Ballmer Says iPod Users are Thieves

A 'music thief' (apparently) writes "According to Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft: "The most common format of music on an iPod is 'stolen'." He appears convinced Microsoft will lead the way in Digital Rights Management and also believes Microsoft will steal a march on Apple in making the digital home a reality because Apple "doesn't have the volumes". "There is no way that you can get there with Apple. The critical mass has to come from the PC, or a next-generation video device," he said."

Comments

Re:Ballmer and FUD? Who would have thought?!

[michrech]

1) Any new computer purchased from Dell

2) Any new computer purchased from Gateway

3) Any new computer purchased from HP

4) Any new computer purchased from Compaq

5) Any new computer purchased from the company I work for

6) Any new computer purchased from GlobalComputer/TigerDirect under the "SysteMax" name

I really could go on and on. You sir, are in idot in the worst way; Or a troll. One of the two.

(Now, the above isn't to say that the users of said brand new computers won't 'borrow' some software from friends/family, but makes it a far cry less than "%100 stolded" as you had suggested. Rare indeed.)

Re:Ballmer and FUD? Who would have thought?!

[blixel]

50%? Are you kidding? It's rare to see a Windows computer with less than 100% pure, unadulterated, stolen shit in it

That certainly rings true among the people I know - at least with regards to their home computers. 100% of them run pirated copies of WinXP, pirated photoshop, pirated Office, etc...

Personally I think the likes of Abiword make a perfectly acceptable replacement for Word, at least for home users - and often times businesses would do just fine with it. I think Abiword is an upgrade from MS Word - others my not agree. But it's definitely faster to load, looks just as good (better in my opinion), uses less memory, and has more than enough features to keep home users, college students, and business people happy.

I'm not a huge fan of Open Office - not because there's anything wrong with it. It's just that I don't really need an Office Suite. (I imagine most home users don't.) But for those who do "need" it, I think it's a great substitute for the $300+ MS Office Suite.

For my own spreadsheet needs, I prefer Gnumeric because it feels very light weight while still having all the features I need. Plus I think it looks great and it's a heck of a lot faster to load up than OOo. The only problem with Gnumeric is that there isn't a Windows port (that I know of).

I also have several friends who pirate the "Pro" version of Trillian. I finally convinced my friend to give the Windows Port of gaim a try and he has been using it ever since. Bonus - download the encryption plugin for gaim and have secure messaging.

I don't know enough about Photoshop and image editing to know if The Gimp is an acceptable replacement. I've read several posts where people say it is *not* (an acceptable replacement.) I'll have to take their word for it. My image editing needs are very basic so gThumb is about all I really need.

I have another friend who pirates FTP software. With the existence of FileZilla, I fail to see the point. What can't FileZilla do?

A lot of people pirate WinZip. I have to admit that WinZip does have a pretty interface (if you use Windows), but if you don't want to pay for it, and you don't want to take the risk of infecting your Windows computer with a virus when you download a WinZip crack of Kazaa, then I recommend 7-zip as a free alternative. Also, the last time I saw WinZip (which admittedly was years ago) there were a few archive types it didn't handle.

There are so many great Free and Open Source alternatives available, even if you use Windows.

Get FireFox now

Re:Quickie Slashdot Poll...

[DeeKayWon]

5) 4% (note that this is legal in Germany, and AFAIK, Canada)

To clarify things in Canada's case, here's section 80 from the Copyright Act:

80. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the act of reproducing all or any substantial part of

(a) a musical work embodied in a sound recording,
(b) a performer's performance of a musical work embodied in a sound recording, or
(c) a sound recording in which a musical work, or a performer's performance of a musical work, is embodied

onto an audio recording medium for the private use of the person who makes the copy does not constitute an infringement of the copyright in the musical work, the performer's performance or the sound recording.

Emphasis mine. What qualifies as an audio recording medium is specified in the Private Copying Certified Tariff:

"blank audio recording medium" means
(a) a recording medium, regardless of its material form, onto which a sound recording may be reproduced, that is of a kind ordinarily used by individual consumers for that purpose and on which no sounds have ever been fixed, including

(i) audio cassettes (1/8 inch tape) of 40 minutes or more in length;
(ii) recordable compact discs (CD-R, CD-RW, CD-R Audio, CD-RW Audio);
(iii) MiniDiscs;
(iv) non-removable memory, including solid state and hard disk, that is permanently embedded in a digital audio recorder; and
(b) any medium prescribed by regulations pursuant to sections 79 and 87 of the Act;

Standard PC hard drives do not qualify, so just ripping your friends' CDs to your own hard drive is not legal. Burning CD copies of them is.

Me, I paid the levy on my iPod, and put all of the music on it myself. Therefore it's all legal.

One more note: The revisions to the levy made last December were accompanied by an opinion handed down by the Copyright Board regarding the legality of P2P downloading. The decision was that the Copyright Act does not address the legality of the source:

There is no requirement in Part VIII that the source copy be a non-infringing copy. Hence, it is not relevant whether the source of the track is a pre-owned recording, a borrowed CD, or a track downloaded from the Internet.

Of course, the conditions of Section 80 must still be met.

Earth to Steve B.

[aristotle-dude]

The following happened while you were under a rock or on LSD:
-Apple has already made a deal with HP for the HP branded iPod (now shipping) and bundling iTunes with HP windows machines.
-Apple have also integrated their device with BMW and VW Beetle cars and Alpine makes an adaptor kit for other vehicles.
-Virgin Airlines offers iPods to use in the first class lounge.
-Some cruise lines are looking at renting iPods to guests.
-Apple has Licensed playback software to Motorola for inclusion in their cell phones.

Apple already has that critical mass by having captured over 60% of the market even before HP jumped on the band wagon just through direct marketing to mac and windows users.

PS. You might also want to take note that the iPod is a status symbol today and many music stars like to brandish them in public (especially diamond encrusted ones). MSFT is not considered cool these days and your "developer, developers, developer" song combined with your monkeyboy dance are partly to blame for this.

PPS. Get some better antiperspirant when you go on stage 'cause large armpit sweat stains are uncool.