iTunes, Music, iPods, Piracy, Media Idiots.

We live in an era of unprecedented information and knowledge. Most of it is pure bulk and much of it wrong. For example, the common thread in mainstream media is that the Mac has only around 2-percent market share.

Lies, damned lies, statistics. What market share? New computers sold this year? All computers sold? Ever? Computers still in use? Of course, the definition is a fact often overlooked as the world is flooded with disposable PCs by the gazillions each year.

Macs? When was the last time you saw one sitting on the side of the street waiting for city refuse pickup? No, in the US, the Mac has a larger pecentage of “market share” than pundits and analysts tell you because PCs are disposable boxes, and Macs, well, they become friends and family and we keep them around.

iTunes, Music, iPods, Piracy and Media Idiots.

Writer Andrew Kantor has a piece in USA Today that fans flames, misinforms, and yet remains typical of the mainstream media’s approach to all things Mac (and iPod, and iTunes, et al).

The title of the article is “Hard to lower pirate flag while legal alternatives still lacking.” I’m convinced that Kantor wrote this piece because he didn’t want to wash his car today.

USA Today, like Reader’s Digest, is ready by millions in the US and throughout the world. It’s America’s newspaper, right?

No wonder much of the rest of the world hates America. Like USA Today, we may appear to be full of c_r_a_p.

Kantor’s article talks about iTunes Music Store’s “restrictions” as if there’s something inherently wrong with restrictions on music purchases. Guess what? There’s restrictions on the CDs you buy at Tower Records or Wal-Mart.

He also rails on the recent topic of “DVD Jon” and his attempts to circumvent iTunes “Digital Rights Management” efforts. DVD Jon (so named because he cracked the DVD no-copy scheme) created his own program for Linux users to use iTunes Music Store. iTunes is Mac and Windows. No Linux.

What everyone found out from DVD Jon’s efforts is that iTunes Music Store sells music, lets you download music with no “restrictions.” The DRM restrictions are placed on the songs by the iTunes application.

So the Linux folks, DVD Jon, and other “pirates” using his program get to register and buy music at iTMS get their music without the “restrictions.”

Oh, you didn’t know about the “restrictions” on the music you buy from iTunes Music Store? Well, to hear about it from USA Today, you’d think it was Satan running the store, and taking parts of your soul as you buy music from iTMS.

Apple has the most successful of all the online download music stores with nearly 70-percent of the whole market worldwide.

What does USA Today (and Kantor) say about that?

“By adding restrictions to music, Apple is going against decades of an understanding between music makers and music buyers.”

The implication is that “restrictions” are something new to music buyers. Of course, if you buy any CD from any artist, there are still restrictions. For example, you can’t copy it and give the copy to someone else. Or sell the copy to someone else.  See? Restrictions.

iTunes Music Store lets you play your iTMS downloaded music on up to five Macs or PCs. Or an unlimited number of iPods. Or, you can burn the music onto an unlimited number of CDs.

Oooooooh. Terrible restrictions, eh?

Kantor’s example (straight from USA Today): “Imagine buying a music CD at the mall, bringing it home, and playing it on your stereo. Then you play it on your car’s CD player driving to work. But when you get there and pop it into the little player on your desk, you hear a voice say, “We’re sorry, but you are only authorized to play this disk on up to two CD players. You have now exceeded that. Thank you.”“

Bad example. It’s not that way.

Then, to make his “journalism” even worse, Kantor says, “And people wonder why music piracy is so rampant.”

Hello? Guess what? Piracy was much more rampant BEFORE the iTunes Music Store, iPod, and iTunes phenomenon that’s sweeping the civilized world. Apple’s so-called “restrictions” did NOT cause piracy.

Wait. There’s more.

Check the conclusion on Page 2. Click Here for more.