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I haven't attained new music very regularly in years since the days I actually respected FM content. Between the modern choice—buying tracks, subscribing to a service or stealing it—I'm just not getting enough exposure to try before I download. Last night, things changed in a way that I hope paves the way for the future of buying music.
High Definition Content Protection—the annoying DRM-y thing that's supposed to stop people from copying hi-def stuff as it travels over a card-display connector— has apparently, and unfortunately, come to Apple's MacBooks. HDCP is now included on new MacBooks to protect iTunes Store media, though it seems that only some of the content is actually HDCP-aware. A high school teacher was unable to play Hellboy 2 on his classroom's projector with his new aluminium MacBook, but other purchased media (such as Stargate: Continuum and Heroes episodes) worked just fine. Perfect. Because copyright protection is all about inconveniencing those who actually bought their stuff legally? [Ars Technica]
Word is that Sony is going to be joining EMI in Apple's iTunes Plus. That's the extra-cost, higher-MP3-quality DRM-free option in iTunes. EMI's currently the only major label in iTunes Plus, so the addition of Sony would be a major coup for Apple to say the least. This is just a rumour though, so watch this space. [9 to 5 Mac via TechDigest]
A few gamers who purchased Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 encountered a problem with their installs—EA had misprinted some of the serial numbers needed for activation. While the necessary code was 20 characters long, they'd only printed 19-character codes.
When Walmart made a special effort to remind us why DRM'd music should always be avoided by shutting down their authentication servers, the response must have been deafening. The world's largest retailer has decided to maintain its digital rights management servers for the present time "based on feedback from [its] customers," otherwise known as "the interminable wrath of the internet." I'm guessing a flood of emails with compelling arguments like "don't destroy my legally purchased music" and "I hate you" had something to do with the decision.
Last week a judge put a temporary ban on the sale of RealNetworks' DVD backup program RealDVD, claiming that it violated the DMCA. The court has decided to uphold the ban indefinitely, and judging by the tone and nature of the judge's statements, it doesn't sound like they'll ever change their mind.
Back in the era of floppy disks, before programmers figured out how to implement DRM, they had to rely on no-name rap stars to keep kids from pirating software. That's right, rap stars. The video really speaks for itself, so watch it now—and remember, Don't Copy that Floppy! [-Thanks Stephanie!]
After being oh-so-predictably sued by six movie studios, RealNetworks is now just as predictably banned by a judge from selling its weirdly anachronistic DVD-ripping RealDVD program. At least until Tuesday, so the judge can review the filings to determine just how boneheaded it is.
Norway is ostensibly big on neutrality, even when it gets them invaded and pulverised, so not surprisingly it hates Apple's FairPlay DRM, which only lets songs play on iPods. It even has a law requiring that consumers be able to use digital media with whatever device they choose, which FairPlay obviously pees all over. After a lovely chat with Apple in February, not much has changed, so gentle Norway is going to play war against Apple over FairPlay for the rest of hapless Europe.
Like Yahoo and MSN before them, Walmart is turning off its DRM servers on Oct. 9, effectively putting any DRM'd songs you bought from them into a cold stasis they'll never wake up from, since they'll become totally unmovable unless you circumvent the DRM. Walmart went through this earlier with their video store, though it didn't matter since no one bought anything from it. Walmart's music store is DRM-free now, though I doubt that's any consolation to people who actually paid for music that's now nigh useless.
