iTunes going DRM Free

Pokeh, if you use an iPod, considering the superior format of AAC and the pricing, I actually think it's a decent offering. I've always persuaded people avoid iTunes for downloads, but now on the odd occasion I buy a track online, I'll use it instead of the competition.

Nate, what other hardware supports AAC?

I'll look in to which devices support .aac. I can't see me ever buying a cheap mp3 player, and i'll be sticking with my iPod Touch for the foreseeable future.

Actually now that i've thought about it I have absolutely no idea why i'm worrying about .aac. I'll never buy an mp3 player on the cheap, i'm smart enough to check if said mp3 player would support .aac, iTunes plays it and I guess that there are plugins at least for other media players.

But what if I decided to get rid of iTunes because, I dunno, say 7digital offered the same quality music but at a cheaper price - would I have to keep iTunes to put the music on my iPod/MP3 Player? Or can I just view the files in Explorer and drag and drop?

AFAIK, Apple did not include mass storage mode on the iPod Touch, which is what I was talking about in my earlier post for Apple shooting themselves in the foot.

General rule of thumb: if you ever want the freedom to change how you do things in the future, don't use Apple.

Ack, true.

Sony Walkmans, some Creative players, and many music phones.

Thanks, that's more than I thought actually.

It's more than most people seem to think.

No, ipods do not support drag and drop. You have to use an ipod manager, e.g itunes. However, if you just want a lightweight ipod manager there are unofficial alternatives, for example Yamipod. Unfortunately, most of the unofficial managers do not work with the ipod touch/ iphone as yet.