I was amazed to find out the other day that Microsoft's new MP3 player, the Zune, will not support PlaysForSure, Microsoft's own initiative for some form of portable audio player standardisation. If a player has a PlaysForSure logo it will be compatible with online music stores that use DRM (Digital Rights Management) such as Napster. The fact that the Zune will not support PlaysForSure means that it falls off of my Christmas list with a resounding thud. It seems that Micorosoft are going the Apple/iTunes/iPod route with the Zune, i.e. you buy our player (Zune/iPod), install our software (Windows Media Player/iTunes) and buy music from our website (Zune Marketplace/iTunes). Considering the backlash that Apple have received from some quarters it  seems to be a brave (mad?) move from Microsoft. Apple still have a stranglehold on the online music business though and maybe Microsoft can see the success of their business model and have decided to copy it. The battle is on.