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January 28, 2008

itunes_store

Abracadabra!: Apple makes rentals disappear from your computer

Posted Jan. 28, ’08, 2:11 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi
Category | iTunes » iTunes Store

rentalsMagic.jpgThere’s been some discussion, but not a lot of analysis surrounding the management of iTunes movie rental files on users’ computers. Obviously something needs to download…but where does it go? And when the rental expires, what happens to the file? There are seemingly-obvious answers to these questions, but they raise some conflicts and arguments that suggest Apple maybe goes a different route.

Well, no, it doesn’t. When you download a rental from the Store, it’s added to the iTunes library’s Movies folder, along with all your other movies. Just Ctrl-click it to Show in Finder. If you try to move that file from one computer to another — even if they’re both authorized with the same Store account — iTunes refuses to play it, saying that particular rental hasn’t been authorized on the second machine.

And when the rental expires, it vanishes completely from your computer; it doesn’t even show up in the Trash as a deleted file. It’s just gone. Poof. Kazaam. Voila. Etc.

The complaint here? Some people aren’t comfortable with Apple deleting stuff off their computers without a warning dialog or even an option to simply move it to the Trash. It sets a precedent that undisclosed third-party file manipulation is okay; it also increases the potential damage of software bugs (i.e., much the same way a buggy iTunes installer accidentally deleted users’ Home directories because of a missed space in an “rm” command).

It’s obviously a weedy argument: Apple has very tight control of the rental system, and the files are theoretically “on loan” to you from the Store. And what happens if Apple didn’t delete them automatically? Would they build up on your machine until you were forced to remove them manually? What do you guys think? Bad Apple for fiddling with files? Or who the hell cares? Can I put any more question marks in this paragraph?


10 Comments

Tom said:

Even the Zune will not delete your files that you rented from the music store when your rental runs out. They keep them in case you decide to pay again, just as Apple should do. Make it like DivX, the dvd rental scheme, and say 'You can pay and watch this again immediately!"

When you really want, you can remove the file and have to download it the next time you wish to rent.

Simpul.

January 28, 2008 3:38 PM
tkzero said:

Does anyone seriously expect Apple to just leave rented movies lying around on their Apple TV theoretically indefinitely? If they've expired, the only reason you could want them around is to try and do something dodgy with them.

And I can't imagine the studios wouldn't have required Apple to ensure their movies were cleaned up after the loan period. I would also expect that if you look at the license agreement when you install the updated software (or turn on a new unit), it will require you to agree to allow rentals to be removed. If you're not happy with that, then don't install the update or buy a new Apple TV.

This is standard practice with media rentals. Those iTunes wannabes where you rent music will strip them off if you don't pay your bill.

Apple removed Sherlock when you upgraded to 10.5. They removed your Docklings when you upgraded to 10.1. They remove frameworks and extensions all the time, particularly for the purposes of replacing with a "combo" one. We hear about the bugs (home dirs, etc), but a not-insignificant proportion of Apple's installers have some kind of removal component to them. And we've had, what, maybe 3 actual noticable bugs in several hundred installers?

This isn't even slightly new, and Apple already have a history of being responsible with this kind of thing (bugs not withstanding).

January 28, 2008 3:48 PM
pdkoenig Author Profile Page said:

The complaints about Apple seem to be getting increasingly paranoid and ridiculous.

The precedent for creating and deleting files predates even Apple Computer (the "computer" in the name was deliberate). They are usually called cache and scratch files. Without 3rd party file manipulation, many internet programs would be unusable as would word processor autosave and the ability of Photoshop to manipulate very large files.

ITunes has long engaged in file manipulation moving and renaming files. If Apple had decided to put rentals in a separate directory, that might have had the unintended affect of actually increasing the risk of harmful bugs -- existing routines for displaying, saving, and playing files might have had to be patched or rewritten to accommodate both owned files and rentals.


Move along folks. There's nothing to see here.

January 28, 2008 3:58 PM
sdkay said:

I agree with pdkoenig, there's nothing wrong with iTunes deleting files that you allow them to. Don't want it messing around with your files? Don't rent movies from iTunes, or just don't use iTunes, period. There are plenty of alternatives.

January 28, 2008 4:13 PM
Dave-O said:

Who cares? iTunes removes my podcasts automatically. Safari manages my cache. Plenty of applications manage files without any indication of creation/modification/deletion.

January 28, 2008 4:45 PM
fletcher Author Profile Page said:

OMG! Apple deleted my file which wasn't useful any more! This is so stupid. Just reading it has made me stupider.

Have you seen what Time Machine does? It does a backup every hour. But, it only keeps one backup per day for the last week and one backup per month in perpetuity. How could that be? Where do those files go? Are they ... cue dramatic music ... duh duh duh ... deleted?

Don't get me started talking about the Finder's Secure Empty Trash command. It is so nefarious that it deletes files so that not even your disk utility can recover them! Oh, the humanity!

January 28, 2008 7:31 PM
Peter said:

Although I quite like Tom's suggestion of retaining the file in case you want to pay to watch it again, I'm gonna go with "who cares?"

I'm sure the reason it's set up the way it is, is to appease the studios. The same with the soon-to-be-gone DRM that got Apple into so much hot water in the press. Without this feature there wouldn't be any content, and while Apple may design the functionality, it's demanded from it's partners.

So I don't see how it could ever end up being "Bad Apple", but even then... "who cares?"

:)

January 29, 2008 3:04 AM
Dave said:

I think for each person who would complain that Apple deleted the rental movie there will be some one person who would complain that Apple left the file on their drive and ran out of disc space. A rental is just that, a rental. When you're done with any rental, you return it. The movie one rents via iTunes, for all intents & purposes, came from the aethyr and to there it should return. I haven't read the Terms of Use (I don't rent from iTunes), but I have to believe that it states that the file will be removed from your HD. As with anything, if you don't agree with the terms, don't participate.

January 29, 2008 6:22 AM
D Forbes said:

If you really want to keep a copy of the useless file you could ... err.. make a copy of it and put it somewhere safe.

January 29, 2008 7:10 AM
macfaninpdx Author Profile Page said:

They have every right to remove the file. This is a cache file. You rent a movie, Apple makes a cache on your computer to store the movie, and then it expires. I guess the only way to get people to stop wanking is by calling it something other than a movie file. Call it a Cache. call it a Temp File. Call it an iTunes Cookie, what do I care?

But more important, people need to stop complaining and nitpicking every little thing. What's next, another class action suit because Apple removed a file from the hard drive that was neither owned, nor generated by the user?

January 29, 2008 9:08 AM

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