Comments on: Ballmer: iPods packed with stolen tunes

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer applauds the software giant's own digital rights management efforts and takes shots at archrival Apple.

What a joke - Wrong Wrong Wrong

The DRM that Apple has works. It stops people from copying from the iPod. What is doesn't, and cannot, stop is someone who has an MP3 file on their computer, loading it into iTunes and then uplading it to their iPod - there is no way to stop this.

Does he mean to also imply that PC users "never" copy songs - that al the software on their PC's, along with all the music is legal?

What cloud cuckoo land is he living on?

Ag.

[Thomas, David]

Oh Steve, Did you really have far to fall?

Well Steve,

All of the MILLIONS who have purchased songs from iTunes are
THIEVES ... point-click-purchase RING$ ... Apple must really
have your goat for you to make such an extremely obtuse
statement.

More music is being purchased legally because of Apple (AAC,
iPod, iTunes), and you're not seeing a dime.

You have added just another reason for people around the world
to dislike Microsoft and what it represents.

What a strange and desperate comment by Ballmer

Does Ballmer care more about protecting music artists than software developers? Surely he must know that far more software is illegally copied and used on Windows machines. One zealous Windows salesperson at a major computer and electronics retailer told me that a major reason to own Windows machines over Macintosh computers was because it was much easier to find and copy your friend's software because more people have Windows machines. Get a grip Ballmer ... consider not only all of the technology that Microsoft has stolen by imitation, etc. ... What about all the valuable time Microsoft has stolen from my life while I reboot their stupid, crashed operating system or download and install a multitude of security patches or defragment the miserable effect on a hard drive, or figure out how to control an unwieldy swap file (should I stop now?). Oh, and also ...I'd be willing to bet his 12 yr-old's mp3 player is loaded with illegal downloads. Considering these latest comments and previous screaming rants and cheerleading by Ballmer at Microsoft's meetings, this guy is a real kick! Can you tell I like my Mac better than my Windows machine?

Read this ...

Same old MS tactics as always:

http://www.linspire.com/
lindows_michaelsminutes_archives.php?id=65

[bobtheman22]

Must suck...

...being Gates' Monkey boy. No one in the industry believes what Ballmer says and believes less in Ballmer's ability as M$'s CEO.

[zaz.net]

Most Music on Windows is STOLEN!

He claims that most music in an iPod is stolen, however he forgets to mention that most of it was downloaded using a Windows PC with all the latest DRM from Microsoft already pre-installed and unused.

Most media (music or video) files on a windows PC and most files played using Microsoft's Media Player are most likely "stolen" as well.

Apple is actually way ahead of Microsoft in the world of DRM, it's all just a marketing spin on the popularity of a media player amung consumers. Apple continues to put a great deal of focus on DRM in the iPod and related products and services.

[gergle]

I own all 3000+ songs on my ipod...

"iPods packed with stolen tunes"

Does this mean that all music on the average PC user's Windows Media Player is legal?

All of my music is legal and I have the luxury of playing them on my Laptop (g4) or my ipod. Perhaps I'm not the common thief that Mr. Ballmer is referring to. 100,000,000+ legal downloads from Apple's iTunes Store?

Ballmer's comment is absurd.

[Scotington]

DRM & Intellectual property... what about my rights?

Mr. Ballmer...

I have bought no fewer than 3 or 4 formats of many songs or albums over the years (similarly with movies on VHS Tape, Laserdisc, and DVD). It started with 45's as a kid, then the 8 Track and Cassette, then the Vinyl Album, then the CD.

Each time I have to buy the new format. There's no replacement for lost, worn-out or broken media. I really have purchased all these. What law says I don?t own them and can't download them form a friend on a file sharing network? Now I want to listen to my collection in my car, or on my computer, on any number of home or automotive CD players out there. Either on a personally burned CD or DVD, or a from a massive collection on my PC hard drive. I choose to put them on an apple IPOD and because I don?t use your proprietary Microsoft WMA format, I am a criminal?

What has Microsoft done to protect ME, the consumer who purchases your products? Microsoft makes all honest people who purchase their products enter longer and more cryptic serial numbers to enable a product that they just purchased. If, as a PC geek we want (or need) to rebuild a PC to clear off all the ad-ware and spy-ware that Windows Explorer seems to make all to easy for people to get slipped onto a system, we must provide a connection for the software to "check back with you" to make sure I am legally using it, or call you to allow me to reinstall this software.

Say I buy into your new proprietary Digital Rights enabled media format? 6 months from now I upgrade to a new Laptop. I keep my old PC and bring my laptop on the road. I want to listen to these songs on both PC's. I legally own them. Where is the "how to" KB article that explains how to do this?

5 years from now my PC crashes? Can I freely and easily download the replacements of all the songs I purchased over the years? If I tire of some songs and back up the WMA files on a CD or DVD, will I be able to pull that disc out 10 years and experience a moment of nostalgia by popping them in what will most likely be my 3rd PC since the time I purchased the song?

Can I burn them to a compilation WMA CD and bring them to play at a friends party on his PC? Please explain in detail how I do this? What do I need to do make my music easily accessible by me, and not controlled by you?

Can you answer that? Can you tell me why I shouldn?t be able to do this? Oh, but you already have, I am a criminal. So I can only listen to a file that I have purchased in your format in ways that you see fit.

No Thanks Mr. BallMe - I'll keep my MP3's!