The unusual case of a lunchtime post...

[andrewducker]

This article amply demonstrates why I will never, ever buy DRMed music.  Microsoft is switching its authentication servers off.  Which means that any music you bought from them is now stuck on the PCs they're authenticated on.  Which means that when those machines die you lose that music.

Frankly, Fuck That.

In conversation with cairmen yesterday, similar ideological reasons for my dislike of the iPhone came up.  It's shiny, and it's neat to play with, but frankly it's not so much nicer than other phones that I'm willing to put up with Apple's ridiculous licensing agreements.  I have a Nokia phone.  Anyone can write software for it.  I can install anything I damn well please.  I shall be continuing to support manufacturers who produce hardware like this.

Comments

[a-pawson.livejournal.com]

I uninstalled iTunes, and now use Winamp to manage my iPod. It works very well, has none of the annoying iTunes advertising, and it's free.

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

There's iTunes advertising? Shows you how effective it is!

How well does WinAmp handle videos, photos etc.?

My biggest problems with iTunes is how slowly it starts up and how slow it is to release the iPod when you hit eject.

[a-pawson.livejournal.com]

They advertise only their own products - ie downloads, "look I see you are listening to Motorhead - here you can download other Motorhead tracks" but it's still annoying.