alex chiang: web 6.0

Here’s feedback I sent to Apple regarding their use of CDDB vs. freedb. It’s a bit pretentious, but I think that’s the appropriate tone to take in order to get them to pay attention.

Here’s a link to enable freedb on Mac OS. Unfortunately, iTunes uses the CDDB2 protocol, and is therefore incompatible with freedb.

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I’m a PC user who switched — kudos to your marketing team. One of the most compelling reasons for doing so was the ability to use iTunes, which is a neat piece of software.

I noticed that when I connect to the internet to get CD tracks, iTunes uses Gracenote’s CDDB. I looked for an option that would let me tell iTunes to use freedb instead, but couldn’t find one.

The reason I wanted iTunes to use freedb is purely political. In this day and age, with ever increasing restrictions on consumer’s freedoms in the context of digital media, I believe that politics ought to be a significant factor in determining technological implementations. The tradeoff between liberty and technical superiority ought to be biased towards the former.

Gracenote built its business upon the backs of consumers who generously populated the CDDB in the spirit of community and sharing, only to have their contributions encumbered with restrictive licenses.

As a consumer, I do not wish to support this type of corporate behavior. And that is why I am asking for the freedom of choice.

Regards,

Alex Chiang