> That's the thing though - itunes *is* the iPod. I cannot connect and > sync my iPod to anything but iTunes. Therefore, if I want to download > a song that is DRM'd to work only on Microsoft products, I cannot play > or sync it on my iPod. If I want to play a song that is DRM'd to work > with the iPod and iTunes, I cannot play or stream it to my Xbox. If I > want to sync a song that isn't DRM'd at all, I have to go outside of > iTunes, have one extra app on my PC, and just one more thing to worry > about freezing up my machine.
Well, false. iTunes will accept non-DRM'ed mp3s and AAC files. You could join emusic if you're a downloading type, but I just buy CDs myself. And iTunes is the reason I didn't get an iPod anyway. I use MusicMatch; I prefer their interface. > The Xbox is no longer just a gaming machine - it was doing what Apple > TV was doing long before Apple, and it does full 1080i graphics as > well. Granted, you have to have a Windows Media Center or Vista > machine to do it, but Xbox allows you to stream music, videos, and > even TV signals, all in full 1080i HD to any TV connected to the Xbox. > I am unable to do this with iTunes-downloaded songs and movies though > because of the DRM Apple imposes. I *could* buy the iTV, but iTV just > doesn't do everything my Xbox does. So, at the moment, thanks to > Microsoft, I am stuck with items that support the Microsoft DRM. > This, therefore rules out using a Linux machine as a Media Center, as > Xbox will not sync with Linux at the moment, so I have to run iTunes > on the Windows machine and sync with that, which is very inconvenient. > Microsoft is very clever (yet, they're coming out with some pretty > cool technology too - as much as we like to bash them, we have to > admit). Apple is too - they're both playing the same game right now > though, unfortunately. :-) You're talking about Apple TV, not iPhone. Apple TV is useless for my needs, as well. I was talking about the iPhone, which looks great. It sounds like your main problem is that you started with Xbox, which I avoided for the same reason as iPod: vendor lock-in. When I build a media center, it'll be my own custom-built thing so I can leave it open to whatever I'd like. > Now, I am willing to work around the DRM and use things like Fairplay > to get things in the right format to stream to my Xbox, *if* the phone > provided more space. It is a really cool device! However, I'm an > all-in-one device type of guy that I'd rather have one device in my > pocket at a time so I'll just wait for now and see who comes out on > top. Wait, now you're back to the phone working with the Xbox. I still don't see the appeal there. Anyway, I'm more of an all-in-two kind of guy. I want my mp3 player and phone/pda separate. For one, they'll never make one that does both well enough for my liking. I waited for the 160GB mp3 player before getting one, although 80GB would have probably sufficed for a few years. As for DRM, I am not willing to work around DRM myself; I'm vehemently opposed to the whole concept and refuse to buy anything that uses it. There's no blu-ray or HD-DVD in my future; regular DVDs are already too restrictive and they're making it far worse for the next generation. > Microsoft is set to launch IP TV, so maybe Zune will eventually do > what the iPhone does, with ipTV service to boot. Time will tell... Zune won't ever do anything well. It'll die a drawn-out and painful death. Greg /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
