“Apple plans to open up protected music and movies content bought from the iTunes Store,” Rob Mead reports for Tech.co.uk.
Mead reports, “The iPod maker is expected to make two announcements this week – the first will be to allow streaming of protected AAC content via USB; the second will be to licence its Fairplay DRM to the company’s Made For iPod licencees.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Island Girl” for the heads up.]
If true, this will officially be a Big Deal™.
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Made for iPod devices but not other competitive MP3 players, right? Can someone clarify.
at long last
So what’s the business case for that, I wonder???
Dimplemonkey,
Apple can clarify, but unless they announce it, don’t count on a clarification.
IT’S A RUMOR! You can’t get clarifications of rumors.
@nukeman,
The case is that Apple can now sell itself as the more open system whereas M$ becomes the closed system with Zune ( if any have actually been sold rather than given away).
This should finally kill off “Played For Sure” and have all the soon-to-be-former M$ partners scrambling to jump on the Made For iPod bandwagon.
The iPod universe then becomes the de-facto standard.
Dimplemonkey,
Chris is right; it’s just a rumor. However, if this rumor holds true, Apple will probably license the Fairplay DRM to other music player manufacturers. If they buy the license from Apple, they can market themselves as such. I think this is a way to protect themselves from being sued for anticompetitive monopolistic practices.
TTzz– now that’s an interesting angle. Apple would, in effect, alienate M$ even further from its partners. Interesting. Wonder if it’ll play out.
I think this would be a very, very good thing.
Ok, it is a rumor. But does streaming over USB of protected files mean?
Well that would destroy the business model of ‘DVD’ Jon Johansen’s new DoubleTwist Ventures.
Would be a _very_ interesting announcement, perhaps it’s going to be timed to go with the rumored Valentine’s day announcement of The Beatles on iTunes?
Thank freakin’ god. They do this, then Fairplay has a very good chance of becoming the de facto standard for DRM (audio at least, if not video as well), which is a very good thing for consumers.
Fairplay on other devices will also strengthen the position of the iTunes Store and perhaps entice more studios to come on board.
” It may also be a way of keeping Made For iPod makers onside, as the draw of the Microsoft Zune becomes stronger.”
What is this? Is their any evidence that the Zune is becoming stronger?
I agree this would be a good thing. Fairplay would then become a standard and AAC would become a standard rather than the inferior MP3.
my guess is that makers of stereo equipment may want to offer stationary, AAC-capable players that can be synchronised using iTunes. else, they may want to become friendly with manufacturers like SanDisk who have large capacities to produce flash memory. a third possibility is that makers of yet different devices, say digital cameras, want to include playback abilities. it may also take away the heat in some legal challenges. with MS screwing their partners over, some of the makers of wma-ready devices may have offered very favourable terms. the possibilities are indeed endless.
not gonna happen this week
I knew it would happen eventually.
Sooner or later. Like it or not.
Whateva..
Squeezebox. At last !
Remember that as part of payment to Creative they became a “Made for iPod” licencee. If this rumor is correct, it shows that what they really won was right to use FairPlay DRM … which would go some way to explaining lower than expected USD cost.
Streaming via USB? Perhaps there are some third party devices going to be announced soon that use USB connections?
I want to know more about “the first will be to allow streaming of protected AAC content via USB”
Plus I want $4.95 movie purchase, $9.95 / month music subscription and iTunes sponcership of American Idol and Rockstar.
Oh ya, while I am at it, I want $19.95 per month unlimited tv show downloads.
Hmmm…
I notice the article is from the UK, so I wonder its pertinent to the US. I guess allowing streaming via USB opens up the possibility for 3rd parties to make iPod/iTunes compliant devices, but I didn’t see any specific mention of the ability to burn DVDs of movies and shows, which I think would be a big part of “opening up” iTunes purchases.
“The expected announcements could signal a move on Apple’s part to take some of the sting out of its Fairplay DRM which has come in for a great deal of criticism over recent months. It may also be a way of keeping Made For iPod makers onside, as the draw of the Microsoft Zune becomes stronger.”
I’m still a bit mystified about the “sting” with regard to Apple’s DRM, on the other hand, if lots of 3rd parties start jumping onboard then it will demonstarte once again that Apple new what it was doing all along – make ’em beg, then let ’em have it, then they’ll really appreciate it.
As for the Zune, I haven’t heard of any big “draw” to the Zune, in fact my impression was that the number are falling. But, if the Zune is gaining then it looks like the iPod and iTunes are going to have some real competition, which will only be good for the end user.
How cool would it be if you could stream iTunes content from your Mac to your PS3.
Steaming via USB….USB port on Apple TV…plug your iPod into an Apple TV?
USB streaming would apply to anything that you plug an iPod into. The iPod connector is USB + some other stuff.
With the next generation of iPods, with their touch-screen magic and video technology, Apple has taken the iPod as far as it can where near-perfection in a consumer electronic product is concerned. Something Apple’s scientists and Jobs can be proud of.
So why not start licensing the technology? It would be a tremendous achievement and acknowledgment to those who have worked and sacrificed so much to bring it to the masses. Doing so, will be the catalyst to critical mass.
Jobs could then put the program on “auto-pilot” or at least relegate future iterations to one of his lieutenants so that he can continue work on the next great thing.
Michael Dell ! wipe the drool from your chin.