In what I have to consider one of the most ridiculous of 2007, a lawsuit has been filed against Apple (filed December 31, 2007) claiming Apple by not supporting .wma is a monopoly.
The lawsuit revolves around Windows Media Audio, which is notably unsupported by both the iPod and iTunes claiming that Apple could easily afford a license from Microsoft. Despite the fact that DRM is fading and Apple supports .WAV, AIFF, Apple Lossless, AAC, Audible, and the most ubiquitous MP3 format.
For the uninformed .wma is part of a proprietary standard controlled by one company, Microsoft. What is very interesting is that .wma is not supported on the Mac platform by its owner, Redmond giant and competitor, Microsoft.
Microsoft has given up support for its "owned" proprietary technology on the Mac platform long ago. Most Mac users download third-party and free apps like Flip4Mac or Perian to even playback this proprietary format. There is no solution for playing back protected WMA audio on a Mac (Janus DRM Format). This seems like a failed attempt by Microsoft to use its much larger platform to hurt the Mac. Unprotected WMA files import into iTunes on Windows just fine.
Despite having no support from Microsoft for their proprietary formats, the Mac platform, iTunes and the iPod has growth in record numbers. All while Apple has supported "open" standards they do not control.
Apple does not even have a proprietary format. iPods and iTunes have always supported open standards based around MPEG4. The "protected" content (DRM) sold at the iTunes Store is actually AAC with Apple's Fairplay DRM applied. Again Apple has no proprietary format of their own. I might note that the Microsoft Zune only recently added AAC support to any Microsoft product. Microsoft's own Zune and Zune Marketplace do not exactly play nice with all the flavors of WMA DRM. that Microsoft itself sells through it old PlaysForSure partners like Napster, Urge, Rhaposody and others.
The music industry seems to have embraced MP3 format for its DRM-free content that is being sold in several places online. iTunes Store sells unprotected DRM-free audio content in AAC. Steve Jobs and Apple have lead the charge for DRM-free music. A fact missing from the filed lawsuit.
iPod owners and iTunes users are not forced to "buy" music from Apple's iTunes Store. There are several alternatives such as Amazon MP3 Store (largest online retailer), eMusic (second largest online music store), Wal-Mart (largest retailer in the US), ConcertVault, MP3.com, MP3tunes or even ripping your own CDs.
Converting unprotected (DRM-free) .wma audio tracks is quite easy with freeware and shareware apps. Maybe Microsoft might like to adopt MPEG4 AAC or MP3 as their default standard for delivering unprotected DRM-free audio instead of the proprietary "owned" format they prefer? Any reason they might prefer WMA? Want to guess?
I would hope this lawsuit gets throw out even though lawyers smelling money are trying hard to make it a "class-action."
So what if you want to use iTunes without an iPod? See iTunes for Mac OS X: Compatible Players
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