APPLE'S iTUNES RIP-OFF

A Louisiana man is suing Apple claiming that the iPod is "inherently defective" because it can pump up the volume to ear-damaging levels and that Apple hasn't done enough to warn him of the risks. John Patterson, is seeking unspecified compensatory damages presumably for hearing loss he may have suffered, though the lawsuit, filed with the San Jose District Court, doesn't say as much, according to the Associated Press' report on the matter.

The lawsuit maintains that iPods can generate sound in excess of 115dB, enough to harm hearing if ears are exposed to it for long periods of time. Patterson claims he bought an iPod a year ago and a look at the user guide reveals the following:

".... Warning Permanent hearing loss may occur if earbuds or headphones are used at high volume. You can adapt over time to a higher volume of sound, which may sound normal but can be damaging to your hearing. Set your iPod Shuffle to a safe level before that happens. If you experience ringing in your ears, reduce the volume or discontinue use of your iPod Shuffle ...."

Of course, it doesn't define what a "safe level" is, but given the huge number of warnings put out by the medical profession as to the dangers of listening to personal music devices since the launch of Sony's Walkman in the late 1970s, you'd have thought people would have got the message by now. And having read Apple's user guide, Patterson surely would have long ago been aware of the risk and, quite reasonably, returned his iPod to the store from which he bought it. Or maybe not... (Source: reghardware, Feb/06)

Apple's iTunes music download service has been accused by the Consumers' Association of overcharging UK users. The group accused the service of charging UK-based customers nearly 20% more than those with addresses and payment details in France or Germany.

The group has written to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) asking it to investigate iTunes for possible breaches of EU competition rules. Apple said its prices should be compared with other UK music downloads. The Consumers' Association said that while iTunes charges UK based customers 79p to download one track, customers in France or Germany only have to pay 99 euro cents, the equivalent of 67p.

The association claimed that the iTunes service is set up in a way that prevents UK consumers from taking advantage of cheaper downloads. UK consumers need to have a registered address and payment mechanism in France or Germany to access cheaper downloads, or face paying the higher price.

Consumers' Association spokesman Phil Evans said iTunes policy could be seen as anti-competitive and against EU rules. Under European law UK consumers are supposed to enjoy the same benefits of the single market as other citizens of EU member states.

"There appears to be considerable evidence that the iTunes set up is prejudiced against the UK public and distorts the very basis of the single market," he said. "If the OFT agrees it will be another example of the rip-off culture that the British public are often victims of. "

But Apple defended their UK pricing policy. "The underlying economic model in each country has an impact on how we price our track downloads," an Apple spokeswoman said. "That's not unusual, look at the price of CDs in the US versus the UK. We believe the real comparison to be made is with the price of other track downloads in the UK."

The code that prevents music downloaded from Apple's iTunes store being played on any portable player other than an iPod has been "cracked" after Jon Lech Johansen "reverse engineered" the FairPlay system. His company, DoubleTwist, said that it planned to license the code to other digital music player manufacturers.

All music sold through iTunes uses the FairPlay system that restricts the use of the downloads. Purchased music can only be moved between five computers and played on an Apple iPod. Downloads cannot be transferred to players made by other manufacturers, such as Creative or Sony.

Mr Johansen previously wrote and distributed a program called DeCSS that cracked the encryption codes on DVDs. The free program enabled him to play his DVDs on a Linux-based computer. Following complaints by the film industry, Norwegian authorities charged Mr Johansen, but he was later acquitted after the courts ruled that he had a right to decode the DVD. (Source: BBC News, Oct/06)