I don’t believe this to be pro-microsoft as it is lazy/bad developers or incompetent management.

I guess this means they’re not aiming to take out itunes if they don’t even allow apple/safari…

As always on Slashdot, you used the often-abused car analogy and said something utterly stupid.

A “brand of car,” such as Toyota or Ford does not equate to Internet Explorer primarily due to market share. Had you compared the combined “Safari and Firefox” to BMW, which a minority own in the USA (and none of which are Walmart customers), then your argument might sound reasonable, though still incorrect.

Apple isn’t “getting away” with anything. Don’t you use Windows Media Player to listen to all the other provided DRM-infested music? Where’s your choice there?

That’s the whole problem with DRM- it restricts you to using a specific technology, thus limiting you to a single piece of software.

That’s why I remove DRM from music I buy, regardless of those very fun-to-read-and-easy-to-understand-consumer-friendly “License Agreements”. Given that I only make personal use of it, I say it’s mine and I’ll use it however I like. If they have a problem with that, they can kiss my ass, because they have no legal way of proving it and suing me.

This is not about coding the site to support a wide range of browsers, its about the fact that, if you are required by content owners to use DRM, then your only real choice is windows media DRM, and that only really works on IE6+7 on a PC.

======================================
Good Morning,
I first learned of your new media download service from CNN this
morning. Unfortunetly my experience thus far is very disappointing. For some
reason your new website is not displaying correctly in my web browser. Please
see the attached screenshot. My browser is Mozilla Firefox 2.0 running on
Kubuntu Linux. Your help in resolving this issue is most appreciated.

Regards,
Jason

========================================
Dear Jason,

Thank you for contacting us at Walmart.com. Your comments and questions
are very important to us as we strive to meet your needs.

I understand from your email that you are unable to access our Website.

We currently support Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Vista (32 bit
only no Macintosh or Linux). As you are using Kubuntu Linux, you may not
be able to get access to our Website. To get the Walmart Video Download
Service you need to have Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Vista (32 bit
only).

Please feel free to contact us if you need further assistance.

Sincerely,

Sharon
Customer Service at WalMart.com

===================================
Thanks for the quick response. When will support for Linux be
available? It is unfortunate that we are not able to even view the
website properly (much less actually use the services).

It is surprising that Walmart would ignore the Linux user community
seeing as Walmart.com sells Linux-based computers. Does Walmart make it
clear that some of the computers that it sells are not compatible with
the service?

Below is a link to a Linspire PC that is currently for sale on
Walmart.com
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3762912

Regards,
Jason

====================================

Hi Jason,

Thank you for writing back to us.

Currently, the Walmart video download service is in a Beta testing
phase. We have forwarded your concern to our Research and Development
team. However, at this point of time, I will not be able to provide you
the information regarding when the support for Linux will be available.

I once again thank you for your valuable feedback which will help us
improve our services.

Sincerely,

Sharon
Customer Service at WalMart.com

It’s their lost revenue.

Why can’t Apple create a Unix (not just OSX version, and I didn’t say Linux either) of iTunes that works under ANY variant of Unix?

I simply will not maintane a Windows OS box just for iTunes – so, I’ll wait and move on.

EFF WALMART!! They have atrocious business practices to being with aside from the download service!!

I would/will never shop at any Wal Mart store be it in person, online or thru a download service. I recommend you do the same.

They are a multinational corporation destroying lives in more countries than most of will ever see in person. Please rethink what it is you care about… movie downloads or the quality of life for some human beings.

The company had to choose a DRM platform and stick with it. If it requires a specific browser, which also happens to have the lion’s share of the market, then geez, they made a sound business decision.

Anyway, this will be another WalMart flop.

The problem is the demographic that WalMart sells to is not the target demogrphic this service/product should really be targeted at. WalMart kids themselves when they think non-techies (and you do need to be one to use a service like this just to watch a movie) will drop hard earned cash and struggle with getting this to work on a PC.

There are many factors that made iTunes successful but the most obvious one is ease of use. I have yet to find a windows product that made delivering music and video that easy. Forget DRM, that’s a by-product of RIAA and other paranoid companies.

Now that iTunes is well established, it has be come a defacto delivery channel for rich content that is EASY for consumers to use. Consumers (the majority) are like water, they will follow the path of least resistance to get to their destination.