Apple Finally Gets Whacked Over ITunes

[Nik Habicht]

OK. But that became available a LOOOONG time after I bought the tunes and "fixed" them myself by offloading then ripping back onto my hard drive. Web shows Apple changed from "protected file format" in April 2009. Don't need to duplicate the files I already recreated in WAV , just wish they had given them to me in the first place.

So basically, Apple started doing the right thing about six years after they started ITunes. But by then, they had pretty much squashed the competing music services.

Protected AAC audio file: A protected AAC file was the default filetype for songs purchased from the iTunes Store prior to the introduction of the DRM-free iTunes Plus format in April 2009. It is noted as being protected because the DRM built into the file prevents it from being copied/shared beyond the iTunes account it's associated with.

They quashed the competition by building a superior product, that people were willing to pay for. What everyone's forgetting is just how revolutionary the idea of digital music was, and how concerned labels were about copyright infringement.....

That superior product just happened to live in a closed ecosystem -- something that a lot of Apple fans were and are still happy about. I'm not blindly an Apple fanboy -- though I've switched over totally from PC land at the moment. I'd go back if the options were truly better for my needs, but at the moment Apple meets my needs seamlessly.....

[outerlimits]

Another frivolous lawsuit. Glad the legal system saw that and shit-canned it.

[bountyhunter]

OK. But that became available a LOOOONG time after I bought the tunes and "fixed" them myself by offloading then ripping back onto my hard drive. Web shows Apple changed from "protected file format" in April 2009. Don't need to duplicate the files I already recreated in WAV , just wish they had given them to me in the first place.

So basically, Apple started doing the right thing about six years after they started ITunes. But by then, they had pretty much squashed the competing music services.

Protected AAC audio file: A protected AAC file was the default filetype for songs purchased from the iTunes Store prior to the introduction of the DRM-free iTunes Plus format in April 2009. It is noted as being protected because the DRM built into the file prevents it from being copied/shared beyond the iTunes account it's associated with.

They quashed the competition by building a superior product, that people were willing to pay for. What everyone's forgetting is just how revolutionary the idea of digital music was, and how concerned labels were about copyright infringement.....

That superior product just happened to live in a closed ecosystem -- something that a lot of Apple fans were and are still happy about. I'm not blindly an Apple fanboy -- though I've switched over totally from PC land at the moment. I'd go back if the options were truly better for my needs, but at the moment Apple meets my needs seamlessly.....

Actually, I was a big Apple fan. I used their computers at work even though I had to buy them myself.

And I agree the Ipod was revolutionary, it was a great product.

That's what really ticks me off. They didn't need to screw over their customers by selling them locked music files in a proprietary format that only works on an Ipod. I bought their stinking Ipod, they got my money, the point is that the proprietary format didn't let me play the music on my home stereo or in my car so the files are essentially worthless..... in this state it's actually illegal to drive with ear buds in listening to an Ipod and the auto stereos with "aux inputs" didn't even exist for several more years. So the music in their format was unduly restrictive and useless to me. You pay for a product you can't use except in one system that doesn't meet your usage. That's crap. You pay for the music content, not the format.

Apple's whining about "music piracy" and all that other crap is a smokescreen. Bottom line is they wanted to crush the competition by making sure nothing was compatible. Nobody else can play on the same field. And they did. And they got away with it.

This isn't really complicated.

Edited December 19, 2014 by bountyhunter

[bountyhunter]

That superior product just happened to live in a closed ecosystem --

That isn't true: the industry music formats were well established for many years before Apple got into it. Music CD's were sold with WAV files and music online was sold in MP3 format for the simple reason that WAV files were too large and took too much download time. Apple's "MP4" format did not improve sound, reduce file size or add any benefit other than making it locked file that only loads onto an Ipod. No benefit at all to customers, just blocking out all other music sources.

If apple's ecosystem was "closed" it's by their own design and intention.

Try to understand this:

Suppose ABC Video came out and said we are going to start a video DVD's service. So you buy a membership and you order a DVD. But it won't play in your player that uses the industry standard format. You have to buy the ABC player for $300. Which also means the video won't play in your mini van's player you use to for the kids. And what's the most important thing, ABC didn't tell anybody about the non compatible format before they took your money. Of course, when called on it ABC starts whining about how big a problem video pirating is and how they had to take it upon themselves to implement a proprietary format to prevent it from happening.... which just happens to block usage of the product on all industry standard hardware. That's a crock and everybody knows it and ABC (many years later) fixes the problem they still don't admit ever existed.

How happy would you be?

As for the legal outcome, it was probably never in doubt. Judges don't understand technical info they go with whoever can line up the most "experts" to tell their version.

The bottom line is apple screwed up. They burned their customers over greed. And they could have easily settled years ago for good will by just giving a small rebate on each song downloaded under the useless format as a customer "nuisance fee". But it is what it is and I won't be doing business anymore with apple. And they may not care.

Edited December 20, 2014 by bountyhunter

[Nik Habicht]

A couple of things come to mind -- I didn't buy the very first iPod to come along; mine already had a click wheel......

....but at the same time I bought a doo-hickey that mounted in one of the power outlets in my dash, belt the iPod in a cradle, and connected to the 30 pin connector, broadcasting the music off my iPod to any FM radio frequency I wanted to use. I used that particular device without issues with two different iPods in a row, for about 8 years, until it broke.....

....at which point i bought another one, because my '02 Tahoe didn't have an Aux input on the factory radio. That didn't come until 2003.....

Pretty sure that would have worked in your minivan. My home stereo had an Aux in plug, so I suppose I could have utilized an iPod with that; but I really just dropped CDs into my sound system until 2006. Since then I've strictly played music over my computer attached speakers from iTunes, or through one of several Bose sound docks. My CDs are boxed in the shed.....

I did my research and knew that the iPod would do what I wanted it to, when I bought it -- which was to allow me to play my tunes in the car, without needing to change CDs, carry and store CDs, and to play that music reliably.

I have little doubt that there were contractual requirements early on, and I also accept that those contracts may very well have changed between 2003 and 2009. I could be totally wrong about that; I've never seen the contracts. Bottom line is that for I, and i suspect a bunch of other folks, didn't see that proprietary format as either a problem, or as Apple burning customers over greed.....

You say Apple screwed up -- I'll argue that their success proves that statement to be erroneous. I think they knew exactly what they wanted to achieve, for the average consumer, and they achieved that magnificently. My life is richer (in experiences) and easier because iTunes and iPod exist....

I'm sorry that your experience didn't mirror mine. I once spent quite a bit of time arguing with Nikon reps that they really ought to build a pro-level autofocus camera. They loaned me an F4s for a week along with a couple of lenses, and when I returned it I told them they built the best manual focus camera I'd ever shot. They replied that it was an autofocus camera -- until I pointed out that when it came to moving subjects, the camera was not on par with what Canon had available at the time....

I wound up switching from Nikon F3 bodies to EOS-1N and EOS-3 bodies -- because the AF worked on those, even for subjects in motion. I think Nikon made and continues to make a great product, just not a product that meets my needs. I don't hold a grudge over that -- or the fact that I needed to sell an entire system and lay down considerable cash to switch to Canon.....

[Nik Habicht]

Bottom line is they wanted to crush the competition by making sure nothing was compatible. Nobody else can play on the same field. And they did. And they got away with it.

This isn't really complicated.

They had competition once upon a time -- the competition just wasn't very good.....

....then again the concept of owning music is fading away, as everyone moves to a subscription model for intellectual property....