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I think we can now safely say we have entered the "how the hell do we stop iTunes" phase - the shift from denial to pulling out all stops was quite rapid indeed.

Also love the double discount for WMA - dear customer, you really, really prefer this choice don't you?

How the worm turned!

I just went to wal-fart to look at these new .mp3 files they are selling.

They told me I can't with a Mac.

"We're sorry, your operating system is incompatible. To provide the best download experience, we can no longer support Windows 98, ME or NT. Please visit again after you upgrade to Windows 2000 or XP. Visit our Help section for complete system requirements information."

What a dick of a company.

I want my DRM-free music in AAC format for my iPhone and AppleTV, not MP3! Universal can wait to get my money until they do DRM-Free on iTunes. Besides, who wants to deal with moving music files from the deasktop to iTunes?

I don't know...there is something to be said about the experience of buying a CD at a store. It's the experience of opening it up, smelling the new-ness, and putting it into your player. It's opening up the booklet and reading along while you listen.

The experience of a CD purchase makes it worth it. It was the same with tapes and LP's. There's something so impersonal about buying digital music...

All the Billy Joel you could ever want!
And such a bargain!

...and hopefully the competition will drive the DRM free song price in iTunes down to 99 cents or less.

Is Capitalism great or what!?

But Walmarts music download is NOT Mac compatible.

...

Absolutely! Online music "shopping" will NEVER replace poking through CD bins and "trying" obscure or unknown stuff based solely on graphics and gut instinct.

I was in Paris during the spring and went to FNAC by the Bastille Opera. It was actually pretty exciting to dig around and buy a pile of music I know I probably never see in the States.

I've got a favorite music store in Sofia, Bulgaria, too. Found some amazing music in Istanbul and Munich...

Looks like the download site doesn't support Macs.

More double standards by Universal?

Why don't they agree to DRM free MP3's on iTunes?

More so as they're giving it away for even less -without DRM- at Wal-Mart now...

You all have it wrong—way wrong when it comes to WMA files.

Microsoft has empowered the end-user with their standard. Throw in the pristine quality of WMA with the liberal DRM policy from the geniuses in Redmond and what you have is a win-win situation for the consumer. Hey MAC lemmings, don't let Apple bully you into their "open" formats for their proprietary iPods. Nobody wants either.

Wal-Mart is making a deal with the devil selling DRM-free MP3 format tracks. They had a strong alliance and fantastic thing going with Microsoft and WMA. Why change? My Dell Ditty is filled with great WMA tracks.

Your potential. Our passion.™

Complete BS. Why wouldn't it support Macs??? It's DRM free, it's an MP3. Macs can read MP3 files. That is out of control discrimination to punish Apple users for iTunes. Someone should file a lawsuit.

I like the major change of tune from MDN on this one. It's quite a reversal from what they said before. Of course, I'm sure they won't admit they changed their stance, but it is nice to see once in a while.

-----

Oh, and the store is most certainly Mac compatible, just not OS X compatible in the same way that it's not Windows 98 compatible.

@MegaMe

silly, naturally it doesn't work on a Mac! Macs can't play mp3s!

"i would buy an iPod if they could play mp3s instead of that iTunes stuff..."

yes, that is a really quote, spoken to me in real life, by a real idiot....

FYI: A 256 kbits AAC file is far higher quality than a 256 kbits mp3.

With sites that I run across that don't support Macintosh, I simply email support and ask them about it. If we all do this then retailers and others will realize that Mac users are out there and represent an opportunity to make more money. I have noticed that more and more are replying that they are planning or working on that compatibility.

"But Walmarts music download is NOT Mac compatible"

Not true. Their site says: "Our MP3 format files will play on both Windows and Macintosh operating systems. Important: At this time, it isn't possible to shop and download songs directly from Wal-Mart Music Downloads to a Macintosh computer. However, you can transfer the MP3 files from a Windows computer to a Macintosh using a CD, other storage device or email."

What I find weird is that the MP3 album ($9.22) costs less than a WMA album ($9.44) in their FAQ despite MP3 singles costing more. Is this because MS gets a cut of WMA album sales?

I hope the artists get the same or more money from the WalMart store (pigs, start flying now).

