Microsoft's Zune

So I know this sounds weird, but the new Zune is an attempt to think into the future, when the thought of digital rights "problems" will be a think of the past. Microsoft's yet unreleased Zune which has been touted the "iPod killer" uses Digital Rights Managemet but oddly enough, will not be compatible with Microsoft's PlayForSure technology.

So anyone that has licensed the old techhnology will find out very quickly that the music that they are currently selling will not be playable on the new Zune. What does this mean? Repurchasing? Possibly if all is correct. Where you say? Zune of course. Will all the music that you owned be able to be repurchased? Well only if its available...look at iTunes...sometimes your fav song just is not licensed or it takes a while for it to be added to a library.

So this brings up an interesting question....repurchasing...relicensing...and what about fair use? Recently at a conference I spoke at in Hong Kong, the idea of licensing depending on use (one cost for listening on a CD at home, another price to download to your computer and then to your iPod, another price to copy to a friend). So the whole buying again and again might not be so far away.

If I've made no sense at all, feel free to check out the BBC. They seem to have it together.