Some Older iPods Not Compatible With iTunes Movie Rentals
According to Wired, it appears that Apple is freezing out some of its customers by not allowing users with iPods access to iTunes movie rentals. Online message boards have been overheating in anger over the perceived slight of Steve Jobs and the increasingly more Microsoft-seeming Apple.
Apple has only confirmed that the movie rental service works with the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPod Classic, and third-generation iPod nano. But fifth generation iPods sold before September 2007 seem ineligible to join in the movie watching fun.
Pundits and analysts have a few good (i.e. bad) reasons why Apple would do make such a move: In order to close the analog movie copying loophole of earlier TV-out functional iPods, and/or the computer clock resetting loophole that lets you view your purchase over the 24 hour limit. The most disheartening of all theories is that Apple is constructing a bit of planned obsolescence so users have to buy new iPods. Although that last one seems unlikely to us, it would behoove Apple to address this problem quickly before Mac fanboys overrun every message board with complaints.
From Wired
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Olive @ Feb 1st 2008 11:57AM
I have owned only Macintosh computers since 1986. In other words, I am a fan besides a consumer. This Christmas, I wanted to give a close friend a nano. I called Apple several times to make sure the iPod would be compatible with my iBook G4, circa January, 2005. I thought there was a small likeliehood that my friend would actually load her own music onto her pc and then her iPod. Apple assured me that there would be no compatibility problems. The second question I had for Apple was whether they offered engraving on the 2nd generation, new (vs. refurbished) iPods. Apple told me that as the web site read, all new iPods were eligible for engraving.
I purchased a new 2nd generation nano and easily loaded the iPod. Apple, despite the many times it promised on the site that there was free engraving for all new iPods, said that they meant only on new, latest generation iPods. Well, one thing came to another so I decided to upgrade my friends' gift. I bought her the third generation nano and Apple did engrave that.
When I tried to load music on the 3rd generation nano, it did not work. I phoned Apple. They only told me at that point that the new nanos required system 10.4.8 to be compatible with the new iPods. So once again on the phone with Appple, I discussed the available fixes. They said I needed to buy the system upgrade for $129. Furthermore, the upgrade would not run on my computer as is. I would need to upgrade my memory so that I could run a newer system. The approximate cost would be another $100. That means it would cost two hundred and twenty nine dollars so I could be compatible with the new iPod. Ripoff anyone? I am very angry about this. And as long as I am venting, rather than making a new pink iPod available for Valentine's Day, Apple could have hyped the red nano which is part of the Product Red line. As people know, a portion of all proceeds from product red go to African relief projects and I think Apple purposely released the pink iPod because Apple's profit margin is higher on pink ones than it is on the red ones.
JIM @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:41AM
SINCE TRYING TO DOWN LOAD ITUNES NEWIST VERSION CAN NO LONGER LOG ON TO SIE!