 |
 |
|
Saturday, June 19, 2004
Ooops - sorry Apple
Jeremy has e-mailed to tell me to check the obvious: I had my burning preferences set to burn MP3 CDs, which is why iTunes would not let me burn my purchased music. And of course that gives a roundabout way of getting it into MP3 format by re-ripping the audio CD, but it is tedious and costly in CDs. It appears that there is a simpler way: http://hymn-project.org/. But I don't know if it is legal, and if you don't use Windows it only works if you have the music on an iPod as well. Anyway, thanks Jeremy for the tip-off. Ooops - sorry Apple
Jeremy has e-mailed to tell me to check the obvious: I had my burning preferences set to burn MP3 CDs, which is why iTunes would not let me burn my purchased music. And of course that gives a roundabout way of getting it into MP3 format by re-ripping the audio CD, but it is tedious and costly in CDs. It appears that there is a simpler way: http://hymn-project.org/. But I don't know if it is legal. Anyway, thanks Jeremy for the tip-off. Bic e.3
Gary, who found the Bic e.3 pen/stylus going for 99p in Boyes, has sent me a couple.  I have been using one for most of the week and like it. They are quite chunky, but I like pens with a rubber grip and the combination of blue biro, pencil and stylus is just right for me. They also have a rubber (a.k.a. eraser), unlike my Styrite 4-way pen-stylus combo. In effect, it replaces the pencil case I used to carry as a student, and is cheap enough not to worry about losing. (I still mourn the loss of my solid silver Cross pencil - and they do not make them any more.) Anyway, I thought that I would give one of the Bic e.3s away as a prize, but hit a problem. What should it be a prize for? So I will do a random draw from the first 5 people who e-mail and say they would like it. It is very light, so I am quite happy to send it anywhere in the world. iTunes Music Store
The UK iTunes Music Store was launched this week and of course I had an investigate and bought a tune to test it out. Unfortunately, the Digital Rights Management means that you cannot convert them to mp3 to listen on a Palm. So it looks like I am back to buying CDs. On DRM, my view is that it was the historical coincidence of having the means to reach a mass market and control distribution which allowed a handful of people to make obscene amounts of money from music. They were very lucky, but now the music business is fighting to keep hold of this good luck by absurd legislation. Before vinyl, no one could have made as much money from being a singer as, say, Madonna, however good or popular they were. We are now moving into a period of history where again it is not possible to make such large sums of money from music, even though there is a mass market, because it is easy for the end user to copy and distribute. The business needs to wake up and realize that the massive profits it made were due to contingent historical factors which are no longer in place. For the record, I have never visited a file-sharing site and I buy CDs. I do convert them to mp3 to play on my Mac and my Palm, but that is what used to be called 'fair use'. I resent the fact that if I buy music from the iTunes Music Store, I cannot play it on the player of my choice, be it my Palm or my car stereo. |
