Tag: steve_jobs

Steve jobs throws the cat among the pigeons!

I have written about DRM many times previously and what an evil, anti-consumer, scum-sucking device it is. Many of the comments on these posts disagreed with my position.

I really began to doubt my thinking on DRM though when Bill Gates, speaking about DRM seemed to agree with me!:

People should just buy a cd and rip it

However, overnight Steve Jobs has come out with an open letter pleading for music companies to let him sell DRM-free music!

the technical expertise and overhead required to create, operate and update a DRM system has limited the number of participants selling DRM protected music. If such requirements were removed, the music industry might experience an influx of new companies willing to invest in innovative new stores and players. This can only be seen as a positive by the music companies.

Much of the concern over DRM systems has arisen in European countries. Perhaps those unhappy with the current situation should redirect their energies towards persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free. For Europeans, two and a half of the big four music companies are located right in their backyard. The largest, Universal, is 100% owned by Vivendi, a French company. EMI is a British company, and Sony BMG is 50% owned by Bertelsmann, a German company. Convincing them to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace. Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly.

Wow!

Here is the largest seller of music online telling his customers (us) to hassle his suppliers (the music companies) into allowing him to sell DRM-free music. Brilliant!

Maybe there’s hope for a DRM-free world after all.

For more, see the biggest discussion on techmeme I think I have ever seen.

Jobs lands Disney!

Steve Jobs has managed to sell Pixar Animation Studios to Disney for $7.4 billion in stock. As part of the deal, Pixar shareholders will receive 2.3 Disney shares for every Pixar share they own. Steve Jobs currently owns 50.6% of Pixar so this deal will mean that Steve jobs is going to become the single largest share holder in Disney!

I guess that means Steve has a lot more content for his iTunes Store!

Back in the seat again

I’m back at the computer again and furiously making my way through the backlog of email which built up in my absence. If you sent me an email in the last week or two and I haven’t responded, please re-send it just to poke me!

The break was great and Santa was very generous – he gave me the fabulous digital SLR camera iIhave been lusting after for so long (I must have been a really good boy!). I’ll have to start playing with my dormant Flickr account now. Or maybe if Riya get their Mac support together (they say they are working on an iPhoto uploader now), I might try them out.

In the meantime, I must keep an eye on the MacWorld Expo which kicks off today – I’m looking forward to seeing what Steve Jobs (the consummate CEO showman) has in store. As usual, the rumour mill is buzzing with what is expected to be announced (new Intel based laptops, new version of iLife, new iPod Shuffle, etc.) – no doubt Stevie will pull a few surprises though as he has done every ime before.

Apple introduces new iMac

At the San Jose event today Steve jobs also announced a new iMac G5. See here for more

New iMac G5

The new iMac is thinner than its predecessors, it has a built-in iSight camera for video conferencing, and it has a new application called Front Row. Front Row is a program which allows imac owners to use their iMac like a media centre – playing music, photos, videos and DVD’s from the comfort of the sofa, using the iMacs 6 button, iPod-like remote.

As Tom Dunmore of Stuff Magazine says:

Obviously, Front Row will be the perfect way to enjoy music video bought from the iTunes Music Store 6. But is it too much to ask for a TV link? Oh, ok, we’ll be happy with what we’ve got. For now…