In their FAQ is states...
"Do I need to use Microsoft Windows Media Player?
Our downloads are WMA-format files protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM). Microsoft Windows Media Player is able to play, burn and transfer WMA files protected by DRM encryption. Other players are also able to play these files, but you cannot buy Wal-Mart Music Downloads from inside other players.
If you try to play a song in an older version of another media player and get an error message about a missing license, you can try playing the song in Windows Media Player first, then in the other media player. Or you may need to upgrade the other media player to the latest version. The player needs to support Digital Rights Management (DRM) encryption."

So I still need a windows machine with XP or 2000 (no Mac, no Linux and no Vista(!)) with Windows Media Player... Tell me again how this is open and DRM free???

What a crock...

musicians who sell on the walmart online store get no money, but do get to participate in companies fine retirement plan (several pages on how to get money from the government) and income assistant (a pamphlet on begging and using food stamps) programs.

please note that unpaid overtime is mandatory.

"I like the major change of tune from MDN on this one. It's quite a reversal from what they said before. Of course, I'm sure they won't admit they changed their stance, but it is nice to see once in a while."

do tell. what was their stance before?

Hang on to your Dell Ditty, Zune Tang...it may be the only one left out there.
A buddy sent me a song in WMA the other day...what a royal pain having to download something to play it and even more to convert it to something iTunes would accept. WMA is DOA.

Let's get one thing straight -- if you don't like Wal-Mart, don't buy from them. If you don't like their employment options, by all means, don't work there. Wal-Mart is under no obligation to provide ANY retirement package. Neither is any other company. Got it, masters of economics? Oh, in case you haven't figured it out yet, what's a huge problem for GM, Ford, and Chrysler? Would that be their retirement packages, pensions, and such, which force massive overhead on the companies? Yeah. So can I blame Wal-Mart for learning from the past? Not one bit.

I think their lack of Mac support is lame. Thus, I don't buy from them. I also don't buy from them because they've abandoned the vision of Sam Walton.

But as for the people who know jack about how to run a company and view all employers as magic gumball machines, why don't you shut up?

lol, magic gumball machines

It's interesting that they seem to be encouraging Mac users to have someone with a Windows PC to download their music for them. Of course we know that the Windows user wouldn't be so unscrupulous as to keep a copy for themselves. That wouldn't be legal, would it?

As a Mac Fanboy, I will NEVER buy anywhere but iTunes. Who needs Wal-Mart's "junky" mp3s. Like all Mac Fanboys, I would gladly pay a few cents more to get a lower quality DRM packed download from Apple.... Woooo Hooo Steve!!!!!

This is the only way the record labels have any hope of gaining leverage over Apple—start offering DRM-free tracks with every possible online vendor. I won't be surprised if McDonald's and Coke get back into the fray, not to mention Amazon, Best Buy, Circuit City, the Dollar Store, the Exxon mini mart and your local nail salon.
Of course, now the pipe dream of an endless stream of money from subscription services is clearly over and Apple will still sell gobs of iPods.
And to think how everyone said that Steve Jobs was so disingenous when he suggested that the record industry should drop DRM…
Hmmm…

@BustingTheSkullsOfIdiots

i will inform my wife, who is not a master of economics (she has a PhD in it actually) that her knowledge of the subject is lacking and that she should refund her employer the 375,000 a year.

or, as a different option, it is possible she knows what she is talking about, and you are the one who should STFU.

just keeping all the options open.

MW: "quality" is something walmart lacks

""i would buy an iPod if they could play mp3s instead of that iTunes stuff..."

"yes, that is a really quote, spoken to me in real life, by a real idiot...."

That's why the Darwin Awards will never run run out of material.

Friends Don't Let Friends Shop At WalMart.

How can Wal-Mart afford to offer MP3's for 94¢?

Wal-Mart's MP3's are made in sweatshops by 3-year old Chinese orphans who get 1 meal every 2 days. They also contain lead—both the orphans and the MP3s. The DRM extraction process is a volatile and hazardous one. Many of these kids have lost fingers.

Just say no. Be vocal about it too. Walmart is a greedy corporation that wants all the sales it can get.

"M@c..
.
Absolutely! Online music "shopping" will NEVER replace poking through CD bins and "trying" obscure or unknown stuff based solely on graphics and gut instinct."

