it boils down to Real sucks… the iPod is good…. but Apple needs to license out FairPlay, or even better allow anyone to use it for free.
this would allow indie bands to create a music store on their own website (with absolutly no middle man), and the songs could be played on the iPod (and other future players that would support FairPlay)
i find it hard to support real’s decision to hack FairPlay, just so they can capitalize on the success of the iPod. Real has always been a bitch, using their own proprietary formats and not sharing. so i hope they burn in hell and that Apple breaks Real’s compatibility (and allows me to put the newest software on my 3G iPod, grrr)
and to summarize… Apple and Real are both bad and wrong. there needs to be an open-source DRM solution, that all digital media players can support and that all firms can use to create their own music stores.