Ditto on the "about time" statement. I have 2 kids ages 17, and 12. I consider myself pretty computer savvy (I refuse to call myself a geek), but dealing with the DRM music issues this Christmas have been a nightmare for me. I can only imagine people not as technically up-to-date, like my Mom and Dad, trying to deal with all the DRM hassles. For Christmas, my son got a V-Cast phone he uses as a music player (.wma, .mp3) compatible. My daughter had to have the IPOD (.aac, .mp3) compatible... Where will it end? We bought Napster cards for Christmas presents which were great for my son's phone but not my daughter's IPOD. Then to make it worse, my son spent some of his Christmas cash on a Rhapsody card (.vac) format. At least that program gives you the option to send the file to your music player in a compatible format, but your stuck with a file on your computer that's only compatible with Real Player. Through the whole music ordeal during Christmas, my kids made me realize just how insane it is. You have to love the simple logic of children. My daughter asked, "Dad, why can't the music I buy work on my computer and music player"? It was actually hard to come up with an answer that sounded logical.
It's so bad, that a new whole software industry has been created to convert DRM formats and to strip DRM from music. So on top of buying a music player, and the music... you have to buy software to convert the format to your player (NOT GOING TO HAPPEN). I wonder what would have happened if music companies made records, tapes, or CDs that only worked with certain players? My hunch is, people would have created (pirated) copies that work on their machines instead of buying a new machine.
I completely understand why the music industry is concerned about piracy. However, since they haven't come up with an industry-wide standard that works on every platform it's probably best to remove DRM until the issue is resolved. Let's face it; the real issue isn't piracy but protecting certain software companies and music player manufacturers. Otherwise, there would be an industry-wide standard.
I'm sure some of you are saying, "Well you should be smart enough to get a music card that is compatible with the player you have". That's true, but it's not my point. The point is, you shouldn't have to. I don't want to live in a bubble where my only option is to download music from one particular online store. More importantly, when I upgrade to a new music player I should be able to use the music I've already paid for with no hassles.
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