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MS exec: new Windows portable media center devices will ‘convert and run’ iTunes Music Store tracks

Monday, January 9, 2006 · 5:08 pm · 73 Comments

“Microsoft Group Product Manager Jim Starkweather tells Bambi Francisco why Apple’s Video iPod will compete with three new Windows-enabled portable media centers offered by Microsoft partners Tatung, Toshiba and LG Electronics, and not the other way around,” MarketWatch reports in a video clip.

In the video clip, Francisco asks, “If you already have Apple’s iTunes… if you’re already buying music [via] iTunes… you can convert that to be heard on these devices?” To which Starkweather claims, “Absolutely. Any music that you own will actually convert and you can run on one of these devices.”

Full video here.

MacDailyNews Take: That’s interesting. Nowhere on Microsoft’s or the Tatung, Toshiba and LG Electronics websites can we find information explaining how Apple’s FairPlay-protected content can be “converted and run” on these devices. Oh, what a tangled Web? Perhaps somebody knows or can point us to the information, because this would be a big story – if it were true.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews reader "nathan" for the heads up.]

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Comment Feed

73 Comments

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big tex

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 6:35 pm · Reply

what a load of crap….microsoft can go to hell
AJ

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 6:36 pm · Reply

Let them dream …
wandering joe

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 6:36 pm · Reply

Is this another rhapsody parodi that noone will notice gets broken until 2 mohths after the fact?
SJR

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 6:37 pm · Reply

I’m sure that circumventing the DRM (by some sort of automated method) would violate the DMCA in some form or fashion. I don’t see M$ wanting to step into those legal waters.
ndelc

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 6:44 pm · Reply

I just don’t understand how Real, that other company who said they would do this, and possibly now, MS can legally get away with this. Apple should be able to sue all of them. Any legal eagles out there have any insight as to why they haven’t?
mta

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 6:46 pm · Reply

rip it to a CD, then import.
just like you keep telling people to do.
Tommo_UK

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 6:48 pm · Reply

No news here other than a M$ drone getting his facts wrong. What he probably means is that unprotected AAC tracks will be converted into WMA. Not Music Store tracks. He just didn’t understand quite what he was talking about, poor thing.

I’ve been waiting for someone to announce that they would release a utility to allow the parsing of the .xml file that stores iTunes playlists into a format importable into another player’s music organiser – it should be dead easy to do after all – I reckon that’s what M$ have figured out what to do. It would mean you wouldn’t lose your playlists if you changed musicplayers. Ijust can’t believe it hasn’t been done already. If I were M$, or Sony, it would have been my number one feature.

Still won’t help the fact that they definitely will not be able to read AAC protected files though.
Mac4lfe

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 6:49 pm · Reply

If you are competing with Itunes and the iPod why would you want iTunes to work on our media pc. Would you not put on one of those better products that has play for sure on your pc. I guess they don’t have any confidence in their own products..
Mac4lfe

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 6:51 pm · Reply

forget my last post…………..too tired at work.
Ditto, Tommo

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 6:53 pm · Reply

Fairplay-protected AAC are no-can-do on on does NOT Play-for-Sure.
Kate
MW: “southern”–gotta love us Southern girls!
Mac & PC Guy

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 6:56 pm · Reply

Finally!!!

Well… I hope it’s true. DRM stepping on Fair Rights use is such a pain. And Apple’s use of DRM to lock iTMS customers into buying only iPods is problem for many (well… not for the fanatics on this board though).

I’d purchase from iTMS if I weren’t being locked into the iPod – I have 3 of em… but I’d like the option of buying other players in the future.
Mac & PC Guy

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 6:56 pm · Reply

Finally!!!

Well… I hope it’s true. DRM stepping on Fair Rights use is such a pain. And Apple’s use of DRM to lock iTMS customers into buying only iPods is problem for many (well… not for the fanatics on this board though).

I’d purchase from iTMS if I weren’t being locked into the iPod – I have 3 of em… but I’d like the option of buying other players in the future.
Mac & PC Guy

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 6:56 pm · Reply

Finally!!!

Well… I hope it’s true. DRM stepping on Fair Rights use is such a pain. And Apple’s use of DRM to lock iTMS customers into buying only iPods is problem for many (well… not for the fanatics on this board though).

I’d purchase from iTMS if I weren’t being locked into the iPod – I have 3 of em… but I’d like the option of buying other players in the future.
Mac & PC Guy

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 6:56 pm · Reply

Finally!!!

Well… I hope it’s true. DRM stepping on Fair Rights use is such a pain. And Apple’s use of DRM to lock iTMS customers into buying only iPods is problem for many (well… not for the fanatics on this board though).

I’d purchase from iTMS if I weren’t being locked into the iPod – I have 3 of em… but I’d like the option of buying other players in the future.
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 6:59 pm · Reply

Yeh-heh-hesssss . . . lots of people try to ‘convert’ things for other uses. For instance, when Richter got antsy about being Conan’s bitch he tried to convert his brief glimpse of fame into an ongoing acting gig. Didn’t work out so good.

Heyyy, come onnnn, it’s all in good fat fun. I love Richter. I love all ass-kissers — it’s how I got my start.

And speaking of ass-kissing, there’s also de whole conversion of Steve ‘The Sasquatch’ Ballmer from a passable salesman into an ass-kissing CEO. You remember sweaty Ballmer — he’s currently piloting de Zeppelin known as Microsoft to it’s landing at a symbolic Lakehurst yet to be determined. Not working out so good, is it Fatboy?

