Jari Ketola
18 Aug 2004 16:20
RealNetworks' campaign against Apple's protectionist attitude towards FairPlay DRM used in iTunes and iPod has backfired in a way that was only to be expected. Apple and Mac enthusiasts have attacked Real's FreedomOfMusicChoice.org campaign site by posting anything but supportive comments.
At first the "Don't break my iPod" -petition was filled with negative or critical comments. A poster by the name of MacUser wrote: "I choose to use a Macintosh. Why won't Real support me? Rhapsody doesn't work on the Mac. So even if I was interested in buying music from Real, I can't do it." Real soon replaced the petition with one that did not allow posting comments. That petition started filling up with signatures such as 'Real Sucks'. Now the petition only shows the total number of signatures.
Of course that did not stop the comments. Now the blog entries are filling up with insightful comments like "Real Player is garbage."
It's not all bad, though. One comment in particular captures the essence of the whole issue. "You already have 'freedom of music choice' so why don't you quit whining," the poster called Funksaw writes and continues: "The problem isn't the iPod, it's your DRM scheme." Indeed. Un-cripple the music and you un-cripple the players.
Source: News.com