PALO ALTO, Calif. (SNARKY) -- Fresh off their billionth download, Apple has made available what geeks call a "point release" of their popular iTunes software. A point release is usually a bug fix for some of the features and results in a numeric change after the decimal point. Unfortunately, this is about the 93rd time Apple has done so in the last month it seems.
I suppose I could live with all these incremental changes if there was an automatic upgrade but why do I have to download the whole 35 Mb each time? Then I have to run through a separate installation process that is tedious and bland while my computer spins.
It all seems like a tremendous waste of time and bandwidth. And if you've been reading Lukateake lately, you know that I could use a little more time and bandwidth.
Anyway, the word on the street is that these upgrades from Apple have to be done in order to thwart those would-be hackers who want to circumvent iTunes' embedded D.R.M., a violation of the D.M.C.A. Those fancy acronyms mean that you can only use your purchased iTunes and other digital content only for certain purposes that the company specifically allows.
Music revolution, my ass, it's more like consumer subjugation.
In a related development, New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, (Jesus, who isn't that guy suing these days? Political ambitions, anyone?) believes that the major record labels illegally colluded during last year's negotiations with Apple. Goodbye, flat 99-cent pricing! The next Top 40 tripe from Hollywood could wind up costing you a lot more.
Spitzer is investigating one of my favorite words: payola. It's just fun to say and reminds me of peyote (but that's a blog for another day).
Oh, now I've gone too far. I should be served a subpoena in three... two... one.
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Technorati: Apple, iTunes, Rant, Lukateake
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1 comment:
Count your blessings. When you're addicted to Origami, Microsoft will interrupt your songs to download security patches.
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