B ritish columnist Robert Uhlig is advising his readers not to buy an iPod. The comments come in his regular "Chips with everything" column in the Telegraph, a UK newspaper, in which he reviews Appleis iPod mini. Mr. Uhligis advice is presented in the form of what he himself will not be doing, and that decision appears to be based on Appleis decision not to license FairPlay to other download sites or music player makers. From the column:
So would I buy one? No. Because Iim concerned that tracks downloaded from iTunes will be useless in a few yearsi time. iTunes and iPods use an audio format called AAC coupled to Appleis digital rights management system (to prevent unauthorised copying) called FairPlay. Tracks bought from iTunes will only ever play on iPods, which is not much use if you later buy a different brand of player. Itis like asking people to buy their entire CD collection anew if they change the brand of their hi-fi.
Before closing with the above admonition, Mr. Uhligis initial comments about the iPod mini are mostly positive. You can find the full review in this weekis Chips with everything" column.