Hi Brent, Travis, and Others, The audiobook content supplied to the iTunes music store comes from Audible.com, and all those works, and others, are either currently available from Audible, or were at some time in the past available from Audible. Audible's content can be played on the iPod, but can also be played on a number of other digital audio players (daps). These include accessible players, like the OTIS. Audible's service was reviewed on ACB radio's Main Menu about 4 years ago.
The Rockbox gives accessibility to players, like the Archos model, that can play Audible content. And a fundamental difference in the Audible digital downloads is that once you've purchased an audiobook, you can re-download it any number of times, even if that title is no longer being offered for sale. Travis wrote earlier: "It's a shame drm doesn't work. Is microsoft ever going to get off their duffs, and make something non-windows users can actually use? Likely not, but what the heck, it never hurts to ask. I did check with the suppliers of the books, and asked them if they'd tried to get them into the apple store, and they said that yes, they tried, but apparently, apple's business model is Don't call us, We'll call you. So, they were denyed putting their stuff on the Itunes store." The situation with audiobook download distribution is a bit more complex. Audible negotiated an exclusive four-year contract with Apple that runs through 2007. There is a provision to let Apple convert that arrangement to a non-exclusive contract, and that may be what the suppliers you spoke to are referring to. However, a good deal of the argument is actually focused on making Apple support Windows' WMA DRM on the iPod, and having the iTunes Music Store and other download sites distribute this Plays-for-Sure DRM content. This allows publishers to be more restrictive about the number of times you can burn an audiobook to CD (generally, 2 times), and unlike the case with Audible subscriptions, you would not be allowed to make many downloads of books you had purchased. So I don't think it's as simple as having the publishers denied putting their stuff on the iTunes store. Also, the Plays-for-Sure DRM will only let you play downloaded audiobooks on daps that support WMA DRM for download. That's actually a small fraction of the devices that can play WMA. So this really is restrictive. Hope this helps to explain things -- even if it does still leave everyone with the mess posed by the current DRM situation. Esther On Wednesday, January 18, 2006, at 11:08AM, Brent Harding <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >This is the problem of all mp3 players, really. If we want accessibility, we >have to lose the ability to play protected content. For example, many of the >Iriver players natively support the protection, but if you reflash with >Rockbox, an accessible firmware that gives some voice to the players, you >lose that ability. I am curious how they natively get that support, if MS >doesn't license to anyone? With Apple, you must use an Ipod, which isn't >terribly accessible unless you get a shuffle, if you want portable Itunes >store content playback. Also, that's the only protected format the Ipod will >use. It would seem that any protection scheme has to be the apple way in >order to protect effectively. Since Apple is the only place that knows how >to play and produce protected Itunes files, Itunes and the Ipod are the only >things that would ever know how to decode it. If you license the technology >to others, the potential exists for specs to leak out and for everyone to be >able to make or decode everything, which means no protection. > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Travis Siegel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "General discussions on all topics relating to the use of Mac OS X by >theblind" <[email protected]> >Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 10:13 AM >Subject: Re: Accessibility > > >> It would be great if apple could develop a wma player that handled wma >> encrypted content. The problem is that Microsoft owns the technology, >> and doesn't license such technology to other companies. If you want to >> play encrypted wma files, you *have* to use microsoft's wma player. >> This means windows media player. Unfortunately, the version they no >> longer make for the mac does not support their latest encryption. This >> means, if a company uses that encryption, you just plain *can't* listen >> to it on a mac no matter what you do. This is unacceptable to me. I've >> already complained to the company that makes the recordings, but they >> can't do anything aboout it. Their solution is to purchase the mp3 cds >> which cost more than twice the price of the wma files. This too is >> unacceptable. If you have another suggestion, or another company that >> makes a wma player, then by all means, send it along. I'd be glad to >> give it a try. >> On Jan 18, 2006, at 7:21 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >> >>> Hi everybody, >>> >>> Regarding Microsoft not upgrading windows media player for the mac, >>> wouldn't it be better if each company developed their own resources? In >>> this way, we wouldn't have to worry about cross platform, and Apple >>> would be able to give us the mbest accessibility possible in their >>> products. >>> >>> Thanks. >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> > > > >
