Itunes goes DRM free

[jumbopackage]

But I see no reason why they chose to went with AAC in the first place. MP3 was the standard and by going with AAC they were just being conceded asshats. They do this often. Another example is Firewire. I bought accessories for my Ipod that only worked with Firewire. I bought a new Ipod Touch and guess what they got rid of......Firewire. This will most likely be the last Apple product I buy. I've had 4 Ipod products and 2 of them broke within 2 years.

AAC allows for the DRM which was (until recently) required by the music companies. They simply couldn't use MP3 and make their business model work. Plus, it is a superior codec. It provides better quality at a lower bitrate than MP3. It's the next version of mpeg audio (that's why file names are M4P instead of MP3).

As far as Firewire goes, Firewire is STILL a superior product to USB for doing audio/video work, as it's sustained transfer rate is higher (and constant), and for moving big files around. Back when USB was still at version 1.1, Firewire allowed for roughly 30 times the bandwidth for moving files around that USB did. Even Firewire 400 is faster than USB 2.0 for moving big files around. Firewire 800 puts it to shame. With Apple's focus on media and content, firewire only made sense. And with the iPod fitting into that ecosystem, firewire made sense on the iPod too.

I think eSATA is the way to go for storage, these days, though.

 

[dmclone]

Then why did they not use firewire on my Ipod Touch?

 

[Wesley]

You probably still have to pay to download it, but once you download it, hopefully it means that you no longer have to go through a bunch of contortions to use the file...like using iTunes to burn the music to CD, and then rip it back from the CD to get an MP3 that you can play on another device, etc...

I read somewhere that they were thinking $.99 per DRM song. The DRM free version was another $.20. Not sure if they nixed that idea or what.

 

[jumbopackage]

Then why did they not use firewire on my Ipod Touch?

Because Firewire is expensive to implement compared to USB, and not every computer has firewire, while pretty much every computer has USB.

And if it doesn't have USB, it's because it's an old mac and should be upgraded anyway, right?

 

[ISUFan22]

Apple knew if they wanted to sell more iPod/iTouch/iPhone devices - USB was the way to go.

 

[Ames]

Then why did they not use firewire on my Ipod Touch?

Don't need it; USB is fast enough. It needed to work on both Mac and PC; everything has USB, most PC's don't have firewire. Apple didn't even put firewire on the new non-pro Macbooks. I think firewire will die off. USB 3 should kill it.

 

[Ames]

I read somewhere that they were thinking $.99 per DRM song. The DRM free version was another $.20. Not sure if they nixed that idea or what.

Sounds like $0.69 for old stuff, $1.29 for new hot singles, and $0.99 for everything in between. DRM free on all 3.

 

[jumbopackage]

Don't need it; USB is fast enough. It needed to work on both Mac and PC; everything has USB, most PC's don't have firewire. Apple didn't even put firewire on the new non-pro Macbooks. I think firewire will die off. USB 3 should kill it.

Eh, there's a new version of Firewire coming that's even faster than USB 3.

Firewire isn't going anywhere because it's so far embedded in the professional/semi-pro audio/video world. USB won't kill it off.

It will likely die off for consumers, though. Between eSATA and USB 3, most people will have no need for firewire.

 

[ISUFan22]

What is the status of USB 3? I have not paid much attention to it. Going to be buying a MacBook Pro within the next 30-60 days - but could wait a little longer if it's coming soon.

 

[Ames]

Eh, there's a new version of Firewire coming that's even faster than USB 3.

Firewire isn't going anywhere because it's so far embedded in the professional/semi-pro audio/video world. USB won't kill it off.

It will likely die off for consumers, though. Between eSATA and USB 3, most people will have no need for firewire.

Kill it off for consumers is exactly what I meant. If USB 3 ends up at 5 gigabits per second there is nothing consumer level to even need that kind of speed; at least for now.

