what?

Time was when people were bonded by having kids together, living near each other, playing sports together. Now we are also held together by having licensed mutually agreeable music via the iTunes store. You see, when you pay for a song on iTunes, you are really paying to play the song on 5 computers and unlimited ipods. If one of those computers is shared with an acquaintance, you have just confirmed your relationship in the eyes of Carly Simon, Stan Getz and John Mayer via Apple’s FairPlay DRM system. You are forever not to be more than 4 computers or unknown numbers of ipods distant from this person.

This milestone passes unnoticed for many, though it can become important later on down the road. People who are actually married will create user IDs that are combinations of their names (LinJim, danreina) in a natural devolution of the relationship to the virtual world. If their names appear on a bank statement together, it’s not such a big deal to be sharing 128kbps Madonna Immaculate collection listening rights. If the bricks and mortar relationship dissolves, the tacit agreement to share itunes will remain until someone decides to burn the music to a cd and re-import it as a way of breaking froo of both the FairPlay rights and the decidedly unfair situation their social life has become.