“Senior advisor Torgeir Waterhouse of the Norwegian Consumer Council has responded to Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ open letter concerning digital rights management and free music, which the executive published earlier today. ‘We’re happy to see Steve Jobs take on the responsibility that follows from Apple’s role as one of the leading companies in the digital sphere and comment on the complaint issued by the Norwegian Consumer Council,’ Waterhouse told MacNN, referring to Jobs’ letter. ‘Our concern is of course that it’s Apple and [the] iTunes Music Store [that] should be addressing the issue of record companies and DRM themselves if it needs to be addressed – and as we’ve stated earlier it’s iTunes Music Store that’s providing a service to the consumers and therefore has the responsibility to offer up a consumer friendly product,'” MacNN reports.
MacNN reports, “Responding to Apple’s chief about the Cupertino-based company’s closed iPod/iTunes ecosystem, the senior advisor says Jobs’ claim that consumers aren’t locked into using Apple’s own products when they purchase music from the iTunes store is a contradiction, since the point and function of FairPlay — Apple’s digital rights management (DRM) — is to lock the music purchased from the iTunes store to work exclusively on iPods. ‘[Steve Jobs] also goes on to turn the whole issue on its head by stating iPod owners are not locked into [the] iTunes Music Store – the issue our complaint [addresses] is of course the opposite, iTunes Music Store customers are locked to the iPod.'”
Full article here.
And flying dump trucks are not the issue, it’s the dump trucks that can fly that we’re concerned about.
Will someone please tell this Torgeir Waterhouse idiot that iTunes Music Store customers don’t even need an iPod?
All music files purchased from the iTunes Music Store are protected by FairPlay, Apple’s digital rights management system. FairPlay allows you to play your music on up to five computers at a time (and enjoy unlimited syncing with iPods), burn an unlimited number of individual songs to disc, and burn playlists up to seven times each. – Apple Inc.
iTunes Store customers have emailed us over a period of years explaining how they burn iTunes Store music onto audio CDs for their car and portable CD players (no iPod involved), how they listen to iTunes Store music at home and work on both Macs and Windows PCS (no iPod involved), how they stream iTunes Store music from their computer to their home stereos (no iPod involved), how they enjoy iTunes Store music on their Motorola phones (no iPod involved.) Are you getting it? No iPod involved. In other words, for the morbidly stupid, you have no case, Torgeir. The facts prove that iTunes Store customers are not locked to the iPod.
Contact Torgeir Waterhouse of the Norwegian Consumer Council here: torgeir.waterhouse@forbrukerradet.no
Related articles:
Recording Industry Association of America wants their DRM, calls for Apple to license FairPlay – February 08, 2007
Warner’s Middlebronfman: Jobs’ DRM-free music call ‘without logic and merit, we’ll not abandon DRM’ – February 08, 2007
Dvorak: Apple CEO Steve Jobs is dead right about DRM – February 07, 2007
Apple’s Jobs jolts music industry; Zune exec calls Jobs’ call for DRM-free music ‘irresponsible’ – February 07, 2007
Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ posts rare open letter: ‘Thoughts on Music’ – calls for DRM-free music – February 06, 2007
Apple Inc. and The Beatles’ Apple Corps Ltd. enter into new agreement – February 05, 2007
Norwegian Ombudsman: Apple’s FairPlay DRM is illegal in Norway – January 24, 2007
Major music labels ponder DRM-free future – January 23, 2007
Clash, Pink Floyd manager: ‘DRM is dead’ – November 06, 2006
Study reports the obvious: most music on iPods not from iTunes Store – September 17, 2006
Another mouse that roared.
Pollacks rejoice! Let the Norwegian jokes flow forth!
“Heard about the Norwegian hockey team? They all drowned during spring training.”
Waterhouse sounds distracted.
He was probably pining for the fjords.
Just withdraw iTunes sales from Norway. Should solve it.
How do you get a one-armed Norwegian out of a tree?
Wave to him.
Terrible news:
A 747 recently crashed in a cemetery in Norway.
Norwegian officials have so far retrieved 3000 bodies.
Sad story:
A Norwegian man was suffering from constipation, so his doctor prescribed suppositories. A week later the Pole complained to the doctor that they didn’t produce the desired results.
“Have you been taking them regularly?” the doctor asked.
“What do you think I’ve been doing,” the Norwegian said, “Shoving them up my ass?”
Lot’s of air disasters in Norway recently:
Did you hear about that Norwegian Helicopter crash?
The pilot got cold, so he turned off the fan.
Ultimately, the only solution is going to be to remove the availability of the iTunes Music Service to Norway and the other offended nations. They can still use iTunes to manage their CD and mp3 collections and listen to their music. They can still use their iPods to carry their music on the go. I don’t see any sense in stringing this out any longer. It’s time to cut ’em loose Apple. The law is the law.
Did you hear about the Norwegian family that froze to death outside a theater?
