One day we may be able to rent music

Microsoft is exploring a system that would allow subscribers to download as many songs as they like but the catch is that the music so obtained would be playable only for a fixed period of time. There are no obstacles to enjoying the downloaded songs during the period paid for but once the internal clock has ticked the expiration date, the music is gone. This is the reason why it is referred to as Janus, after the ancient Roman two-faced god. Several distributors have expressed their interest in using a similar system also for videos. Hollywood has actually tried to sell DVDs that self-destruct after a fixed period of time but their attempt did not prove successful.
2004-05-23 15:02:26