Hey — I keed de slow and immobile among us.
MacMania

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 6:59 pm · Reply

Don’t they just wish it were that easy. And there really is a tooth fairy, Santa and Mrs. Claus, Leprechauns, etc.

What a huge can of worms if Mafiasoft were to actually hacks Apple’s DRM. WOW!

BTW, Bill Gates is indeed the antichrist
Crystal

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 7:00 pm · Reply

Mac and PC guy. You’re an idiot and don’t know of what you speak. I can’t believe you own 3 iPods and would say such crap. Obviously you’ve never used iTunes.
MacDude

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 7:04 pm · Reply

I wonder what legal grounds Apple could push to prevent circumvention of copy protected music?

You know we hear a lot of testostertone talk lately because of the expo, but it’s all going to fall on deaf ears tommorrow when the king takes the stage and says…

“Oh just one more thing…”

FUSCK YOU MICROSOFT YOU AINTSHEET

Apple moved so darn fast, iPods, online music, viPods, downloadable movies that only now M$ and crew has caught up with competiting products, but Apple is already onto the new stuff.

Remember the Nano!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHA SUCKERS!!
Rasterbator

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 7:12 pm · Reply

To anyone stupid enough to purchase this device: Remember that asshole’s name (John Starkweather)and who he works for (Microsoft) when the device doesn’t work as advertised. Then we have a face, a name and a company to sue.

All of the content they are talking about will be subscription based and you will not own a thing.

On the other hand, whem you buy an iPod and purchase items on iTunes, you own that piece of media.

Boo… Microsoft spews more FUD

rstrb8r
GoldFish

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 7:14 pm · Reply

If they’re as good as they’re sales-boy thinks they are, good for them–they’d deserve to succeed. I, however, will believe it when I see it.

I continue to believe that other makers should continue to innovate (or at least immitate) as much as they can. It can only mean improvements to iPods and Macs. I can’t imagine switching away from my elegant combination of iPod and Mac OS X, but I think it’s good for others to challenge Apple to innovate and stay ahead of the game. A lack of competition is a recipe for mediocrity.

MW: effort–”It is a valiant effort to unseat iPod–but keep trying!”
Jay

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 7:21 pm · Reply

Crystal, advocating less restrictive DMR doesn’t make him an idiot. You may think iTunes is the best software, as do I, but that doesn’t mean you have to like the fact that apple ties them together exclusively. It is a good business strategy and doesn’t bother me too much. FairPlay isn’t too bad compared to other DRM but ideally none of them would exist.

Tommy-Uk, I think you are over estimating how much people care about their playlists. I constantly change and delete my playlists anyway so losing them by switching jukeboxes would be almost a non issue for me. I think most consumers would agree. I personally would miss the play counts and ratings but I bet most other people wouldn’t care about those either. I think the hurdle to switching juke boxes is DRM and formats, plus there are no good reasons not to use iTunes, IMO.
Nathan

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 7:24 pm · Reply

Whats the problem with this???

Itunes converts WMA to AAC, so shy shouldn’t windows convert AAC to WMA????
PC Apologist

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 7:34 pm · Reply

<rant>

Doesn’t MDN repeatedly yammer on about how FairPlay *isn’t* restrictive because tracks can be SO EASILY burned to CD and then re-ripped and used however you want?

Oh… now that they’re talking about doing just that, it would be BIG NEWS. Now that MS suggests you actually DO what it takes in order to get out of the indentured servitude of iPod+iTunes+iTMS, it’s suddenly a web of lies?

You once called me a warped, twisted PC Apologist. Well what are you all, but a bunch of warped, twisted Mac Apologists?!

</rant>
7over

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 7:40 pm · Reply

2 things:
1. Bambi frames the question about conversion in reference to “purchasing music” but she does not specify that the purchased music is from iTunes. It could be a purchased CD.
2. Jim only says that “it can be converted (referring to Bambi’s term “purchased music”. He does not clarify that it is iTMS purchases that can be converted AND he does not explain who’s software is doing the conversion. He certianly implies that MS software is doing the conversion but it COULD be iTunes that is “converting” the purchased music by ripping a CD (see MTS’s comment above) and importing the rip. That could be construed as “conversion”.
Klunky, Kludgy conversion that most people won’t bother with ’cause most people who own an MP3 player own and use an iPod. (as it should be)

MW=good
exactly what competition is
Jimbo von Winskinheimer

Monday, January 9, 2006 - 7:44 pm · Reply

Mac & PC Guy, I don’t exactly know what you mean by stepping on your Fair Rights when you purchase a song from iTMS.

iTMS provides a song and tells you up front where it will play, how many devices it can be on at one time, and how many times you can burn it to the exact same playlist. Notice that they tell you this up front, so you are not confused about your rights. You are basically signing a contract when you purchase the song in that way. It’s not any different than when you buy software except that the rules are much more relaxed. If you want it on more CDs, you change your playlist. If you want to put it on a different computer, just deauthorize a different one. Do you really have a need to have a song that you purchased on more than 5 computers – unless you are illegally sharing that music?

In essence, you can burn an unlimited number of CDs containing that song (you can’t legally do that with a CD you purchase) you can put it on up to 5 computers, and you keep it forever. These rules are a good portion of the reason that Apple can sell the tunes for $.99. Those restrictions were no doubt put in place by record companies, so Apple agreed.

So, care to give some details about how your rights are stomped on?