iTunes new format and encryption methods

[MagnetoHydroDynamics]

iTunes/Apple has lateley made iTunes/iPods into a madness for Linux users and Audiosurf players.
New iPods now have encryption-somthing preventing them from syncronizing with third party programs.
The new format called .m4p is an encrypted version of the .m4a format, and it prevents you from playing music with any other mediaplayer than iTunes (including Audiosurf).

Remember when Microsoft alternated MSN Messenger so that only Windows users could use it? This is the exact same thing.

All they're doing by this is loosing costumers to illegal sites.

PS. hope they get sued for a billion bucks

 

[richasr]

from my experience, iTunes has always been full of shit which is why I try and avoid the installation as much as possible. Apple and Microsoft aren't the only ones though, Sony have done it before with their Sony Walkman Mp3 Players, although I suppose they don't force you to use their format (struggling to remember what its called) there are significant disadvantages to not using it, and it also can't be played on other programs.

Ah well, just stick with Creative and other similar companies and you wont get the bullshit.

 

[sammyfreak]

I rather like iTunes but this just seems stupid tbh. I definately wont be updating mine. But how do they plan to go about the file conversion?

 

[Cousin_IT]

Ive never used Itunes having never had an Ipod. Moves like this dont incline me to changing that

 

[nightmare_gorilla]

^ ^ i second that, itunes to me has been a total suck i downloaded it once to save some songs i had downloaded in their format. but i quickly got rid of it due to the fact that it tries to convert your whole library when it imports the songs. overall proprietary formats tend to be a lose-lose for companies and users alike.

 

[doughnut]

In the iTunes preferences, there is an option for how to encode imported music. If you don't like AAC/MP4, simply change it to MP3. It's that simple.

Music files downloaded from the iTunes Music Store will have FairPlay DRM included, and will generally have the .m4a extension. I say "generally" as other accepted extensions are: .m4a, .m4b, .m4p, .m4v, .m4r, .aac depending on what the file is (eg .m4b is usually an audiobook).

And for the record, Apple did not create the MP4 codec, they merely decided to use it as it allows for better quality audio at lower bit rates when compared to MP3s. And the PS3 (and AFAIK the 360 too) can be set to import files as AAC/MP4, care to cry about them using MP4 as well?

 

[castro__]

^ ^ i second that, itunes to me has been a total suck i downloaded it once to save some songs i had downloaded in their format. but i quickly got rid of it due to the fact that it tries to convert your whole library when it imports the songs. overall proprietary formats tend to be a lose-lose for companies and users alike.

it doesnt try to convert the whole library... just what your importing... and as that guy just said u can change what format it imports in, in preferences... if u change that setting u can convert those tracks you "downloaded in their format"