Total Serious Happy Thread

[Stan4dSteph]

Originally Posted by Snowflake

You know you are a luddite when you have no clue what the above means.

I'm with you there. I don't really understand the differences. Maybe I have a tin ear. I suppose I'll be pissed off if it all goes missing, and all the techies will laugh and point.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Snowflake

You know you are a luddite when you have no clue what the above means.

Originally Posted by Stan4dSteph

I'm with you there. I don't really understand the differences. Maybe I have a tin ear. I suppose I'll be pissed off if it all goes missing, and all the techies will laugh and point.

DRM = Digital Rights Management. Until about 4 months ago any music you bought from iTunes came with DRM protection meaning you could play the files on only up to 5 different computers and you could burn the music only up to 5 times. They have since stopped doing that and any music you buy can be copied and burnt as many times as you'd like (or at least most, there might still be some music that's protected, but the great majority for sure is not).

The other part of the equation is file format. When you buy music from iTunes, it's in Apple's proprietary "AAC" format. This means it can only be played with Apple products (iTunes, and iPod, Quicktime). Converting the files to MP3 instead means I can play them with whatever software/hardware I want, which for me means I can finally use WinAmp as my music server and easily play music remotely. It also means I can put any of my music on my phone so I don't always have to carry a phone AND an iPod.