iPod fans shun iTunes says report
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A report into the habits of iPod owners reveals they prefer free music to tracks they have to pay for.
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Nothing breeds lawsuits like success. And for Apple, the New Year is bringing a rash of them. Earlier this week, Apple disclosed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that an iPod customer, Melanie Tucker, has filed a suit against the company, claiming that Apple violates antitrust laws by not allowing music bought on iTunes to be played on non-Apple music players.
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SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Apple Inc. is urging some iPod and iTunes users to hold off on upgrading computers to Windows Vista, warning that the iTunes music software may not work well with the new operating system from rival Microsoft Corp.
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Microsoft's new MP3 player has a lot going against it, even without the iPod around. It's not cool, the DRM will be a pain and wireless sharing is just another way for people to lie to strangers. Commentary by Leander Kahney.
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Sorry, Rick, but iTunes isn't what matters.
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The Mac Observer has confirmed through testing that the recently recently announced iTunes 4.7 release disables iPod Download, a plug-in to iTunes that allowed
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Apple chief executive Steve Jobs yesterday called on record companies to let online music stores sell digital music files without anti-piracy controls, an idea that some analysts say has merit.
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A&#160;class-action suit filed against Apple&#160;alleges the company unfairly uses technological restrictions with its iPod line and iTunes Music Store to beat out competitors.The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, is the latest one to accuse Apple of unfair business practices. Apple is facing similar legal actions and scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe.The suit was filed Dec. 31 by Stacie Somers, a resident of San Diego County, California, who bought a 30GB iPod from Target, a retail store. Others who bought an iPod or content from Apple&#39;s iTunes store after Dec. 31, 2003, may join the suit.The suit calls for Apple to forfeit money it earned from the unfair practices and pay the plaintiffs damages.It alleges that Apple has constricted the market by not enabling iPods to play content in the Windows Media Audio (WMA) format, Microsoft&#39;s copy-protection technology. Further, Apple sells songs on the iTunes store with its own copy-protection technology, FairPlay, which is incompatible with music players other than the iPod.The suit contends iPod-owning consumers can only buy music from iTunes, an unlawful tie-in that violates U.S. antitrust laws. Apple could license the WMA format for as little as $0.03 per iPod, or for a total of $800,000 based on Apple&#39;s 2005 iPod sales, the suit reads.The suit may quickly become less relevant as many online music retailers, including Apple, expand their offerings of music free of copy-protection restrictions, also known as DRM (digital rights management).DRM-free tracks offer the advantage of being compatible on a wider range of devices. In May, Apple began selling songs from the label EMI without DRM. Also,&#160;Amazon.com now sells song in MP3 format, and Universal Music Group has tested selling DRM-free music.&#160;
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On the day Microsoft launched it&#39;s online music service, Apple Computer responded to accusations that its doesn&#39;t offer consumers choice in music file types
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An analyst for JPMorgan Chase made headlines recently by saying Apple would soon release an iPhone resembling its nano media player.  One of his colleagues, however, disagrees.
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With its music-download service iTunes Apple was not unlawfully exploiting its market dominance, an opinion by France&#39;s competition watchdogs, its Anti-Trust Office, concluded, thereby rejecting a suit initiated by the French daughter company of the
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RealNetworks&#39; campaign to grab digital-music market share away from Apple&#39;s iTunes service -- most recently, with cut-rate, 49-cent song downloads -- is raising the ire of Apple loyalists. A petition placed online by Real was swamped with ...
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The intrepid hacker community quickly finds a workaround for the way the latest iPods accept loaded files. Frustrated users who don't like iTunes find many of the third-party music-management apps that have worked for years don't work. With no Linux version of iTunes, users have had to choose -- ditch the iPod or switch operating systems -- until now.
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Appleâs popular iTunes music service, for use with Appleâs insanely popular iPod music player, will not be today as planned. Company officials are stressing it will be available âvery soonâ though
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BusinessWeek has published a special report that asks &quot;Could Apple Blow Its iPod Lead?&quot; That title is more sensational than the article itself, however, as
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(InfoWorld) - A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) official has joined the debate surrounding Apple Computer's proprietary digital music technology by criticizing European antitrust activities, butÂ groups attacking AppleÂ are defending their actions. Speaking in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general at the DOJ's antitrust division, warned that forcing companies to reveal their intellectual property stifles innovation. He used Apple as an example, in a nod toÂ growing discontent in EuropeÂ regarding the way that music purchased from iTunes is tied to the iPod. Architects of complaints against Apple in Europe say he's got it wrong. "We're not attacking intellectual property rights but saying they should be implemented in a way which doesn't dictate which player you use," said Torgeir Waterhouse, a senior advisor with the Norwegian Consumer Council. His organization filed a complaint to Norway's consumer representative, or ombudsman, arguing that it's illegal for Apple to limit iTunes customers to playing music from the store exclusively on iPods. Along with similar representatives in Denmark and Sweden, the Norwegian ombudsman asked Apple toÂ defend its policy. In a written reply, Apple said it won't budge on the issue but the company plans to meet representatives from the countries later this month to further discuss the issue. If Apple won't open up, the ombudsman will take the company to court. Waterhouse suggests that Apple could solve the problem by licensing its digital rights management technology to other device makers so that iTunes customers could choose among devices or opt for an open standard that would be compatible with more devices. Barnett's criticisms of European antitrust policy, including comments that the policy is aimed at helping competitors instead of consumers, are generally in line with comments from U.S. officials since the Bush administration came to power, said Scott Megregian, a partner and head of the European competition group in the law firm McDermott Will & Emery UK. He disagrees with the argument that requiring companies to open up some of their technology stifles innovation. "That's an argument without support," he said. "Microsoft hasn't stopped innovating that I can tell despite regulations and attack by the E.U." So far, the European Commission has likely communicated with the countries that are pursuing Apple and has probably expressed an opinion on the matter, he said. While no official complaints have been filed with the Commission, if one is, the result will have the makings of a historical battle. "This has the potential to be the next big high-profile dispute," Megregian said.
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By Frank Ahrens, Washington Post Staff Writer  It is not a stretch to say that the iPod changed, and helped save, the music business. One in five Americans has owned one of Apple Computer Inc.'s sleek little iPods.