Windows Vista DRM: Turning iPods into Doorstops Since 2007.

Well, here's the first case of confirmed massive so-called "digital rights management" problems with Windows Vista -- Apple is now telling its customers not to upgrade to Vista because it doesn't work well with iTunes. So if you buy a new PC computer today -- you may not have access to your completely legal iTunes media. As I've said before, if you can control content on the end-users' devices, Network Neutrality really doesn't matter.

This is just the first of what will most certainly be widespread DRM problems -- since the Operating System is deciding for users what media they can and cannot consume. For Apple (which has huge resources as well as direct partnerships with Windows), the solution is to create patches so that their media will be exempted from Vista's draconian DRM. But what about for everyone else? Here's the list of just some of the Windows DRM problems straight from Apple's website, including things like
refusing to play legally bought media and turning your iPod into a really expensive doorstop if you follow the Windows "Safely Remove Hardware" instructions (I kid you not!):

* iTunes Store purchases may not play when upgrading to Windows Vista from Windows 2000 or XP.
* iPod models with the "Enable Disk Use" option turned off may be unable to update or restore iPod software, and make changes to iPod settings.
* iPod models configured to Auto Sync and have the "Enable Disk Use" option turned off may require being ejected and reconnected to resync.
* Ejecting an iPod from the Windows System Tray using the "Safely Remove Hardware" feature may corrupt your iPod.
* Cover Flow animation may be slower than expected.
* Contacts and calendars will not sync with iPod.

My good friend Victor Pickard and I are thinking about writing some of this up in a new paper we're going to be working on, "Feudalizing the Internet: Enclosures and Erasures from Digital Rights Management to the Digital Divide." Stay tuned for more as we trace the Windows Vista DRM debacle.