 

[IcSyU]

What is the status of USB 3? I have not paid much attention to it. Going to be buying a MacBook Pro within the next 30-60 days - but could wait a little longer if it's coming soon.

The article I just read when I googled it said 2010 so it's still awhile off...

 

[jumbopackage]

What is the status of USB 3? I have not paid much attention to it. Going to be buying a MacBook Pro within the next 30-60 days - but could wait a little longer if it's coming soon.

I wouldn't worry about it. There's always the "next big thing". USB3 is at least 2-3 years out for most consumer devices.

Kill it off for consumers is exactly what I meant. If USB 3 ends up at 5 gigabits per second there is nothing consumer level to even need that kind of speed; at least for now.

HD video...10-20 gig/hour or more.

 

[Ames]

What is the status of USB 3? I have not paid much attention to it. Going to be buying a MacBook Pro within the next 30-60 days - but could wait a little longer if it's coming soon.

You waited long enough to get one of the new ones announced today. Non-removable battery isn't cool, but I guess the space savings got it an 8 hour battery. You can get a matte screen also... USB 3 is still a ways out; I wouldn't wait. Seagate was supposed to be demoing a device with it this week.

 

[Ames]

HD video...10-20 gig/hour or more.

There isn't a consumer level HD video device that can actually pump out data fast enough to fill a USB 3 pipe. Definitely needs the speed bump from 2 though.

 

[ISUFan22]

You waited long enough to get one of the new ones announced today. Non-removable battery isn't cool, but I guess the space savings got it an 8 hour battery. You can get a matte screen also... USB 3 is still a ways out; I wouldn't wait. Seagate was supposed to be demoing a device with it this week.

The new MacBook Pro was announced a while back - unless there is already a newer version...

 

[jumbopackage]

There isn't a consumer level HD video device that can actually pump out data fast enough to fill a USB 3 pipe. Definitely needs the speed bump from 2 though.

There would be if 3 was out, though.
All the hard drive-based HD video cameras, not to mention DVRs and whatnot could easily take advantage of USB 3.

 

[jbhtexas]

I think eSATA is the way to go for storage, these days, though.

Agreed!! I've purchased a couple of eSATA external disk enclosures, and some SATA-to-eSATA cables so I can plug them right to the motherboard of my Dells. The speed is awesome for moving around media files (and also for VirtualBox virtual disks). There is also a free utility called HotSwap (works for many SATA chipsets) for XP that simplifies hot-plugging of eSATA drives (makes it just like hot-plugging a USB drive).

 

[Ames]

The new MacBook Pro was announced a while back - unless there is already a newer version...

17" was announced today. The smaller Pro was previously announced. The battery life on the 17" of 8 hours is really impressive and matte screen option is good.

 

[ISUFan22]

17" was announced today. The smaller Pro was previously announced. The battery life on the 17" of 8 hours is really impressive and matte screen is good.

Ah, gotcha. They did a little work to the 17" when they came out with the new 15" I thought.

But I now see they overhauled the 17" to the extent of the 15" with the new framing, etc. The matte anti-glare screen is an extra $50 - but worth it - especially for image processing.

 

[dmclone]

In summary, Apple will screw you if you're with them long enough. Just 2 examples.

#1 I paid .99 for about 200 songs off of Itunes. They now want to charge me .30 to unlock those songs that I paid for. If I would have used Amazon instead I would have paid less and they would be DRM free. So ot summarize, Apple is going to penalize me .30/song for using Itunes. Thanks. Luckily my other 2,700 songs didn't come from Itunes.

#2 I have a JBL speaker at work that supposedly works with all Ipods. It works with the original Ipod Touch but it doesn't work with the 2nd generation because Apple decided to get rid of firewire on the Touch. I've also bought a Sik Imp that would allow me to play my Ipod through my car stereo using firewire, which provided a lot better sound than using the headset plug in. Guess what? This also doesn't work with the Ipod touch.

People can complain all day about Microsoft but I've had a lot fewer Apple products with a lot more problems.