Hasta La Gadget!

Palm Pre owners, get ready to kiss your iTunes music goodbye.

The most recent turn in the Apple vs. Palm debate makes it even less likely that the Palm will again be able to sync with iTunes.

On Wednesday, Palm received a letter from the USB Implementers Forum, a group overseeing standards for USB connections, in reply to their complaint that Apple is constricting trade by not allowing Palm and other devices to sync to iTunes. The letter from USB-IF not only dismissed any violation by Apple, but also stated that Palm was actually the one in violation of the group’s membership agreement. That’s because Palm was misrepresenting the Pre as an iPod in order to access iTunes — a violation of the rules USB member companies have agreed to.

Palm and Apple have been in contention over iTunes syncing since the launch of the Palm Pre. One of the Pre’s selling points was that it could sync with iTunes music, a convenient feature for users of the popular music application. Apple soon struck back, disabling Pre syncing with a series of iTunes updates.

But there are other ways Palm could get around this decision for their customers. Research in Motion, the mobile OS for the Blackberry, has developed software to allow the transfer of music from iTunes to selected Blackberry devices. Users can transfer music from their computer to the Blackberry’s media player. However, only songs without digital rights management apply to this alternative to syncing. If you haven’t upgraded your iTunes purchases to be DRM-free, then only music purchased after January of earlier this year will work.

Unfortunately for Palm, the ability to sync to iTunes was a key feature for consumers who use iTunes to manage their music. Without a solution to the iTunes block, Pre owners will have to find other ways to keep their mobile music alive.

Apple Gets Green Light to Block Palm From iTunes [New York Times]

Not that most Americans could care, but Nokia is pushing back the US launch of its DRM-laden Comes with Music service into 2010. CWM, you’ll recall, is Nokia’s “free” all-you-can-eat music service that bundles the 12-18 month music subscription cost into the inflated handset price — although like any DRM music scheme, solutions already exist to break the CWM shackles. The delay is probably a wise move considering the weak state of Nokia’s US partnerships required to offset consumer costs, lukewarm response to its latest handsets, and the fact that most US consumers share a broad distaste for DRM music. We’d rather see Nokia launch late but with a compelling proposition than launch now in blind adherence to a timeline.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Nokia Comes with Music US launch smartly pushed back to 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Something tells us Kaleidescape has a man (or woman, to be fair) on the inside, else United States District Court Judge Marilyn Patel is just downright trifilin’. In every visible way, RealNetworks’ proposed RealDVD player was exactly what Kaleidescape was, but for people with annual salaries far less than $9,854,392,220. Regardless of our opinion, a preliminary injunction has just been passed down from The Almighty in the robe, which blocks the sale of the RealDVD software here in the US. The six major movie studies filed the suit last September, alleging that it “illegally violated their right to restrict the use of their movies in digital form.” Evidently those that matter agree. A RealNetworks spokesperson took the time to vent their feelings on the whole ordeal, and since we know you’re curious, we’ve pasted it below for your convenience.

We are disappointed that a preliminary injunction has been placed on the sale of RealDVD. We have just received the Judge’s detailed ruling and are reviewing it. After we have done so fully, we’ll determine our course of action and will have more to say at that time.

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Court injunction puts sales of RealDVD on ice, hopes and dreams in purgatory originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Everyone likes to try and predict the future and with the Custom Electronic Design & Installation (CEDIA) show only a month away, the crew at Engadget HD threw all of their crazy ideas out there for your reading pleasure. For the most part all of the predictions are around Windows Media Center and how it will integrate with other products like the Zune HD, Digital Cable and HD satellite services, but there are some other fun things throw in. We really believe that this is going to be the year that Redmond brings everything together, so if you’re the type who doesn’t think it’ll ever happen, then click through to find out why we think you’re wrong. Either way, you can expect we’ll be on the scene in Atlanta to check out what’s new first hand.

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Media PCs

Windows Media Center is set to thrill at CEDIA 2009 next month originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Man, these Copyright Office triennial DMCA hearings seem to be some kind of competition for media-industry lawyers to present ridiculous arguments — just a couple months after the MPAA tried to convince us that videotaping DVDs was an acceptable alternative to ripping, the RIAA’s claiming that consumers shouldn’t expect their DRM servers to stay online and allow them to play their music to play forever. No joke. The argument comes as the Copyright Office decides whether or not to allow a DMCA exemption for breaking DRM, and RIAA lawyer Steven Metalitz’s position is that copyright owners shouldn’t be required to “provide consumers with perpetual access to creative works,” since “no other product or service providers are held to such lofty standards.” Of course, that’s only partially true, since properly maintained physical media and DRM-free content theoretically can be played forever, but why acknowledge reality when you can jack up your legal bills making completely absurd arguments that make your porcine, slowly-decaying clients seem even more doomed than before?

Filed under: Portable Audio

RIAA says consumers shouldn’t expect DRM servers to run forever originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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