Brian: So all the blame rests solely on Apples shoulders for being uncompatible with the rest of the world.

I'm not an Apple zealot by any stretch, but if I were, you'd be walkin' on my fightin' side. [Linked Image]

I have a 15GB iPod and it works fine with Windows. And there's iTunes for Windows now, so I don't see how Apple is incompatible with everybody. Apple's AAC format is MP4 with some baked-in DRM, which is no more or less "proprietary" than Windows Media format. If Virgin Digital decided not to support Apple's platform because of licensing issues, or because Apple refuses to ship a WinMedia player for Mac OS X ( like this free one ), or if they just went with the OS with the largest installed base, I can understand that. But Zalon's comment jumped out at me and made me wonder.

I don't know if Virgin approached Apple or not for their new venture, but given how hot, hot, hot the iPod is right now, I'd be surprised if they didn't at least try. And I wouldn't be suprised if Apple turned them away, since I'm betting Apple will be offering a similar service within 2 years. Good or bad? Who knows, the market is still birthing.

I don't recall hearing any pricing information during the interview (I might have missed it). Is Laskow's penny-per-listen model going to be enough to pay the copyright holder, plus the costs of bandwidth, storage, upkeep and maintenance on such a huge system like the one Virgin Digital is planning?

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Scott Andrew and the Walkingbirds
Lo-fi DIY acoustic pop
Hear it: http://www.scottandrew.com/main/music