iPod users are music thieves' says Microsoft's Ballmer

[billbuckhead]

iPod users are music thieves' says Ballmer
October 04 2004
by Andy McCue


Speaking to an exclusive gathering of press in London on a number of issues, such as security, Steve Ballmer didn't pass up the opportunity to take several digs at his company's arch rival Apple.

At the heart of the debate is Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology which will let content providers such as record labels and movie studios keep control of their intellectual property (IP) - or at least ensure all royalties are paid and copyright observed.

Billing Microsoft as the good guys and Apple the villains of the piece - at least as far as corporate America, rather than users, is concerned, Ballmer said: "We’ve had DRM in Windows for years. The most common format of music on an iPod is 'stolen'."

<http://management.silicon.com/itpro/0,39024675,39124642,00.htm>

Gee, everyone steals except Microsoft.

[Hawkeye-X]

1. I already hate Microsoft

ACTIVE DIRECTORY!? WHY THE FUCK DO I NEED IT FOR?! (It keeps crashing my computer)

[Ready4Change]

2. Funny, iTunes made buying music fashionable again.

So while most Windows users had no viable way to buy music securely online, Apple and iPod users led the "charge" for purchased music online.

Plus, since there are so many MORE Windows users, I imagine there are more music thieves operating Windows machines than there are Apple users period.

Ballmer should have an idea where he can put his DRM.

[slutticus]

4. Yeah...

...I downloaded iTunes for windows the day it came out.

I haven't looked back since...

[vi5]

3. Oh yea, so that 15 hours I spent converting every cd....

..that I've ever purchased (1,400 in all) to mp3 format so I could listen to them on my Ipod and through itunes on my computer must have been just a dream or something. Or just a figment of my imagination.

[Lautremont]

8. It's a group hallucination, then,

because I had the same dream. It took forever, but it was worth it. I haven't downloaded anything, because the iStore or whatever it's called isn't available in Canada yet, and also because I really do like owning the cd itself.

[markbark]

5. The most common format of music on an iPod is 'stolen'

.... and the most common format of OS on a WinTel box is 'broken'

We’ve had DRM in Windows for years.
Yeah, it's called "playable on Windows Media Viewer only"


but did you REALLY expect different coming from Balmer?


--MAB


edited for typos

[Dogmudgeon]

6. Microsoft must have broken a law recently

They only trot out Balmer to make a wack-ass remark when they do something they have to cover up.

--bkl

[russian33]

7. You know what they say, everytime Windows crash..

..Microsoft breaks a law....so, that's what? at least half a dozen times per day?

[Dogmudgeon]

11. Well, my Win2k doesn't crash more than once a month, but ...

... for all the complaints about the software, the company's business practices are far more worrisome.

Win3.1 crashed on me, though. A lot.

--bkl

[DenverDem]

9. Funny, coming from the guys who STOLE the GUI from Apple.

IBM didn't know how to implement the graphic user interface so they gave it to Apple.

gates the evil, stole the idea from Apple, pasted it over his pos operating system and set back the progress of personal computing technology DECADES.

Oh, yeah, in the meantime, mcroshaft made billion$.

fuck no-balls-mer and the repacious company he rode in on.

[Caution]

10. I have 60GB of completely legal, purchased music on my computer

right now. As well as 15GB on my iPod. Screw him and his thieving boss.

[realFedUp]

12. iPod website

http://playlistmag.com/

[no name no slogan]

13. DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS! DEVELOPERS!

Steve Ballmer scares little children.