They were waiting to see the movie “Closed for the Winter.”
I met some cute chicks from Norway once. I’ve liked the country ever since.
Norway has a point. you don’t need an iPod to listen to your music, but if you want to listen to it on an mp3 player without going through a huge hastle, you do. and FairPlay DRM isn’t as bad as other DRM, but it still ain’t perfect at all. Just saying.
It seems like Jobs is doing everything he can to get rid of DRM, but if its still there its still there, and Norway can be upset about that. Plus, I met some cute chicks in Norway once.
Why was the Norwegian National Library forced to close?
Someone stole the book.
HI, THe problem here is the people who have other mp3 players are lazy and only want to use there players like an Ipod and do the same but are to lazy lazy to burn a cd first copy back the music and then transfer it to there player… MY feeling let other players manafacture garrantee the music and pay to use fairplay… But are they willing ? Also if they wil promise to match Apple’s price if they setup a store and not undercut Apple like they did once before with the computers slaes?
Good luck with that
“They were waiting to see the movie “Closed for the Winter.”
Isn’t that a sequel to “Closed for Remodeling” with Gary Coleman and Pauly Shore?
A Norwegian man is hired to paint the lines on the road.
On the first day he paints ten miles, and his employers are amazed. But, the second day he painted just five, and on the third day, he only painted one mile of the road.
Disappointed, his boss asks what the problem was.
The Norwegian man replies, “Well boss, every day I have to walk farther and farther to get back to the paint bucket.”
I’d personally like to take a moment and congratulate the citizens of Norway on their recent protection from the consumer evils of iTunes Music Service. Their stoic guardian, Togeir Waterhouse, has, once again, been the Norwegian David to the evil American empires Goliath. A real victory for Norwegian consumers everywhere, especially in Norway. And, yet, another massive blow to the ever reaching American colonialism.
Congratulations Norway!
Why did the Togeir Waterhouse cross the road?
He couldn’t get his dick out of the chicken.
“since the point and function of FairPlay — Apple’s digital rights management (DRM) — is to lock the music purchased from the iTunes store to work exclusively on iPods.”
Um, no it isn’t. Did you even RTFA mr norway dude? It wouldnt be on there if the labels didn’t demand it. Maybe Apple has benefited from this situation, but seriously, how many other ways does he have to put it for you to get it?
MacReady: “Hey, Swede!”
Dr. Copper: “They’re not Swedes, Mac, they’re Norwegian!”
–John Carpenter’s The Thing
Here we go again. The fanboys are out today. Enough with the Norway bashing.
MDN is wrong. The issue in front of the Ombudsman is not whether it’s POSSIBLE to rip FairPlay encoded songs to CD. The issue is WHETHER people actually do so.
The reality is that most people simply won’t do it, even if you show them how. It’s too much of a hassle to do this everytime you buy a music track.
You might rip/import one iTunes song, or two, or three. But would you do that for every song you buy from iTunes, each and every time, indefinitely? No way.
Still not convinced? Here’s the acid test:
If all the customers of iTunes were routinely and breezily ripping/importing iTunes songs to CD, how different would that be from not having any DRM at all? And long do you think the music labels would tolerate that situation before demanding that Apple clamp down on it?
We all agree in this forum that the right solution is to convince the music labels to abolish DRM.
But to pretend that this Ombudsman case will go away because SJ issued an open letter is fantasy.
If Apple truly does not want DRM, then Steve Jobs would write a letter to his friends over at Disney asking them to remove their DRM requirements as well. Perhaps he needs more influence over at Disney to convince them of why he’s right and everyone else is wrong.
I purchased over 500 songs before I ever bought an iPod.
They are locked to an iPod if they want to put their music on an MP3 player. Yes, I know you can get around the DRM and put the music on other MP3 players. But the steps required to do so are too complicated for the masses and therefor won’t be done. Torgie’s concern here is just that, even though he isn’t saying it. I am not defending him because he also knows people aren’t locked to iPods, but if he gets people to believe it, then he could sway the masses to believe it too. Jobs’ letter is to prevent the masses from believing the misinformation.
Are Norwegians happy having this Torgeir retard speak for them?
Unless he’s mentally-challanged, I fail to see how can he say the following with a straight face, “The issue our complaint [addresses] is… iTunes Music Store customers are locked to the iPod.”
To Cheering,
People sue cause their hot cup of coffee is hot. Just because your stupid and politically corrupt does not make you right.
I agree with Tired, “Let the Norwegian jokes flow forth!”
How many Norwegians does it take to replace a light bulb? NONE, they are still looking for the “on” switch. Hey, you only need the light every 6 months anyway!!
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PS, I think we should sue Norway for not speaking English. I don’t want to be bothered to learn Norwegian to read their web pages, I say we vote on it and make them change the national language.
All in favor say “Bite Me!” LOL
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N.