Dear Steve: you missed a spot
It wasn't so long ago that Steve Jobs shocked us all with his Thoughts on Music memo, in which he derided digital rights management restrictions as anticonsumer and said Apple would embrace the abolishment of DRM "in a heartbeat." He said DRM had done nothing to stop rampant music piracy, and that users would embrace options that respected their fair use rights and let them use any device and any computer to listen to their music. Remember that? What a day. It led to a landmark deal with EMI to sell DRM-free songs on iTunes and frankly, returned some dignity to consumers who are sick and tired of being treated like pirates and abused by ridiculous content restrictions at every turn.
So, that leads me to this question. Why is it that I still can't just drag my legally obtained songs off my iPod onto, say, my work computer in order to maintain separate iTunes libraries on multiple computers? Instead, I have to load up the iPod, stop it from auto-syncing with iTunes and overwriting my iPod completely, enable hidden folders, find those hidden folders, copy them to my computer as a series of unnamed files, and then wait for iTunes to rebuild the song names; and heaven forbid I drag the songs to the Library and then forget to tell iTunes to also copy the songs to the iTunes Music folder, or else it'll all be undone when I unplug the iPod.
Why is it that if I buy a new computer and I want to transfer my iTunes library onto it, I have to go through all of these shenanigans, which involve configuring your iPod as an external storage device instead of a magically-syncing music player, instead of just syncing my library like normal, plugging my iPod into my new computer, and reverse-syncing it lickety-split?
Why is it that if I want to transfer my iTunes library from a PC to a Mac, I have to treat it like a giant file-transfer--either wiring the two machines together, transferring over a wireless home network, or, again, employing some complex tomfoolery involving the configuring the iPod as a storage device (which it is) and not a syncing music player (which it also is) and then the multiple reformats that shouldn't be necessary if it's just a storage device (which it is)? I actually had to go over to a friend's house this weekend to help him move his wife's music off their PC and onto her new MacBook. If the Apple experience is supposed to "just work," such a visit should never be necessary.
The iPod has always been a one-way sync device. It's always been too hard to maintain separate iTunes libraries (between multiple computers or multiple users), and the root cause is antipiracy. I get that. But it leads to a very un-Apple experience, and it's especially silly since one of the goals of the iPod is to entice users off their Windows machines and onto Macs. Why not make putting your iTunes library on that new Mac as easy an experience as it was to put the music on the iPod in the first place?
The time has come for the new, evolved, pro-fair-use Steve Jobs to treat the iPod like the universal mass storage device that it is. Let me copy some music to my work machine and leave the rest at home. Let me load up my iTunes library from a PC, take it over to a brand-new Mac, and drag and drop with impunity. And if you fear that to allow such behavior would jeopardize your relationship with the studios (who are already kind of peeved at you over the whole anti-DRM stance and refusing-variable-pricing thing anyway, so what do you care, but I digress), then why can't some Apple engineer just write a simple piece of software that would accomplish this task in an equally simple fashion? It could even do disk-spanning if your library is bigger than your iPod! Multiple trips is still better than a multi-day file transfer. Anyway, I'm sure it's just been overlooked in all the iPhone hubbub and such, so I thought I'd just point it out. You're welcome. I'll be waiting!
already have on your computer so you dont put duplicates on. its 10 bucks for
the license but you can use it respriction free 10 times, which is more than
enough for the occassional rip or the first rip to a new computer.
But I do agree, it should be fundamentally easier to transfer iTunes libraries from one computer to another, and I'm not willing to purchase all of the music I legally own on CDs and other media on the iTMS just to easily transfer them from one computer to another.
This application works perfectly for all that you want. Its free. Not sure that it works on mac but for sure on PC.
apple product because once again the article is a big fat lie. you can transfer
your music from your iPod to another computer you just have to have that
iTunes registered under the same account as the computer that the iPod was
synced to before I know this because I just did it three days ago for a friend.
yes, i know i just restated "all of these shenanigans" but i just did it in a fraction of the space that it took those shenanigans. essentially, the "ipod as a hard drive" and the way i just described are the same thing.
corporations. Consumers do not even enter the equation.
As a trend, DRM is designed to make using products as inconvenient as
possible. DRM does not stop people from sharing copy-protected media - it
merely makes it inconvenient. Inconvenient to share media, and inconvenient
to use media.
Aside from the irony that the products are typically sold to make life more
convenient, DRM is a fantasy analogous to the dream that we can make a
version of water that isn't wet. Everybody knows DRM is impossible. It's about
time we all acknowledged it and stopped pretending someday it will work.
Comments that suggest that it's not *that* difficult to use DRM music are a
bit like the comments by abused children that their abuser didn't hit them
*that* hard. Obviously consumers don't want to be abused by incompetence,
so why is it such a stretch to think they don't want to be abused by design?
If you would like to see an end to DRM, stop paying corporations to abuse
you. It doesn't matter whether it's Apple, Microsoft, the record cartel, the BBC,
or the hundreds of thousands of other business participants. Stop giving
businesses that use DRM money and start telling them you don't appreciate
them willfully making the conveniences you have paid for as inconvenient as
possible.
DRM is the great leveller. It makes well designed products into poorly
designed products. You may as well buy the cheapest, worst designed
products and services in the first place, as DRM will even turn an iPod into a
pain in the ass.
management of already purchased music or files. But first, we consumers
have to know WHY it's there. It is specifically intended to prevent or help
stop some pirate and music theft. It also shows that it is the licensed file of
some company.
In short, DRM helps companies retain claims to the files that have their names
on them.
