Learning with the Fang

(and makes a sad family occasion even sadder)

Today I purchased a song from iTunes - and had what should have been a simple, straightforward  experience ruined by the cancerous spread of DRM.  I know it is the result of a simple bug or small clerical error but it justs proves how DRM policy enforcement always breaks somewhere (even in the DRM free zone of iTunes PLUS).

The short version is that I purchased what I thought was an iTunes PLUS (ie DRM Free) tune but ended up with a DRM file that I could not burn to a CD in time for the funeral of a close relative.

The long version:

Travelled to Pt Elliot so my wife Mandy could help her Aunty and Cousins prepare for the funeral of  Uncle Pete who passed away late last week.

Everybody chips in to help with planning etc, my job is to find a way to play Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a wonderful world’ at the funeral.

Being a fairly low tech affair I decide to try and purchase the song (DRM Free) from iTunes plus and burn a CD with at least two versions of the tune.  Up to my friends house with wifi, connect to the net, into iTunes, search the store and viola! - heaps of versions of the song to choose from.

But wait, let’s check to see if any of these tracks are available DRM free as ‘Plus’.

Notice the ‘power search’ button and check it out to constrain my search to ‘iTunes Plus’ as follows:

Now we have only 7 tracks available, but thats OK two of them sound promising.  SO I BUY BOTH.

Then the fun begins!

I ask steve for a blank CD but it turns out he has none, so, no problem we will buy some on the way to drop Mandy off with her cousins.  Find a shop, buy the CDs and think - Mandy drive, I can have em burnt by the time we get to Pt Elliot.

Crank up the Mac, throw a blank CD in, grab the playlist and hit BURN CD.

Then the fun begins ‘Unable to burn CD’!!

But how can that be, I’ve purchased DRM Free files fromm the iTunes Plus - or have I ?

Close inspection reveals, to my horror that I now ‘own’ two more DRM infected files:

Oh well, at least I can still burn these two tracks to CD for ‘backup’ under the DRM policy (even though I will have to become a criminal and break the agreement in the fineprint - because my intention is to play the tracks from a CD player, not the computer authorised to play them). 

But wait, there’s more!! - Cannot burn to CD because my Mac is not ‘authorised’. Try to convert the files to .mp3 - no go, try to authorise my Mac but cannot ‘authorise’ my Mac because we are now many miles out of range of an internet connection.

So, once again, I have purchased two DRM infected files that are both useless and have wasted significant amounts of my time.  Furthermore, I have lost confidence in recommending purchases from iTunes PLUS because who knows if this might happen to someone else.  I know Apple’s intentions with PLUS are good, but isn’t it interesting that this type of glitch can occur - and you won’t find anyone who as tried as hard as Apple to implement this stuff in such a way that the paying customer has a good experience.  But as Dave Slusher says - it just cant be done!  And now we have proof that the Cancer of DRM can even spread to services that try to provide DRM free music.

Not happy Jan (or Steve).

Fang - Mike Seyfang

p.s. Can anyone see where I made my error?

Is there a way to trade these two infected tracks for 256k non DRM PLUS files??

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