Microsoft releases Media Player beta

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You missed the point

Microsoft's intent is that all DRM will be based on their
proprietary, closed formats. Then you will have to buy a
device with Microsoft software on it (OS, media player,
decryption tool, whatever) so no matter what you do, you
must buy something from MS just to play your music.

Apple gets away with it because they are a tiny percentage
of music sales (albeit 70% of HDD-based portable players, a
very small segment of a huge market). Microsoft has much,
much greater power and has proven time and again they
will leverage their monopoly to enter and control new
markets.

That is what people don't want to happen and why they are
not happy to see Microsoft technology become the basis for
DRM.

Incidentally, I believe MS would be heavily into content if it
weren't for the string of antitrust cases they've faced. When
digital images were the "next big thing", MS bought one of
the largest on-line image libraries (Corbis) - unfortunately
for MS, it wasn't the big thing they thought it was. Nor was
streaming TV, nor were proprietary ISPs (Apple got that one
wrong too).

Microsoft knows the money isn't in the content, it's in the
service provision. If they can tax that by owning the DRM,
then they effectively control the content without ever
buying it.

Neat, eh?

Posted by: Fred Fredrickson   Posted on: 06/03/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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