Ballmer bashes iPoders as thieves, industry looks for solutions

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took quite a dig at the iPod and its users, implying that the iPod was without significant DRM protection, and that the majority of music on everyone's iPods is stolen.

 "We?ve had DRM in Windows for years. The most common format of music on an iPod is 'stolen'."

The remarks came at a talk in London where Ballmer was pushing the Windows platform as the only realistic platform for true, universal Digital Rights Management. His inane, embarrassing comment is, of course, complete undone by the fact that the iPod is no different from any other portable music player in terms of its ability to play MP3s. He could have just as easily targeted the Dell Jukebox, but that uses Windows DRM. Ballmer continued his armchair sociological analysis:

"Part of the reason people steal music is money, but some of it is that the DRM stuff out there has not been that easy to use. We are going to continue to improve our DRM, to make it harder to crack, and easier, easier, easier, easier, to use," he said. "Most people still steal music," he said. "We can build the technology but there are still ways for people to steal music."

Most people steal music? His alarmist comments were all aimed at blurring the line between the platform and digital rights technologies. Ballmer would have his audience believe that the only secure solution is going to be one that is integrated into the world's most popular platform, namely Windows. And who's going to do that? Microsoft, of course. (And to think that the EU is worried about a Microsoft monopoly over Windows Media Player.)

The good news is that more and more players in the industry are looking to form alliances to find alternative solutions. Today a new technology group was announced called the Coral Consortium, comprised of the likes of Hewlett-Packard, Matsushita, Philips, Samsung, Sony, Twentieth Century Fox, and InterTrust Technologies.  The Coral Consortium is attempting to define a universal DRM language that would allow for the "translation" of DRM formats into other formats. The idea is that translation would eliminate device lock-in and favor consumer choice. However, given Apple's interest in using its DRM to sell iPods, and Microsoft's interest to use its DRM to lock people into Windows-based technology, we don't expect to see either company warmly welcome such efforts.