In general, I don’t have a problem with Walmart. I buy school supplies and small appliances there on a regular basis. So when Gerald told me that Walmart was now selling music online for 88 cents a song, I figured I’d take a look.
But here’s what the technical requirements FAQ has to say:
Can I play music from Walmart.com Music Downloads on my Macintosh∆ computer? No. Music Downloads from Walmart.com are not compatible with any Macintosh computer. The music that you download requires Digital Rights Management 9 (DRM 9) software, which is not compatible with the Macintosh operating system.
And it appears that the WMA/DRM9 software has far more problematic restrictions than Apple’s AAC encoded files. You can’t transfer the songs to another computer, for example. (The AAC-encoded files can be placed on up to 3 computers, and de-authorizing one and re-authorizing a new one is fairly easy.) You can only burn a given song to CD 10 times (with AAC, you can burn a given playlist up to ten times, but the song can be placed on an unlimited number of playlists).
So I’ll be sticking with the iTunes music store for the time being; I’m not willing to give up the flexibility of their DRM, or the ability to use my iPod.
It will be interesting to see how quickly the unelectable meme spreads, and how long it takes for it to impact the search results for unelectable.
As we begin to untangle the legal and financial aftermaths of my brother-in-law’s unexpected death, it has become increasingly clear to me that there are real risks and consequences to believing the best about people, particularly when that trust goes against one’s better instincts.
And because there are in fact legal and financial issues involved, that’s about all I can say about that.
Except that I have managed to formulate one simple rule for how to live life:
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