MicroSoft's new OS

[flange]

Originally Posted by Bubba

Never mind, I googled EMI artists and found that David Bowie, Bob Seger, Elvis Presley, Elvis Costello and Kevin Federline (K-Fed) are EMI signed artists. I then went to iTunes and looked them up. Either the deal hasn't taken effect yet, or iTunes is still charging .99 per song and get a .30 larger cut, but all songs by these artists are still .99 per song.

Looks like it starts in May.

EMI goes DRM-free on iTunes Store

[dustinwadams5]

I just recently bought a Zune and it is the same way with the DRM. One thing I don't like is if you buy a pass for music from Zune then later on you end your subscription it automatically deletes the music you downloaded on there.

[Bubba]

I never have like subscription based download sites. I think iTunes has it right, pay as you go with an excellent selection of music, movies, and TV shows, etc...

[flange]

Originally Posted by dustinwadams5

I just recently bought a Zune and it is the same way with the DRM. One thing I don't like is if you buy a pass for music from Zune then later on you end your subscription it automatically deletes the music you downloaded on there.

Even worse on the Zune is the fact that it will add DRM automatically to your own tracks. For example, if you create your own song, make an MP3 of it, and then upload it to your Zune, the Zune's software will dump MS's DRM on your song whether you want it or not. I believe this also restricts your ability to share that song via the Zune's wifi sharing capability. At least on the iPod you only have to deal with DRM on the tracks purchased through iTMS.

Personally, if I was going to buy a music player, I'd get one from Cowon/iAudio. You won't have the convenience of iTMS or the Zune store with them, but you'll have better sound quality and the ability to play OGG Vorbis and FLAC files. About 75% of my 20GB music collection is in OGG right now, and any future additions will be encoded in FLAC.

If any of you are familiar with OGG and FLAC, yes, I'm nuts about open source.

[flange]

Originally Posted by Bubba

I never have like subscription based download sites. I think iTunes has it right, pay as you go with an excellent selection of music, movies, and TV shows, etc...

Rhapsody has always worked for me because I don't have an MP3 player, and most of the time I want to listen to music, I'm at my computer anyway. Also, until recently, my computer was my primary stereo system.

Plus, I like having access to Rhapsody's entire collection for on-demand playback of anything I want to hear. My brother is constantly telling me about some new band, and with Rhapsody, I often already have access to that band's albums. I don't have to buy anything new.

If iTMS sold music DRM-free and in FLAC format, I'd probably buy an awful lot from them. I know it's a pipe dream, but that's what it would take to get my attention.

[dustinwadams5]

Yea, but I don't mind the adding the DRM to my tracks because I really don't know anybody else in my area who even has a Zune. Plus there are a couple sites that have a way to get past that DRM if I needed too.

[flange]

Originally Posted by dustinwadams5

Plus there are a couple sites that have a way to get past that DRM if I needed too.

I just wish that wasn't necessary.

[dustinwadams5]

I feel the same way also, but DRM is a part of both major portable mp3 players, so it's just something we have to deal with. All mp3 players have the perks, but those that lack the DRM also lack some of the stuff that comes with the big name players.

[omgponies]

It looks like this OS is facing some negativity. And I can't believe I'm about to defend MS, ... but here I go

I've actually had a positive experience w/ Vista overall. In my opinion, MS did an impressive job with Aero that completely blows OSX's aesthetics out of the water, in my opinion. Maybe the UI shouldn't be as important of an aspect of an OS as it is, but if I'm staring at the screen all day, I want the OS to look polished. I mean, how many of us really run headless, right?

I think the PowerShell is great, removing my gripe from feeling crippled on XP, locked into GUI-driven... well, everything.

Lastly, Vista finally puts to rest my biggest gripe of XP, the piece-of-shhh IE6.0. I'll still run FF over IE7 any day, but at least I don't have to worry as much about my mom inadvertently allowing any website she comes across activex control over her machine, should she go the Vista route.

I have to concede, though: the DRM-argument has merit. Admitedly, I don't keep any music or videos on Vista. I certainly understand frustrations here, and in my opinion, it's a defenseless argument, so I won't try...

If this bothers you (and I understand):
I guess if you happen to get a Vista install disc for free, maybe we can maintain our DRM-free space by booting into our favorite linux distro for music storage and grabbing our Cowon portable music devices.

Then booting into Vista to oo-and-ahh over what some of the clever MS developers have come up with may still prove a treat (if you're in this forum at all, it's a good indication you're nerdy enough to oo-and-ahh over this kind of thing). I'd go for it.

[Bubba]

I read an article yesterday, can't remember where, that Dell is going to be offering customers their choice between XP and Vista for the operating system on the computers they purchase.


PS. Welcome to Dodgeboard omgponies!!