Microsoft looks to dethrone iTunes in music category

This makes me laugh so hard...

ITunes has done a great job of helping to elevate the [digital music] market. We're different because Apple is a closed system. If you want Apple, you have to use the iPod. A lot of people want choice and we offer that.

  Christine Andrews [lead product manager of MSN]

There's one problem, and I documented this in an email I sent to the author of the story:

I found the statement that Microsoft made about iTunes Music Store being "closed" amusing.

What's amusing is the fact that ANY type of protected windows media (music and video) will NOT run on a Mac, no matter what. Microsoft has basically done NOTHING to make the Windows Media Player on the Mac compatible with it's protected formats...

At least the so called "closed" iTunes works on BOTH PLATFORMS!!!

  Bobby T.

Oh, and I thought this link is interesting... According to it, iTunes Music Store holds a 70% market share!

On a personal note I buy most of my music now on the iTunes store. It's great because I would normally have to go to Best Buy, grab the CD, stand in line, buy the disc, take it home, rip the CD, and put the CD someplace out of the way... I can now accomplish virtually the same process in a matter of 3 clicks, taking all of a couple minutes (including the download)...

I estimate I own somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 CDs currently. If you do the math that comes out to around $1000 in music (at least). In a normal given year (after I built up my CD collection replacing my cassettes), I would buy around 10 CDs... This last year I bought 2, however I actually purchased around 20 albums...