Rhapsody this morning is releasing version 4 of the software used with its internet music streaming service, software based on a Digital Rights Management system the company built itself.
In announcing the refresh, company officials acknowledged what users of the service already knew: the previous DRM, based on what Microsoft mendaciously calls Plays for Sure, just didn’t work very well. Tracks you downloaded to your portable player or notebook so you could play them offline would mysteriously fail to play, frequently displaying a cryptic error that gave you little help in solving the problem.
But even if Plays Perhaps worked better, Rhapsody would still probably be making this move because Microsoft hasn’t exactly signaled a wholehearted commitment to the system. Redmond’s upcoming Zune player will use a new Microsoft DRM system, leading observers to wonder whether Plays for Sure will slip into the black hole occupied by moribund Microsoft products like Outlook Express.
The new version of Rhapsody still supports Plays for Sure devices, but with devices built to work with Rhapsody’s new DNA system you’ll get some cool new features and, according to the company, more reliable performance. (So far, there’s just one compatible player, SanDisk’s Sansa E200R.)
I believe it comes packed with songs too that you can listen to for 2 months.