amazon’s selection of MP3 downloads – they’re DRM-free and uniformly cheaper than iTunes. And the company has a download app that integrates nicely with iTunes (unlike the eternally-borken Emusic manager). I was surprised this morning with an email […]
Music in the Wild World
OK, so let’s get this whole new world of music straight… Apple now allows iPhone and iTouch users to buy iTunes songs without a computer and they’ve teamed up with Starbucks to offer in-store song shopping, but not yet… Amazon.com now sells real mp3s with no DRM or watermarking for less than iTunes, making Apple […]
DRM Lock-In Becomes Lock-Out
Next time someone trots out the old argument that “only pirates hate digital rights management (DRM),” just point out what just happened at the old Googleplex. They just canceled their pay-per-download Google Video site and locked everyone out of the content that they legally paid for. We all knew this could happen with DRM, and […]