Europe is uniting against Apple C.R.A.P., which is how ZDNet's David Berlind and the Free Software Foundation's Richard Stallman separately describe Steve Jobs highly successful attempt to monopolize music via Apple Digital Restrictions Consumer Control software.
Berlind calls it 'Content Restriction, Annulment, and Protection,' and to Stallman, it's 'Cancellation, Restriction, and Punishment'.
"German and French consumer groups have joined a Nordic-led drive to force Apple Inc. to make its iTunes online store compatible with digital music players made by rival companies, a Norwegian official said yesterday," says Associated Press.
Why anybody would go to all that trouble to buy high-priced, low-quality cookie-cutter product churned out by Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG, the members of the Big 4 Organized Music cartel, is a total mystery. But a small number of people do, even though iTunes tunes work only on iPods.
Consumer groups in Norway, Denmark and Sweden say that means Apple violates their laws and now, Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman Bjoern Erik Thon says French consumer lobby UFC-Que Choisir and its German counterpart, Ferbraucherzentralen, have joined in, as has Finland's Kuluttajavirasto consumer group, and other European countries are considering it, states AP.
Apple is also being sued in the US with iTunes victim Melanie Tucker who's looking for class-action status.
She says Apple violates anti-trust laws by refusing to allow music bought through iTunes to be played on any digital music player besides the iPod, also claiming Apple doesn't make it clear iTunes music isn't incompatible with music and devices offered by other companies.
A French law that allows regulators to force Apple to make its iPod player and iTunes store compatible with rival offerings went into effect in August.
How can a handful of countries hope to stand against the might of Steve 'iRule' Jobs and his desires? Well, that is a toughie. But there is an answer, and it's in the hands of consumers, not politicians.
"If you don't like the fact that iPod only lets you play DRM-protected music that is purchased from the iTunes store, then don't buy an iPod," states John Carroll on ZDNet..
Also See: C.R.A.P. - Apple and its C.R.A.P., March 4, 2006 Associated Press - Apple's ITunes Rules Targeted, January 22, 2007 Melanie Tucker - Apple 'monopoly' case rolls on, January 4, 2007 ZDNet - Build your own iTunes store!, January 22, 2007
Want to subscribe to p2pnet by email with Feedburner? Just click here. - http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php || And use our own p2pnet newsfeeds for your site and you're looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent web site blocking outside of China. Download it here.
