01-28-2008, 11:55 AM
From http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22868682/
The service, which boasts a selection of up to 30 million tracks, also promises that its music downloads will be playable on Apple Inc.'s iPods and Macintosh computers as early as March.
That's unusual, as iPods only playback unrestricted MP3s files or tracks with Apple's proprietary version of DRM, dubbed FairPlay.
"We've had a technical breakthrough which enables us to put songs on an iPod without any interference from FairPlay," said Allan Klepfisz, Qtrax's president and chief executive.
Klepfisz declined to give specifics on how Qtrax will make its audio files compatible with Apple devices, but noted that "Apple has nothing to do with it."
____
How long before Apple puts out an update to shut Qtrax out of ipods? I'm guessing March 15.
But should they have the right to? It's not like bricking hacked iPhones as buyers knew they had to use AT&T. In this case iPod owners agreed to nothing and I think should be free to use any compatible music. Locking out a service offering free, legal downloads would really cause the anti-trust folks to strengthen their case against Apple.
The service, which boasts a selection of up to 30 million tracks, also promises that its music downloads will be playable on Apple Inc.'s iPods and Macintosh computers as early as March.
That's unusual, as iPods only playback unrestricted MP3s files or tracks with Apple's proprietary version of DRM, dubbed FairPlay.
"We've had a technical breakthrough which enables us to put songs on an iPod without any interference from FairPlay," said Allan Klepfisz, Qtrax's president and chief executive.
Klepfisz declined to give specifics on how Qtrax will make its audio files compatible with Apple devices, but noted that "Apple has nothing to do with it."
____
How long before Apple puts out an update to shut Qtrax out of ipods? I'm guessing March 15.
But should they have the right to? It's not like bricking hacked iPhones as buyers knew they had to use AT&T. In this case iPod owners agreed to nothing and I think should be free to use any compatible music. Locking out a service offering free, legal downloads would really cause the anti-trust folks to strengthen their case against Apple.