Being completely anti Apple I don't know why I downloaded iTunes. Well, yes I do, it was recommended to me.

At first it was a love affair. Finally I was able to get my hands on the U2 cover versions of Endless Love and Unchained Melody, but that was about it.

Soon I began to appreciate the iTunes library didn't contain much of the songs I was looking for (like Waterloo Sunset and Eve of Destruction) or almost worse, all it would have is a crumby live version.  However, I persisted. I downloaded Bobby Sinclairs Love Generation as it reminded me of taking a bus ride over the Andes. I downloaded about nine songs in all, and now they're completely stuck in my computer.

I don't have an iPod. I will never buy an iPod. If I were to receive one as a gift i would put it straight on eBay. When I'm in the car and not listening to LBC 97.3 I like to listen to my CD's but of course these ridiculous m4p files from Apple won't let me that.

The only solution it would seem is to use a crack program to convert them into something useable, something that I can listen to, i did buy them after all. Had i known the limitations I would have concluded the unit price per song was actually too much.

Note to self: next time buy the CD

Agreed - proprietary rubbish. Buy itunes and lock yourself into Apple products forever! Can't remember seeing the warning anywhere on their site.

Apple computers are even worse! All design, no function, its a computer for christ's sake, not a work of art. Hardly any software apps. Those that exist do not have the functionality of a PC. There may be less security risks with an Apple - that is because nobody can be arsed to hack into their products as they have such a minimal market share and that is in graphic design (colouring - with a computerised crayon) and nobody would notice.

And have you noticed how Apple, in a continuing vote of no confidence in the intelligence of the consumer, focus their marketing on the image of their product and how you too can be "cool" if you buy an Apple computer.

Don't worry about the functionality, with this computer sitting in your flat you'll instantly have credibility as a person, you'll be a "mac" and as Apple would have us believe, a mac is "hip" and a pc is "square".

Excuse me while I barf.

Well, I have itunes on my PC at home and it is not an Apple product, it comes from the other end of the pile of electronic crap that we insist on filling our lives with. However I have not encountered any problems in purchasing and downloading music and podcasts from itunes and burning onto a CD.The burnt CD's even work on a Sony Walkman that I purchased in the early 1990's. Are all you out there sure that you have followed all the instructions in downloading the software correctly?.

I should state that I am not a shareholder of Apple or my name is not Steve.