Steve Jobs Annoys The Music Industry
Piece Of Mind
Steve Jobs: The Music Industry's 'Pain In The Neck'
Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs is the music industry's "biggest pain in the neck," the Los Angeles Times said in an editorial.
His company's refusal to charge more for new tracks at the iTunes e-music store and less for old ones has caused executives frustration in the past, and then last week Jobs asked major recording companies to stop putting electronic locks on their downloadable songs.
Competing anti-piracy tools "could stunt the growth of the downloadable music business," the paper said. "Locks on 99-cent downloads are not the way to deter piracy" and such locks hurt e-music consumers, the Times argued. It said the industry should "concentrate instead on developing compelling new ways to discover and enjoy music."
The Times also opined on bloggers and presidential campaigns this week.
"By trying to gin up support from the blogosphere, candidates are bringing lots of folks into the campaign who've left long trails of (often intemperate) commentary online," so in addition to other Internet-related worries, candidates "may have to distance themselves from what their employees said before coming onboard," according to the paper.
A Boston Globe editorial, meanwhile, said safety questions related to nanotechnology should prompt more caution by industry and government.
The commentary was prompted by plans in Cambridge, Mass., to force companies that make or use nanoparticles to report the activity and known health risks. "Both the federal government and industry should heed the United Nations' urging and increase investment in [finding] the potential downside of super-downsizing," according to the paper.
Finally, a Baltimore Sun column argued that Congress should dump a requirement that states use their driver's licensing authority to combat illegal immigration and enforce a national identity program. The proposition could undermine both objectives, the column said.
-- Compiled by Winter Casey
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Tech Daily AM -- 2/14/07
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