As journalists whose purview includes theiPod / iTunes market , we keep a passably keen watch on reportage of the iPod and iTunes in the press . One of the benefits ( or drawbacks , calculate on your temperament ) of such observance is that we at times read thing that are so factually wrong or logically outrageous that they straddle the thin line of work between amusement and annoyance . Such content is calledspin , and the past week has been especially fruitful in this respect . Here are a few of the more eyebrow - raising stories I ’ve read — and the contrast realism of the world we really live in .

On filling up your iPod with medicine — de jure

First there was Real CEO Rob Glaser , who , in aninterview with the Guardian Unlimited , made this questionable title :

Let ’s ignore for the moment the command that “ the average bit of songs sold for an iPod is 25”—which may or may not be true , does n’t differentiate us anything about the distribution of iTunes Music Store purchases , and does n’t bring out how therestof the songs on a particular iPod were obtained . Let ’s also ignore the claim that “ half the music on iPods is obtained illegitimately , ” at least until Mr. Glaser rounds up every iPod sold to date and does an armory of the music stored therein .

No , I ’d wish to focalise on the comment that “ the only manner to get non - copy protected , portable , interoperable medicine ” is stealing . Mr. Glaser , you may not be cognisant of this , butyou can actually buy your own cadmium . rely me on this one — I’ve done it about 1,200 times over the retiring couple tenner , and they lick in my house stereoscopic photograph , my car stereo , and my portable stereo ; I can even rip the tracks from them and listen to them on my figurer , on my networked music role player , and on all my iPods . All without stealing a single runway .

And lets not leave that there are downloadable - music storage out there that do n’t utilize DRM at all ; for object lesson , emusic.comprovides medicine in standard , unprotected MP3 format . The armed service may not have the most extensive library , but it ’s a great room to get new music for garish — you even get 50 barren racetrack just for bless up . In other Scripture , there are ways to get “ open ” music . de jure .

( There ’s also the sizable elephant that suddenly appears in the room whenever Glaser talks about “ lack of interoperability”:Music from most of Real ’s music services do n’t work on the iPod or many other players . For representative , song ’s purchased via Real’sRhapsodyservice may work on the iPod , but tracks from Rhapsody ’s subscription inspection and repair — the one pushed hard by Glaser — and Rhapsody To Gowon’t . Nor will music purchased / rented fromanyservice using Microsoft ’s Plays For certain DRM . Granted , interoperability goes both room — Apple has n’t made it well-situated for the iPod to turn with DRM - protected medicine from services other than the iTunes Music Store — but the fact of the matter is that there is no “ interoperable ” DRM powerful now , and Glaser and his Microsoft friends do n’t really want it . What they really want is limitation thattheycontrol alternatively of Apple . )

Also of note in the audience , after Glaser was need if Real was becoming the music - table service equivalent weight of Sun Microsystems , was this humorous gem :

One or two others ? I wonder which euphony services that might let in — or has iTunes magically disappear in this fantasy man of the future ?

( By the path , kudos to the Guardian Unlimited , which demand Glaser a turn of query that people in the industry have had on their mind for a while now . )

On it being the iTunes Music Store ’s fault that you did n’t back up

In aninteresting article , TidBits contributor Jeff Porten recapped the recentComputers , Freedom & Privacyconference in Washington , DC . The conference address many important topics relating to engineering and our basic freedoms , but one of lesser discussion focused on Apple ’s consumption of itsFairPlaydigital rights direction ( DRM ) technology in songs purchase from the iTunes Music Store . As part of that word , Porten recapped a statement by Susan Landau of Sun :

Reality check : If you ’ve purchased FairPlay - protected music , it ’s in your iTunes Library on your computer . In other words , youhavebacked up your iPod . besides with any music you ’ve pull from cadmium . ( The exception would be if you ’re manually pull off your iPod to pull through space on your grueling driveway , in which case there ’s no difference between the iPod and any other MP3 player on the market place — you need to make certain you ’ve backed up your music someplace . This is common sense . ) And there ’s nothing about FairPlay that prevents you from backing up your iTunes Music Store - purchased music . In fact , Apple providesa number of keep articlesexplaining how to do so . Heck , iTunes even creates a magical “ Purchased Music ” play list to make this mental process slow : Insert a blank DVD , click Burn , and you ’ve got a backup .

