… it doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.<\/p>\n
Andy blogs today<\/a> on Apple’s response to the French plan to force all DRM-enabled music stores to make their schemes interoperable. Andy’s blog is very, very funny; Monty Python would be proud. (“pssst. Tell him we already got one!”)<\/p>\n I followed Andy’s link to the BBC story<\/a> carrying Apple’s sky-will-fall doomsday scenario, including their odd taunting of the Parliament with threats of “free movies for iPods” that will be a boon to their business. Apple seems to think that interoperable DRM means *no* DRM. (Even if interoperable DRM means no DRM, will the sky indeed fall? Maybe not.) The real zenith for me, however, was the I-am-not-making-this-up pullquote below:<\/p>\n Jonathan Arber, analyst at market research firm Ovum, said: “This is potentially a big blow for Apple, whose iTunes\/iPod business model is built on its very lack of interoperability with other devices and services.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I obviously agree, and I will point out once again that there are huge risks and disadvantages if colleges and universities subscribe to iTunes U as a platform for storing and distributing academic content. Lack of interoperability equals vendor lock-in. What’s good for business isn’t necessarily what’s right for the academy to adopt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" … it doesn’t mean they aren’t after you. Andy blogs today on Apple’s response to the French plan to force all DRM-enabled music stores to make their schemes interoperable. Andy’s blog is very, very funny; Monty Python would be proud. … Continue reading