Steve Jobs on DRM

Apple released this letter from Steve Jobs a few days ago. While there are certainly some serious business reasons why Apple is taking this public position at this time (such as the pressure they're feeling from European governments to open up their proprietary DRM system), I think Jobs does a nice job of laying out the DRM issues clearly and fairly.

It's particularly interesting that Apple is talking this stance publicly now, while Microsoft has been taking intense heat for having bent over backwards to appease the DRM requests of music publishers with the Zune and the high-def video industry with the changes it's made to Vista to support HD DRM.

In my idealized view of the world, Apple stands up valiantly for the rights and interests of its users, while Microsoft shepherds its captive user base forward, making decisions based purely on the interests of itself and its business partners. Clearly, this view of the world belongs in Coca-Cola land- but there is a kernel of truth to the philosophical differences between the goals of both companies, and it's refreshing to see these differences playing themselves out on the DRM battlefield.