On my post You have been warned, loyal reader Twain remarked:

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!

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 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 is a great link to read about yTunes from one of the developers/co-creators of the service. Check it out.