On my post “_You have been warned_”:1, loyal reader Twain remarked:

bq.. Dano, you are spot-on. Proprietary means short-lived. Idealists can’t change the world!

Oh wait a sec, should I dust off my DBX-encoded album, LaserDisc, or SACD? To rant a bit on SACD-Sony et all were so concerned about peeps pirating their (admittedly awesome sounding) 5:1 music, they went around digital audio connects and, instead, require 5 analog cables. How friggin’ dorky.

Hahhah, regardless, I *did* have a DBX tape player, Pioneer LD, and my DVD player plays SACD. At least I’ve resisted the urge to go sony/memory stick!

p. Ouch! Twain, I feel your pain. I can’t say I’ve bought as many “dead-end” technologies as you have, but I do have a Mini-Disc player and recorder… ahh, no wait, I just _gave_ them away last year. No Memory Shit here either.

The reason I am so down on iTunes music (not iPods) is that DRM is a trap. You gotta choose your trap wisely (of course, assuming that you believe that DRM will be accepted by the mass public). I figure that Apple’s current approach to digital music is too vertical. That may have worked for “Ford”:2 back in the day, but it hasn’t worked for PCs (yet?) or anything I can think of. So, if you buy into iTunes, you are betting that Apple will continue to have _the most_ compelling digital music experience. _The best_ hardware, _the best_ prices, _the best_ selection, _the best_ sound quality, etc., etc. I just can’t see one company competing against everyone else. Apple’s gonna beat Microsoft + Yahoo! + Samsung + Dell + Nokia + Cellular Carriers… and a bunch of others? Where’s all the iTunes licensing deals??? HP selling iPods… whatever. Motorola iTunes phone? So MIA.

And Twain also points out that “this”:3 is a great link to read about yTunes from one of the developers/co-creators of the service. Check it out.

[3( Ian C Rogers post about yTunes)]http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-FDuiCSg4eqinB8z.GGJ7TmAz?p=89

[2(Ford made the steal that make the Model-T)]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model-T

[1(Zoinger post... iTunes = Betamax or 8-track)]http://www.zoinger.com/words/archives/2005/05/12/what-your-investment-in-itunes-equals/#comments