Walmart Shutting Down Their DRM System

Walmart's decision to no longer support music purchased with DRM is causing some heart burn for digital music enthusiest.

As someone who over time had to replace my album collection with eight tract tapes and cassette tapes, only to see that replaced with CDs, I think I feel their pain.

I for one have avoided DRM like the plague and the failure of both the music and electronics industries to come up with a "good" solution has caused me to stick with CD's (which are so 1980s) and non-DRM mp3s (which can be a pain, but I don't loose them because someone else decides they will no longer support the format).

Walmart Music Team sent out the following email;

From: Walmart Music Team
Date: Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 7:42 PM
Subject: Important Information About Your Walmart.com Digital Music Purchases
To: xxxxxx@gmail.com

Important Information About Your Digital Music Purchases

We hope you are enjoying the increased music quality/bitrate and the improved usability of Walmart's MP3 music downloads. We began offering MP3s in August 2007 and have offered only DRM (digital rights management) -free MP3s since February 2008. As the final stage of our transition to a full DRM-free MP3 download store, Walmart will be shutting down our digital rights management system that supports protected songs and albums purchased from our site.

If you have purchased protected WMA music files from our site prior to Feb 2008, we strongly recommend that you back up your songs by burning them to a recordable audio CD. By backing up your songs, you will be able to access them from any personal computer. This change does not impact songs or albums purchased after Feb 2008, as those are DRM-free.

Beginning October 9, we will no longer be able to assist with digital rights management issues for protected WMA files purchased from Walmart.com. If you do not back up your files before this date, you will no longer be able to transfer your songs to other computers or access your songs after changing or reinstalling your operating system or in the event of a system crash. Your music and video collections will still play on the originally authorized computer.

Thank you for using Walmart.com for music downloads. We are working hard to make our store better than ever and easier to use.

Walmart Music Team

References;

Walmart Shutting Down Music Store DRM Servers, Umpteenth Reminder to Not Buy DRM'd Content from Gizmodo.com.

Walmart to pull plug on DRM servers from ZDNET.com

Steve Jobs Unveils New iPods and A Return of NBC

Apple Unveils New iPods and Return of NBC


Notes from YouTube; Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the wraps off a revamped line of iPods on Tuesday and trumpeted a truce with NBC Universal that means the TV network will begin selling programs again on iTunes. (Sept. 9)




Apple Unveils New iPod (CBS News)


Notes from YouTube; Fans were not disappointed after rumors about a new iPod that would act much like an iPhone circulated last week. John Blackstone reports on the latest must-have gadget. (CBSNews.com)

Changes Coming For Microsoft's Zune

According to an article at PC Mag.com titled Microsoft's New Zunes Add 'Buy from FM' there are some big changes coming for microsofts's Zune.

On Sept. 16, Microsoft will begin offering a feature that will let users "tag" and download music they hear on its Zune MP3 player's built-in FM radio, the company said Monday. A giant 120-Gbyte offering, as well as a 16-Gbyte model, have also been added to the Zune family.

China Blocks iTunes

Many news outlets are reporting this morning the China has blocked access to iTunes.

The NY Times.com is reporting in an article titled iTunes Blocked in China.

Since Monday, access to the site has been unavailable inside the country. The Art of Peace Foundation, a Tibetan activist group operating in the United States, had invited Olympic athletes to download a free compilation album, “Songs for Tibet.” According to a news release from the foundation, more than 40 athletes downloaded the album, which includes songs by Sting and Alanis Morissette.

CNET.com is reporting that Tibet album may have spurred China iTunes block.

An album supporting Tibetan freedom may have led China's government to sever access to Apple's iTunes Store.

This week, Chinese users of iTunes have found themselves unable to access the online store, something that Apple acknowledged but would not say whether it was a technical glitch or a move on the part of the censors.

CyberNotes Shows How to Create iPhone Ringtones Using iTunes in Windows

In a very cool article titled CyberNotes: Create Free iPhone Ringtones Using iTunes in Windows;

One of the things that Apple hasn’t made easy for iPhone owners is providing a way to create custom ringtones in Windows. If you’re a Mac owner you can use GarageBand, but Apple doesn’t provide that application on Windows. Instead what they expect you to do is purchase a song for $0.99, and then convert it to a ringtone for another $0.99.

This article shows you how to do it for free.

iPod Buying Guides Online

I recently did a quick search to find the best places online to find iPod Buying Guides. There are quite a few of them out there, but I think some of the best are;

• Overstock.com's iPod Buying Guide is very simple, but it answers the most basic questions that you might have.


• iLounge.com's Comprehensive Guide for download. This in my mind is the best buyers guide out there. It is on the complete other end of the spectrum from other buying guides that you might find. It covers everything that you might want to know about the the iPod and it accessories and it can be downloaded.

Also consider the folloing books;

Official Google Reader Blog: Brand new Google Reader for iPhone

Official Google Reader Blog: Brand new Google Reader for iPhone

Selection of iPods

Amazon.com has a nice selection of iPods. Everything from 1st generation all the way to the latest and greatest.