PlaysForSure DRM Is Officially Dead

While it would be nice to celebrate the passing of DRM altogether, that’s not exactly what Microsoft has in mind with the official killing off of PlaysForSure. You see, while Bill Gates is perfectly content with getting rid of PlaysForSure, he’s not quite prepared to ditch his need for DRM. Instead, he’s going to confuse the masses by replacing PlaysForSure with “Certified for Windows Vista.”

The actual digital rights management attached to various devices and files will remain intact, but they will no longer be referred to as PlaysForSure. The sticker reading “Certified for Windows Vista” is supposed to encompass this copyright protection, but can you imagine the frustration when Joe Public realizes his iTunes-fueled music won’t work with a “Certified for Windows Vista” (CFWV) device?

After all, iTunes (Apple) uses FairPlay DRM… which doesn’t work with PlaysForSure CFWV devices.