The problem with this is that this prevents sharing or anything like it to and
from computers and devices. Everyone hates that they have to authorize PCs
and Macs to play there iTMS files and that they can't always copy off stuff
from iPods. When I made the switch from PC to Mac, I was fortunate because
I had all my iTMS purchases on a disk when I switched from my old PC to my
other PC. I plugged it in and uploaded everything. All you have to do is
authorize your iTunes account, save the files to a hard drive, and go.
But for those of you who don't have or like iPods, I have found an alternative
to playing your music on other devices or sharing them with other PCs or
Macs. This is how it works:
Most of us iPod users use iTunes. Why? Because the computers tell us to,
Apple tells you to, and it is easier to use Apple products with Apple software.
The reason why our computers won't let you do more with your iTMS
purchases (like sharing with other devices and people) is that iTunes says you
can't. The program does what it was written to do: allow iTunes files to work
on Apple authorized products, nothing else.
If Steve missed a spot, this is it. Since iTunes automatically determines if a
file is an iTunes file when you insert a disk or other device, it can find out if
it's protected or not. So say you decide to play your iTunes music through a
Windows XP machine, with, oh I don't know, maybe the old player, Windows
Media Player 10. I can guarantee that this works because I've done it, and my
PSP has my iTunes files to show it.
What you do is you open iTunes, make a burn playlist of about 20 iTMS songs
(or however your CD will hold) and fill up a disc with them (and no, this is not
the trick that lets you import your iTMS songs back in through an Mp3
encoder because that no longer works on later iTunes versions). Once your
computer finishes burning, switch to your PC that has Windows Media Player
10 (not sure if 11 works with this) and insert the CD.
Before you go on, make sure iTunes is NOT installed on this PC, or iTunes will
pick up the music files and will mess this process up.
Under Windows Media player 10, find the CD and just copy everything off of
it. Ta-da. It should work. Now the iTMS files are Windows Media files, so
you are free to put them on any device you want to.
Why it works: iTunes burned the CD as a music CD, just like any CD that you
can purchase, just without a bunch of copyright stuff since you made it.
Windows Media will recognize this as a music CD since it was burned that
way, not an iTunes CD. Because it will not recognize Mp4 formats, Windows
Media will import them as Mp3 instead (unless you downloaded a patch for
that). Because DRM protected the Mp4 files that you downloaded and since
iTunes prevents Mp3 conversion of iTMS files, the DRM will not cover the Mp3
format.
That is the best way to get around the DRM problem completely. I know, I'm
good with Apple stuff (LOL). Honestly, I wonder why people never considered
this before.
This has been BeatleMegaFan on CNET showing how to "unlock" your iTunes
bought files. BeatleMegaFan out.
-BeatleMegaFan
P.S.- I'd be happy to do reviews and video how-to stuff for CNET. Come on,
check out what I just wrote!
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6035_102-0.html?forumID=97&threadID=208088&messageID=2221618#2221618
http://alpha-forums.cnet.com/5208-10152_102-0.html?forumID=97&threadID=222138&messageID=2341505#2341505
And the nerve of him to make an iPod so hard to use. Why my geek friend was really pissed that he could not use the iPod just like a USB memory stick or a Creative WMA player!!!
Now a non-geek like me finds a iPod pretty easy and straight forward to use, but why, oh why, make such a device so automaticly easy to use for playing music when it is obvious that you can force the device to do various other things.
Steve should just do away with DRM altogether. After all, he ownes Apple so he can just do whatever he wants with otherpeoples music. He should drop the price to 10 cents a song, stop DRM totally, and make the movie companies sell ALL their movies, right now, I am really tired of waiting for my favorites to get to the iPod. (Which really should have a keyboard and bigger screen too!!)
Yep, its all Steve Job's fault. Why if he did not exist, we would have all these things right now. I mean, its obvious that he killed Creative, playsforsure, and all the other companies and mp3 players that we would have bought if the iPod did not exist. Shame on him and the engineers at Apple.
en (PS, just in case you missed it, the above was said with humor intended. If you did miss it, well, there is no hope for you anyway.
if Apple really cared about it, they would have made it much harder to crack.
Think people! iPods do a lot if you know where to look. If you download
software like iDisk and other iPod-freeing software, you can take off any files
you want to. What's more is DRM is used to satisfy the recording companies
and the owners of the digital rights.
Apple signed agreements with these publishers/recording companies/owners
to be able to sell their music digitally. DRM ensures that the owners and
companies still retain the rights over their music and to prove that it's theirs.
Apple only uses it to get people to buy iPods and Apple products. They don't
care too much about it, they are just making profits from it. It doesn't matter
anymore though, because most people have iPods already, some even have
iPhones.
Most people have gotten around DRM, so stop arguing about it! Steve is just
doing what's best for Apple and it's fellow companies. We still get what we
want. Everyone SHOULD be happy, but some people are not because they
think it is Apple's job to make it CONVENIENT to distribute the music that
THEY provide when Apple tells you that they DON'T WANT YOU TO.
We're not supposed to do whatever we want with their music and movies.
DRM is there because of that. You either have an iPod and stuff or you don't
get to use their products. It's not convenient, but it works to everyone's
satisfaction.
It's easy to get around all of this anyway, so who cares about DRM!
APPLE ROCKS, iTUNES ROCKS, and you people shouldn't be mad about it!
- why not take the easy way out...?
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by manualfunky
August 1, 2007 3:56 PM PDT
- so i'm guessing using the back up dvd's of itunes that most people should have is way to hard for you? From my powerbook itunes on to my girlfriends dellinspiron itunes and also onto my new macbook and my friends imac. all with four dual layered dvds that i already had backed up...
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See all 29 Comments >>gee life really isnt that hard after all now is it.
mac users can always use ollies ipod extractor to copy straight off an ipod