Details from Reuters. Clashing DRM is a major part of the problem. Familiar story to e-bookers, eh? Excerpts follow.
At the heart of the problem are dueling digital-rights-management (DRM) systems from bitter rivals Apple Computer and Microsoft. Files using either company’s DRM are incompatible with players that support the other DRM.
DRM technology wraps around song files to block mass copying and peer-to-peer distribution of music downloads. It dictates when, where and how music files can be consumed legitimately.
Microsoft’s Windows Media DRM is supported on more than 60 devices and used for digital files sold by dozens of retailers, including Napster, AOL, Yahoo, RealNetworks, Virgin, FYE and Wal-Mart. Apple’s DRM is called Fair Play and works only in Apple-controlled products and services like the iPod and the iTunes Music Store.
As more consumers go digital, the compatibility issues between Apple and Microsoft become more pronounced. Apple, the early market leader, has been particularly resistant to shaking hands in the interest of compatibility.
Needless to say, as noted here and elsewhere, those compatibility issues are driving librarians and patrons nuts. Apple got what it deserved when NetLibrary started distributing audio books in an Apple-hostile format. Problem is, the users suffered as well.
