"Consumers want choice!"

If I read one more article by some nitwit claiming Apple NEEDS to license its FairPlay music/video copy protection (DRM) technology (compatible only with iTunes and the iPod) because "consumers want choice!", I'm going to cut a bitch. These are people who obviously need to pick up an Ayn Rand novel and get a clue.

Let's get one thing straight, consumers HAVE choice. They can choose to buy CDs and rip them to any music program (including iTunes) DRM-free to use on any MP3 player (including the iPod). They can choose to buy any iPod competitor and shop at a different download store. They can buy music at iTunes, burn it to CD, then rip it into any other program. Consumers DO have choice, but the other choices aren't as easy or as elegant, which is why over 75% of people are choosing iPod+iTunes. And THAT, my friends, is what has competitors getting desperate.

If consumers wanted "choice" (in the way these competitors and authors are defining it), they'd go with Microsoft's Plays for Shit amalgam of devices and stores. Obviously, consumers prefer the simplicity and ease of iPod+iTunes over the mish-mosh of incompatible stores and players. Competitors are only concerned with consumer "choice" because they can't get their foot in the door any other way, so they plead the case of the consumer. It's so fucking transparent it's ridiculous. They want Apple to bastardize the iPod+iTunes ecosystem by licensing it to others, which will introduce problems and complications into the system as Apple attempts to keep everything compatible. This, in turn, completely degrades the quality of the product consumers are getting and tarnishes Apple's brand. The most nonsensical part of all this is that they'd be giving up market share and revenue in the process!

Who wins here? Those not smart enough to beat Apple with a better system, and nobody else. The suggestion is so absurd it's beyond comprehension.

There's also a lot of bruhaha about Apple's virtual monopoly on the digital download space. Apple has yet to abuse its powerful position. Prices keep getting lower and lower while the products do more. The first 5GB iPod was $399. The current 30GB video iPod is $249. Because Apple is manufacturing more, iPods cost less to manufacture, and Apple is passing that savings to consumers. Stranger things have happened, but I don't see Apple abusing its position in the future. Leave that to Microsoft. I see it fighting for prices it believes reasonable, as it continues to do with record labels and movie studios. I see it maintaining its installed base by offering products more innovative than competitors can dream up.

Apple needs to keep doing what it's doing: innovate, expand the offering, and offer products at a reasonable price. There may come a time when it makes sense for Apple to license FairPlay, and THEN Apple should do so. Now is not the time.

Don't be fooled by these phony pleas in favor of the consumer. These asshats only know what's best for weak-minded, bloodsucking leeches who want to capitalize on somebody else's idea while putting forth no effort of their own. Do your research and buy the system that's best for you. Speak with your wallet.