Apple, Microsoft, deal
p2pnet.net News:- StreamCast ceo Mike Weiss got it right:
In an interview with p2pnet, he said, “I’ve been around for a long enough time to understand that today’s enemies can become tomorrow’s partners.”
Apple is dropping its seriously misnomered FairPlay DRM application as Steve Jobs and Bill and the Boyz Apple Computer get it together in a scheme under which Apple is licensing Microsoft’s Windows Media platform for use with both iTunes and iPod.
“Apple will be replacing its proprietary FairPlay DRM scheme and AAC codec with Microsoft’s Janus platform, allowing the company to leverage the more open nature of Microsoft’s Windows Media platform across its burgeoning consumer electronics product line,” promises The Mac Observer.
“In addition to managing a la carte downloads from online music stores, Janus has the added bonus of allowing music lovers to take rented music with them in Windows Media-supported devices, something that has helped Napster become the #2 online music service.”
By licensing Windows Media and Janus, “Apple will be able to follow in Napster’s footsteps, and the company plans to open a rental section in the iTunes Music Store,” says the story.
Napster II’s latest bid to bring itself into profitability was to launch an mp3 rentals scheme whereby punters pay a monthly fee for mp3 tracks which become unusable as soon as they stop paying.
In another “bonus,” iTunes users will have the option of, “converting all of their songs to Windows Media in an upcoming update to iTunes, and iPods will be converted to Windows Media players in a firmware update due later today,” says TMO, going on:
“In an interview with The Mac Observer, Apple CEO Steve Jobs pointed out that Apple was doomed as long as it tried to go-it-alone, and that the time had come for Apple ‘to do the right thing’ for its customers and shareholders.”
Apple? Do the right thing?
Well, this is an April 1 TMO post. And it does discuss Napster as though it’s a credible entity.
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April 2nd, 2005 at 2:25 am
good one.. you actually had me going there for a minute… ^_^;
April 2nd, 2005 at 5:38 pm
That’s a good one. Happy April Fool’s!
April 3rd, 2005 at 1:47 am
Hello…this was an april fools day joke, it was posted on mac central’s website and picked up by Forbes, and has since exploded
April 4th, 2005 at 2:51 am
And it was labelled as such. Was forbes treating it as real? if so i’m laughing because this proves without a doubt that mainstream media now scoffs at the idea of “fact checking”
April 11th, 2005 at 2:10 pm
I know this is April fools of course..but
“Apple? Do the right thing?”
Pfft. they own the digital music market you p2p dorks