One of the things we stood for at MP3.com was the consumer's rights over their own music collection. The last five years have seen multiple attempts to limit consumers' rights via DRM technology.
Microsoft is cozying up to the leading CD restriction company. This means we're one baby step away from all music CDs ONLY playing on Windows XP. Apple's iTunes wraps all music in a digital padlock, making it Mac and iPod only.
Straight ahead is a world where CDs will only play in Windows XP computers. Digital songs you buy online will only work with Apple software. You won't be able to burn music you've purchased onto an MP3 CD to play in your DVD player. That's a sad and expensive world for music fans. When you pay for music, you should be able to enjoy that music in all the different and convenient ways available. Music fans should only buy non-copy protected music.
Michael Robertson, Lindows.com
