1. Stevie on January 12, 2004 05:13 PM writes...

Reading your post, I was curious if I really could convert a iTMS purchased AAC files to MP3. When I went to iTunes and selected a song I'd purchased, the option in the advanced menu was "Convert Selection to AAC", when I selected it, I received an error that says "Bird Sings Why The Caged I Know could not be converted because protected files cannot be converted to other formats."

Do you know something I don't know?

2. Sandy McMurray on January 12, 2004 06:45 PM writes...

My mistake. You can't directly import the protected AAC files purchased from the iTunes Music Store. (Mea culpa. I'm in Canada and haven't had a chance to buy from the iTunes Music Store yet.)

What you can do is make a CD from iTunes, then import ("rip") tracks from the resulting CD. The "import as" file format (MP3, AAC, AIFF, or WAV) is set in the iTunes preferences.

3. Mohan on January 13, 2004 09:10 AM writes...

Is'nt there some way to create a CD to memory, sort of like a RAM Disk. If you could do this then you could fool iTunes into converting everything to a cd in memory and then simply adding back to iTunes.

An opportunity for some enterprising shareware author.

4. Robert Jung on January 13, 2004 10:18 AM writes...

To clarify: iTunes has the option of ripping your CDs into unprotected AAC format (with the .m4a extension). Those tracks can be converted to MP3s without any CD-burning intermediary steps.

Unprotected AAC is an open standard, but currently the only company supported protected AAC (with the .m4p extension) is Apple. That may change in the future, though; I have not seen any indication that Apple is opposed to allowing other companies support M4P playback.

Other than this, Sandy's analysis is correct. Microsoft doesn't give two toots about consumer choice -- all they care about is whether or not your stuff is beholden to Microsoft's technologies and proprietary systems. The HP-Apple deal is a nontrivial blow to their efforts to force WMA down everyone's throats, cloaked in the usual "freedom of choice" doubletalk.

5. Jim on January 13, 2004 11:21 AM writes...

Today HP said that they would not be bringing WMA to the iPod at the present time - pulling the rug from Thurrotts silly excuse for news. There is simply no business case for such a move and Apple would be nuts to allow it.

Windows users should question why Microsoft seems to think they will be confused by the ubiquity of formats other than WMA. They should give their users more credit. Choice does not mean XP or Win2K.....

6. jbelkin on January 13, 2004 12:22 PM writes...

On the PC side, you can "record" anything playing on your computer and you generally have a choice to save it as a WAV or Mp3 file so you can convert that way. Lots of ahreware/freeware to choose from.

On the Mac side, we have the freeware WIRETAP and the shaeware AUDIO HIJACK.

7. jon.... on January 13, 2004 12:40 PM writes...

uhh, you don't even need a "freeware app" all you have to do is bring a AAC file into iMovie, and then save it to what ever format you want.....including video formats if you want....

jon.

8. jack on January 13, 2004 01:17 PM writes...

get a copy of bias peak (the LE edition will do)

the software is a great piece of audio editing software.

with bias, you can open and save your protected AAC files to AIFF (which then can be converted) - w/o DRM.

9. thomas on January 13, 2004 07:41 PM writes...

I had a Samsung 910 and tried to use Napster 2.0 with it. I regularly had problems being unable to play songs - getting through to the help line at Napster was next to impossible.

It wasn't possible to use it on several PCs (they claimed you could, but I was never able to make that happen) and I could only transfer to one registered player

It was such an incredible hassle -- I got rid of the Napster player even with the restocking fee it was a bargain replacing it with an ipod and itunes.

I use windows, but ipod and itunes just works. I can't say the same for windows only napster and samsung.

10. Jeff on January 13, 2004 09:56 PM writes...

I wouldn't be so quick to count Thurrott out of this yet. He is a Microsoft sycophant, yes, but he may truly have inside info.

There will likely be some serious arm twisting by Microsoft on HP to build a wma option into the rebranded iPod.

One wonders how much HP computers will increase in price once Microsoft renegotiates the Windows contract should HP refuse to include a wma option.

Perhaps HP sees Linux maturing enough on the desktop such that Microsoft's heavy-handed tactics no longer is the threat it once was.

The future is about to get much more interesting.

11. Eytan Bernet on January 13, 2004 11:31 PM writes...

Comment to Jeff...
I would be quick to count out Thurrott.
Apple and HP made it clear that the HPod would boot with the Apple iPod. It will be no different in operation than the Apple Logo, and Both HP and Apple have said, in no uncertain terms, that it will NOT play WMA files.
It was MSFT increasing Windows licensing fees for Compaq in the early 90s after the last attempt by a PC company to include QuickTime on the then largest PC manufacturer machine that caused the first anti-trust suit against MSFT for tying prices on Windows to inclusion of such products. Microsoft could not get away with it again. Compaq shipped QT 2.0, and it came out in the trial that because of MSFT strong arm pricing tactics for Windows, they did not include 3.0.
Eytan
P.S. If you google Compaq and QuickTime, you will find transcripts from Compaq testimony about Apple, MSFT, and QuickTime on the MSFT site. You will find no mention there of the pricing changes that MSFT put in place for Compaq after they started shipping QT

12. Kurt Shelton on January 18, 2004 12:48 PM writes...

I have iTunes, and bought an AAC protected song from the Music Store. I cannot burn this file to a CD because I get a protected file error in iTunes. Maybe you know something about iTunes settings that I don't know because I can't get it to work.

The song was Toxic by the way, if you want to try it yourself. I'm on a windows XP Pro machine.

I can't even copy the song to an iPod.

13. Dale Cosby on March 7, 2004 04:01 PM writes...

Very interesting topic. I have been using ITMS since inception and love it. I also have figured out just about all ways around the DRM. Yes, the iMovie option was the first cound but there is now an AppleScript plug in for iTunes that will allow you to convert m4p files to mp3 lame. The cool thing about it is that just like the iMovie method (Garageband works too) it only works with songs that are authorized on that system. Again, as Apple has done so well, a legitimate user of the music runs into little if any problems. It is really an extention of there entire user friendly philosophy. What they want you to do is very easy and what they don't it hard. I don't think Apple cares if you convert your legit music to another format.

About the HP deal...iPhoto for windows on HP machines would be awesome (even though I am a die hard Mac user) HP could essentailly license the program from Apple and pay for most of the porting while they could both make a profit from selling it to other companies. HP is already big in the imaging industry and that would put them further ahead.

14. deandra berry on March 11, 2004 05:24 PM writes...

Hi I have an audio disk that i am trying to convert as .wav instead of a .aiff is this possible in itunes? I am orking on a mac.

15. Sandy McMurray on March 11, 2004 05:48 PM writes...

Sure. Just go into iTunes preferences under "Importing" and where it says "Import using" select WAV format.