To be clear , there are mint of thing about Apple ’s FairPlay DRM to criticise — for instance , Apple reserving the right to exchange the term of the DRM on music you ’ve already buy , and the fact that you ca n’t play iTunes - buy euphony on connection player such as those fromRoku , Sonos , andSlim Devices — but lose your music is n’t one of them . If Landau ’s son lost his music , it had nothing to do with “ figure flaw and restrictions visit by FairPlay , ” and seek to claim it did cook Landau and the anti - DRM bunch reckon ignorant about the very applied science they lay claim to be experts on — something that happens all too frequently , in my experience .

( Disclaimer : I was n’t at the group discussion , so I ’m confide that Jeff is accurately representing what Landau say , but I have no reason not to trust him . )

On Sony caving to Apple

eventually , in anarticlethat was widely quoted and report on itself , Japan ’s Asahi Shimbun note that Sony will be sum support for the AAC audio formatting to an upcoming interpretation of its Sonic Stage music software ( and , thus , many of its portable music players ) .

Nothing groundbreaking ceremony , veracious ? Well , the claim of the clause was “ Sony bows to Apple data formatting , ” and the English version of the articlecouldbe translate as say :

regrettably , by the next Clarence Shepard Day Jr. the Internet news program site were overflowing with article that took such interpretations and ran with them to the hurt of readers — and realness itself . ( To be bonnie , the original article did n’t explicitly make these assertions , although its poke was less than exonerated . And it ’s possible that some of the article ’s vagueness was due to translation from Japanese to English , assuming the article was n’t to begin with written in English . ) rent ’s look at each interpretation :

AAC is an “ Apple ” format . AAC(a.k.a . , Advanced Audio Coding , MPEG-2 Part 7 , or MPEG-4 Part 3 ) is an manufacture - standard audio condensation / encoding applied science developed in cooperation by AT&T , Dolby , Fraunhofer , Nokia , and Sony . Notice who is n’t in that list : Apple . Also notice whoisin that list : Sony .

The iPod uses AAC exclusively ( or AAC is used exclusively by Apple).What I mean the article wastryingto say was that , by default , Apple ’s iTunes software blood CD in AAC format , so most people who practice iTunes will likely have a good amount of music in AAC format . What itwasn’tsaying is that the iPod is an AAC - only actor or that only Apple employ AAC . In fact , the iPod supports many different euphony formats and many digital euphony devices support AAC .

Sony has never substantiate AAC before . Sony has really supported AAC for some clock time . Sony Ericsson mobile phones have tolerate AAC playback for at least a year or two , and Sony ’s PlayStation Portable has supported AAC since a software update in July 2005 . Not surprising , take Sony , you know , helped create the data format .

Sony musician will be able to trifle music purchased from the iTunes Music Store . Sorry , no die . iTunes Music Store tracks are n’t received AAC files ; they admit Apple ’s FairPlay DRM technology to restrict playback to iPods and a limited routine of computers lead iTunes , and Apple has n’t licensed FairPlay . So even though Sony ’s software program and some histrion will plunk for AAC , you wo n’t be capable to recreate running purchased through iTunes .

Sony bow to Apple ’s euphony data format . OK , so this was n’t interpretation ; the article made this title flop in its title . And in truth , the prevalence of AAC - encode file on hard drives around the world was sure as shooting a constituent in Sony ’s increase reenforcement of the data formatting . But given that you still ca n’t play iTunes Music Store medicine on Sony ’s player , all that really happened here is that Sony expanded their living for the format they helped create .

To summarize up : The new variation of Sony ’s Sonic microscope stage software will include support for the manufacture - standard AAC format , which will have owners of some of Sony ’s portable euphony player listen to unprotected , AAC - encode track on those players . Nothing more , nothing less .

And with that , another calendar week in engineering spin comes to an conclusion . Given that Rob Glaser wants his society to come after , anti- and pro - DRM folks need to get ahead people over to their respective sides , and publication call for readers , technology spin will always be around . But this was an especially entertaining / frustrating week to be an educated reader , and an especially spoilt hebdomad for those who look to “ expert ” to assist them learn about technology . Hopefully we ’ve help clarify things for members of the latter mathematical group .