The French leading the way
I just read that French lawmakers approve bill forcing Apple to open iTunes, iPods. It still has to get through there Senate before it is law. I think this is a good thing for consumers and good for artists. It is harder to be frozen out of a marketplace.
I wonder what Apple would do. Would they walk away from the French market? Would they use a different DRM system for the French market? Would they open up there DRM for all markets? I am not sure what they would do. Apple is hard to predict.
There is one way this could turn out really bad for customers. Apple's current DRM rules are not very bad. As DRM go it is not very restrictive. You can burn as many copies as you want. My protected AAC files get into many of my mixes. If Apple has to settle for an open standard, other forces might cause them to be more resrictive with their DRM. That would be bad.
I wonder what Apple would do. Would they walk away from the French market? Would they use a different DRM system for the French market? Would they open up there DRM for all markets? I am not sure what they would do. Apple is hard to predict.
There is one way this could turn out really bad for customers. Apple's current DRM rules are not very bad. As DRM go it is not very restrictive. You can burn as many copies as you want. My protected AAC files get into many of my mixes. If Apple has to settle for an open standard, other forces might cause them to be more resrictive with their DRM. That would be bad.
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