October 16, 2003
iTunes Announces Windows Offering
PR here; News.com article here; much more at Apple’s site.
The lowdown: same usage rights, still using AAC/Fairplay, bigger catalog including indy labels, tie-ins to AOL’s service, free iTunes jukebox software for Windows that is compatible with the iPod, audiobooks offerings, a new kids account, more exclusive content. Only works for Win XP and 2k.
Quick takes: As much as I hate the growing hegemony of WMA in music services, using AAC and FairPlay might not be a great move for Apple at this point because they’re not well supported. You can only use your AAC/Fairplay files on an iPod, and iPods can’t play WMA files that you download from any of the services. Who wants to put up with those compatibilty issues? How can Apple proclaim proudly, “And iPod is the only portable digital music player that supports the AAC format used by the iTunes Music Store for Mac and Windows.” That’s a bug, not a feature.
Also, what’s with this tie-in to AOL? How will that affect AOL’s MusicNet?
Filed by Derek Slater at 5:40 pm under Big Ideas
2 Comments