While I, too, do enjoy this process, a very low percentage of people 25 (approximately) and younger have the same connection. Online music distribution, in fact, increases the ability of former record store geeks such as us to find "obscure" music. There are many ways to search through music collections on the web, whether it be a virtual rummaging session (eg discogs.com) or sites that try to find similar artists to your tastes. Also, it is now much easier to find the "album" that was released on a small label on the other side of the ocean 10 years ago that was impossible to find on vinyl or CD because only 300 were printed. As long as that label has made their catalog on the internet on either a major store such as iTunes or a niche store like Bleep.com, then anyone can find it and own it. Sure, it does not stimulate the same senses as digging through a bin at Moby Disc, but you CAN do it from the comfort of your bed!

This could be serious competition for iTunes. I just bookmarked WalMart's music page. That's a first for me; previously, I've always totally ignored the also-rans.

WAL-MART IS AN EVIL CORPORATION THAT DESTROYS HUMAN BEINGS, DESTROYS COMMUNITIES, AND DESTROYS THE PLANET!

Rent the movie "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price":
http://www.walmartmovie.com

DO NOT SUPPORT WAL-MART!!!

Oh, and speaking of Chinese stuff (lead in paint, etc)…

Check out the Boeing 737 that had a fuel line break ( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20374228/ ). It burned darn near to the ground after landing in Okinaw. It was owned and operated by China Airlines.

GO WALMART!!!
The most successful anti-poverty program this country--or any country--has ever seen. It has done more for lower-income families than the federal government, not to mention anyone on this thread, will ever do.
BTW, I have no Walmart stock and I will not buy their from their anti-Mac online music store. But any sane, non-ideologue will otherwise wish them well.

As a predictably banal poster on MDN, I will never fail to drop by from time to time to regale everyone with the same old tired refrain on the typical Mac fanboy.

Wooo Hooo! Go Shoeman!!!

"GO WALMART!!!
The most successful anti-poverty program this country--or any country--has ever seen. It has done more for lower-income families than the federal government, not to mention anyone on this thread, will ever do."

Just Say No to Drugs!

Doesn't Wal*Mart only sell the "edited" (censored) versions of albums that contain adult language?

I hate Walmart. We will have a super WM soon that will put half or more of the privately owned small shops out of business.

Hence the "One stop shopping all under one roof" WM proposed as a positive to our Town Board. And they were stupid enough to see it as a positive. Small town idiots.

I tired to send Wal★Mart an online message about not supporting the Macintosh. After spending time composing the "letter" I found their form doesn't work. It wouldn't send.

Good luck Wal★Mart, your going to need it.

"The most successful anti-poverty program this country--or any country--has ever seen. It has done more for lower-income families than the federal government, not to mention anyone on this thread, will ever do."

i believe you mean "has done more to CREATE lower-income families"

always double check your posts.....

@ DRM Sucks -

Completely agree with you. I've put together some great CD's based on downloaded music, it definately is a great idea. I will continue to do so as well. Great for obscure stuff too, totally agree.

But when I have a choice to pick up any recent artist's new album, I'm going to the record store and buying the CD, rather than just downloading it from my couch.

It makes listening to it that much more enjoyable. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, I guess this is for my own benefit.

And does anybody remember buying a new LP and puling it out of the jacket for the first time? No scratches, all shiney, smelled good...those were good days.

I tried to send WalMart an online message... I found their form doesn't work. It wouldn't send. —The Other Steve

I just visited the WalMart site and sent them an email message with no trouble at all.

AAC is superior to MP3 this is a fact!!!

If you'd done a little bit of homework, you'd know that China Airlines is based in Taiwan, not mainland China (despite what the mainland claims, Taiwan is a de facto independent country).

STFU you commie-terrorist lover!!!!!

Universal must really have it out for Apple. They conceded to (1) offering DRM-free tracks and (2) to sell them at LESS than $0.99!

I'd really like to see Apple conduct an "experiment" and drop Universal's entire catalog. It's not like Apple makes much from music sales anyway...

Simple solution to download the files from Wal-Mart.

Using the Camio Web Browser, simple change the browser mode to "Internet Explorer". That will make Wal-Mart think that you are using windows and it will let you download the file. (granted the page might render weird, it will still work.)

"commie terrorist lover" based on what, that walmart is a bad company for people?

oh noes! caught out on the interweb! if you don't support the bigboxmart you is the commie terrorist! we have to buy cheap chinese plastic crap so made over there so we don't have to make it over here!

....i don't know about you, but i wish stupidity was painful, so that people who (seriously) made arguments like that hurt every time they did so.....

dallas, or even with the debug menu in Safari.

....assuming it is just that they are too lazy to test with other browsers. as i imagine is the case.