Quote Originally Posted by Woochifer
I don't know what standard, if any, that Apple is using. All I know is that the files are marked and traceable. And Apple makes provisions for five authorized devices to share and/or redownload all of your iTunes media.

I haven't heard of anybody policing the P2P sites looking for iTunes files. Supposedly, you can strip out the account data anyway by simply converting the files. But, I suspect that a lot of people just upload it as is, and that's where they can get caught.



I think this might be tied to their North Carolina server farm that goes online in the spring. The server farm boosts Apple's bandwidth and capacity, and has also been linked to a rumored new iTunes cloud music service. (hint hint, Apple has a major product announcement event next Wednesday March 2 -- the iPad 2 will take center stage, but the new cloud services would fit right in)

For those who want to access their files locally, Apple would offer up larger, higher res files. For those who prefer to access their music collection remotely, stream from the iTunes server. This would be a boon to someone using a lower capacity iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad. For those devices, the storage is shared with apps, which leaves less space for music files.

For computers, storage is cheap, so it makes sense to go higher res for any locally accessed music files. Apple already did this two years ago when they removed the DRM from iTunes music files. At the same time, they bumped up the resolution to 256k AAC (which is already close to transparent to a CD source). This file conversion was done in the background, so Apple does have a history with raising the resolution with their iTunes files.

With this kind of two-pronged local/remote approach, now you can load up a selection of favorites in high res, but still access everything else remotely. That's where I see the pieces possibly fitting together.
That's exactly what I'm hoping for as well... a 2 tiered system from Apple... Others might even go for a 3 tiered system - so for a minimal monthly fee like $4 - you get personalized radio and for $10 a month you get full unlimited streaming (I believe that is what Sony is offering now with Qriocity) + High Resolution purchases available for audiophiles/collectors...

This would really mean that consumers have just about all the choice they could want for how to consume music...