Comments on: Is Zune the Rotary Phone of Music Players? http://www.robhyndman.com/2006/09/16/is-zune-the-rotary-phone-of-music-players/ any technology distinguishable from magic is not sufficiently advanced Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:32:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Remarkk! » Universal Music trying to Zune the iPod? http://www.robhyndman.com/2006/09/16/is-zune-the-rotary-phone-of-music-players/comment-page-1/#comment-31973 Remarkk! » Universal Music trying to Zune the iPod? Thu, 30 Nov 2006 05:06:09 +0000 http://www.robhyndman.com/2006/09/16/is-zune-the-rotary-phone-of-music-players/#comment-31973 [...] Rob Hyndman’s been all over this, pointing me to the fact that by wrapping the whole device in DRM, Zune assumes everything is proprietary content - even free and Creative Commons licensed content. [...] [...] Rob Hyndman’s been all over this, pointing me to the fact that by wrapping the whole device in DRM, Zune assumes everything is proprietary content – even free and Creative Commons licensed content. [...]

]]> By: Rob Hyndman http://www.robhyndman.com/2006/09/16/is-zune-the-rotary-phone-of-music-players/comment-page-1/#comment-14758 Rob Hyndman Sat, 16 Sep 2006 18:58:31 +0000 http://www.robhyndman.com/2006/09/16/is-zune-the-rotary-phone-of-music-players/#comment-14758 I think it's pretty obvious from the post what my words mean, Zune scene. No one is forcing anyone to buy a Zune, of course (thank god!), and no one is forcing any Zune owner to buy CC music, and no one is forcing any Zune owner with CC music to share it. The point obviously was that under MS DRM scheme, if you have a Zune, and have CC music on it, and want to share it, you have to violate the CC license to do that. Pretty obviously the point, I would have thought. The real point of course is that MS could have accommodated the customer's own music (CC or otherwise) as opposed to music purchased through the Zune marketplace, but hasn't bothered to. This probably because it thinks it needs to do this to avoid Grokster-type liability, probably also because it's in a desperate rush to get the Zune out for Christmas, but also probably because it doesn't really care (it probably thinks many people won't know about the issue, and knows some people who know about it won't care). So I think a better (but admittedly still imperfect) analogy than yours is a car manufacturer that is selling a car that doesn't comply with a California licensing requirement - perhaps because it's too expensive for the manufacturer to comply with it. Buyers don't have to drive the cars in California, of course - no one is being forced to violate the law. But the car manufacturer knows many will. It's just made an economic decision that it doesn't care, being happy to shift that risk to the buyer. Happily, as you point out, there are alternatives, and no doubt many buyers will take them instead. Interesting side note - I don't know when the DRM is added, but I suspect it might be added by the desktop software when the music is synced to the Zune, or perhaps (and I think this is more likely), when the music is imported into the app. Which means that Zune buyers perhaps can't even import music into the app, or perhaps even transfer it to the Zune, without infringing the CC license. I think it’s pretty obvious from the post what my words mean, Zune scene. No one is forcing anyone to buy a Zune, of course (thank god!), and no one is forcing any Zune owner to buy CC music, and no one is forcing any Zune owner with CC music to share it. The point obviously was that under MS DRM scheme, if you have a Zune, and have CC music on it, and want to share it, you have to violate the CC license to do that. Pretty obviously the point, I would have thought.

The real point of course is that MS could have accommodated the customer’s own music (CC or otherwise) as opposed to music purchased through the Zune marketplace, but hasn’t bothered to. This probably because it thinks it needs to do this to avoid Grokster-type liability, probably also because it’s in a desperate rush to get the Zune out for Christmas, but also probably because it doesn’t really care (it probably thinks many people won’t know about the issue, and knows some people who know about it won’t care).

So I think a better (but admittedly still imperfect) analogy than yours is a car manufacturer that is selling a car that doesn’t comply with a California licensing requirement – perhaps because it’s too expensive for the manufacturer to comply with it. Buyers don’t have to drive the cars in California, of course – no one is being forced to violate the law. But the car manufacturer knows many will. It’s just made an economic decision that it doesn’t care, being happy to shift that risk to the buyer. Happily, as you point out, there are alternatives, and no doubt many buyers will take them instead.

Interesting side note – I don’t know when the DRM is added, but I suspect it might be added by the desktop software when the music is synced to the Zune, or perhaps (and I think this is more likely), when the music is imported into the app. Which means that Zune buyers perhaps can’t even import music into the app, or perhaps even transfer it to the Zune, without infringing the CC license.

]]> By: zune scene http://www.robhyndman.com/2006/09/16/is-zune-the-rotary-phone-of-music-players/comment-page-1/#comment-14737 zune scene Sat, 16 Sep 2006 16:53:48 +0000 http://www.robhyndman.com/2006/09/16/is-zune-the-rotary-phone-of-music-players/#comment-14737 "Zune will force its users to violate their CC licenses" Total BS! That's like saying McDonalds will force it's customers to get fat and die. Nobody is forced to do squat. The customer has the liability to honor the CC license. How can you say they are forced to violate it? Just don't send the file at all, geez. Don't eat the Big Mac and and get fat. People have choices. “Zune will force its users to violate their CC licenses”

Total BS! That’s like saying McDonalds will force it’s customers to get fat and die. Nobody is forced to do squat. The customer has the liability to honor the CC license. How can you say they are forced to violate it? Just don’t send the file at all, geez. Don’t eat the Big Mac and and get fat. People have choices.

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