Apple Inc (AAPL)

[Tex]

re movie rentals

I don't rent movies. How does this model sound to those who do?

Netflix and Blockbuster both offer what is better described as a subscription rather than a movie rental, but it's true that this model works for quite a few people. My guess is that Apple's bandwidth charges are substantially less than the cost to send a movie download and replace broken media, so Apple should be able to offer more than the physical disc companies offer at the same price, and make the same money or better.

The question is what movies Apple can get, and whether Apple can get high-def. The physical media folks have a serious advantage in the form of the first-sale doctrine (the seller of the media is fully paid on sale, and reselling a disc or running a library or a rental service can't be forbidden to buyers of physical books, movies, and so on). Download vendors need to start from scratch with deals of their own, with industries who fought tooth and nail against the first-sale doctrine and hate it with the passion fire-and-brimstone preachers display when railing against the works of Satan.

So, however clear it may be how to proceed, I would not hold your breath.

Take care,
--Tex.