Congress and Digital Music?

I'm not usually a two-post-a-day kind of chick, but my irritability just reared its ugly head again.

I just read this article regarding a congressional subcommitee hearing on digital music.

What the hell?

The government needs to be focused on running our country, not wasting time and money debating whether or not Apple's DRM technology should remain closed.

Not to mention, when the hell did portable music players become a necessity? The fact that Apple's protected AAC format does not play on anything but an iPod should in no way an issue. If you don't have an iPod, burn a fucking CD, for christ's sake. It's not like people can't buy digital music without an iPod, they just can't take their entire music library with them wherever they go. Big deal. That's a convienence, as far as I'm concerned - a luxury. I've used iTunes since I got my Mac a year and a half ago - I didn't get my iPod until about 8 months later. Was I whining about not being able to spend $50 on a crummy mp3 player (instead of saving money to spend $400 on an iPod) to play my downloaded music? No!

And if they want to go that route, I guess I should be bitching that I can't use my old Windows software on my Mac, since most companies haven't developed software to be cross-platform. I guess I should be bitching that I can't play PS2 games on my computer, or a cheaper game system. And what about Microsoft's WMA format? I can't play that on my iPod! No fucking fair!

Bunch of overpaid jackasses, if you ask me. Maybe the government should be more concerned with resolving the situation in the Middle East, finding bin Laden, or getting out of debt.

Or maybe I'm just PMSing and being irrational.

Excuse me while I go download some music...