"The most common format of music on an iPod is 'stolen'" - Steve Ballmer.

Most iPod users are walking around with stolen songs on their players, according to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who is apparently able to discern these things, perhaps by use of some sort of crystal ball or similar device.

As an aside, I'd really be interested to know just what percentage of the mp3s floating around in the world are actually legal. If anyone has any information on this, please let us know.

What?!?! OMG!!!!111

He must be a friggin' psychich to know that!!!11

And I wonder why he felt he had to share that insight of his...
Are MS about to launch a similar product themselves, or is he just trying to pimp the latest WMA with DRM?

It's funny that these guys actually think folks buy MP3's. hahahah..

You think he will see the release date for Longhorn in some chicken entrails?

I predict MS will release a portable player that will only play WMA or DRM-MP3.

and then they will have to release a patch to enable people to use 'stolen' mp3's on it, because the sales are so poor.

the fact is, mp3's can look as if they are stolen when theyre not. if you rip a mp3 to the computer and it isnt digitally signed or registered BUT you have the cd, is it still stolen?

No, but if the CD is copy-protected, you've broken the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, depending on where you are.

MS will never make a DRM-only player UNLESS they give it away under contract with a music service which almost makes sense.

The new Portable Media Center Devices are pretty expensive and I would be willing to 'play nice' if MS subsidized the purchase price in exchange for me only being able to put legit content on it.

After all I just found another cache of 100 or so CD I had tucked away and if i can massage the scratches off their worn little faces, I can delete a few hundred 'illegal' mp3's I 'stole' to replace them.

Just don't tell Stevie that I've been naughty.

Fair Use, screw the DMCA

I might just be pulling stuff out of my ***, but doesn't owning any digital media entitle us to make one backup of it? And if so, aren't they violating our rights with this DMCA crap?

Technically, you don't own the data on digital media, you simply own the media itself. Sad, but true. That's the way it seems to be coming down, if it hasn't already.